Bosch Sensortec currently - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2021, 04:13:33 pm
content: Did I miss something?Active Bosch Sensortec parts are out-of-stock everywhere to the point where Mouser has removed any estimates when they would get them, and Digikey started refusing to take any more back orders. Looks to me this happened suddenly out of nowhere in January 2021.Seems to affect both their older parts where supply has been stable for a few years AFAIK, and newer models as well.Can't use their parts for old designs nor design the new ones in. I could even allow a quick redesign cycle but seems Bosch is out of options.Anyone have any rumors, did the striking ST employees go burn Bosch's factory down while high on Covid19?

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2021, 05:35:37 pm
content: I too ran into this a couple of months ago. Got a panicked call from Purchasing and Production for a specific Bosch Sensortec part. My research confirmed everything you just said.I dug into it everywhere I could and there was no solid answer. BTW, I got yelled at online by Bosch forum admins for even asking about it.There was some very confusing info about some of their parts. Example: The Sensortec website's page for a part we use says (paraphrased) "[newer part] recommended for new designs". I've been in this industry for a VERY long time and wording like that is usually an early sign that a part is going to be retired, one step before "Not for Future Designs" and "End of Life". Furthermore, their website tracks their authorized distributor's stock and every single one showed ZERO parts on hand.However, the suggested replacement is an absolute nightmare - nearly pin compatible but very firmware non-compatible and they even require that you upload an 8KB firmware imageon every powerup. (You fetch the 8KB image from github.) 8KB is a sizeable fraction of many MCU's entire nonvolatile memory, WTF are they thinking?!? They have flash on many other devices, if they want to make this thing field-upgradable how about flashing in the current version at the factory and those who care can optionally support in-the-field upgrades?I raised this question and got smacked pretty hard for "spreading misinformation" (at least I think that's how they described it). I replied with quotes and screenshots of their own website. Finally they openly admitted that the older part is not scheduled for retirement and will continue to be in production. I asked for their projected remaining lifetime for the part and was told "How can we know if it's not scheduled for retirement?" Never mind that most semiconductor companies chart out their product lines at least several years in advance for existing products.Some weird stuff going on at Bosch Sensortec.Out of all this I was able to tease out an estimated "next production schedule" of mid-summer. DigiKey and Mouser confirmed they were receiving the same info. Based on that I scoured the grey market and found a reel of 500 pieces and snapped it up to keep us in production for the next couple of months while things continue to sort out.What follows is 100% theory and conjecture on my part: Bosch provides a LOT of semiconductors to the automotive industry, which has been severely shorted lately due to terrible forecasting at the start of the whole COVID-19 nonsense. They thought auto sales would plummet so they backed off on semi orders, and the fabs (presumably including Bosch) re-scheduled accordingly. Instead, sales have been great and so the pressure is on the fabs to deliver more to the auto industry. Bosch being a huge player in that market, I wonder if (but have zero evidence for) Bosch re-re-scheduled their production back toward automotive, at the expense of non-auto markets. I bet the pressure is intense, and the auto industry consumes a lot of product so they are the 800 pound gorilla that carries a lot of influence over their vendors.EDIT: Forgot to mention that when we originally designed in this particular Bosch part we confirmed there was a reasonable, pin-compatible second source from STMicro. However, subsequent testing revealed that the STMicro part is utterly unreliable, with failure modes that can only be recovered by cycling power to the chip. We actually added a power circuit to enable this under MCU control but things will have to get pretty dire for us to use the STMicro part... it's just too full of bugs.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2021, 12:45:39 pm
content: It appears this isn't about the generally dire component situation, but something more specific is going on with Bosch Sensortec.Mouser reports they are refusing to take any orders of any component. This is such rare situation for distributors, Mouser have just copy-pasted "FACTORY NOT ACCEPTING ORDERS" on all part descriptions. Bosch Sensortec refuses to even talk to their official distributors. I have tried to contact Bosch Sensortec directly but obviously I believe this leads to nothing as I'm a small player and even big players are being ignored.If they just had temporary shortage and were planning next scheduled production run, they would happily accept new orders.Problem is, this is not about any specific part, or any old series; they don't accept orders or even talk to the distributors about their newly introduced or flagship parts such as BNO055. So I expect to see the whole company is going down, or maybe best case, reorganized and production of some parts restarted. Hopefully.Grey market have some of their parts, some with very good stock numbers, at inflated prices. I guess it's a good business to be able to predict when reputable, well known companies such as Robert Bosch suddenly go down without any prior warning sign, then buy the remaining stock for companies who are in urgent need of the parts. This also explains how the stock numbers were good everywhere, then just zero overnight (somewhere in January). Somebody Knew.Maybe there were warning signs some insiders saw and understood, but to me, the sudden demise of such well known and reputable player was a total surprise.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2021, 05:16:20 pm
content: Well, they have plenty of recent job postings on their website. If they should really be going down, they are covering their tracks well...https://www.bosch.de/en/career/job-offers/?searchTerm=%22Bosch%20Sensortec%22&sortBy=releasedDate

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2021, 09:06:37 pm
content: Maybe they have some very punitive or prioritised contracts with their existing automotive customers, who have suddenly come screaming at them demanding all their stocks and production capacity, and under great pressure they have decided to stick their head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich and not admit to the outside world that they can't sell anything through the normal distribution channels due to these agreements.Scene: a farmer's fruit stall. A seller mans the front of the stall, advertising his wares to passers by."APPLES! GET YOUR APPLES HERE! BEST QUALITY APPLES!""Hello, I'd like to buy a dozen apples, please.""We don't have any apples to sell to you.""What? But you said you had apples a moment ago. That's silly.""WHO SAID WE DON'T PRODUCE GOOD APPLES? This is outrageous! We have only the best apples, and we are NOT experiencing a shortage.""But... I... <sigh> Never mind."Lurking in the shadows at the back of the stall, a large man from the Apfelstrudel factory next door can be seen looking on menacingly.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2021, 10:18:45 pm
content: VW was supposedly threatening to sue them.

author: m98
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2021, 10:58:26 pm
content: I tried to contact them, but it seems like they've got a pre-written reply for such inquiries. One should contact their distributors for information on lead-time and availability. Yeah..."10-year product availability gives customers peace of mind and increased flexibility" - I guess they didn't mean the products are availablefor10 years.

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2021, 03:52:52 pm
content: It appears the Bosch marketing department is working hard on their public perception. I just received a DigiKey mailer which features newer components. Bosch lists their BMA490L, and the entirety of its verbage focuses solely on availability, NOT technical desireability:"Extended Availability of up to Ten Years; Designed for the Long Life Cycles of Mobile and Stationary Industrial Applications such as Robots and Other Industrial IoT Applications"Note the utter lack of any technical information whatsoever. I wonder if "Extended Availability" is the latest Bosch marketing buzzterm, trying to overcome their well-deserved bad reputation for orphaning their customers.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2021, 12:01:54 pm
content: This is funny because Bosch Sensortec ignores the industry practice of communicating part life status to the distributors.For any other manufacturer, you can pretty much trust that if both Digikey and Mouser list part as Active, recommended for new designs, it surely is that way. And when part changes status, you get automated notification email.But Bosch Sensortec only publishes the fact that part has changed to NRND on their website, while distributors continue supplying wrong information.Also very funny that whendistributorscontact me to say that Bosch Sensortec isignoring themand I should contact Bosch Sensortec directly, when I do, Bosch Sensortec asks me to contact the distributor!I like many of their products, but they seem to lack the ability to follow basic industry standards regarding sales and support.

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2021, 06:47:49 pm
content: As mentioned, last I checked Bosch Sensortec wasn't even saying NRND on their website. They just "recommended" a different part while strenuously, almost insultingly, insisting the original part was still active in their own online forums.I've found Bosch parts to be pretty good and have favored them in the past for new designs, but my opinion has shifted strongly in the past six months.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2021, 12:22:31 pm
content: Bosch BNO055 chip... now not available anywhere. I inherited a design using this part and I had respun the board for manufacturability and a few major improvements. About two months ago, I got 10 boards made in the PRC and there were no problems getting parts. I am doing the firmware now. But now Findchips says there are NONE ANYWHERE, and Digikey and the rest have no idea when more will be available even though the part is still listed as active. If this malarkey is going to continue into 3Q 2021, I might have to re-spin the board using an alternative part from a more trusted vendor.The least they could do is advise chip distributors when parts will be available, but they fail to bother to do so. Bosch needs to clean up its act, else "face the firing squad".Atmel did the same with the touch switch fiasco back in 2008, and I know first hand they lost business as engineers looked for alternatives to the brand, because the brand had lost trust and confidence.