in-house vs. outsource - lpkfusa.com€¦ · 3 . stephan schmidt, president, lpkf laser &...

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In-house vs. Outsource PCB Prototyping Concerns for RF/Microwave Executives

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Live!

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Stephan Schmidt, President, LPKF Laser & Electronics North America

Shane Stafford, Market Development Representative, LPKF Laser & Electronics North America

Our presenters

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Questions

• Submit questions via…

• Your GoTo Webinar panel • Twitter

• #LPKF • @LPKF_USA

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Poll

What is your main PCB prototyping method?

• Outsourcing/board house • Breadboard, by hand • In-house chemical etching • In-house milling or laser system

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Microwave Journal reader poll

“What’s the most important tool in your design arsenal?”

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In-house vs. Outsource

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Prototyping parameters

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• Can you do it?

• How well can you do it?

• How quick can you do it? • How much is it going to cost me?

Capabilties

Process

Efficiency

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RF/microwave parameter concerns

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• Can you do it?

• Can you process the right material?

• How well can you do it? • Is the board geometrically accurate? • How will the board perform under working conditions?


• The two F’s: Fast and frugal

Capabilties

Process

Efficiency

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Capabilities

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Capabilities

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In-house Outsource

+ Single, double, multilayer

+ RF/microwave

+ Complex designs

+ Multiple revisions

+ Any substrate

+ Single, double, multilayer

+ RF/microwave

+ Complex designs


+ Any substrate

- 8 layer maximum limit - “Depends”

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RF/microwave capabilities concern

Materials

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Molecular structure, PTFE

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RF/microwave capabilities concern

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Capabilities concern: materials

• Produce PCBs on any substrate - Teflon filled (RT/duroid), ceramic filled (TMM and RO4000 series). • Quickly and inexpensively make material revisions

• Trust they will select the right material/have the right material in stock • Higher performing substrates come at a higher price point

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In-house

Outsource

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Capabilities concern: design data

Often, free design packages are exclusive to that provider

• Coal mine company store

What to look for • Industry standard files

(Gerber, DXF, etc.)

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Process

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RF/microwave process concern

Geometric precision and accuracy

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Trace/space 4/4 mil (milling) 2/1 mil (laser)

Resolution .5 µm

Repeatability 1 µm

• Milling and laser etching achieve maximum precision and accuracy

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Resolution .5 µm

Repeatability 1 µm


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Resolution .5 µm

Repeatability 1 µm


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Resolution .5 µm

Repeatability 1 µm


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• The nature of the mechanical and laser processes ensures performance

hindrances such as under etch are avoided

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Photo resist Copper Substrate

Under etch

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• The nature of the mechanical and laser processes ensures performance

hindrances such as under etch are avoided

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Perpendicular cut

Copper Substrate

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“With any new components, you have to see how they perform

in the environment in which they will be used… LPKF equipment allows us to make [test] PCBs for evaluating

the performance of new RF/microwave components.” - Garry Ingram, Technical Support Engineer, Raytheon

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In-house process benefit: component testing

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Create test circuits to evaluate the working performance of board components

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In-house process benefit: component testing

• Discrete transistors • Integrated circuits • More

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Testing board performance

• What you order is what you get • Revisions will bring significant time and money expenditures

• Find errors early • Make revisions quickly and inexpensively

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Outsource

In-house

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Efficiency

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• Can take days, weeks, or months • Advanced features, extra layers make the wait even longer • Expediting drives up the cost significantly

• Go from design to fully testable board in minutes or hours • Depends on layers

How quick can you do it?

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Outsource

In-house

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Proto

Etch/Route Board

Timeline: Simple design

Proto

Shipping

Build Time

Interface w/ Board House

Design Design

1 hour

1 day

3 days

2 days

1 hour

1 hour Outside provider

In-house

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Proto

Plating and Multi-layer

Etch/Route Board

Proto

Shipping

Build Time


Design Design

1 hour

5-10 days

1 day

6-11 days

1 hour

2-8 hours*

1 day +

In-house

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Timeline: Complex design/multilayer

Outside provider

*depends on layers

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Time saved

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“Thanks to our LPKF [milling machine] we took a project that

should have taken 10 weeks and did it in only one week.” - Paul Clark, Honeywell

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Proto

Etch/Route Board

Timeline: Simple design

Proto

Shipping

Build Time


Design Design

1 hour

1 day

3 days

2 days

1 hour

1 hour Outside provider

In-house

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Real world application of speed

• 86.5% of LPKF machine owners

save 4 days or more per project

• Of these, 58% save 1 week or more per project

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How much is it going to cost me?

• Board design • Custom design = custom price ($$$) • More layers = more $$$

• Speed • Quick = $$$

• Initial capital expense • Materials • Tooling (N/A with laser systems

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Outsource

In-house

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Requirements/Layers

Cost

Simple design Complex design

Outsource

In-house

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Price comparison: In-house vs. outsource

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Payback period/ROI

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“The cost of a four-layer, 150 board run may be $10,000, while

the cost of the [LPKF milling machine] was under $30,000, including accessories and consumables.”

- Robert Kobak, Senior Technician, Shure

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Payback period/ROI results

Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Capital expense

-25,000

Operating costs

-4,000 -4,000 -4,000 -4,000 -4,000

Return 15,000 15,000 15,000 15,000 15,000

Net savings 11,000 11,000 11,000 11,000 11,000

Cumulative total

-25,000 -14,000 -3,000 8,000 19,000 30,000

Payback Period: 27 months Annual ROI: 23% Yearly Savings: $11,000 5 Year ROI: 117%

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End result of efficiency

“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain

unfolding to success.” - Nikola Tesla

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Innovation

• 71% of LPKF customers report a

“more innovative culture” as a benefit of owning in-house prototyping equipment

• Allows for a trial and error culture • Push limits to gain an edge

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Which solution is right for me?

In-house Outsource

+ Complex designs


+ Super fast turnaround

+ RF/microwave applications

+ Multilayer up to 8

+ Simple designs

+ Few revisions

+ More than 8 layers

- Initial capital investment - Slower turnaround

- Quick turnaround, complex

designs, multilayer = $$$

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RF/microwave parameter concerns

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• Can you do it?

• Can you process the right material?

• How well can you do it? • Is the board geometrically accurate? • How will the board perform under working conditions?


• The two F’s: Fast and frugal

Capabilties

Process

Efficiency

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Thank you for your attention!

LPKF Laser & Electronics · 12555 SW Leveton Dr. · Tualatin, OR 97062 503-454-4219 · [email protected]

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Next steps

Download the white paper http://www.lpkfusa.com/RapidPCB/whitepapers/bring-rapid-prototyping-in-house.pdf

© 2012

http://www.lpkfusa.com/RapidPCB/whitepapers/bring-rapid-prototyping-in-house.pdf










in-house vs. outsource - lpkfusa.com€¦ · 3 . stephan schmidt, president, lpkf laser &...

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