When designing, what are the most important factors to consider when choosing electronic components?
The most important aspect of the electronic design system is components management, but with the pace of technological development, choosing components has become a difficult task for engineers working in the electronics industry. On paper, the component selection process seems easy, but at the execution level, there are many obstacles to overcome and tricks to use.
As a result, many skilled engineers are brought together to work alongside the design team. Component engineers must possess in-depth knowledge and experience with components, including their fundamentals, requirements, construction, and functionality.
When the circuit design is complete, the design engineers should be aware of all the different components that will need to be used. Essentially, the design engineering and component engineering teams must work together to identify the most cost-effective components while maintaining design quality.
The following are the main factors that make it possible to choose the components that are cost-efficient and function efficient:
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Choosing components that meet the necessary design performance
Any component engineer’s main responsibility should be to match the design requirements with the functional output of a specific component. A crucial step in enabling the circuit to carry out its intended function is component selection. Understanding how the circuit works and obtaining the precise parametric values within allowable tolerance ranges are essential for this. Making a wise choice of appropriate components enables the producer to get the desired result from a particular design.
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The component engineer needs to properly market the component’s value.
An experienced component engineer needs to have knowledge of the current worth of the particular component in comparison to the local items available on the open market. He should choose components that are more affordable yet have higher appreciating values.
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Choosing components with a long demand life-cycle
Time and cost implications caused by a component’s unavailability are major challenges for the electronic industry. In such a case, assessing a component’s life cycle status assists the manufacturer in understanding the long-term benefits of using the component. It also helps the manufacturer in mitigating the risk of product redesigning and component unavailability by planning the procurement schedule for the specific component in advance. As a result, it is critical for product manufacturers to regularly monitor the components’ life cycle status and develop a list of alternate components, as well as their procurement sources.
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Using fewer unique components
The price of a component is heavily influenced by its volume and application. The task should be to create an optimal mix of unique and standard components while keeping the overall cost of the product low. The manufacturer can reduce losses by using a small number of unique components.
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Choosing durable and dependable components
Another factor to consider when selecting components is component quality. It is always preferable to use components that will not deteriorate over time. This contributes to the components and the product’s overall longevity.
Here are a few examples to demonstrate:
- Instead of fuses, use circuit breakers.
- Use software control instead of manual switches.
- Dissipative devices like semiconductors, resistors, and inductors must be properly sized to keep internal temperatures within reasonable limits even when operating at high ambient temperatures.
Component availability or life-cycle, affordability, traceability, reliability, or the quality of the component’s performance over time helps one to select the components wisely. The selection of appropriate components enables the manufacturer to produce cost-effective products with higher performance and usability. If you‘re looking for a special part, just let us know, and we‘ll bring it to you. Or, if you‘re looking for multiple parts, select your options and order away.
