-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueOpportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
Manufacturing Know-how
For this issue, we asked our expert contributors to share their thoughts on the absolute “must-know” aspects of fab, assembly and test that all designers should understand. In the end, we’re all in this together.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
The Reality of Regulated Manufacturing
April 12, 2022 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Nolan Johnson speaks with Ryan Bonner, CEO of DEFCERT, about government regulations for data and cybersecurity. A key component of moving to a digital factory will be to ensure security of the data required to operate a digital factory, and most importantly, customer design data.
Nolan Johnson: Ryan, what does DEFCERT do?
Ryan Bonner: We’re a compliance consulting organization working mostly in regulated manufacturing spaces.
Johnson: Can you explain that?
Bonner: A regulated manufacturing space is anywhere you have regulations attached to data. When manufacturers produce goods or perform a service or process in the larger supply chain, sometimes the data that’s associated with that work is regulated. In our case, it’s mostly federally regulated. We work with organizations when they receive seemingly innocuous data that they’ve produced in similar fashion for other clients over the years, but now there are extra strings attached in the form of regulations. Those show up in different ways, but we must identify newer or better strategies for manufacturers to not only use and consume that data but also to safeguard it.
Johnson: Great. Do you work only with electronics manufacturing or is your scope wider than that?
Bonner: It is a wider scope. There are certain industries that are hot right now. The semiconductor and printed circuit board industries are certainly important because of an extreme national interest in reshoring those capabilities. We also work with other manufacturers producing more traditional finished goods like vehicle systems and aerospace applications.
Johnson: Could you compare what you see from DEFCERT’s perspective with respect to the state of the PCB manufacturing industry for DEFCERT compared to semiconductor, and compared to more general manufacturing?
Bonner: Being an outsider, I see that the PCB manufacturing industry moved its expertise and capabilities offshore because of the incentives to do it. You could do strong design work here and leave the manufacturing to someone else. But in other parts of the manufacturing verticals in the United States, there was always something holding the fit, finish, or the overall finished good itself domestically. Maybe it was assembly or prototyping, testing and trialing, or something else. The amount of manufacturing expertise and scalability that has left the PCB industry and now needs to be reclaimed, which is equally important, is a bigger shift than we see in other parts of the manufacturing base in the U.S.
Johnson: That’s an interesting point. What we call a finished piece is actually a sub-assembly. A U.S.-based consumer electronics or appliance company making washing machines, let’s say, will see the printed circuit board as a sub-assembly, while we see it as the finished product, To the OEM, it’s just a component of the product that was moved to offshore sourcing.
Bonner: Absolutely. As cyber-physical systems and integrated systems move into almost every arena of traditional products throughout the consumer and commercial and government space, we’re realizing that chipsets are in everything now. It’s not a localized or centralized function or capability.
It’s interesting to plot the lines of that trajectory. When we want capability, we don’t add it with a smoother surface, a better springload, or rate; we do it with computed capability and real-time information. If we want to keep building capability and subsequently competitive advantage, we must include computing horsepower in almost every application. The increased dependence on chipsets, especially distributed chipsets, embedded systems, and cyber physical systems, is apparent.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the April 2022 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Cogiscan Collaborates with Koh Young to Unveil How Factory Insights Software Transforms Data Into Action at IPC APEX EXPO
03/28/2024 | Koh YoungKoh Young, the industry leader in True3D measurement-based inspection solutions, is excited to announce Factory Insights, the latest offering from Cogiscan, will be demonstrated alongside KSMART in Koh Young booth 2112 during IPC APEX Expo.
ASMC 2024 to Showcase AI, Smart Manufacturing and Sustainability to Advance Chip Industry Manufacturing Expertise
03/27/2024 | SEMIMore than 125 experts will offer insights into the latest semiconductor manufacturing strategies and methodologies as hundreds of industry stakeholders gather at the 35th annual SEMI Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC 2024), May 13-16 in Albany, New York.
NextFlex Announces $5M Education Fundraising Effort: First Spotlight - Transforming the Landscape for Women in Technology
03/27/2024 | BUSINESS WIRENextFlex Learning Programs, the education-focused arm of the NextFlex® Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, announces its first spotlight effort, “NextFlex Supports Women in STEM” to increase the number of women in STEM fields, which could accelerate U.S. GDP growth by boosting women’s cumulative earnings by $299B and adding $5.9T to the global stock market within 10 years according to S&P Global.
Don Dennison Appointed to Roll Out KIC’s Latest Thermal Analysis System Software in the Northeast
03/26/2024 | KICKIC, a renowned pioneer in thermal process and temperature measurement solutions for electronics manufacturing, is pleased to announce the appointment of PIT Equipment Services, LLC, led by Don Dennison, as its representative for New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania.
ACDi Takes Milestone Delivery of the 23,000th Koh Young Machine
03/26/2024 | ACDiAccording to ACDi (American Computer Development, Inc.), “Flexible, reliable, and equipped to keep your project on schedule, is what you need as an electronics manufacturing services partner.”