Automated Test Environment for Notebook Manufacturing
Case Studies
Overview
First International Computer, Inc. (FIC) designs and produces notebooks and PC motherboards for NEC, Mitsubishi and other household names. The company works in an industry beset by a global economic downturn, decreasing demand and intense competition. Yet FIC is thriving, with revenues of $2.2 billion USD in 2000, and over 4,500 employees in eight manufacturing facilities on four continents. Clearly, FIC is doing many things right, especially in its design and manufacturing processes, where quality controls, lead-times and product costs are subject to constant scrutiny. As a result, FIC has been able to increase its margins and market share, running its production lines around the clock, and thriving in a difficult market while many of its competitors are struggling to find customers. It’s a success story in manufacturing with origins in design, where design-for-manufacturing (DFM) methods and an automated test environment (ATE) help FIC control costs, improve product quality, and protect its margins.
“In the old days, people automatically assumed that with high quality and performance came high price, but not any more. Today you have to provide high performance, high quality and low cost. If you can’t do that, you’ll never make it as an ODM. No way.”
Michelle Hsieh
Vice President, FIC Portable Computer Group
Profit is in the Details
To the Outside World, notebook computers are something of a commodity. They’re small, light and reliable. The displays are great, the keyboards are very usable, their power and features often rival or exceed desktop systems, and they’re amazingly affordable, especially compared to the notebooks of just a few years ago.
Now consumers want it all, and notebook manufacturers are struggling to balance customer expectations with the realities of electronics manufacturing. FIC has come up with a formula that seems to work. The company provides notebook PC design and production services to some of the world’s largest, most recognizable computer brands. FIC is thriving in the demanding Japanese market, and also has significant market share in China, Europe and North America.
FIC succeeds by automating its processes, cutting costs, and successfully identifying and eliminating the margin-stealing gremlins that lurk in every manufacturing line. In many cases, the relationship with Keysight and the use of the Keysight 3070 helps FIC maintain the high degree of process vigilance required for success in manufacturing and design.
Product Design
“Design determines cost,” says Michelle Hsieh, Vice President of FIC’s Portable Computer Group in Taipei, Taiwan. That simple statement belies a hard-earned insight at FIC. Like other original design manufacturers (ODMs) producing notebooks today, the company wrestles constantly with the challenge of increasing product quality while reducing product costs. The die is cast in the early stages of design. “Lowering costs means using inexpensive materials wherever possible, and making the best use of those materials in the best designs while still maintaining high performance and quality,” says Hsieh. “Material costs are 80 percent of the cost of a notebook, and material costs are already determined when you decide on the design.” To keep material costs as low as possible, FIC focuses not just on its components and devices, but also on the periphery of its processes. The company looks for ways to tighten the relationship between its purchasing department and key vendors. By working more efficiently with vendors, FIC keep costs down. FIC also reviews efficiency at its own factories, looking for ways to improve just-in-time manufacturing as a way to control inventory costs.
The design of components, devices and printed circuit boards (PCBs) is another area of intense scrutiny at FIC. Hsieh notes that while 0201 components and other packaging technologies, such as those used in cell phones and PDAs, can reduce PCB size and cost, they can also raise costs in manufacturing since testing points (and coverage) are reduced. Hsieh points out that since PDAs, cell phones and notebooks are rapidly shrinking, FIC is already planning for a time in the near future when “no contact” test will become an important part of their test strategy. Their use of the Keysight 3070 in-circuit test (ICT) system fits into that plan by allowing a transition to multi-faceted test, where ICT, X-ray and AOI are combined as part of a single automated test environment.
Design for Manufacture (DFM)
Product phases at FIC include a working sample, engineer sample, trial run, production pilot run, then master production. DFM techniques are used to find and eliminate problems at every stage. “We might see a problem with layout, which would affect our ATE testing and coverage, and thus our percentage of misjudgments,” says Hsieh, noting that FIC collects all DFM and PALdata and shares it with their customers through their web site. “All they need is a password.” This degree of open communication is enabled by linking ATE and other equipment throughout the production facility to the network. All engineers involved in the process, whether in design or production, know exactly what problems have occurred and how they’ve been solved. Everyone has equal knowledge of the situation, and each discipline brings key insights to the problem-solving process. “Automation becomes critical here,” notes Hsieh. “The information relay from one station to another is very important.” The Keysight 3070 simplifies automation by linking computer files to barcodes. A quick scan can provide all relevant layers of detail.