Every industry has its own lingo and electronics manufacturing is no different. Here we’ve gathered 25 manufacturing terms that you will come across often as you design and manufacture a product.
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Annual Cost Reduction Program
- A process where a business will review their systems and materials once a year in order to cut costs and increase profits.
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Bill of Materials (BOM)
- The list of the components (along with their prices) needed to produce a product.
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Burn-in Equipment
- Equipment that tests the reliability of a component by running it for a prolonged period of time.
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Compliance Testing
- A set of tests that ensures the product meets the required standards either set by the government or by the industry.
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First Article Inspection (FAI)
- A method to review the initial build on a production run to ensure that all aspects of the product meet the customer’s detailed specifications.
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Fixed Costs
- Costs that do not change based on the quantity of units purchased; typically include factory margin, production setup, and compliance testing fees.
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Flexible (Variable) Costs
- Costs that can change depending on the number of units purchased or the type of materials used.
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Freight Forwarder
- A company that organizes shipments for businesses to get products from manufacturer to market.
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Golden Sample
- A perfectly made piece of the product created by the factory to use as a standard for when the product is produced at mass scale.
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Incoming Quality Control (IQC)
- The department at the manufacturing facility that reviews the quality of components before they are used in the production line.
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Lead Time
- The amount of time it takes to receive goods including timeline to purchase materials and delivery.
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Logistics
- The process and organization of creating, moving, and storing products.
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Manufacturability
- The degree in which a product design is able to be easily produced in a manufacturing facility.
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New Product Introduction (NPI)
- A program to help with the design, creation, and launch of a new product.
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Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE)
- One time only payment for engineering services.
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Outgoing Quality Control (OQC)
- The department that reviews the quality of the products manufactured before leaving the facility and are shipped to the customer.
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Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
- A thin flat sheet of plastic that includes gold plated circuit drawings and houses additional components that control a device's hardware.
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Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA)
- The process of placing and securing additional components to the PCB.
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Production
- The stage of manufacturing where the product is created and assembled on a large scale.
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Prototype
- A physical model of the product created during the design phase.
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Risk Mitigation
- A way of avoiding or preparing for the effects of potential threats or risks.
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Scaling
- The increase in units produced at a manufacturing facility based on the customer’s increased demand.
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Sourcing
- The process of finding and selecting businesses or components within a specified set of guidelines.
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Surface Mount Technology (SMT)
- A manufacturing method where components are placed on the surface of a PCB. SMT is completed by a machine allowing for more complex PCBA builds, lower margin of error, and efficient repeatability.
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Tooling
- The process of preparing a metal or plastic mold necessary to create a custom part.