The Gray Markets

*Disclaimer: The context of this article was written by assignment of an educational institution for coursework. The assignment was to present an ethical argument related to our industry/field. No company that I have worked for nor supplier I have purchased from is associated with the negative elements of this article.

The Gray Markets
From prized baseball cards to lifesaving prescription drugs, the production of counterfeits appears to have no limit. This is a painful part of life for most industries and electronic design is most certainly no exception. Despite these troubles, the production of counterfeit electronics has been viewed in various lights. While a consumer may appreciate a dirt cheap apple laptop battery, a governing official may not appreciate a downed satellite. Since the scope of the issue is enormous, I would like to focus on a specif case of the use of gray market parts on safety critical electronics.

What are gray market parts?
During production, some companies may resort to the use of "gray market" parts. What are gray market parts? They are parts that are not purchased directly from the manufactures and consequently do not come with the same legal guarantees. Cheap backwater electronic suppliers are sometimes utilized by companies when seeking a price reduction or a short delivery time. While the purchasing of these parts are generally a perfectly legal option, they do not come without risk. Despite the guarantees provided by some resellers, counterfeit parts have begun to infest the gray electronic market. Counterfeits ranging from fully functional duplications to hollow capacitors, there is no shortage to the variety of counterfeit parts appearing in the gray market. As demand for the gray market parts has increased, so has the amount of counterfeits that have been mixed into it. On the other hand, failures due to gray market parts are incredibly rare and the number of counterfeits still remain at a very low level. In addition, there are numerous quality electronic distributors that primarily buy directly from the manufacture in order to guarantee the integrity of their part supply.

Industry specific views
Surprisingly, counterfeit parts are not labeled as an absolute evil in many realms of industry such as the giant consumer electronic industry. Numerous consumer electronic products are produced with only price in mind and consumers are generally willing to appreciate this. Consumers do not expect a 15 dollar mp3 player to last for a lifetime. In addition, the failure of that mp3 player would not likely result in life threatening injuries. However, the same case cannot be made for all industries such as military and automotive industries. Failure as a result of a counterfeit part in these industries could most certainly result in loss of life during a critical application.

Possible dilemma of the gray market
Consequently, many OEM producers are faced with a challenging question as a result of these gray market parts. During production of a given safety critical product, a part shortage may occur. These shortages result from a variety of factors such as an overly aggressive schedule, last minute redesigns of a circuit, or possibly a natural disaster such as the earthquake in Japan. Regardless of the reason, executives are faced with the question of delaying production of a product or the use of unverified parts from a gray market. This case can present a ethical dilemma for companies since using these parts may result in the failure of a safety critical application. Likewise, delaying production of the product may equally be challenging since it may result in a significant loss in revenues or may even bankrupt the company. When faced with a slight risk or losing an entire company, executives generally will lean towards a minor risk.

Dangers of a careless use of the gray market
As an engineer, I would tend to disagree with approach that executives may take on the use of the gray market. Careless use of the irresponsible distributors in the gray market will only encourage its increase. This could result in a growing chance of counterfeit parts being used in safety critical products. One's life may often depend on the safe operation of a product such as the vehicle they may use on a daily basis. With unverified gray parts, it is harder to guarantee with absolute certainty the continued operation of such a vehicle. Parts purchased from untrustworthy suppliers can void design specifications for they are not confirmed to be produced by the advertized manufacture. As an engineer bounded by a code of ethics, I feel strongly that the safety, health, and welfare of the public should be our top priority throughout the design of a product including production day. While it may be costly hold up production, the cost of using counterfeit parts could certainly be higher.

DIY Reflow Oven Craze

DIY Reflow Ovens
Since the inception of surface mount devices, there has been a considerable gap in technology between the consumer industry and educational/hobbyist based electronic groups. Originally, surface mount devices were a means for industry to consolidate board space and reduce cost slightly. At that point in time, educational and hobbyist based groups unanimously used through-hole components because of their ease of use and availability. However, over the years, surface mount component technology has increased rapidly in both availability, size reduction, and cost reduction. Most modern consumer electronic products all use SMT(Surface Mount Technology) components that required machines to place and solder all the parts. This has been an increasing issue for hobbyists as SMT parts have become smaller and smaller. Meanwhile, suppliers have continually eliminated their production of through-hole based components due to the lack of demand. Many universities as well as hobbyist groups have fallen considerably behind modern technology as a result of this migration industry migration to SMT devices. One unique recent solution to this growing issue has been the development of DIY reflow ovens.

What purpose does a reflow oven serve?
Before we go into specifics on how DIY reflow oven is produced, its important to understand just what a reflow oven is. A reflow oven is an oven that is used to flow solder-paste on PCB SMT assemblies. Starting off in an SMT production line, commercial PCBs usually have a metal stencil cutout made for all their various component pads. This stencil will allow the application of solder paste specifically to the exposed component pads. Solder paste itself  is compound composed of solder particles that are suspended in liquid flux forming an adhesive that will become solid when heated. Components are then placed on top of the solder-paste and baked in a reflow oven to form a solid connection. An example of components industry SMT as well as a PCB board reflow can be observed in the following videos. 

Reflowing Example:

How to make a DIY Reflow Oven
Hobbyists and educational institutions obviously cannot afford to purchase the mammoth part placement machines or reflow ovens that are used currently in the industry. Consequently, makeshift ovens have popped up all over the place using a variety of substitutes such as toasters, skillets, and ovens. Due the fact that these ovens are a diversion from industry, there is no fixed standard as to how to go about it. All that is technically required in order for a reflow to occur is to exceed a temperature of roughly 200C. At 200C in temperature, most forms of solder will begin to flow. While these devices may be able to flow solder, their safety and reliability are put into question. Hence, the quality and reliability of the oven are completely up to the builder and the features that they decide to implement. For example, some DIY reflow ovens will implement advance sensors such as multiple thermocouples for heat control, solid state relays for power control, and convection fans for even heat distribution. The features that are implemented generally depend on the designer's budget and emphasis on component safety. In regards to safety, components are rated based upon durations of high temperature exposure and going above these levels can lead to component destruction. As a result of this, industry reflow ovens follow a strict reflow oven profile. Likewise, a DIY oven is also graded based upon how closely it can follow a given profile. To give you an idea of what a reflow profile may look like, see the below image.


Impact of DIY Reflow Ovens
The impact of DIY reflow ovens has resulted in a huge rebirth of hobbyist based electronics. Many hobbyist sites such as http://www.sparkfun.com/ are now daring to offer a majority of surface-mount device based kits as well as offering training on how to produce your own reflow process. Likewise, DIY reflow ovens have brought many additional people into the hobbyist field as a result of the new and advance applications that have become possible. Applications such as USB, Ethernet, and WIFI are all unique applications that a DIY reflow oven significantly simplifies. Many educational institutions are also reaping the benefits of DIY reflow ovens. With the assistance of DIY ovens, universities can expect students to be able to utilize SMT components. In addition, universities are able to bring in more advance applications into labs that were previously difficult. Overall, the impact of DIY reflow ovens have resulted significant rebirth in hobbyists/education institutions and it will be impressive to see long term benefits that it will provide. 

Examples of DIY Ovens:

http://www.ustr.net/smt/oven.htm
http://www.43oh.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2035

AR Drone Review

Introduction to the AR Drone:

As technology has increased over the years, so have the neat toys that it has produced. The AR Drone is one exceptional example of this fact and is one of the first commercial drones of its class. The AR Drone itself is a remote controlled quadrocopter with many jaw dropping features. Ease of use, durability, and utilization of mainstream technology has widely attributed to the drone's success. From being able to stream multiple live camera feeds to being equipped with ultrasonic sonar, there is no shortage of advance gadgets on this device.

Core Features:

As mentioned previously, the AR Drone has no lack of features attributed to its exceptional performance. Perhaps one of the most distinguished features of the AR drone, is it's utilization of multiple video camera feeds. These feeds can be streamed live onto a device such as your mobile phone or computer. A main camera is mounted on the front of the device to give direction to it's pilot during operation out of visual range. At the same time, another camera is constantly taking pictures of the scenery below it to achieve excellent low altitude stabilization. In addition, the drone also features an ultrasound altimeter and a three dimensional accelerometer to provide additional stability. All of this combined with excellent control software makes the AR Drone one tempting purchase.  

Pros/Cons:

Pros:

• Easy to Use: Controlling the AR Drone is incredibly simplistic to the point that virtually anyone can fly it. The interfaces designed for control are clean and self explanatory. 

• Compatibility: The AR Drone is a cross platform device that works on an assortment of products such as Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. The AR Drone is also designed to be controlled on various cellular devices such as Andriod and Iphones.

• Unique Features: From multiple cameras to sonar range detectors, the AR Drone is equipped with many unique gadgets that were not common to average RC plane. These features make the produce unique as well as assist in the control and stability of the drone.

• Easy Development Environment:  The AR Drone Developer Team provides a free open source development environment for their product for the easy creation of aps.

Cons: 

• Price: Three hundred dollars is a bit steep of a price to pay for your average toy. This is still the case even if the toy is not your average toy and is WIFI ready at hundreds of feet in elevation. Regardless of its features, it is still a considerable cost amount to virtually anyone's bank account.

• Battery Life: When you pay three hundred dollars for a product you would hope to be able to use it for a bit more than 10 minutes. Regrettably, flying and streaming video takes a considerable tole on just about any battery. Consequently, this leaves something to be desired in regards to the overall flight time of the device.

Application To Electronics Field: 

While the drone is simply classified as a toy, it still has astounding applications in numerous areas such as education. The drone was successfully used as a basis for an electrical engineering embedded course focusing on the development of RTOS (real time operating systems). Washington University was the first to implement the AR Drone as a tool for education and is now currently being looked at by other universities such as NDSU. Hacking the AR Drone's WIFI control system provides excellent experience in the necessity of RTOS in modern applications as well as Ethernet control systems. 

In Summary:

In summary, the AR Drone is one incredible breakthrough in modern consumer RC electronics. Ranging from video feeds to ultrasonic sensors, the AR Drone has no shortage of neat features. Easy accessible and usable controls distinguish the AR Drone from any rival product. While battery life and cost are drawbacks to the device, there are limited ways to avoid these given the nature of the product. While the drone can provide enjoyable entertainment, it also has the ability to provide invaluable learning experiences ranging from ROTS examples to UDP Ethernet implementation. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this product to anyone associated in the electronics field since it is freaking awesome. Likewise the AR Drone can provide some rare down to earth information and learning experiences with modern technology.

Just what is Electronic Design?

Just what is Electronic Design? 
Electronic Designers are the primary creators and producers of all modern consumer, automotive, and military based electronics. Electronic Designers are responsible for many products we love and use on a daily basis such as Ipods, cell phones, laptops, and PCs. Decisions made by Electronic Designers affect our everyday life such as what features a given product will have, how much will it cost, and how long it will continue to perform.

What does an Electronic Designer do?
The primary objective on an electronic designer is to create a working, reliable, and low cost embedded solution to meet various customer requirements. The production of such products is best explained by observing the Electronic Design Life Cycle. Below is an example of what an electronic design development life cycle may look like for a given engineer.
Electronic Design Life Cycle Phases: 

Requirements Phase: Obtain all information possible from a given customer/group regarding what features and specifications are desired for a given product.

Detailed Design Phase: Based upon requirements, select key components such as micro processing unit and graphical processing unit if needed. In addition, design all individual sub-circuits required to perform specific tasks/features. Compile all sub-circuits into a master schematic.

Prototype Creation Phase: Pass off master schematic to PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Designers for the development of a prototype. Electronic Design Engineers will then proceed to assist PCB Designers in the trace layout of sensitive and critical circuits.

Product Test Phase: Confirm that newly created prototype functions as expected and that all circuits meet their requirements. In addition, run product durability tests such as vibration, drop testing, halt, and thermal shock to confirm integrity of product.

Product Evaluation Phase: Create a list of non compliant circuits / bugs with product. Based upon evaluation of requirements and overall functionality, decide whether or not to produce the product in mass quantity. If evaluation of a product fails, production is skipped and the life cycle is restarted again at requirement phase.

Production Phase: At this point the product should be guaranteed to meet the requirements and satisfaction of the client. The product is then mass produced and Electronic Design Engineers support production if trouble arises. They may also assist in creation mass quantity testers to confirm the integrity and functionality of units off of the given product assembly line.

Phase Summary: The above list summarizes an example of what one electronic design life cycle may look like. All of this depends on the particular company and the product that is being created. Should the customer be satisfied and their be sufficient consumer need, this process may be repeated for new production revisions.

What is the future of the industry?
The Electronic Design Industry continues to grow with the increased demand for new high tech products. The largest demand for Electronic Design Engineering stems from the commercialization of electronic products. For about the past century, companies have been in a constant technological competition for the most advance and appealing consumer products. Provided continued improvements in technology are discovered, the demand for more advanced products will only increase. Another large demand for Electronic Design is in the recently developing "Green" business. Currently, the world is facing an energy crisis as former fuel sources are depleted or are no longer desired. The assistance of the electronic design industry will be instrumental in order to produce renewable, clean, and efficient energy. This particular road block is critical to the future of the industry as well as the future of numerous other related industries.

In Summary: An Electronic Design Engineer is a producer of consumer, automotive, and military based electronics. Electronic Design Engineering is relevant to all of us for it produces many of the products that we use on a daily basis such as cellphones, tablets, and computers. The job of an Electronic Design Engineer is modeled by the Electronic Design Life-cycle which includes requirement, design, prototype, test, evaluation, and production phases. Finally, "Green Products"  in addition to consumer electronics will dictate the survival of the industry as well as the survival of numerous other industries that rely on electronic products.