Manufacturing
When Tomorrow Never Comes
February 22, 2019
Obsolescence and Changing Our Minds You’ve got to know when to hold ’em Know when to fold ’em Know when to walk away And know when to run “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers Maybe the writing is on the wall. Maybe the truth is hidden in between the lines of your BOM. Maybe you really…
Legacy Assurance vs. Just in Time (JIT) Procurement
May 10, 2018
Innovative ways of thinking are tantamount to making changes in procedural methods. Just in Time (JIT) procurement for acquiring EOL’d embedded boards is often not an option for Legacy Equipment Manufacturing (LEM). Once an EOL notice has been issued and the parts for your system are no longer in production you’ll want to know the…
Knowing the Difference Between a Legacy Equipment Manufacturer (LEM) vs. an OEM Saves You Time and Money
August 3, 2017
When you need an embedded board that is still in production, it is easy to call the OEM, order what you want, and receive delivery. Because everything needed to produce your product is still readily available, you don’t have to worry about issues like accessibility, documentation, or counterfeit parts. However, after the point when an…
Embedded World 2017
March 27, 2017
Embedded World 2017 was a blast! After 2 weeks on the road of sub-zero temperatures in DC, Boston, Ottawa, and Montreal it was great to see spring for the first time in 2017 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg! German beer is best consumed in the sunshine!) At the fair, all the OEMs I spoke with were jam packed with…
Counterfeits Take To the Road
January 16, 2015
Those who have been keeping up know the threat counterfeiting poses to the embedded world. To this point, most of our conversations regarding counterfeits have been focused on the damage they can do to projects, the costs incurred to replace them, and the threat they pose to the security of the supply chain. However, there…
DARPA’s Defense Against Counterfeiting: SHIELD
May 21, 2014
At DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), proposals are already being accepted for the new Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics program, aka SHIELD. The SHIELD program will be the DOD’s response to component counterfeiting in the supply chain and will include the use of a “a small (100 micron x 100 micron) component, or dielet, that authenticates…
Microgrid Death Spiral: The Argument Over “Obsolete” Power Infrastructure
May 7, 2014
In January of 2013, the Edison Electric Institute released a report titled “Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business”, which outlined a variety of challenges traditional power utilities will face in the upcoming years. The current power infrastructure in the United States wasn’t constructed with end-user power generation in…
Counterfeit Components Hurt More Than Military Applications
April 23, 2014
When reading the news around counterfeit components, much of the dialogue is driven by the defense industry. When you are dealing with systems that protect our national security and the lives of the people out in the field – you’re not dealing with counterfeits in a bunch of trivial electronics. You’re taking necessary steps to…
A Tale of Two SHIELDS: Marvel Comics, DARPA, and Counterfeiting
April 9, 2014
Marvel Comic’s SHIELD (Strategic help Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division) and, slick as it is, it is more likely to wind up counterfeited than prevent counterfeiting It is a program devised by a secretive government agency. Its purpose is to organize and motivate the top actors in their fields to come together to prevent…
Obsolescence: Too Soon or Not Soon Enough?
February 26, 2014
It is strange how onboarding the concept of legacy sustainment can change the way you look at the world around you. On a recent road trip along one of the nation’s many two-lane highways, I found myself wondering about the thousands upon thousands of wooden utility poles dotting the landscape. How often are they repaired?…