Supply chains _ the chains that bind - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: IconicPCB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 11:07:01 pm
content: A hypothetical ... It looks like we are in for a new break down of supply chains... probable escalation of NATO / Russia conflict plus likely clash of the Titans, USA vs. China.In such a scenario we may end up with a scarcity of components.Other than the basic fare of cubic components please voice an opinion on what to stock up on in terms of general purpose silicone.Be as general or specific as You think appropriate.I am looking to get materials I already use in my production in quantities to see me through the next 12 months and i already have some back up stocks of general purpose and precision op amps.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 11:11:38 pm
content: QuoteGoing by the last global supply chain hiccup sod the silicone and invest in bog roll.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 11:17:44 pm
content: Silicon is a much better semiconductor than silicone.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 11:18:55 pm
content: Silicone is nasty until it cures.But seriously, advising people to hoard components in advance when there's no definite sign of shortage is not the greatest idea IMHO. Unreasonable hoarding is usually what causes shortages in the first place.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 11:46:38 pm
content: I was never a fan of silicone. Natural is my thing.

author: IconicPCB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 12:54:22 am
content: OK ..ok... i made a mistake in spelling... but seriously... may be I need to point to an example in order to get the smart arses off this topic... Think about the politics of establishing the TSMC factory in the states and try to respond sensibly.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 06:28:25 am
content: Quote from: IconicPCB on September 26, 2023, 11:07:01 pmIf you have a known set of boards in production, and feel the need to build a safety stock of components for these, go ahead. Other than that, what kind of advice are you looking for?We have no idea what kind of stuff you design. If you have run a productive lab over the past few years, you probably know which components you want to have around for prototyping new designs, and which ones might end up in a new product of yours. We don't.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 08:35:09 pm
content: OK, let's go serious.This is a general issue, not just related to electronics, but to all fields of supply and demand.Having worked at the semiconductor supply end for 40+ years, I've seen this pattern emerge and repeat every 5...10 years.The key word is:"Hysteria"Some hack at FT or WSJ, or whatever the brass reads, wants to stir up some action, and writes an article about supply shortages.The hack isn't wrong, but the discrepancy between supply and demand is perhaps just 1%, 2%, or 3% and will be equalized within a few months.But human nature being what it is, the brass switches to panic mode: "We've got to protect our supply lines!" etc. and orders Procurement to take action.Procurement of course follows management orders and place double/triple/quadruple orders at all available suppliers as well as starting hoarding.Result: Meltdown.Defence line on the supply side: place all incoming orders on hold and flag all products with "on allocation".Suddenly there's a major shortage (although there isn't).Some time later, capacity is balanced again, making major customers cancel their multiple orders, now creating a supply glut.Wasteful and completely unnecessary.My advice to you: always have inventory for a few of months' production and otherwise keep cool. Leave the "just-in-time" stuff and the hysteria to the big customers. Keep your business stable.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2023, 03:50:43 pm
content: Quote from: IconicPCB on September 27, 2023, 12:54:22 amAlways have a year of key components piled upwhat else?

author: Infraviolet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2023, 12:59:33 am
content: In terms of general purpose silicon, this is almost not so much just a matter of supply chain issues, but of finding generic type parts which would be relatively immune to those issues. A question of what minimum types of ICs one can keep in stock from which doing "anything"* is possible.A list would start with:NPN transistorPNP transistorOR gateNAND gateRail-to-rail fairly fast op ampand so on, With some items perhaps not really being so generic, but being one type you can rely on for all purposes, so long as you've got stock. You might say you were going to use the ATmega328P for all microcontroller needs excepting really fast things and wi-fi related stuff, though if you didn't have them in stock you'd have had a nasty surprise for late 2021 (they weren't getting hard to find for small quantities until quite late in the chip crisis) until mid 2023.Don't ever stock up on something you won't eventually use if no crisis comes, that's how the worst excesses of panic buying get triggered. When people mass buy baked beans, you can expect many of the buyers never normally do eat them, and if a panic blows over with no apocalypse won't eat them then either.*subject to the limits of the maximum frequencies, voltages, currents... in the sort of anythings you plausibly expect to need to do