Smart Ways (RE: Musing on K3 Production and other things)

[Fred N. van Kempen]

Hiyas,

> As I was falling asleep last night dreaming of a k3....(OK,
> stop laughing)...
We're not laughing... we understand.  "So, you, too, eh?" :P

> Who makes the PC Boards?
> Who stuff's the boards? (or what ever you do to surface mount
> components) Who checks the boards?
> Who fixes the boards?
This is done through mosly automated pick-and-place machines,
which also handle the soldering or things, and, if needed, the
post-masking and waxing of boards.  Even testing procedures can
be automated, on a per-module (one "machine setup" per board)
basis.  It's just a fairly expensive process to "set up", hence
their (Elecraft's) requirement for a prepayment at this time..
this is needed to finance the production run setup costs.  Once
production is set up, it doesnt really add much to the overhead
cost if they make 10,000 or 50,000 boards, the machines will just
have to work a lil bit longer.

Tis much like the printing biz.  The first in-print copy costs a
fortune, the rest are free :)

> Who puts the radios together for those people who want a
> assembled K3?
Good question, I assume they are or will be hiring assembly
staff for this.  Dont forget that for their "kit biz", they also
need a lot of staff, for picking all the right parts, stuffing
them into the lil envelopes, etc etc.

> Can they handle the number of orders? (over 1K now I've heard)
I think they can, it also depends on their pre-prod cost base, and
their agreements with the production facility. See above.

> Isn't that a lot of manufacturing overhead?
Yes, in theory it is, as they "were" a kit biz.  However... if they
do NOT do it this way, they'll be getting a truckload of "I cant get
my K3 to work!" reports every day, which might lead to less orders
("the damn things is unbuildable!!") which might lead to Lisa and
Wayne applying for burger-flippin duty at the local Mac.  So, given
the risks with such a complex (and thus hard to build at home) product,
they go the half-prod(uct) way, which is smart.

Yes, I personally *can* do SMD, as I do this for many projects as a
hobbyist microelectronics freak, so could assemble the modules myself,
but hey. Most people can't, so Elecraft chose the right way.

And, as said... setting up such a line is the expensive part, once that
is done, they can roll as many as needed.  So, SEND IN YOUR ORDER NOW,
AND YOU MIGHT WIN!  Win What?  Dunno, a beer with Eric, Wayne's sig on
the lid of your K3, or even a movie-date with Lisa :)

Cheers,

Fred PA4YBR/KA4YBR

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[Fred N. van Kempen]

Ehh... and to clarify something: I would assume that this is
something Elecraft isn't setting up *themselves*, but instead
a manufacturing facility partner.  They do have all the
machinery (and logistics) required for such a project, and,
indeed, consider "the K3" as just another project.

--f

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Fred N. van
Kempen
Sent: woensdag 9 mei 2007 16:03
To: Lee Buller; Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Smart Ways (RE: [Elecraft] Musing on K3 Production and other
things)

Hiyas,

> As I was falling asleep last night dreaming of a k3....(OK, stop
> laughing)...
We're not laughing... we understand.  "So, you, too, eh?" :P

> Who makes the PC Boards?
> Who stuff's the boards? (or what ever you do to surface mount
> components) Who checks the boards?
> Who fixes the boards?
This is done through mosly automated pick-and-place machines, which also
handle the soldering or things, and, if needed, the post-masking and
waxing of boards.  Even testing procedures can be automated, on a
per-module (one "machine setup" per board) basis.  It's just a fairly
expensive process to "set up", hence their (Elecraft's) requirement for
a prepayment at this time..
this is needed to finance the production run setup costs.  Once
production is set up, it doesnt really add much to the overhead cost if
they make 10,000 or 50,000 boards, the machines will just have to work a
lil bit longer.

Tis much like the printing biz.  The first in-print copy costs a
fortune, the rest are free :)

> Who puts the radios together for those people who want a assembled K3?
Good question, I assume they are or will be hiring assembly staff for
this.  Dont forget that for their "kit biz", they also need a lot of
staff, for picking all the right parts, stuffing them into the lil
envelopes, etc etc.

> Can they handle the number of orders? (over 1K now I've heard)
I think they can, it also depends on their pre-prod cost base, and their
agreements with the production facility. See above.

> Isn't that a lot of manufacturing overhead?
Yes, in theory it is, as they "were" a kit biz.  However... if they do
NOT do it this way, they'll be getting a truckload of "I cant get my K3
to work!" reports every day, which might lead to less orders ("the damn
things is unbuildable!!") which might lead to Lisa and Wayne applying
for burger-flippin duty at the local Mac.  So, given the risks with such
a complex (and thus hard to build at home) product, they go the
half-prod(uct) way, which is smart.

Yes, I personally *can* do SMD, as I do this for many projects as a
hobbyist microelectronics freak, so could assemble the modules myself,
but hey. Most people can't, so Elecraft chose the right way.

And, as said... setting up such a line is the expensive part, once that
is done, they can roll as many as needed.  So, SEND IN YOUR ORDER NOW,
AND YOU MIGHT WIN!  Win What?  Dunno, a beer with Eric, Wayne's sig on
the lid of your K3, or even a movie-date with Lisa :)

Cheers,

Fred PA4YBR/KA4YBR

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_______________________________________________
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