cEDM WORKSHOP # 30

Smart products that build-up the Internet of Things are often highly innovative and mandate a short time-to-market. A traditional product development approach applying experience based (conservative) design rules and extensive qualification tests is obsolete. A high level of predictive power regarding manufacturability, supply chain readiness, quality and reliability, cost, etc. is demanded from an agile New Product Introduction methodology for Smart Products. Geert Willems, imec, will present the basic elements of a Predictive NPI approach as well as its practical implementation.

Short time-to-market for new products and rapid scale-up of production, keeping product cost low and quality high, are especially challenging for a startup company. To accomplish this allóra Factory works intensively together with imec’s, Center of Electronics Design & Manufacturing (cEDM) from imec. Tom De Ryck will present allóra Factory’s NPI process and how they leverage the cEDM offering.

To transform a Smart Product idea into a prototype and industrial product rapidly one needs to know the manufacturing capabilities. Involving manufacturing knowledge and experience is imperative. Eurocircuits, a local prototype Printed Circuit Board supplier, introduced the philosophy of “The Optimum Design Flow” and offers its online “Smart Menus”, “DRC-“ and “DFM functionality” for this purpose. Dirk Stans will explain how these tools facilitate the rapid, low cost production of prototypes “Right First Time” within budget and on time.

From the perspective of an internationally operating OEM company, Lena Eeckhout, Barco, will elaborate further on the challenges of matching electronic product design to the capabilities of multiple manufacturing suppliers. She will explain on how the concept of the “Printed Board Assembly (PBA) passport” opens the doors to an international supply chain.

 Workshop 30