Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1111672
MAY 2019 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 41 been working with Sunstone since we started Screaming Circuits, and that level of under- standing allows both of us to focus on what each of us is good at. We are so well integrated that the risk of miscommunication is signifi- cantly reduced. Johnson: You've used the word "on-demand," but you've also described production as a forecasted model. Communication is the one theme across it all. Does it look different in a forecasted model? Benson: Inside of the company that we're build- ing the boards for, they have meetings about reducing the forecast, increasing the forecast, and component availability. That's all going on in conversations at the company; they're not necessarily communicating that to us. We have a schedule that they gave us two months ago, so we build to that schedule. All of a sudden, they may call us and say, "We can't take any more product this month. You've already sent us too much." If we had known that two weeks ago when they made the decision, we could have planned for it. Or we may end up asking, "What do you want us to do? We can't find this com- ponent anywhere." They've already decided some time ago that there was a good substi- tute. But if they don't communicate that to us, we don't know what to do. We don't know what's in their heads, but we're building based on the assumption that we do. Johnson: Let's drill down on that. You talked about communica- tion, and between the two—on- demand versus forecast mod- els—does it come down to BOM management? Benson: Most people think of the design files as being the CAD files—the schematic and layout. And of course, you can't build it without an accurate layout. But the BOM is the single most impor- tant file in this entire setup that has all of the information about the components; it matches the components to the boards, which is where the brainpower is needed. The process of cre- ating the circuit board is about translating a file to board material with precise process control. Adding the parts to it is where there is a higher risk for ambiguity and things not matching up; thus, it requires a transfer of information from somebody's head to somebody else's head. Johnson: Designers think of the PCB as being the central part. But by the time you get to assembly, the board is simply a line item in the BOM, even though it happens to be applica- tion-specific compared to some of the others. Benson: You could look at it that way. If you want to make an analogy about something in the real world, we can use the highway system and transportation, for example. The construc- tion of the highway is critical. It has to be safe and go to the right place, but what happens on it—all of the traffic and variables, such as dif- ferent vehicles and people driving too fast or slow—that's the BOM. Johnson: With Milwaukee Electronics and Screaming Circuits, what assistance or services you can provide that your customers seem to overlook? What ends up being underutilized? 3D X-ray.