innovative technologies

Wear it’s at: the manufacturing challenges of wearable technology

by

John Johnston, NPI Director, Chemigraphic

Wearable tech has come of age.

Most of the heavy-lifting has already been done, which is why so many start-ups are keen to use their focus and agility to bring new wearable products to market.

Multiple technology and component solutions are already in place, so there’s no need for a huge R&D budget or large resource team.

Start-up OEMs can now focus on innovation. They can develop a prototype and then rely on the skills, knowledge and network of an EMS partner to overcome the manufacturing challenges posed by wearable devices.

There are three key challenges:

  1. What works for small-scale design validation and prototyping may not translate smoothly to a volume ready manufacturing process.
  2. There is a risk of enduring a lifetime of sub-optimal manufacturing efficiency if you’re not aware of all the options available for materials, components and build. These need to be implemented at the beginning for the best results.
  3. Unnecessary costs and delays can be incurred if you lack access to a reliable network of specialist suppliers in an effective supply chain.

The wearables market

watch tracker

Wearables burst on the scene with the fitness tracker boom in recent years but such simple tech has quickly run its course, to be replaced by more sophisticated alternatives.

As the market has developed it has matured: more complex devices such as smartwatches now dominate and specialist devices aimed at the military and industrial market are proliferating.  Other key sectors for this technology are medical, where applications include condition monitoring systems such as heart rate trackers and industrial, in which human-machine interfaces such as augmented reality vision systems are used.

  • The global market is now worth £10.2m.
  • It’s growing at a healthy 6% each year.
  • China is far and away the largest market, followed by USA and India.

Sensors and switches

‘From an electromechanical perspective, a wristwatch and a smartwatch are polar opposites and require a different design. Contact and operability are of paramount importance for smartwatches: they must provide a satisfying, tactile experience, a high life-cycle and a consistency of operation.’ Eric Ewing, Senior Product Manager at Panasonic

The more ‘smart’ functions you incorporate into your device, the more important your position and choice of switches and sensors becomes.

For sensors, they must be placed incredibly accurately – and tested extensively – to ensure they are sensitive enough to relay accurate data that can be transferred to other devices.

For switches on devices worn on the head, such as listening devices and smart glasses, a light actuation force is required. However, for easily accessible wearables that are within the user’s direct field of vision, a high actuation force is needed to avoid operating errors from knocks and bumps.

Protection and flexibility

Tactile switches for wearables also need to be able to work properly in different environments over many years. Worn close to the skin the salt contained in sweat is a major threat to unprotected components, but protection is also required against water, damp, moisture and dust penetration.

The components must be fitted to withstand the inevitable knocks and bumps of daily life – but they must also be encased in flexible materials that stretch and adapt.

Wearables demand a manufacturing partner who can creatively respond to restrictions on how components can be used and where they can be placed. To avoid costly changes late in the manufacturing process, early engagement is critical.

Beyond electronics themselves, successful material selection for wearables requires experience in working with products where hygiene, sterilisation, durability, adjustability, waterproofing and stain resistance are all factors in play.

  

Batteries, charging and connectivity

Battery life is one of the biggest challenges for wearable tech. Space is limited, so the more efficient the electronics the better. This also means that the user will be less likely to suffer discomfort through heat.

Lithium ion is the preferred battery option for longer life from a smaller space. This hazardous material can cause issues for transport, shipping, handling and storage. And at least two big names – Samsung and FitBit – can attest that the risk to users should not be taken lightly either.

Wearable devices tend to use Bluetooth for connectivity rather than Wi-Fi. Tests have shown that Bluetooth technology can use 3% of the energy required by Wi-Fi.

Wear it’s at

Wearable tech is a growing market. Beyond the consumer market, sectors such as medical, military and industrial are increasingly relying on IoT-enabled wearables.

Potentially, manufacturing and supply chain considerations still pose significant challenges to OEMs. These are challenges that the best EMS providers have been meeting for a long time.

Engage early and you’ll be wearing a smile. 

Four critical questions to ask your EMS provider about your data’s security

by

We live in a connected world.

The Internet of Things (IoT), the ubiquity of data and the Fourth Industrial Revolution deliver gains in productivity and efficiency through connections across the manufacturing sector.

Yet the same connections that strengthen us could also weaken us: as our shared data becomes more powerful it could prove to be our Achilles heel.

And it’s the weak link in the chain that hackers are increasingly keen to exploit.

The importance of security for electronic manufacturing

Recent concerns have highlighted how security threats could derail the application and uptake of IoT.

A study released by Hewlett-Packard discovered that 70% of the most commonly used IoT devices contain at least some vulnerabilities.

A review of these breaches led a contributor to New Electronics to bemoan that ‘vendors are repeatedly failing to apply simple security best practise and are exposing their customers to attack.’

The article goes on to list ten common security breaches, among which it includes issues with the hardware itself.

  • Unnecessary functions such as debug ports are left in place creating potential routes in for hackers.
  • Devices are under-utilising security mechanisms such as BGA (Ball Grid Array) packages which, when combined with good PCB design, make it harder to tap into signals.

But these concerns about security are not just about the end-products but can be found in the manufacturing process itself.

Here are some of the stories that have hit the headlines in the last few years:

  • Electronics manufacturer Foxconn was breached by a hacktivist group that released every employee’s login information.
  • Boeing was compromised repeatedly for four years by foreign nationalists trying to steal defence program manufacturing plans.
  • In Japan, Korea and Germany manufacturers have been targeted by hackers, believed to be from China, trying to access IP data, trade secrets and blueprints.

And here’s a story that did not make quite such a big splash but is even more alarming.

  • 48% of UK manufacturers have been subject to a cyber-attack – and half of these businesses suffered either financial loss or disruption to business as a result.
  • Manufacturing is now the third-most targeted sector for attacks by hackers.

These shocking statistics are from a report on cyber-security for manufacturers, published by EEF and AIG and carried out by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

It goes on to suggest that this threat will only deepen with increasing digitisation – and notes that 91% of manufacturers are investing in digital technologies.

The report also found that across the manufacturing sector cyber security maturity levels are ‘highly varied’ both in terms of awareness of the cyber security challenge and the implementation of appropriate risk mitigation measures.

Which suggests there are many weak links in the supply chain out there.

Critical questions to ask your EMS provider

The good news for electronic manufacturers is that GDPR has helped to focus minds. Manufacturers are increasingly willing to question their suppliers to ensure adequate security procedures are in place.

The EFF/AIG report found that 58% of manufacturers have been asked to demonstrate or guarantee the robustness of their cyber-security processes by a business within their own supply chain.

Worryingly, 42% haven’t.

And of even more concern is that 37% of manufacturers admitted they would be unable to do this if asked today.

If you are looking for an EMS provider to partner with here are four critical questions you should ask about their security arrangements.

(We’ve provided our own answers after each one.)

1/ How do you ensure the security of your customer’s product data?

  • Our data is stored in a protected area that has restricted access.
  • Data is only ever distributed on a need to know basis.
  • Our network has strict access controls, with verification required at each level of security.
  • We do not outsource any area of your PCB assembly – to ensure there is no risk of compromise from this.
  • We manage our supply chain robustly, establishing long-term relationships and always ensuring Non-Disclosure Agreements are in place where needed.

2/ How do you ensure security on-site?

  • Our site has controlled access – this extends to each facility and internal area.
  • We carefully manage any contractors on site – access to customer data is never granted to anyone not employed by Chemigraphic.
  • The data itself is stored in a vault storage.
  • We have access-controlled IT server rooms.

3/ How do you manage your supply chain to ensure data security?

  • As the outsourced manufacturing partner to our customers, we take full responsibility for the entire manufacturing process and the management of any suppliers and materials within it.
  • We source excellent materials using only reputable partners.
  • We have enhanced inspection and qualification procedures for new parts to minimise the risk of counterfeit parts with security feature defects or malicious designs.
  • We undertake supplier site security audits if necessary – especially for overseas suppliers.
  • All employees and contractors are thoroughly screened.
  • If you prefer, we can work only from UK sources.
  • We discretely manage customer information, including the restriction of signage and non-publicity clauses etc.
  • We offer segregated materials storage and build areas – and we can provide a dedicated restricted-access area for security-conscious customers.

4/ Can you show me an example of a project of yours that had high security requirements?

Sure.

This case study of our work with a cyber-security sector customer is just one example of a project we’ve delivered where customer data and through processes were highly important.

Ask us about your data’s security with us

Everything we do is governed by robust processes. These are designed to meet exacting standards of security while delivering optimal efficiency and consistently excellent results.

We believe that through intelligent planning, proper process and strict control, anything can be achieved.

If you’d like to know more about how we ensure your data is safe and secure with us, don’t hesitate to ask or take a look at why we stand out from the crowd.

How is 3D printing freeing up design space?

by

“If by some miracle some prophet could describe the future exactly as it was
going to take place, his predictions would sound so absurd, so far-fetched that everyone would laugh him to scorn.”
Arthur C. Clarke, author, speaking in 1964

Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke went on from making this observation to describe the forthcoming advent of 3D printing.

And, sure enough, it came to pass.

Today, as 3D printing quite literally breaks the design and manufacturing mould across a range of sectors, it’s time to assess its true impact and where it may take us next.

The path that 3D printing has taken bears very little resemblance to what the prophets foresaw. Throughout the early years of the new millennium, futurists prophesised it would usher in a new consumer society. In this brave new world, the need to visit shops to buy things would be gone – and so too would the need to rely on online retailers’ massive warehouses to deliver our goods.

Soon, we were told, we would all be downloading a design file to our personal 3D printer and manufacturing our products – exactly as we wanted them to be – from the comfort of our homes.

Of course, this consumer revolution never happened.

However, a sea-change is quietly washing over the design, manufacturing and production sectors, one that is not deluded tech fantasy, but very real indeed.

Richard Hague, professor of innovative manufacturing at the University of Nottingham, compares the hype and reality of 3D printing with the dotcom crash of the late 90s.

“There were all these expectations about what the internet would do, and then the hype disappeared. But meanwhile, in the background, people were forging ahead, and actually some major industries emerged after that point. I think that’s where we are now.”

We’re going to look in more detail in our next blog at how 3D printing has led to additive manufacturing. We’ll chart how its disruptive potential is transforming the processes used – and products made – by sectors as diverse as medical, military, automotive, aerospace and electronics.

First, though, in this blog we’re going to highlight how 3D printing has also been freeing up the design space in which new products can be imagined and then tested.

3D printing and design

Let’s start with the basics.

There are a number of ways to print in 3D, but all are based on creating a digital model as a physical three-dimensional object by the gradual addition of material a layer at a time.

It is this process of addition that makes 3D printing a radically different way of manufacturing. Traditional technologies are based on subtraction from materials (such as CNC machining) or forming these existing materials (such as injection moulding).

One of the key benefits of 3D printing is that no special tooling or moulds are required – and this leads to many of the benefits we discuss below and in our next blog.

The 3D printing process is initiated directly from the digital model that forms the blueprint of the manufactured object. This model is sliced by the printer’s software into incredibly thin, 2-D layers and these are translated into the machine language (G-code) that the printer executes.

It is at this stage that 3D printers differ in their operation. For example, desktop FDM printers melt plastic filaments that are laid down through a nozzle, whereas large industrial SLS machines use lasers to melt (or sinter) thin layers of metal or plastic powders.

For more information about 3D printing technologies, this excellent guide from 3D Hubs details the differences.

Despite the possible production speeds of as little as four hours, it’s important to note that 3D printed parts often require some post-processing (usually manual) to achieve the desired level of finish.

3D printing and design benefits

Generally speaking, 3D printing is the best option when:

  • A single (or only a few) parts are required
  • A quick turnaround time and a low-cost is needed
  • When the part geometry cannot be produced with any other manufacturing technology
  • When high material requirements and tight tolerances for functional parts are not essential

Faster verification of designs

One of the main advantages of 3D printing is undoubtedly the speed at which parts can be produced compared to traditional manufacturing methods. The lead time on an injection moulding die alone can be a finger-tapping matter of weeks.

Complex designs can be uploaded from a CAD model and printed in a matter of hours. This offers designers rapid verification of design ideas.

It cuts out the need to create tools to create parts and also places the capabilities of production within the working space of the designer themselves – as opposed to at a plant that may be geographically remote from them.

Efficiencies

3D printing allows designers to manufacture products and parts as efficiently as possible, cutting down on the number of manufacturing steps required by traditional technologies. These may include cutting, welding, polishing, drilling, mounting, sandblasting, priming and painting. 3D printing can complete all these steps as one, with no interaction from the machine operator.

Cost-savings for prototypes

Particularly where labour costs are concerned, 3D printing can slash the design costs for manufacturing prototypes.

Post-processing aside, the majority of 3D printers only require an operator to press a button. Compared to traditional manufacturing’s reliance on highly skilled machinists, the labour costs for a 3D printer barely register.

This means that for the creation of prototypes that verify the form and fit of a product, 3D printing is significantly cheaper than other methods.

Freeing up design space

The restrictions of traditional manufacturing on what can and can’t be made hold much less relevance for 3D printing. Design requirements such as draft angles, undercuts and tool access do not apply to designers using additive manufacture.

This gives designers a large amount of design freedom and enables the creation of very complex geometries.

Customisation

Another freedom that 3D printing allows is the ability to completely customise designs. As additive manufacturing technologies excel in building single parts one at a time, they are perfectly suited for one-off production of unique, bespoke designs.

Source: Wired 

This ability has transformed the medical and dental industry to realise the manufacture of custom prosthetics, implants and dental aids. High-level sporting gear can now be tailored to fit an athlete perfectly and the fashion industry is also proving quick to realise the custom design benefits of 3D printing.

Source: 3D natives

The brave new world of 3D printing

We opened with a quote from Arthur C. Clarke suggesting that prophets of the future risk appearing ‘so far-fetched that everyone laughs them to scorn’.

The design benefits of 3D printing are not far-fetched hype: they are here, they are happening and they are making a real difference to the world we live in.

In our next blog we’ll look at how these benefits are not only transforming design but manufacture itself.

Robotics: why are some manufacturers still afraid of the Big Bad Bot?

by

The idea of a human-looking robot has been a staple of science-fiction for decades, and of mythological imaginings since as far back as the Ancient Greeks.

It is only in the last few years, however, with the recent publicity for Boston Dynamics, that this dream appears to be finally coming close to fruition.

Videos of Atlas the robot jogging through parks and practicing parkour in industrial sheds, or their ferocious military dogs resisting human kicks, are enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.

atlas the robot

Source

The word robot comes from the Czech for ‘forced labour’ (robota) and much of the fear that exists in the manufacturing sector relates to the relationship between robots and employment. As  a Forbes’ commentator recently put it, ‘Robots Will Take Our Jobs And We Need A Plan’.

But what do we really have to fear from robots – and what do we have to gain?

When does automation become robotics?

Sorry to disappoint, but robots are nothing new.

The reality is that robotics – or at least advanced automation – has been widely used in manufacturing since the 1970s.

The machines just didn’t look particularly humanoid.

Robotics is automation plus AI. It’s the recent advent of the Internet of Things and machine learning that is increasingly making today’s robots so useful and, for some, such a threat.

The difference between robotics and automation is one of degree: automated machines perform a single set of operations but robots can smartly change their behaviour – by learning from sensory feedback or data feeds – to achieve better efficiency.

A brief history of robots in manufacturing

George Devol applied for the first robotics patents in 1954: his company Unimation were using robots to move items since 1956.

Automotive production lines were early adopters using machines to carry out repetitive processes which require high amounts of consistency such as spot welding and spray coatings.

Sophisticated robotics in logistics hubs and warehouses have been directing goods for dispatch for many years.

Today, robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research and the mass production of consumer and industrial goods.

In our own EMS industry, printed circuit boards are almost exclusively manufactured by pick-and-place robots, typically with SCARA manipulators: and as electronic components get smaller the need for smarter, more precise robots will only increase.

According to figures from the International Federation of Robotics the trend suggests there will be a dramatic increase for all.

Estimated worldwide annual supply of industrial robots (in units) (Source)

Today there are more than 2 million industrial robots in use – and it is expected there will be 3.8 million by 2022.

The biggest users of these are:

  • The automotive industry (33%)
  • The electrical/electronics industry (32%)
  • The metal and machinery industry (12%)
  • The rubber and plastics industry with (5%)
  • And the food industry (3%)

(Source)

What do robots bring to the table for electronics?

With the disruptive force of robots bearing down very heavily on the electronic manufacturing industry – and with IOT, data and AI looking set to increase their presence – now is a good time to take stock and review exactly what robotics is bringing to the table.

In relation to PCB manufacturing, robots can place hundreds of thousands of components per hour, far out-performing a human in terms of speed, accuracy, and reliability. As electronics shrink in size, the precision of robotic production methods becomes essential.

Robots can do much more than just build, place and weld. They can also quickly and accurately check all the components to ensure they match the required spec and are placed accurately.

As IoT sensors become ever more prevalent, the benefits start to really add up.

Using data from connected, always-on devices robots can respond to situations in real time. Our machines become not only faster and more precise, but also smarter and more aware. A robot can speed up or slow down based on its surroundings or the timing of small-batch production cycles. And it can collaborate with others to work more intelligently.

Here are some of the benefits that robots are already delivering.

  • They can work in environments dangerous to humans (such as deep sea, space or in hazardous environments.)
  • They can work faster and with more precision than humans.
  • They can create efficiencies throughout the process, from raw material handling to finished product packing.
  • They can be programmed to operate 24/7 – in lights-out situations – for continuous production.
  • Robotic equipment can perform complex functions and is absolutely essential for the latest generation of smaller products.

Why are we still afraid of the Big Bad Bot?

The threat of the robot – the opening scene of Terminator (Source)

Despite these obvious advantages, there remain three big fears that continue to hold back electronic manufacturers from embracing robots.

We touched on the first of these before: namely, the fear that robots will steal our jobs.

The second is the initial cost of introducing them.

And the third is the cultural and procedural changes that robotics inevitably demand.

  1. Consider the following, in relation to the ‘forced labour’ of robots stealing our jobs.

The cost-efficiencies of robots can help companies become globally competitive once more. They can reverse the trend of offshore production and create jobs by reshoring manufacturing work.

They protect workers from repetitive, mundane and dangerous tasks, while also creating more desirable jobs, like engineering, programming, management and equipment maintenance. By freeing up manpower manufacturers can maximize workers’ skills in other areas of their businesses.

As a recent McKinsey report put it:

‘The production systems of the future will still require people in many of the roles they hold today, but the nature of those roles will change. Operators will need new capabilities as low-skill tasks are automated and increasingly sophisticated equipment requires skilled people to run it.’

Robots will not steal our jobs. They will enable us to gain skills and compete more effectively for work we had lost.

  1. Consider these factors in relation to concerns over costs.

 Robots used in manufacturing tend to achieve ROI quickly, often within two years, thanks to their throughput and output gains.

Their upfront cost is quickly recouped.

Manufacturing robots are much more affordable today than ever before. Standard robot models are now mass-produced, making them accessible to smaller scale businesses.

And robotics as a service (RaaS) lowers the barrier even further, offering the rental or temporary acquisition of hardware to keep costs more manageable.

  1. And, finally, in relation to the fear of change.

 The barrier for entry has been lowered not just for cost. It has also been increasingly lowered in terms of the technical understanding and skills required to introduce robots to the assembly line. Plug and play installation is now very much a reality.

Nevertheless, the investment in the robot itself still remains only part of the equation. Resources must be committed to training and consistent optimisation, possibly over many years.

Robots also usually require a cultural shift. Fully integrating robotic solutions may well require fundamentally changing the way a business operates. Their disruptive potential can introduce changes to software platforms, material consumption, supply chains, ERP, MRP and even the working culture of a business.

Yet, the real question is are these changes for the good?

Do they introduce enhanced capabilities, realise efficiencies, result in cost-savings and create better products?

And the answer, we believe, is a resounding yes.

How Chemigraphic is using robotics to deliver the services today’s OEMs require

These are exciting times.

Times when we know we can continually enhance and improve the services we offer.

Robotics and IoT capabilities are an important part of this, but it’s investment in skills, talent and staff that ensures new technologies are optimised and effective.

Additive manufacture is already commonplace for us in areas such as enclosure development. It is also being used for immediate applications in some very niche technologies, such as specialist antennas and waveguides.

We continually monitor progress and developments in this for use in other fields, and our Design Centre collaborates closely with our customer base to take advantage of new technologies.

Our inspection tools are becoming ever more sophisticated.

Many years ago, simple comparator inspection systems – which look for differences between a stored image and the item being inspected – were superseded by inline Automated Optical Inspection, with 3D scanning and X-Ray capabilities.

Wireless monitoring systems are extensively being used to remotely check a range of conditions, including stock on shelves, reels on feeders and temperature or humidity in production areas.

And, as more RF-ID and IoT sensors collect increased amounts of data, we expect to introduce new automated tracking and production systems.

We have already developed libraries of complex database analysis and metric capture tools. These are displayed on dashboards and allow performance indicators to be assessed and immediately responded to. Machine learning and automated responses will be increasingly involved in our monitoring and decision-making over the coming years.

We’re not afraid of robotics

At Chemigraphic, we welcome the efficiencies and productivity gains that the further integration of robots, artificial intelligence and data capture will bring.

We intend to continue to harness this to deliver better service and better products.

We are not afraid of the Big Bad Bot! Are you?