Prototype production
Prototypes are the culmination of your design work. It’s exciting to finally have hardware in hand and find out if your great ideas work in the harsh reality.
And let’s face it — everybody wants their prototypes to pass qualification with flying colors. This requires that your design is executed and reviewed properly in terms of functionality, manufacturability, and testability.
Let’s see if we can do it first-time right together. There’s no such thing as manufacturing luck, but the right approach will improve your odds greatly!
“There’s no such thing
as manufacturing luck”
Design the Ampel way
Use our resources to speed up your design process and increase quality!
Component Library
We have a large and growing component library of footprints and symbols. The components in this library have been validated on our production line so we can be sure that they are placed on your product in the correct way.
We make our Altium library available to customers that intend to have their designs produced by us. Contact us to get access to the library.
Design Guidelines
Our design guidelines serve as a checklist for reviewing your design for manufacturability. The guidelines ensure that your PCB can be produced properly, components can be placed accurately, and quality of soldering can be guaranteed. Contact us for the design guidelines.
Design reviews
Our engineers love to review your design, in terms of functionality, but also on manufacturability, testability, and lifecycle.
Manufacturability
Key topics are compliance with PCB design guidelines, pad & paste design, match between BOM and placement file, and proper component spacing and orientation.
Testability
Testability is not only about adding test pads in appropriate locations but about a comprehensive test strategy aimed at identifying potential defects as early in the process as possible and using the right test equipment for the job.
Lifecycle
Good lifecycle management starts with thorough component selection, not just considering lifecycle status (OK, not recommended for new designs, obsolete) but also product and technology roadmaps. In series production, we work with our supply chain partners to monitor component lifecycle changes and periodically review whether an upgrade to newer technology is beneficial.
Board bring-up
In our fully equipped lab, our engineers can perform board bring-up. We can perform bring-up for you, or we can do it together. You will have quick feedback on initial performance of your proto.
During bring-up we will check power supplies and I/Os. If available, we can load test firmware or software to verify if basic functionality is as expected. We provide you with a short report of our findings.
To prevent precious components to be wasted, we can also first produce a single proto, perform board bring-up, and produce the rest of the boards once we confirm basic functionality of the first prototype.
Series production
When your product is finalized and fully qualified it is time to set up series production. In our factory, we perform PCB assembly, system assembly, and product testing. Our facilities are optimized for a highly diverse product mix. Producing series of tens to hundreds of products annually is no problem, but — depending on complexity — we are also perfectly capable of handling volumes up to several tens of thousands of products annually.
It all starts with the introduction of your product in our factory and processes to ensure good quality and yield. This includes designing and setting up test systems with test coverage tailored to your requirements. Then, we will keep you going, continuously monitoring all aspects related to your product’s lifecycle.
New Product Introduction
Based on product design, we analyze the risks related to producing your products. Examples of risks include the size of the product, the type of components, tight placement tolerances, type of PCB material used, and the distribution of components over the board. For each risk, mitigations are put in place in the design or the manufacturing process.
Then, we prepare the production process by acquiring the required tooling and programming the machines. Tooling includes paste stencils and specific tooling such as supports and press-fit.
Next are trial runs. Each trial product is carefully inspected for defects and the production line is tuned until the settings are optimized for the production of your product. We take great care and sufficient time to ensure that this optimization is fully completed, as we know from experience that there is (too) little time to optimize once series production has started.
Test systems
Testing is crucial to guarantee that outgoing products meet all quality standards.
Incoming quality inspections and in-line testing are standard in our equipment and our way-of-working. Yet, an end-of-line test is typically required to ensure sufficient test coverage.
End-of-line (or functional) tests are product-specific. In an end-of-line test, all product interfaces are tested and — if necessary — stressed. Also, functional programming takes place as well as the programming of product-specific data such as product and serial numbers. Test results and product information are stored in the production database and delivered to you as a customer.
Lifecycle Management
Getting your product to stable production is one thing, ensuring that it can be produced over the years is another. We help by collecting end-of-life notifications in our supply chain, offering and following up on last-time buy (LTB) opportunities, and advising you on solutions to replace the obsolete component. If desired, we can take full responsibility of the lifecycle of your product and implement the component replacement for you, including qualification appropriate for the replacement. To keep things efficient, we will combine the replacement of various obsolete components and components at risk of obsolescence (“not recommended for new designs”).
In addition, we can periodically organize joint roadmapping sessions in which we present the expected remaining lifecycle of key components, collect your feature requests and future requirements as well as opportunities for quality improvements and cost-downs. Result of these sessions are product roadmaps with updates and upgrades at set moments in time, proactively planning for an optimal lifecycle of your product.
Service
Did something break? No worries, we are happy to service it for you! We analyze the failure of your product and perform repair in consultation with you or according to pre-aligned agreements. We are also happy to discuss setting up a repair flow for products that have been produced elsewhere.
Analysis
First step in the service process is to analyze the product failure. We use visual inspection, measurement tooling, and product test systems for analysis. If necessary, we use advanced techniques and methodologies such as Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and 8D. Results are summarized in a short report and discussed with the customer as required.
Repair
After your approval, we perform the repair of the product, typically replacing the defective components. We are capable of replacing a broad range of components, including Ball Grid Array (BGA). After repair we verify that the product is functional again. We return the product along with the service report summarizing the actions performed.
Updates/Upgrades
Need your product to be brought to the latest/greatest state? Together we can define update and upgrade flows, possibly as a step in the standard service flow for your product.
Production facility
Our production facility is optimized for a highly diverse product mix and low- to mid-volume series production.
Surface Mount Technology — SMT
Our ASM Siemens D1 and ASM Siemens X2 pick-and-place machines will place up to 35,000 components per hour and down to 01005 component size.
Screen Printing
Our DEK Horizon 03i screen printer ensures a precise solder paste layer for PCBA production. Its advanced camera system guarantees perfect stencil-to-PCB alignment.
Paste Inspection
Our PARMI SPI HS70 verifies the correct distribution of solder paste, providing immediate feedback if any issues arise during screen printing.
Reflow
Our Ersa Hotflow 3-20 features 10 stages each top and bottom, nitrogen protective gas, and active cooling.
Through-Hole Technology — THT
Through-Hole components are placed manually and soldered selectively in our SEHO selective wave machine.
System Assembly
PCBAs are mounted in their enclosure, final tests are performed, products are packaged and shipped.
Questions Anyone?
As for many things in life, the answer is “it depends”. If we have all components that you require on stock, lead time is determined by the lead time of the printed circuit boards (PCBs) and, if applicable, mechanical parts, plus our internal lead time.
| PCBs | 2-4 weeks (depending on complexity) |
| Mechanical parts | 2-16 weeks (depending on complexity) |
| Internal lead time | 2 weeks |
We like to be challenged! If you are in a hurry, we can discuss options to expedite the lead time, such as sourcing your PCB from a quick-turnaround (QTA) manufacturer and prioritizing your product in our production to reduce internal lead time.
Again, it depends. It depends on the total number of components to be assembled on your product, the number of unique components, the technology used for placement (SMT/THT/press-fit), the value of the components, test time, and the quantities that you require. If you provide us with the required information, we will get you a quote and you will know!
As a standard, we deliver ex-works (EXW) and you will arrange the shipping. Of course, we are happy to arrange shipping for you if you want. In that case, please contact us for options.
The MOQ is 1. But please bear in mind that for low quantities, setting up the production is a relatively big part of the costs so the costs of additional prototypes is relatively low.
We understand that you want your own libraries, because you have already set them up or for other reasons. Of course, this is possible. In that case it is just some more work to set up our production facility for your product.
Yes, this is possible. In that case we will also need a pick-and-place file or other instructions on where and how you would like to have the components placed. We need to align on that (pun intended) carefully to ensure that we are able to deliver the right quality to you.
We use Surface-Mount Technology (SMT), Through-Hole Technology (THT) and press-fit. Please click here for more information on our production equipment. Require more detailed information, or are you unsure if we are capable of producing your product? Contact us — we are always happy to discuss your specific requirements.
How we can make it work
To get you a quote and produce your product, we require the following technical product documentation (TPD):
- Bill of Materials
- ODB++ file
- Mechanical assembly drawings (if applicable)
These files contain all information we require to source the required PCBs and electronic and mechanical components. They also contain the information we need to program our machines. When you put in your order, we will order the components and set up the machines to get you your products as fast as possible.
Use our design guidelines to optimize your product for manufacturability.
