Delivery

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No matter what type of product you're building, timely delivery of every component is critical. Even missing one part can bring an entire production to a grinding halt.

Here are some signs you might have a delivery problem on your hands:

• You're not receiving delivery confirmations from your suppliers.
• There's been an increase in variability with delivery times and/or missed commitments in terms of the delivery date.
• You don't receive responses quickly (or at all) when you inquire about missed or late deliveries.

If this sounds familiar, we can help.

Obsolescence

Obsolescence happens when a part you use in your product design is no longer being made. If you manufacture a product long enough, you'll almost certainly run into obsolescence at some point. Suppliers should get you this information as soon as it's available so you can have enough time to come up with solutions before you're in a bind but, unfortunately, this doesn't always happen.

You might be facing obsolescence-based problems if:

• You're in the middle of building a product and your supplier suddenly announces a part is no longer available.
• There has been a noticeable increase in the lead times associated with a particular component.
• You're seeing an uptick in the prices of subcomponents that get passed on as a price increase for assembled parts.

Are you worried that one of your critical parts is becoming obsolete? We can help.

Quality

Quality refers to how well a part conforms to its design specifications. In other words, components are intended to work within certain tolerances, under certain conditions, for a certain lifespan. When they fail to fulfill those expectations, you have a quality problem.

The quality of your product might be suffering if you notice the following:

• An increase in out-of-the-box failures, which show up on your assembly line. This might look like a part that's visibly damaged, or a part that's been assembled into your product - then later is discovered to be incorrect.
• An increase in field failures, which are even more problematic for your business. These often show up once a product has been shipped to the end user, and then doesn't work or stops working long before its life cycle should be over.

Are you experiencing these symptoms of quality problems? We can get you back on track!

Performance

Performance refers to the initial setting of the design specification for the product, and is different from quality. A product's performance suffers when its design fails to contain all the functions and features the end user needs. It's important to stay on top of performance issues, so you don't end up lagging in the market.

Here are two major signs that you have problems in this area:

• You're regularly hearing feedback from dissatisfied customers, which indicates your product should be better designed to meet their expectations.
• Your competition's product has more features than yours does, which points toward a performance gap.

Struggling with performance? We can help you get your competitive advantage back.

Cost

Cost might be the last reason a manufacturer thinks about change, but it's still an important factor. Keep in mind that the cost of your product is more than the sum of the components and labor that go into it. It also includes the indirect infrastructure supporting the labor and material management.

You might have a cost problem if:

• Your supplier has made an unexpected pricing increase.
• You encounter market resistance (this could suggest you've been paying too much from the beginning, and are consequently charging too much for your product).
• Your profitability has been slipping.

Running into any of these cost-related obstacles? Reach out to us to find out how you can get past them.

Selecting the Best LCD Display For Your Product

The first question to ask when looking for the best LCD when designing a new product is, 'Do I want a color or a monochrome display?'

Product Design and Development is excited to present a six-part series from Focus Display Solutions of Chandler, AZ ( focuslcds.com). The series will provide non-technical insights into why products such as cell phones use a color display, and other instruments, such as a blood pressure monitor, use 20-year-old non-color monochrome technology.

This series will cover terms such as half-life, power budget, NRE, transflective and others, and address the different LCD module options available when selecting a display for your product by being broken down into the following parts:

1. Which color LCD technology is the best LCD for your application?
2. Which monochrome (non-color) technology is the best LCD for my application?
3. Do I need a backlight and what type?
4. What temperatures will this display operate in?
5. Do I want a standard off-the-shelf display or a custom?
6. What LCD module to use if I have limited power for my display?

What is the Best LCD for My Application?

When choosing between a color LCD display and a monochrome display, there are several variables to consider when searching for 'the best LCD' for your product. These include cost, EOL (end-of-life), power consumption, ability to customize, and appearance or perception of your product.

End of Life is when the product is no longer manufactured. Once a product is discontinued it then becomes Legacy.

The world is in color so why don't all new products use color displays? After all, nobody watches black and white TV anymore.

Users have come to expect color displays in all of the products they purchase because the appearance of a color display sets certain products apart from those which use the old monochrome technology.

Three of the mainstream color LCD technologies currently in use are TFT, OLED and now FSC. Even though TFT and OLED are not 'technically an LCD' they are commonly referred to a LCD. My goal is to help the OEMs understand and decide which display is the best LCD for their product and will appeal the most to their end customer.

TFT vs. OLED

The best way to introduce these two types of displays is to compare them side-by-side and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Please keep in mind that what is cutting edge today may be obsolete tomorrow, and some of the comparisons below are guaranteed to change in the next few years.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website LCD Panel Manufacturer.

TFTs (thin-film transistors) have been around for several years and control a large percentage of the color LCD market. Although this is the most popular color technology in use today, OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) looks like they will surpass TFT technology in the next few years.

TFTs and OLEDs can be seen in applications such as cell phones, laptop computers and digital cameras to name a few. Video and high resolution photos are also possible on both types.

Below are questions to ask yourself when choosing the display for your product.

WHAT TEMPERATURE RANGE DO I NEED THE DISPLAY TO WORK IN?

Winner: OLEDs

OLEDs operate at temperatures as low as -40ºC (-40ºF) and as high as 85ºC (185ºF).

TFTs perform poorly below -20ºC (-4ºF) and above +70ºC (158ºF).

WHICH TECHNOLOGY OFFERS THE LARGEST VARIETY OF SIZES?

Winner: TFT

The current size of TFTs ranges from .9' up to and exceeding 19.2'. Whereas OLEDs, range from .5' to 7.7' (Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7).

It is important to note that these sizes are not absolute. There are TFT and OLED displays that are larger than the sizes listed above, but they are not in mass production at this time.

When choosing the size of your display, keep in mind two major factors: the popularity of the size and the number of suppliers that manufacture that size.

Popular displays are LCDs that are manufactured in large quantities. The greater the popularity of the display:

• The less likely it will be discontinued in the near future.
• The lower the cost.

The greater the number of manufactures for a particular size:

• The lower the cost.
• The easier to second source.

WHICH DISPLAY IS THE BRIGHTEST?

Winner: OLED

OLED vs LCD

WHICH DISPLAY OFFERS THE LONGEST HALF-LIFE?

Winner: TFT

Half life is a measurement of how many hours of use before a display becomes half-as-bright as when it was first turned on.

The blue in the OLED has a half-life of 14,000 hours. This does not mean the display will burn out at that point, but will only be half-as-bright as when it was first turned on.

There is much research in progress to increase the number of hours.

Keep in mind that not all products require the display to be on 24×7 ßUnit of measure here?. Many products that require batteries, such as cell phones and digital cameras, only make use of the LCD for one to two hours a day. Many of these devices will be obsolete before the display reaches 14,000 hours.

WHICH DISPLAY HAS THE LOWEST POWER CONSUMPTION?

Winner: OLED (most of the time)

The exception to this is that the power consumption on an OLED for a white background is higher than a TFT.

WHICH OFFERS THE FASTER RESPONSE TIME?

Winner: OLED

OLED is estimated to be less than 0.01 mS (milliseconds), TFT is in the neighborhood of 15 mS

WHICH DISPLAY IS THINNER?

Winner: OLED

OLEDs are not only thinner but in the near future will be flexible.

WHICH IS THE LOWER COST DISPLAY?

Winner: TFT

TFTs cost less at this time, but the price difference continues to erode.

Selecting the Best LCD Summary:

TFT's have been around longer then OLEDs. This head start has allowed TFT manufacturers more time to dominate the market, offer more sizes, and lower the cost.

The OLED has a few technical set backs at this time, but as technology improves, many or all of these issues may go away.