The introduction of modern support contracts, where the supplier has the financial responsibility to support his product, has resulted in some of the age old techniques for obsolescence management becoming economically unviable.

High cost solutions, such as board re-design, which were very popular when the customer was paying, are now often consigned to the back seat as budgets and profit margins are even more carefully considered.

In addition it is not only the direct cost of re-design which is important. With some form of equipment availability embedded into most support contracts, the time to produce solutions is becoming more and more critical as failure to supply also comes with its own financial penalties.

One area where the need to re-design has been replaced by more innovative solutions has been in the replacement of ASICs.

As most of the functionality of these devices can be replicated by FPGAs, PLCs and the like these can be used to provide very cost effective replacements without the need to fully re-design the motherboard. Even when voltages have to change or program storage devices have to be introduced, solutions can be fabricated which are space and interface compatible with the original component. These form, fit and function replacements not only remove the high costs associated with re-design but significantly reduce the cost of regression testing and re-qualification of the product.

Winslow Adaptics have a great deal of experience in working alongside equipment manufacturers who have had to replace their now obsolete ASIC devices.

A number of successful projects have been completed over the years the later ones becoming highly complex but still suitable to the technique. This experience shows that it is not only the adapter which makes the project a technical and commercial success but the development and production of the testing system which will prove not only the device in stand alone mode but as an integral component in the overall system, thus coping with the physical environment, particularly available space, of the equipment.

In many cases where this scheme has been used to mitigate obsolescence problems the opportunity has been taken by the equipment manufacturer to change or improve functionality thus proving an upgraded module without the need for costly re-design.

Financial stress

But how can techniques like this assist during times of financial stress? It is an unfortunate fact that in times like these there are inevitable cuts within companies and one of the first areas to be affected tends to be Research and Development. However, for companies to survive these times and come out the other end in a healthy state, the basic business model must still be followed; produce products that people want at a highly competitive price.

Companies who can achieve this by producing lower cost items with a high perceived value while remaining responsive to customer aspirations will be achieving the margins required to remain successful.

This can only be achieved by continuous product development incorporating improvements which can be developed easily with a short time to market. The use of ASIC type replacement projects, with their accompanying test and development tools is a method of achieving these goals. Improvements can be isolated and developed using well established tools, test both on and off the product and introduced with comparative ease. This will enable the product to develop throughout its life at a far reduced cost as compared with the historical methodologies of re-design and or technology insertion.

In a time when cost reductions are on the tip of everyone's tongue this sort of technique can facilitate those savings where new designs are being undertaken. An area where good savings can be made is the reduction of the layer count in the main printed circuit board. When most designs are examined, it can be seen that there are small areas of high route density and historically it is this density which has defined the overall layer count of the printed circuit board. These areas are normally the result of the use of small high pin count components and their associated support. I/Os into these areas tend to be lower in number and the rest of the printed circuit board can be accommodated at a much lower layer count.

Winslow Adaptics have developed MATRICs modules which provide such a solution. Not only can the areas of high density be removed from the main board onto a much smaller and far more cost effective solution, they also tend to be those areas affected by future upgrades, the MATRICs solution becomes the modern day equivalent of a highly complex but easily changed ASIC.

Solutions like this are not only one of the means by which cost savings can be introduced to the current design but, with an eye to the future, in a world when the period between changes is decreasing the future ongoing costs of the product will be also affected favourably.

Recession can almost be classed as another form of obsolescence. We have learnt to deal with the lack of components, resources, skills and man-power and now we have to learn with the lack of funding.

Winslow Adaptics | www.winslowadaptics.com

Alan Baker is Product Development Manager at Winslow Adaptics

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