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84 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2022 The True Savings of Owning Equipment We are not all Tesla. But even if you aren't, owning SMT equipment leads to a lower cost of manufacturing. With production in-house, you are no longer at the mercy of the excuses provided by subcontractors. You have con- trol over the raw materials that you choose to use, and you can be flexible in finding replace- ments if your first-choice content is not available. With high-quality machines and a small group of good employees, any business with some ingenuity will be able to achieve: • Flexibility of output levels • Quicker product turnaround • Ability to label as Made in America • Increased business with local customers Owning an assembly line can be game changing. If your product relies on surface mount technology, an equipment line will help with your bottom line and your inven- tory levels. Instead of money going toward subcontractors, fees, and inflated rates, you will only be paying for your materials and labor. According to an article by Tom Beck titled, "Bringing Your SMT Assembly In- House: Case Studies of Its Effects on Lead Time, Inventory, Quality, and Overall Cost," you can save an average of 35–40% by choos- ing to do your own assembly. Owning Equipment as a Growing Business As an example, the aquarium supply com- pany CoralVue Inc., recently moved its pro- Figure 2: Rework alignment taking place, shown on a PCB. Figure 3: A series of graphs demonstrating a 40% difference between in-house and outsourced production costs.