EOL
GDCA’s Obsoletism: The EOL "Time Bomb"
January 23, 2013
How End-of-Life sometimes feels…
What do vintage cars and embedded boards have in common?
September 26, 2012
They both get harder to maintain as they get older, and if you don’t plan for obsolescence, they can both fail. It’s common sense. As things get older, they become more expensive to maintain. For example, an antique car was state-of-the art when it first came out. It performed beautifully, and the parts were easy…
Obsolescence and why you can’t always just make more.
August 22, 2012
When I first began my work with GDCA one of the questions I had was “Why is dealing with obsolete components not just about making more parts?” As I have come to learn, unfortunately, obsolescence management is not just as simple as “making more parts.” Imagine you manufacture various components. In the 1960s, the computers…
No one wants to be left with EOL overstock
August 8, 2012
On one of the blogs I read, someone commented: “If you’re concerned about counterfeits in obsolete components… don’t worry about to-be-discontinued components — just design them in, and buy what you need to support the product anyway. Then you won’t have to worry about counterfeits.” On the surface and if you are only worried about…
Does Innovation = Forced Obsolescence?
July 25, 2012
Is there a downside to new technology innovation? We all love and encourage innovation, but what is the hidden cost? Critical embedded applications in the Defense and Medical industry are a great example of where this question comes into play. Both these applications have people’s lives relying on them, and both require extended life cycles…
SMTA & CALCE Symposium on Counterfeit Electronic Parts and Electronic Supply Chain
July 11, 2012
The recent reports concerning the National Defense Authorization Act 2012 continue to shake up things in the Defense industry. This past week was the SMTA & CALCE Symposium on Counterfeit Electronic Parts and Electronic Supply Chain and overall there was a strong showing across the board. Everyone brought great examples of how industry players are…
Who says obsolete equipment is junk?
May 23, 2012
Sometimes we can get a little carried away with our work here at GDCA. From embedded boards to trains, we love talking about all things legacy and EOL; and we know that no matter which industry we pick, there is a lot riding on keeping “obsolete” boards and systems running smoothly. Through the past 25…
Does the prospect of overstocking kill your critical embedded systems?
April 11, 2012
The past few decades has seen exponential advancement in circuit board technologies and related industries. This unprecedented technological growth has devastated many older critical embedded applications and their manufacturers, with OEMs pushing for new technologies. In contrast, older technologies become harder to support. Pre-stocking has historically been used as the solution to the obsolescence problem,…
What does obsolesence, trains, and Embedded World 2012 have in common?
February 29, 2012
I must admit, I’m looking forward to the upcoming Embedded World 2012 presentation on Model Based Design and Testing of Embedded Systems for the Train & Transportation Industry by Franck Corbier, with Dassault Systèmes. Why? Because I have an old-fashioned side of me that loves nothing more than hours on a train, traveling across country.…
Medical Design & Manufacturing West
February 22, 2012
The conference that was bigger than I even imagined. As any business owner knows, you are always going to find new conferences, events, or trade shows you didn’t know about, and are really glad you discovered. Medical Design & Manufacturing West 2012 (affectionately known as MD&M West, or #MDMwest in twitter parlance) took place this…