Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 31

StAnDArD rFQ to ProDUctIon-ProceSS metHoD

"Show and tell"
by CSR and sales
of similar devices

Initial customer contact (CSR or sales
staff only)
* Materials/function
* Tech spec/stack-up
* Tolerances
* ROM (rough order of magnitude) for
production scale

Note: Production risks are not usually
discussed at this point. This is a customer conference-building meeting.

Customer/CSR
meeting to
verify CAD and
device stack-up

Test device
fab'd again

Small sample printed
run for test

Device
returns to
design for
revision

$$
Repeat

Return sample
feedback from
customer
Revision
of design

Repeat

Customer quoted for initial costs for a
working hand-built circuit/device for
PoC; sign-off sets things in motion.

Research phase begins:
* Customer spec'd materials
are acquired
* Hand printing/fabrication of
first device starts

Device is
tested internally for
function

$$

New RFQ for limited
production

Single hand
sample and
test

2nd short
sample run
and test

At this point:
* Next series print run
must be made on
production equipment
* New product must have
100% inspection
* Suitable for end-use
trials

First meeting with input
from process design/
control

Product development print
run plan for production line
Product test and revision
Repeat until spec is
met (usually at the
printer's cost)

far enough to begin R&D printing?" Early in the design of a
product, such printing should come after an initial trial-anderror process of establishing the "proof of concept" (PoC).
In PoC, virtually any tool or method, including hand printing, can be used to find the best device configuration for
the materials to be used. This step is oriented to the functionality of the design. In the next stage, R&D printing, the
research should verify that the PoC design is robust, and the
development process of printing sample batches is designed
to check whether the equipment and printing process fit the
requirements of the job.
At least, that's how it should be. Unfortunately, modern
design cycles are compressed, high-pressure affairs. In order
to save time, the early design research testing phase is often
combined with development and sample printing. Once preproduction parts are on hand, they may be pushed into clinical
trials, focus groups, and test programs too soon. Data gathered during these sample trials can change the design before
it's actually a finished concept.
There is an added risk when companies use sample production runs as process qualification pieces in advance of the
final design actually being approved. This is a gamble that
can either save the expense of several sample print runs or
increase the cost of the R&D process by orders of magnitude.

* Short series print run contract
* Production method not
agreed upon yet
* Devices will be tested by
customer for tolerance and
uniformity

Sample print run/production

Agreement reached
for prototype/R&D
contract

Designer/engineer
tasked with CAD
prints

* Working part presented as PoC
* Designer on hand for questions
* Customer sign-off on design
* Short sample print run contract

First customer/
CSR meeting
with design

$
$
$

First article for
customer

The common theme running in the background of this
compressed cycle is that some designs are not ready to
progress from PoC into development printing, much less into
process qualification runs. This unreadiness can be caused
by a functional design issue or a PoC process that was simply
rushed or incomplete.
So why are working printed designs deemed to be unsuitable for production? Two reasons are commonly cited. The first
is "Excessive product cost per unit and/or excessive time or
cost for R&D." (While time is money in the world of R&D, there
are actually two different problems here. Excessive time may
just mean missing the customer window for product rollout.)
The second is "Cost of retooling existing equipment, or need
to invest in new processes to work with new substrates, inks,
or tolerances." Again, there are a number of different problems
encompassed here that tend to be used interchangeably.
Collectively, these two failure modes may also be reported as:
* Slow production speed
* Incompatibility with existing equipment
* High QC/inspection costs
* Unstable production process prone to a high volume
of defects
In the project post-mortem, this all tends to get grouped
under the heading of "high cost per unit." It's rare that the root
october/november 2017

31



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - October/November 2017

Contents
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - Intro
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - Cover1
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - Cover2
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 1
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - Contents
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 3
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 4
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 5
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 6
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 7
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 8
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 9
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 10
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 11
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 12
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 13
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 14
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 15
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 16
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 17
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 18
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 19
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 20
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 21
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 22
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 23
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 24
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 25
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 26
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 27
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 28
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 29
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 30
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 31
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 32
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 33
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 34
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 35
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 36
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 37
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 38
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 39
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 40
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 41
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 42
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 43
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 44
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - Cover3
Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - Cover4
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