About Contract Manufacturing and Rapid Prototyping Manufacturers Including: Contract
Assembly, Contract
Manufacturers, Electronic
Contract Manufacturing, Medical
Device Contract Manufacturing & Pharmaceutical
Contract Manufacturing.
Contract manufacturing involves the production of
a product or component by one company for an original equipment manufacturer
(OEM), which then sells the product under its own name. Charges for a
contract manufacturing service are frequently based on a per-piece or
per-lot system. Electronic contract manufacturing deals specifically
with electronic products. The actual contract manufacturing process of
using a contract manufacturer to produce another company's goods
is called outsourcing, which can be very beneficial for both companies
involved. It frees up the OEMs to concentrate on their own business concerns,
such as marketing and new product development.
For many OEMs, using contract manufacturing to assemble or create a product
results in reduced costs and valuable saving of time. Corporations that
use contract manufacturing do not need to dish out costs for establishing
certified quality systems or statistical process controls. These companies
also save money that would otherwise be spent on assembly and manufacturing
machinery. More often than not, the company purchasing from the contract
manufacturing company, can leave the engineering and developing stages
of a product up to the producer if they choose, also saving time and
money by not having to do these things themselves.
Contract manufacturing and contract
assembly offer different services.
A contract manufacturing company typically produces and ships goods to
the OEM that will sell them. From there, it is up to the purchasing company
to promote and sell those products as their own. Contract assemblers,
however, are hired to piece together loose materials that have been given
to them. The completed product is then sold back to the OEM that provided
the original components, or in some cases, to an entirely different company.
Assemblers will sometimes offer alternate services to manufacturing,
including welding, stamping,
soldering, painting and
laser
cutting services.
Rapid prototyping manufacturers fabricate objects directly from CAD data
sources, adding and bonding materials in layers. Does the job require
fast production of a part with even fairly complex geometry? Then, rapid
prototyping manufacturers have the advantage. Rapid prototyping manufacturers
utilize such processes as additive fabrication, three dimensional printing,
solid freeform fabrication (SFF) and layered manufacturing.
Different contract manufacturing companies in both assembly and manufacturing
frequently require a minimum order size. This is to ensure profitability
for the assembly/manufacturing business and also to reduce prices for
the OEM that will later buy those products back. Many contract manufacturing
companies will also test products for the OEM before selling them back
to ensure that they are of the highest quality possible. Although the
list is extensive, almost every industry can benefit from the services
of contract manufacturing. Some specific examples include military, computer,
industrial, instrumentation, medical, communications, food, pharmaceutical,
hardware and appliance. Any business that needs a certain product and
would rather invest time and money developing the new or improving the
old should consider the services contract assemblers and contract manufacturing
companies have to offer.
Types of Contract Manufacturing
- refers to a process that involves
one company sending loose or modifiable components to a contract assembler.
The business that receives the separate parts assembles or changes
them and makes a profit once the final products are sold back to the
business.
- is the process performed by a contract
manufacturer that involves assembling an electronic product. Another
company, who sells the good under their name, then purchases the completed
product.
- produce products for another company, whose name appears on the finished product when it is sold.
- is the agreement by which one company manufactures electronic goods for a different company, which sells the product as their own.
- is a process for circuits, resulting in shock resistance,
good thermal properties and increased protection from harsher environments.
- is a service offered by many contract manufacturers,
including such processes as milling, wire eroding, punch press and
laser cutting.
- involve any procedural/beneficial actions performed
by a contract manufacturer to meet the needs of a buying company. These
services include but are not limited to product design and validation,
rapid prototyping, assembly, testing, and sustained engineering.
- is the agreement by which one company manufactures medical devices for another company's line.
- refers to the services provided by an outside company for a pharmaceutical company; this often includes packaging and labeling.
- is a process that avoids tooling time for producing
prototypes. With rapid prototyping, prototypes can be produced within
days or hours instead of weeks.
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Contract Manufacturing Terms
- a list which includes all subassemblies and components that go
into a certain product. The BOM also shows quantities of each material
used.
- refers to any assembly
work that does not involve printed circuit board production.
- procedures or
actions that are essential to a company's long -term growth and
success. Core competencies tend to be skills and knowledge rather than
company functions or products.
-
an action request usually filed by an OEM that asks the responsible business
to conduct a cause analysis regarding the error and to resolve the issue
at hand.
- an
alteration to a bill of materials (BOM) such as the replacement of a specified
component by a substitute for it. ECOs commonly contain a reason and description
for the change, and the date for implementation of the change.
- a production
where low quantity products assembled vary in design and process.
- any unique
product developed by human intellect. IPs include inventions, ideas, and
business methods.
- A
contract and document used to define processes, performance estimations,
and expectations for the contract manufacturer and the OEM. It also serves
to reduce misunderstandings which sometimes occur.
- a production
that includes one or few variations of a high quantity good.
- a contract designed to outline responsibilities between a contract manufacturer
and the OEM which purchases the product(s). MSAs describe what the manufacturer
is to provide for the OEM and at what cost.
- a
set of procedures used to turn a product design into a product ready for
manufacturing. The product must also meet quality, cost, and time -to
-market requirements.
- one or
more activities/items required by a contract manufacturer that are specific
to a single OEM's product program. Some NREs include special tooling,
programming, and setup.
- any company that manufactures its own unique product. From the ODM,
the product is commonly sold to an OEM. ODM designs are based on their
own intellectual property.
- a business that specifies and designs products under its own name. With
outsourcing, many OEMs obtain "their" products from another
source.
- the procedure used to
subcontract a process. Product designs and manufacturing techniques are
commonly outsourced by a third -party company such as a contract manufacturer.
- an original model or mock
-up of a technological process or device. They're used to generate
criticisms and other information that will help the final design before
production takes place.
- a document
prepared by an OEM and submitted to a contract manufacturer. The RFQ contains
product quantities and specifications, as well as a BOM.
- the time required
to bring a quality product into the market.
- length of time necessary
to turn a prototype into a high -volume production good.
- a contract
service agreement that contains deliverables, pricing, and cost reductions
based on volume production.
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