| I am looking for a questionaire/list of items that need to be addressed to determine the pros/cons and equipment, manpower, cost and lead time to determine if one should consider setting up an in-house SMT line. | Can anyone help? | thanks | | Let your business plan be your starting point. Labor, material, and overhead costs nearly always run between 18 to 22% each - give or take a few points. If your current G&A is established, it will change with additional management manpower appropriate with the organization's size and growth plans.
Simply evaluating and qualifying equipment and tools is not a simple task. Just look at this forum's history. It is scattered with questions concerning which equipment is best for what job or how does one process compare with another. There are still Ford and Chevy fans for almost anything. Just try to pick between what is offered at very serious prices. Not only that, just try to decide on support processes and tools.
The virtual corporation is thriving in the commercial world just as it once did in the military/aerospace community some years back. The reasons for this are many, but the single significant factor is each business type realizing and doing what it does best. If you are good at designing something, it often is best to sub-contract manufacturing - as an example.
Looking at the electronics industry, you see evidence everywhere about large companies (especially) becoming less vertically integrated. Look at IBM and Hewlett Packard and how they have sold off most of their manufacturing operations to who but large turnkey/contract assembly manufacturers who now do their work.
Setting up an internal manufacturing operation, where one does not currently exist, is a major undertaking. This is not just an issue concerning facilities and equipment, but a whole new philosophy. For serious SMT (you did not say your needs as product type, quantities, throughput requirements, etc.), serious investment is required. For prototyping, less money is required but, with today's high tech/density designs, equipment must be sophisticated. This is true notwithstanding personnel requirements. People who engineer, maintain, and operate SMT lines must be considered highly professional.
Your return on investment may be formulated partly by comparing your projected internal costs with what it would cost to have qualified turnkey/contract assembly capabilities do your work. Plus, they assume many of the risks as material, labor, and overhead in addition to carrying the inventory. Initial ROI numbers may look attractive for a captive capability, but may not always paint the entire picture.
I just finished a contract with a company going opposite current industry trends. They recently installed two new SMT lines. Part of their needs were based on product type. First, they needed sophisticated prototyping capabilities for sophisticated designs and product. Second, they design and build IPC Class 3 product with FAA auditors dropping by more often than not. Without an effective quality system (ISO, TQM, or?), they feel they can better control their destiny and product quality by having it all in house. This issues will be interesting to watch develop.
For some valuable information, look to IPC's TMRC and AMRC. These councils provide considerable input to those seeking to write and implement more effective business plans for fabrication and assembly operations.
Earl Moon
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I am looking for a questionaire/list of items that need to...
- Dec 28, 1998
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