san diego Archives - Means Engineering, Inc.

Turning Ideas Into Functioning Products

February 1, 2019 By cscheafer

Companies today are under a lot of pressure to create high quality electronic products. Modern day consumers expect more features and options than ever before. In order to be successful, companies need to keep up with their competition. This means developing new products at an alarming rate.

It’s not enough to simply have good ideas. You need to be able to turn those ideas into functioning products. Unfortunately, many companies find this difficult.

Once they begin the development process they find themselves in an abyss of complicated regulations and manufacturing challenges. At this point, they probably need some help. Partnering with a qualified contract manufacturer can help these businesses turn their ideas into reality.

Electrical and Mechanical Design

If possible, it’s a good idea to enlist the help of a contract manufacturer during the design process. This helps locate areas of your design that could benefit from improvement. This can significantly reduce the cost of production and improve the quality of the finished product.

A contract manufacturer acts as your partner throughout the design process, providing you with knowledge backed by years of experience. This is perhaps the biggest benefit of working with a contract manufacturer.

Sometimes, small details get missed during the design process. These details could mean the difference between a functioning product and the need to start over. A contract manufacturer provides a second set of eyes for design plans, ensuring nothing gets missed.

Hardware Development

During hardware development, you move from simply talking about your product to creating the BOM, PCB layout, and mechanical parts. It’s important to fully test each component at this stage. This helps locate potential issues before you move into full scale production.

A contract manufacturer can help with testing of a wide range of parts and components.

Documentation

An often overlooked requirement, documentation is important for the maintenance of your design. Depending on the intended use of your finished product you might need a wide range of documentation including product manuals, start-up guides, and maintenance manuals. A contract manufacturer can help you determine the documents required for your specific product.

Procurement

It can be tempting to go with the cheapest option when procuring components. Unfortunately, many of these options are poor quality counterfeits. Using counterfeit components can negatively affect the quality of your finished product. It can also affect your compliance with industry regulations. It’s important to work with someone who understands the importance of using quality components.

Production

At this point, it’s a good idea to hand off your project to an experienced contract manufacturer. Means Engineering has years of experience working with a number of companies across a wide range of industries. We work directly with you throughout all parts of production to ensure high quality, reliable finished products.

Environmental Management Systems

October 27, 2017 By cscheafer

Environmental Management Systems

Technology is always changing. The electronics industry is under a lot of pressure to create new products. High demand combined with fierce competition in the industry has created a number of challenges for electronics manufacturers. Many electronics companies turn to questionable practices in an effort to save money. These practices often produce poor quality products.

Until recently, manufacturing practices have been based around improving efficiency and profitability, and environmental issues were seen as added costs. However, there is more pressure than ever before for electronics manufacturers to reduce their environmental impact. Fortunately, many manufacturers are learning the benefits of increased sustainability. Reducing environmental impact is good for both the manufacturer and the consumer.

What is an EMS?

An Environmental Management System (EMS) refers to the practices and processes used by an organization to reduce their environmental impact. An EMS is commonly used to decrease the impact of products, processes and services. An EMS can be designed in compliance with ISO 14001 standards. This ensures reduced environmental impact and increased product performance.

ISO 14001

There are a number of practices that can be used to improve efficiency and sustainability. Some of these practices are better than others. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed ISO 14001 to specify the international requirements for an EMS.

Sustainability is crucial to the electronics industry. ISO 14001 was specially designed to help businesses decrease their environmental impact. ISO certification helps consumers locate companies that are taking the necessary steps to ensure sustainability. ISO 14001 certified companies have proven they are doing all they can to reduce their organization’s impact on the environment.

Choosing a contract manufacturer

When choosing a contract manufacturer to work with, you should select a company that has strict quality control measures in place. ISO 14001 certification ensures the contract manufacturer has met the international Environmental Management System requirements. ISO 14001 is designed to help business owners become more aware of their impact on the environment.

Means Engineering, Inc. is an ISO 14001 certified contract manufacturer. This allows us to create high quality products while increasing sustainability of our products and practices.

Improving Electronic Assembly Processes

September 29, 2017 By cscheafer

Improving Electronic Assembly Processes

The electronics industry is always changing. New technologies become available at an alarming rate. It can be difficult for small to mid-size companies to keep up. Sometimes even larger companies find that they have room for improvement.

While changing your business processes might seem overwhelming at first, the benefits of doing so far outweigh the inconvenience. The following tips can help you improve your electronic assembly processes and make your business more successful.

Never Stop Improving

Many companies become overly comfortable with their processes and believe that their boards and designs are as good as they can get. However, when it comes to electronic assembly, there’s always room for improvement.

It can be extremely beneficial to team up with a respected contract manufacturer. These experienced professionals can look over your plans to locate areas that can be improved. Often times, these improvements will save you money and increase efficiency.

Never Settle For Less Than The Best

In order to stay competitive in the electronics industry, you need to speed up your assembly processes. New equipment and technology can help you reduce time to market without compromising on quality. Unfortunately, many companies don’t have the resources necessary to acquire and manage new equipment.

A good contract manufacturer will be up to date with all of the latest practices, technology and equipment. By working together, you can gain access to these things without having to obtain, store and manage them yourself.

Cut Down On Warranty Replacements

Warranty replacements can end up costing electronics companies a lot of money. It’s a much better idea to partner with a qualified contract manufacturer that is able to troubleshoot and make repairs to your products. Not only will this save you money, it will also increase customer confidence in your brand.

Means Engineering, Inc. provides reliable, high quality contract manufacturing services. We work with a wide range of industries. Our experienced team stays up to date with the latest practices and technology. Our stringent quality control measures ensure consistent quality of all parts produced. We are ISO 9001, AS 9100 and IOS 13485 certified.

Benefits of Residual Gas Analysis

August 25, 2017 By cscheafer

Benefits of Residual Gas Analysis

Residual Gas Analysis (RGA) is used to analyze and document gasses in a vacuum environment. Residual Gas Analyzers have been used in vacuum applications for over 25 years.

Outgassing of materials can negatively affect the assembly and performance of electronic components. RGA is an extremely effective way to monitor a vacuum system for contamination, outgassing and leaks. It also allows for the thorough analysis of gas species inside the vacuum system.

Parts of A Residual Gas Analyzer

An RGA contains an ion source, a mass analyzer and a detector. The ion source converts gas samples into ions. The mass analyzer then sorts the ions by their masses. Next, the detector measures the rate of flow of the charged particles. This process is extremely useful for the detection and quantification of contamination inside a vacuum system.

How A Vacuum System Works

A vacuum pump is used to remove air and other gasses from the vacuum chamber. This creates a low-pressure environment to conduct experiments or test mechanical devices that will be used in outer space. Vacuum chambers have multiple ports to allow for the installation of windows or instruments. These ports are covered with vacuum flanges.

A vacuum system effectively removes microscopic contaminants that might interfere with a process or equipment. A number of applications are commonly applied in a vacuum environment.

RGA As A Production Tool

When used as a production tool, an RGA can effectively increase productivity, throughput and product yield, while reducing costs. RGA is commonly used in research laboratories and manufacturing facilities all over the world.

An RGA is often used to locate contaminants in semiconductor processing systems, search for gasses desorbing off the walls of vacuum chambers and to check for possible leaks in vacuum furnaces.

Improving The Reliability of Electronics

The reliability of electronics is important for a number of industries including medical, aerospace and defense. It’s extremely important that electronic components operate for long periods of time. Unfortunately, these components often fail before they should. The best way to address this issue is with stringent quality control during the manufacturing process.

“Going Green” – What it Means for Electronics Manufacturing

August 18, 2017 By cscheafer

“Going Green” – What it Means for Electronics Manufacturing

“Going green” means to learn about and utilize practices that lead to environmentally friendly decisions with the ultimate intention of protecting our environment and our resources for future generations. Going green is becoming more and more important every day.

Improper Disposal of E-Waste Creates a Number of Environmental Problems

When electronic devices end up in our landfills, toxic substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium leach into our soil, eventually contaminating our groundwater. Electronic waste must be disposed of properly in order to protect our environment from these harmful substances.

The toxic materials found in electronic devices are not only harmful for our environment, but also for the workers creating these products. Green electronics manufacturing seeks to reduce the amount of harmful substances used in electronic devices, and the risks associated with them.

Challenges Faced By Electronics Manufacturers

Electronics manufacturers are now faced with the unique challenge of designing, developing, building and installing electronics while paying special attention to the product’s environmental impact throughout its entire lifecycle.

Manufacturing electronics creates a lot of waste. Electronics manufacturers are encouraged to reduce the amount of e-waste by designing products that minimize the amount of harmful substances used and by recycling and reusing as much as possible. Green manufacturing also includes the manufacture of products with longer lifecycles. This helps further reduce the amount of e-waste created by the electronics industry.

Green manufacturing focuses on reducing parts, rationing materials and reusing components. When done right, green manufacturing allows electronics manufacturers to create environmentally friendly products while maintaining the same quality and reliability of the electronics they produce.

Consumer Responsibility

More than twenty million tons of e-waste is produced every single year. The U.S. alone produces 3.4 million tons per year. Electronic waste makes up as much as 5% of the world’s municipal solid waste.

Consumers are encouraged to dispose of e-waste properly. Computers, cell phones and household electronics should never be disposed of with regular trash. Most cities have special waste management services to handle e-waste. It’s important to check local guidelines regarding the proper disposal of e-waste.