# Presentation: 225608

## Planning for the impact of Electronic Component Obsolescence on future avionics design

- A Commercial Airplane Manufacturers View
- Presented to G12 Columbus OH. 22/23 Sept 98
- by J.B.Ingram-Cotton
- The Aerospace Corporation

## Electronic Component Obsolescence in the Commercial Aerospace Industry

- ECCB Users Advisory Group
- Arlington, VA
- March 18, 1998
- Lloyd Condra
- Boeing Commercial Airplane Group

## The Situation

- Military components are disappearing, and many current system designs depend on them
- Available components are produced for computers and consumer electronics; they have 3-6 year production lives and narrow operating temperature ranges
- Designing, certifying, operating, and maintaining our airplanes will change dramatically
- There is no single, permanent solution
- We have three years to solve the problem

## Technology, Airplane, and Computer Lifetimes

## Technology Trends: Most Components are Near the End of Production

## We Are Almost Imperceptible to Component Manufacturers (<0.5%)Annual Commercial Aerospace Consumption Estimated from Boeing Data*

## Integrated Circuit Trends

## Boeing Initiatives to Respond to the Problem

- Component Obsolescence Strategy Team formed in 1997
- Airlines International Electronics Meeting (AIEM)
- Electronic Components Certification Board (ECCB)
- Electronic Component Management Program (ECMP)

## Boeing Strategy Board

- 1.	What should be BCAG’s role in the industry?
- 2.	How should we change procurement strategies with equipment suppliers?
- 3.	Can we change equipment environmental requirements?
- 4.	Can we change the way airplanes are operated, maintained, and supported?
- 5.	How should we change airplane systems designs?
- 6.	How can we change the certification process?

## AIEM-ECCB

## AIEM-ECCB Agenda

- Impact on equipment operation, maintenance, and support
- Impact on equipment design
- Communicating with component manufacturers
- Component Management Standards
- Impact on certification

## Impact on Equipment Operation, Maintenance, and Support

- Boeing, Airbus, and Lufthansa to prepare outline of communication to airlines
- Consider elimination of level three maintenance by repair shop
- Throw-away modules
- May have to change startup procedures

## Impact on Equipment Designs

- Verify environmental requirements
- Develop life cycle plan for each LRU, and review at design stage
- “Given that only components specifed at -40 to +85C are available, and that they will change every five years; and that service cannot be degraded, and that costs must decrease, how will we design, build, operate, maintain, and support airplanes?”

## Communicating with Component Manufacturers

- What do we need from component manufacturers (that we can reasonably expect to get)?
- How can we use available components?
- Can we speak with a common voice (other industries, STACK)?

## Component Management Standards

- Electronic Component Management Program (ECMP) Plan Template
- Performance Derating of Electronic Components
- Uprating of Electronic Components
- Reliability Assessment of Electronic Equipment
- Product Discontinuance

## ECMP Template Objectives

- Component Application
- Component Qualification
- Component Continuous Quality Assurance
- Component Compatibility with Equipment Manufacturing Process
- Component Data
- Component Configuration Control
- Components Used Outside Mfrs. Specified Ranges
- Component Obsolescence Management

## ECMP Template and Reliability Assessment Schedule

- ECMP Template
- Present to SAE E-36, March 12, 1998
- Present to ECCB, March 18, 1998
- ECCB release date ??
- SAE, RTCA ??
- Reliability Assessment
- Outline approach, February - April, 1998
- Initial draft, August, 1998
- Submit to (IECQ, SAE, IEEE ???)

## Reliability Assessment

- Aerospace industry effort led by Boeing
- Top-down approach (does not resemble Mil-Hdbk-217)
- Will develop standard for presentation to industry: Is SAE interested?
- Next meeting is April 23 in Toulouse

## Impact on Certification

- ARAC definition of Standard Part
- Why do we change part numbers and re-certify so often?