As most can attest to, the last couple of years have really been a struggle getting components. EMAC has orders from early 2021 for Intel FPGAs that we are not scheduled to receive until late 2023. Furthermore, we had parts stolen out from under us and POs pushed out again and again. I am sure you have experienced similar circumstances, very frustrating to say the least.
So how does EMAC deal with this uncertainty? First of all EMAC is primarily an Engineering company that does Manufacturing. This gives as a leg up on supporting our customers with part Crosses and Alternates rather than just throwing our hands up in the air and letting the customer deal with the problem. We have done a number of PCB revisions in order to allow for Alternate parts. In one case, we designed in a Obsolete part as an alternate population because stock of the Obsolete part was available. In many cases we are able to find viable Crosses, so that a PCB revision is not required.
In addition to performing Contract Manufacturing, EMAC designs, manufactures and sells Single Board Computers, System on Modules and Panel PCs. In doing so we have quite a large inventory of parts that we can pull from to help meet customer needs. Furthermore, we have developed custom software that allows us to not only look at what parts are available from franchise and from brokers, but also allows us to allocate and reallocate parts and track parts with the click of a button. This gives us great flexibility in meeting production needs.
Of course there are times where we have to sit and wait (such as with the Intel FPGAs), but for the majority of the issues we are able to find a solution that the customer can accept. If you are having issues with your CM or need Engineering Services for a board revision please consider EMAC. I guarantee you we will do our best to produce your boards in a timely manner. If you have a Manufacturing or Engineering need, reach out at info@emacinc.com.
