Message from the CEO

As 2012 draws to a close, I want to thank all of our colleagues and customers for an amazing year. DfR Solutions continues to grow rapidly and we believe our consistent success comes from a high number of returning customers, who recognize the quality and value of our services, and our continued expansion into new and exciting opportunities, including  our unrivaled Automated Design Analysis software, Sherlock, which recently won the Global Technology Award for Innovation. 
 
We have been especially pleased at the recognition we are receiving in high growth markets such as solar power, LED lighting, power electronics and electric vehicles.  Products can’t be green unless they’re safe and reliable!  Please enjoy this holiday season with your friends and family.
Craig Hillman, PhD

Keeping it Tight: Understanding Hermeticity

It’s amazing how poorly hermeticity is understood and how often devices fail due to issues with their hermetic environment.

 

One of the great ways to make it in the electronics industry is to realize that everything old is new again. About every five years, almost like clockwork, manufacturers seem to forget about to make the most basic of technologies.  Wire bonds. Electrolytic capacitors. Flame retardants. Underfills. Etc.
 

Hermetic packages are a great example. Read more here.

NASA Identifies Counterfeit Parts as Greatest Challenge

NASA stated that counterfeit parts are a growing problem and that high risk suppliers are employing increasingly sophisticated techniques to pass off fake components. 

DfR Solutions is actively engaged with several customers to assure that counterfeit parts do not get into their applications.  

Greg Caswell recently gave a presentation on the cost versus risk of mitigation at the ISTFA Conference in Phoenix.  For more information please contact Greg Caswell.

High Temperature, Vibration, Shock, Power Cycling, High Current Flow, and a Mix of Materials!!!

Power Modules for automotive, solar, trains and thermoelectric applications have all of these issues in common.  How do you, the developer, assure that your product is capable of meeting the 20-25 year lifetime requirements?  Easy, Sherlock!!   

DfR’s automated design analysis tool provides the insights necessary to make the right decisions during the design stage of a project.  

Greg Caswell recently presented at the ECPE workshop in the Netherlands  on “Automating Lifetime Simulation of Power PCBs.”  If you have any questions please contact Greg Caswell.

Pick the Right CM Every Time

As OEMs outsource more activities to Contract Manufacturers (CMs), CM benchmarking and selection have become critical to market success. Concerned about your existing CM or how to pick a new one? DfR’s direct and specialized experience in performing technical audits of PCB fabrication and PCB assembly helps you make the right choice every time. For more information, contact Cheryl Tulkoff.

Obsolescence Management - A Key Element of Product Lifecycle Management

One increasing CM activity is product lifecycle management (PLM). And one key element of a successful PLM is Obsolescence Management. In this captivating paper, Greg Caswell and Cheryl Tulkoff provide a broad overview of this critical topic and how it can influence product reliability. For more information on DfR’s Obsolescence Mitigation activities, including obsolescence prediction, obsolescence management (including design refresh), and counterfeit detection, contact Walt Tomczykowski.