Screen Printing - October/November 2017 - 32

First print run to design:
pre-production run;
can count for process
qualification iF:
* The design is approved
* Tolerances are to spec
* Defect #'s within spec

IMPrOVeD rFQ TO PrODUcTIOn-PrOcess MeTHOD

Design
tasked with
basic CAD
prints

CSr meeting
with design and
process design to
discuss process
impacts on design

initial CAD prints reviewed
for sign-off:
* PoC CAD print should be close to
current final
form factor
* Plan B and C materials should
be presented to customer at this
point
* At least plan B cost should be
included in the initial rFQ

process design/control premeeting with design and CSr to
discuss changes and constraints

initial customer contactCSr and design and
process design staff
* Materials/specs
* Stack-up/tolerances
* Production ROM
* Production process risks

Sample accepted/design lock;
new rFQ issued for pre-series
production batches to cover
process development
on production equipment
print runs

2nd CSr meeting with customer:
* Design rep on hand
* Ideally process design rep on
hand as well
* Similar device "show and tell
stage"
* Process design discusses production bottlenecks

test

Single device print/fab

Design rev

$

* Sample/prototype cost
* CAD work
* PoC print
Customer receives quote

test

parallel printing of hand print
designs on production machines

$

Fabricate

test

ExcEssivE cost/timE for r&D
Typically, a request for quote (RFQ) starts as a question: "Do we
have the capacity, or budget, to do this profitably?" It would be
better to phrase this assessment of the project like this: "Is this
project within our capability? Do we have the knowledge of
the new materials and processes that the project entails? If not,
is the opportunity lucrative enough for us to retool for it?"
The risk at the quote stage is that the job may not appear
to be unusual. Unless new print tolerances, substrates, inks,
or device functions are clearly involved, the job may not look
like something that's bleeding-edge new. The product design
screenprinting

Customer
feedback

result to
customer

Design rev

3rd dev
print run

1st sample print run on
manual/semi-auto presses to
main line production standards

First article
for customer
CSr/process design and
customer review of parts,
process, and QC

CSr/designer/customer meeting:
* PoC print/part presentation
* Finished quote for 1st short
production sample print run

Design/rev/CAD

cause is assigned to flaws in the basic product design (since
the product actually functions) or the printing and downstream production processes (since, after all, we know how
to print). It's just assumed that the product is too costly in one
manner or another.
The two basic reasons that manufacturers give for canceling designs are pretty broad, and can hide a lot of contributing
factors. Let's dig a little deeper and take a look at them.

32

2nd dev
print run

Customer test for function,
tolerance, uniformity

research phase begins
Hand print range of variations

Design rev

2nd/3rd sample print run on
actual production equipment

Customer feedback

Agreement reached for:

Customer
feedback

may be very similar to others the printer has worked with
before. But being similar does not means it's the same.
It's a cliché, but it's true: Assumption is the mother of all
failures. Mistaken assumptions about the degree of difficulty
a project involves are commonly made both at the RFQ and in
the PoC stage by the designer making the first device mockups.
The designer compares the substrate, inks, form, quantity/time/
scale equation, device stack-up, and other job specifications to
previously printed parts. These first correlations can drive or
support the initial answer to the customer that the company
can indeed make the part, even if that is still unknown. An
important question to ask at the RFQ stage is whether the material set and form factor fit the capabilities of the production
line. But this is something that only a process design engineer
or process manager can accurately determine, and these experienced people are rarely involved at the RFQ stage.
Process design engineers know that the function of a
printed part may be altered by your normal printing method
when the job involves a totally different type of device. Just
being similar in material use or shape doesn't mean the



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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