Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1478618
SEPTEMBER 2022 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 13 Dack: Practical packaging density plus starts at the front-end of the projects, with the indus- trial engineers. is has been part of the prob- lem—there's a sweet spot for product size. at sweet spot used to be, "Just shrink it, and make it as small as possible. e smaller our product, the more we're going to sell." But then it went in reverse when it became ergonomically challenging. For instance, the smart wristwatch products began to swell in size and utilize more of the larger OLED screens. at gave us more room to design in more manufacturability to the product. Matties: Are the industrial designers more aware of this now and taking that into consider- ation because they understand the shortages? Dack: I'm not sure. I don't think it comes in at that point. e realization that a PCB design is too dense happens when mechanical engi- neering forwards the PCB outline to the elec- trical engineering department, and a feasibility study is done with the given amount of board area. At that point, we typically find that the parts we selected won't fit on the board and we have to go back through the process again. Shaughnessy: Is somebody buying up all the components during the course of the design? I've heard of OEMs blaming Tesla and NVIDIA for hoarding capacitors, but isn't it smart to be prepared? Dack: Funny you mention that. I just talked to one of our component engineers, and he's seeing a lot of parts being bought up. I asked him if the term "hoarding" was appropriate. Well, it might not be explained like that, but if the parts are found, they're being snatched up and reserved. Matties: Yes. I expect that some stockpiling is going on. Dack: is is a really dynamic problem. It would be "project suicidal" to spec in a part that's not available. at's not what we do. e problem is that months in advance, during the concept feasibility stage, a customer has prototyped with parts that are available in prototype quan- tities. When it goes to volume, now those parts in volume quantities aren't available. Matties: When do you think this starts to resolve, Kelly? Are we talking a year or two down the road, or more? Dack: e numbers that I've seen show that 2023 still looks very bad. ere's still a logjam in the ports. But even when the logjam is alle- viated and the parts become available in mass quantities, it will be too late for a lot of projects. ese projects will either have been canceled or some other technology will have replaced the first-choice technology. ere was a story I heard recently: People are finally getting their parts delivered and then saying, "We don't need them anymore." I understand that Ama- zon is telling them, "Just keep the parts. Don't even ship them back to us," because they're having challenges restocking right now. Shaughnessy: Right. ey'll even refund your money, but they don't want the parts back. Matties: is is becoming common practice. But there's going to be a good surplus market for that stuff. Dack: Yes, there will. But right now, it's about having awareness up front, being tied in with the sources, and that's huge. Our component engineers and purchasing are definitely tied in, The numbers that I've seen show that 2023 still looks very bad. There's still a logjam in the ports.