Overcoming Component Obsolescence

".....The forecast for production is bleak; a key component is no longer available. Your internet searches have found only 120 of the required components and they cost ten times the original price of seven years ago. Several other components in the product are already 'equivalents' and they do not fit the PCB properly. With no further supply, production will stop in about three months".....does this sound familiar?....

There are a large number of companies, especially SMEs, sometimes in a small niche market and perhaps with an eclectic mix of products, for whom this is not an unusual story. These companies do not have the benefit of global sourcing and cannot influence the component manufacturers and distributors like the large corporates with their mighty purchasing power.

There is no easy answer to this problem. However, there are certain things that can make the difference between a long and successful product life and a product that dies a sudden death. Likewise, good old long-running products can have new life breathed into them, fairly simply and cost-effectively.

Design for Obsolescence

The year the product was designed will dictate many of the problems. Many modern components have a short lifecycle. It is not unknown for a component to be obsolete before the product is developed - especially in defence markets where the development time may be years rather than months.

A 20 year old medical device may have different issues where components that are so-called 'equivalents' are no longer made to the original manufacturing process, with the new ‘modern' process causing different device characteristics.

Obsolescence is a constant challenge for any producer. In the case of companies operating in the medical or defence field it can be very costly as these products will have been subjected to rigorous and expensive approval procedures.

For a medical product, the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) rules are such that any major changes due to new components means a re-submission for FDA approval as well as other costly regulatory approvals......not a prospect that any company would relish.

When a component is taken off the market, one is faced with having specialist manufacture of the device or a lifetime buy of the component. Sometimes the original design team or consultants are not available. On many occasions the original design knowledge is lost and only meagre records are available to work with, requiring a level of deep understanding that is sometimes lost in today's world of highly functional chips and application notes. And physical issues arise where component shapes and forms change, possibly requiring a PCB re-lay.

For the business this means cash-hungry high stock levels and frustration. It can result in products being cut dead whilst there is still an active and buoyant market and possibly a gap in the product offering.

These are all good reasons to take action, but what should this include?

You could plan a new product launch, kill the old product and ditch the hassle - a good but potentially expensive route.

Or, create a revamped product, with some of the features the client and sales have stiplulated, that could also cost less and possibly sell at a higher price, or in a new market due to additional features.

This is an excellent approach, especially if the changes are in such a way as to be reusable in the future with little or no risk of obsolescence. Add to this the well-researched product and technology roadmaps that identify and mitigate some of the obsolescence risk areas and future products suffer less. This way, with fast moving product lifecycles, you can stay ahead of the game and have several small launches with relatively minor changes.

These ideas may seem like pie in the sky but, if we ask the right questions and get some good answers, it is possible to create a strategy where risk areas are identified and incorporated into the product in a way that will cause the least impact if obsolescence issues arise. Obsolescence can be used as a tool to trigger an opportunity for improvement if we are prepared for it.

If dubious components are on the radar, then make them modules or daughter boards. Use a product roadmap to know where the product will end up and the low risk devices can then be built onto larger PCBs. If possible, make technology 'footprints' that can be re-used with the next generation of product.

For example: take a long running medical device used in patient monitoring.

An analogue colour display became obsolete and needed to be replaced with a digital display. The main issue was the change of signals that could drive a high speed LCD display of different resolution. Signal conversion needed to be studied and tested. Old information had to be retrieved to reduce the reverse engineering work.

One of the key requirements was to produce this as a 'module' in order to reduce the approval costs for the overall system, but also to support existing units out in the field and create a sales opportunity for an upgrade.

By outsourcing the development requirements, the company was able to overcome obsolescence, incorporate additional functionality into the product and reduce costs. The product's lifespan was extended and its profitability increased. The 'old' product, which may well have otherwise come to the end of its life, can now probably enjoy a further five years in the marketplace, with the additional upgrade sales opportunity potentially paying for the development costs.

In summary, create a product and technology roadmap so you can identify and manage your obsolescence risks with a clear strategy. Essential to the success of a product is maintaining a close association with the product's original or designated design, purchasing and manufacturing teams, which will allow for most obsolescence issues to be addressed.

This article was first published in Electronics Weekly magazine, 5th July 2006

Mike Lloyd is the Managing Director of ML Electronics

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Overcoming Component Obsolescence