-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueComing to Terms With AI
In this issue, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
Box Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
A Look at the High-Reliability Interconnect Market
July 15, 2015 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
I-Connect007 Publisher Barry Matties recently met with Mark Cormier of Miraco Inc. to discuss the latest trends and drivers in the high-reliability segment, and their customers' increasing demand for quality.
Barry Matties: Mark, let’s start with an overview of Miraco.
Mark Cormier: We design interconnects and source interconnects. Most of our business is created from the need for a custom interconnect. The vast majority of our opportunities (~85%) are in the medical and military fields that require Class 3 high-reliability solutions. Our commercial business is only 15% of our total business.
The military designs we do are mostly avionics. We've had history in the past with doing a lot of ordinance, but right now that's not our big driver. Our ITAR registration has helped improve our visibility to more military designs.
Our medical designs are predominately medical device types of products. We seem to do very well in that area. It is long lead time, long design cycle.
Matties: What sorts of needs do your customers currently have?
Cormier: Typically they need an interconnect and they are short of time, short of manpower, or short of material knowledge. Miraco’s advantage is we're unbiased in the approach. We don't care if the design requires a flexible printed circuit, a flat flex cable or a wire harness. We can design and source any of the three options and have the capability of building the complete solution at either our North American facilities located in Manchester, New Hampshire or in Tijuana, Mexico. When volumes dictate, and with customer approval, we also have the option of building a full turnkey solution at our off-shore partner’s facilities. In summary, our customers benefit from our local design capability, our global sourcing network, and our multiple assembly options while keeping the quality assurance group in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Matties: When we look at medical electronics, that's a fast-moving market with a lot of changes being made.
Cormier: Yes, it is fast moving, and it slows down because the design cycles are so long from when you do prototyping to actually getting it into production. We just delivered a prototype that got a first-time order for something that we've been working on for eight years. We understand the material traceability requirements that our medical customers operate under.
Matties: When you say design, are you talking about from concept?Page 1 of 2
Suggested Items
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Magnalytix's Services and Trends in the Electronics Industry
05/10/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOMike Bixenman, president of Magnalytix, explains Magnalytix's services, including third-party validation, test boards, electrical testing, and comprehensive reports. He also discusses emerging trends such as power electronics and reliability. Standards and design improvements also form part of this conversation.
Podcast Review: On the Line with… Designing for Reality
05/09/2024 | Duane Benson, Positive Edge LLCAs a technologist, if I were forced to come up with just one recurring theme that I might call a professional “nemesis,” it would be the difference between theory and reality. A lot of technology we have at our disposal works well in theory but falls short when reality hits. That’s not the only reason I chose to listen to and review On the Line with… Designing for Reality, featuring a series of conversations with ASC Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson, but it certainly helped that the title caught my eye.
EMA Webinar: Next Generation MCAD/ECAD for SOLIDWORKS
05/09/2024 | EMA Design AutomationLearn how the MCAD and ECAD experts at Hawk Ridge and EMA can help you solve your MCAD/ECAD integration challenges with this unique collaboration environment.
Sondrel Awarded New Video Processor ASIC Design and Supply Contract
05/09/2024 | SondrelSondrel, a leading provider of ultra-complex custom chips for leading global technology brands, is pleased to announce that it has won a major ASIC design and supply contract for a next generation, video processing chip.
Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—The Pre-Manufacturing Process
05/08/2024 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsI have been working with Nolan Johnson on a podcast series about designing PCBs for the reality of manufacturing. By sharing lessons learned over a long career in the PCB industry, we hope to shorten learning curves and help designers produce better boards with less hassle and rework. Episode 2 deals with the electronic pre-manufacturing process. Moving from CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is a key step in PCB manufacturing. CAM turns digital designs into instructions that machines can use to actually build the PCB.