After a proof of concept is complete and the prototype satisfies all metrics, the difficult stage of electronic device development is seemingly over. Unfortunately, manufacturing can be a complex series of processes, approvals, and adjustments to fine-tune the design for performance and profitability while meeting tight budget and ship date goals. NPI manufacturing addresses the potential challenges design teams may face when bridging concept and consumer devices.
| Comparing NPI Manufacturing and Traditional Manufacturing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Fluidity | Time Requirements | Manufacturability | Per-board costs | |
| NPI | High | High | Varies | Moderate |
| Traditional | Low | N/A | High | Low |
What’s So Challenging About NPI Manufacturing?
NPI manufacturing differs from more traditional modes of production due to time sensitivity and market-demand pressures. While all products begin life as NPIs, the increasing pace of technological innovation and consumer demand for the latest and greatest devices have accelerated product lifecycles. These changing patterns mean that new products require more constant revisions (or replacements) than in the past, furthering the importance of a strong NPI strategy during development.
While consumers welcome better performance, functionality, and expanded features in their devices, manufacturers understand that any new production can be fragile due to its iterative nature. Simply put, many devices with narrow marketability and consumer confidence windows cannot survive unnecessary revisions, especially after reaching the market. The guiding mantra is a right-the-first-time (RTFT) design strategy that anticipates potential design and manufacturing challenges, bottlenecks, and other issues that can cause budgets and timeline overruns that imperil profitability. Some common factors contributing to production delays include:
- Sourced components – Procurement is necessary early in product development to assure that the production run has the essential resources and that they are on-site promptly. The issue for the designer is multifold: designs are often semi-malleable early in the process, per-unit quantities may be prohibitively expensive without large quantity orders, component supply (availability, turnaround time, etc.) can be challenging to diagnose, and becoming over-reliant on particular components rather than multiple similar chips can lead to delays or costly shifts later in the development cycle.
- Quality issues – Designers should know early in the development cycle the minimum design and manufacturing quality goals their device must achieve for safe field operation. General consumer devices – televisions, computers, entertainment devices, toys, etc. – do not need to meet the same reliability standards as medical or aerospace equipment. However, even consumer devices have minimum reliability requirements, and designers should incorporate these rulesets as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delays stemming from revisions or manufacturing issues.
However, NPI manufacturing offers tremendous advantages when adequately leveraged. With a clear vision at the outset of the design process, product development accelerates and breezes through many of the traditional stumbling blocks of PCB manufacturing:
- Reduced development costs – Working with a high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) manufacturer improves the flexibility of the design from the outset. Designers aren’t pressured into exorbitant productions necessary for a high-volume manufacturer’s feasibility and can focus on the various design iterations between the proof-of-concept and finalized board. HMLV can better adapt changes, updates, revisions, and validation in production to ensure the board meets its stated design intent without compromising target reliability and quality. Furthermore, multiple product numbers that utilize different components of equivalent functions guard against supply chain issues while providing an avenue for future cost reductions without additional revisions.
- Faster time-to-market – NPI is a subset of agile manufacturing that improves responsiveness to market forces. A well-planned NPI will avoid delays on the back end of manufacturing owing to manufacturability concerns.
The NPI Workflow
Consider an overview of how a typical NPI project workflow will proceed:
Design
Proper NPI collaboration requires a DFM approach as soon as possible. After receiving and reviewing the design files, the manufacturer offers general and specific critiques to improve the design’s manufacturability without sacrificing its intent. The NPI will also need to focus on additional materials necessary for the production, such as the bill of materials (BOM), test fixtures, enclosures/wire harnesses/box builds, and other ancillary elements that support the final design shipped to consumers.
Preparation
For a seamless DFM transition, manufacturers will stage the various elements of board fabrication, such as CAD/CAM drawings, determine the panelization for maximum board production, and provide a rough manufacturing schedule.
Build
After finalizing the design and making all necessary preparations, manufacturers complete a sample run to check for in-circuit performance and overall process quality. The initial goal is to assure repeatability of the board product for mass production and more modest lot sizes. After validating all documentation, the design, and processes, the NPI is finally ready for its first full-production run.
Your Contract Manufacturer Has an Eye for NPI
NPI manufacturing encounters significantly different pressures from typical manufacturing; however, the end goal is the same: a PCB that meets its design intent and quality requirements for safe and long-lasting operation. Designers new to PCB manufacturing may be initially overwhelmed by the scope of these processes to ensure a smooth workflow to the final board. At VSE, we’re here to help. Our engineers are committed to building electronics for our customers, including a thorough design review and markup that preserves performance while enhancing manufacturability. We’ve been realizing life-saving and life-changing devices for over forty years with our valued manufacturing partners.
