-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Growing Industry
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we talk with leading economic experts, advocacy specialists in Washington, D.C., and PCB company leadership to get a well-rounded picture of what’s happening in the industry today. Don’t miss it.
The Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
'Can Do' in CAM Outsourcing: A Case for Outsourcing CAM Engineering
April 29, 2016 | Mehul J. Davé, Entelechy Global Inc.Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of columns on CAM outsourcing.
In the West, outsourcing is sometimes considered taboo and many believe it is one of the causes for shifting our manufacturing base to the East—specifically China and other lower cost Asian countries. In this series of columns, I will make a case in support of CAM outsourcing—especially for North American and Western European printed circuit board manufacturers.
As volume production in PCBs has shifted significantly to Asia, manufacturers in Europe and North America have been focusing on high technology, quick-turn, prototype, and lower volume production. As a result, most are producing a much larger number of parts, placing a very high burden on their front-end processes. The need for more capacity in technical sales, responses to higher volume of requests for quotes, and CAM operators who must cope with large part numbers is very real. Many companies struggle to hire and keep the talent required to keep up with demand. This is exactly where outsourcing of CAM and related front-end work can actually help a struggling manufacturer not only stay in business, but thrive.
There are six critical ways in which a company can significantly benefit from outsourcing. These are:
- Increased on-demand capacity
- Improved automation
- Fast turn-around
- Reduced costs
- Improved quality
- Ability to build redundancy in critical areas
I will delve deeper into each of these six areas of benefits, which are real and have been realized by many European and U.S. PCB manufacturers that have embraced outsourcing as a critical competitive advantage.
Let’s take a look at the first benefit one can achieve with front-end outsourcing.
On-Demand Capacity
Fluctuation in front-end engineering varies significantly in the PCB industry. The ability to off-load surges, help manage off-shift workload and over-time work can be a godsend for many companies that are trying to manage with a minimal full-time engineering staff. This is where CAM outsourcing is an ideal solution. You can simply send jobs at the end of your afternoon shift and have your off-site team working on them while you sleep. The jobs can be ready and waiting for you when you come in the next morning, ready to put to the shop floor.
Companies are reluctant to add permanent headcount to manage surges and off-shift capacity. Finding and keeping productive engineering talent on second and third shifts is close to impossible. This is where the time-shift of your off-site outsourcing team is a real benefit. Your second and third shifts are their primary shift. Some of the best talent can be deployed at off hours giving you not only the ability to off-load work, but also get access to highly skilled engineers.
Many companies that have successfully deployed off-site team members have been able to free up their internal engineering resources to work on more value-added activities. They can join the sales team and become highly effective technical sales people. Today’s higher technology demands a closer working relationship with your customers—especially in the early stages of an engagement. Highly qualified front-end engineers can be invaluable in helping bridge that gap while the heavy lifting of dealing with the orders once they come in can be managed by the off-site team.
In summary, the ability to manage on-demand capacity through outsourcing can bring many benefits:
- Ability to keep up with surges, off-shift, and overtime work
- Decreased need to add permanent headcount to manage workload surges
- Opportunities to take advantage of the time-shift of your off-site outsourced team
- Critical engineering resources are freed up to help generate more sales and interact with customers on technical sales
- Business can grow with scalable front-end engineering resources to fulfill your changing requirements.
Mehul J. Davé is CEO of Entelechy Global Inc.
Suggested Items
Indium Experts to Present at Electronics in Harsh Environments SMTA Conference
05/13/2024 | Indium Corporationndium Corporation Technical Manager for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Karthik Vijay, will deliver a technical presentation and Indium Corporation Senior Technologist, Dr. Ronald Lasky, will deliver both a workshop and technical presentation at the Electronics in Harsh Environments SMTA Conference on May 14-16 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Emerald Technologies Acquires Optimum
05/13/2024 | Emerald TechnologiesEmerald Technologies announced its acquisition of Optimum Design Associates, Inc. (Optimum), a leading electronic design and engineering services company. Terms were not disclosed.
All Flex Solutions Hires Mike Madetzke as Manager of R&D
05/08/2024 | All Flex SolutionsAll Flex Solutions is very pleased to announce that Mike Madetzke has joined their team as their new Manager of Research and Development.
Coherix Partners with EMU on 'Factory of the Future' Technology Program
05/08/2024 | PRNewswireMichigan-based Coherix is working with Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti to develop "factory-of-the-future" manufacturing and assembly technology.
Indium Corporation Expert to Present on Pb-Free Solder for Die-Attach in Discrete Power Applications
04/30/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation Product Manager – Semiconductor Dean Payne will present at the Advanced Packaging for Power Electronics conference, hosted by IMAPS, held May 8-9 in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA.