Run an ROI Calculator to Determine Feasibility of Automated Programmer Purchase

by Scott Bronstad | Nov 17, 2020 | How To

Run an ROI Calculator to Determine Feasibility of Automated Programmer Purchase

Request ROI Analysis

Provide us with a device list, with approximate programming data upload, and the number of devices needed per month, and we’ll provide you with an ROI Analysis.

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See Real-world Example Article

Example Calculation

In this real-world example, we’ll break down the numbers to bring device programming in-house:


Total Devices per Year to program	1,000,000
Average Lot Size (Quantity of devices per Job)	1,000
Factory Burdened Hourly Labor Rate (Direct labor + Overhead)	$15
Estimated APS Solution Price	$89,999
Capital Equipment Amortization	5
Machine Utilization Rate	85%
Estimated Consumable cost per device (sockets, carrier tape, cover tape)	$0.01
Expected Machine Throughput	1088
Programming Cost per Device (if outsourced or other programming process)	$0.15
Estimated Job Chageover Hours	333
Production Hours Required	1415
Equipment Operation Cost per Year	$39,220
Estimated Cost per Device to program	$0.0492

System Payback Calculation
Devices Programmed per Day (250 days per year)	4000
Savings per Device	$0.10
Savings per Day	$403.12
Work Days until System Purchase Payback	223.3

*BPM can help you with some of these numbers. If you provide us with a device list, how much data is to be programmed, and how many devices you need per month, we can give you a minimum configuration of a recommended system. Changeover hours are determined by how many changeovers per shift.

Payback in a few months

In the example above, it would take a few months (not years) to make device programming in-house a profit center! Once paid for, it’s almost all profit. Many customers use these systems for 10+ years and achieve 5-10X ROI.

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by Scott Bronstad | Nov 9, 2020 | Case Study, How To

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Disaster Recovery for a Modern Manufacturing Operation

by Scott Bronstad | Nov 5, 2020 | Case Study, How To, Technology

Some things to consider in a Disaster Plan

See Disaster Recovery Article

Hardware/Software contracts are up-to-date

Ensures the fastest response in line-down situations

Spares are on-site and/or available overnight

Schedule deliveries for consumables, especially sockets

Sockets are consumable items

The schedule ensures they are manufactured/delivered based on your requirements

Lead time to build a socket can vary, from days to weeks

Multiple prequalified vendors

Pre-qualify First Articles ahead of time from your partner supplier

Negotiate price per device before the disaster takes place

Some problems are good. It’s important for the modern manufacturing operation to prepare for the worst, and the best. There are lots of things that can go wrong. Add this to the list: what happens if one or more people on your line come down with Covid-19? You still have parts to program and production lines to supply. And as things rebound, what will you do if you are hit with an increase in orders? You (no doubt) have built-in capacity; but what if it doubles, or triples (or more)? BPM Microsystems builds systems and accessories that make it easy and cost-effective to make device programming a viable (and profitable) option in-house. Their line of programmers is universal, meaning they utilize the same software and accessories, from the smallest to the largest systems. From the first article (the initial first approved programmed device) to production, the only difference is throughput. Manual systems are perfect for starting out and/or smaller lot sizes (up to 50,000 parts per year). They also come in handy to augment the automated system’s capacity, or for programming short-run parts. BPM’s automated systems are the fastest and easiest to set-up of any programming systems. They are made for programming large data devices, such as eMMC HS400, NAND, NOR, and Serial Flash devices, and other nonvolatile memory devices such as MCUs, PLDs, and FPGAs. High-speed signals support devices up to 200 Mhz and the latest eMMC HS400 modes with data transfer rates of 2.5 nanoseconds per byte. With data transfer rates to 50 Gb per second, and verify rates up to 200 MB per second, BPM’s Automated Systems offer the industry’s fastest times. This is up to 9 times faster than competing “universal” programmers, offering the Largest Memory Support in the industry―256 GB, upgradeable to 512 GB.

WhisperTeach™ & CyberOptics™

WhisperTeach™ is patented hardware/software that automates the critical z-height measurement, which reduces set-up times by as much as 83%. More importantly, it improves yield and job performance compared to manual teaching methods. CyberOptics™ vision component auto measure delivers on-the-fly alignment to maximum device reliability and throughput.

Learn more about WhisperTeach™ auto Z-height teach system here.

Add Capacity

Adding capacity is fairly straightforward. The first option is to add overtime and/or add shifts. BPM’s set-ups don’t require extensive training, so quality and throughput won’t decline after 5 pm. Next, add programming sites and sockets to existing workflows. If utilizing manual systems, additional programmers can be “daisy-chained” to a single workstation (up to 12 total). For automated programmers, additional sites may be added. Each site has the ability to add up to 4 additional sockets (a socket is the electrical interface of hardware/software to program a specific device). Adding sites can double, triple (up to 10X) capacity, depending on which system is used. BPM’s universal sites mean you don’t need two different site technologies for programming different classes of devices. BPM supports more than triple the number of devices as their nearest competitor (36K vs 12K). Some BPM systems, such as the low-cost 3901 or 8th Generation automated systems, can be upgraded for higher throughput, with more devices per hour and/or additional sites or peripherals. When you experience a line-down (for whatever reason), you need solutions that allow you to quickly shift production without skipping a beat. For programming devices, contact your nearest programming center, such as Arrow, Avnet, or A&J. The set-up files can be securely transmitted; if they don’t have the sockets, simply overnight the sockets used on your production. Utilizing programming centers is another way to balance out your work-flow; when a temporary need overwhelms your workflow, you can outsource for extra capacity.

Conclusion

It’s not a matter of “if” things go wrong. It’s a mathematical certainty. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s prudent to be ready for just about anything. With a little forward planning, you should keep production moving. BPM’s systems are built to grow with your business; they have programmers that are still operating daily after 15 years or more. Contact your preferred Programming Center and BPM Microsystems to develop a disaster plan in advance.

See “Market Forces” Article here

Programming Devices— where no repairman has gone before

by Scott Bronstad | Oct 19, 2020 | How To, News, White Papers

How BPM’s device programmers master $100K antifuse FPGAs

The first few seconds are critical. There are a million things that have to go just right. If the rocket makes it to the second-stage burn, the engineers in mission control can begin to breathe again. For the payload specialists, the hard part is still hours, days, or even years to come. Where their satellite, probe, or manned mission is going, there are no service calls. Under the harshest conditions that are known to exist (extremes of heat/cold, g-forces, radiation, etc.) their payloads are expected to perform flawlessly well beyond what’s even realistic back on earth.

Whether it’s a sensor on an anti-lock brake assembly or a telemetry chip on a satellite, there are increasing numbers of programmed devices where failure isn’t an option; either it’s difficult or impossible to replace in the field, or failure means the potential loss of irreplaceable life and equipment (or both). When it comes to programming a mission-critical antifuse device, who is the only authorized vendor on which Microsemi relies? BPM Microsystems.

According to a Microsemi white paper, an antifuse-based FPGA is, “the most secure programmable device available.” Antifuse FPGAs are a one-time programmable non-volatile device that never uses a bitstream. Once programmed, it can’t be intercepted, copied, modified, or corrupted. They are also highly impervious to radiation (“Rad-Hard”). On the other hand, you’ve only got one shot to program the device, so it’s vital that it be programmed correctly.

Read More Here

Antifuse FPGAs have been around since the ‘90s, yet are still the most secure silicon devices available. From a practical perspective, antifuse devices are virtually impossible to reverse engineer. For instance, to determine the difference between programmed and unprogrammed fuses requires a scanning electron microscope, which when used, physically destroys the device in the process.

A single blank antifuse device can range in cost from a few thousand dollars to as much as $100,000! When a single device can cost as much as 50 times as much as the system that programs it, Microsemi has only licensed BPM to build their family of Silicon Sculptor programmers, now entering the 4th generation. The latest, the Silicon Sculptor 4 is built on the BPM 9th Generation site technology; 9th Gen programming sites are the most universal, most widely developed (35K+ devices and growing), fastest programming technology in the industry, and has been vetted by the most rigorous and demanding requirements in the business of programming. The underlying architecture was developed from the testing industry and is capable of generating the cleanest waveforms for the highest signal integrity, ensuring maximum trouble-free life in the field (even if that field is deep space).

When one chip costs more than some automated systems (such as BPM’s 3901 Automated Programming System) and there is no “second chance,” it has to be perfect the first time. The Silicon Sculptor 4 continues the tradition of delivering consistent quality devices to places where repair trucks can’t go.

Hardly anyone has the same quality requirements as antifuse devices. It is comforting to know the same attention to clean waveforms that Microsemi relies on is available to everyone. Anyone can benefit from the design criteria that are built into BPM’s 9th Gen family of programmers. Signal quality, power supply design, and system self-check ensure the highest level of quality for you.

BPM Microsystems 3901 Automated Programming System using WhisperTeach™

by Scott Bronstad | Aug 13, 2020 | How To, Video

BPM Microsystems 3901 Automated Programming System using WhisperTeach™

WhisperTeach™ is BPM’s patented technology that “teaches” the critical z-coordinate to precisely pick and place devices to and from locations while operating an automated programmer. It eliminates the need for a highly-skilled operator to set critical Z-height for pick-and-place functions. WhisperTeach™ offers a faster set up times and improved yields. WhisperTeach™ eliminates common Z-height errors such as miss picks, miss place, and socket continuity flaws.

Challenge

Very small devices such as WLCSP, SOT, DFN have very low mass. When teaching Z with a vacuum, the suction causes the part to jump up to the nozzle, increasing the possibility of an inaccurate Z teach elevation. Because automated systems are extremely consistent, a less-than-perfect teach may cause pick and place errors, dropped parts, cracked parts, and continuity errors.

This overview is a portion of a virtual demo. To see more, check out https://www.bpmmicro.com/3901-virtual-demo/ https://www.bpmmicro.com/3901aps/

3901 Runs a (short) Job

by Scott Bronstad | Aug 11, 2020 | How To, Video

3901 Runs a (short) Job

How quickly can you be up-and-running after a job changeover? If you’re using a BPM Automated Programmer, you’re not waiting long to get the “green light”. This overview is a portion of a virtual demo.

To see more, check out https://www.bpmmicro.com/3901-virtual-demo/

Hosts:

Colin Harper
Director of Sales and Product Management
Colin has been at BPM for over 17 years. He’s been head of Engineering, Product Development, Sales and Marketing. Colin was instrumental in launching the 3901 and 3928 in 2019.

Scott Bronstad
Marketing Communications Manager
Scott has over 25 years of marketing experience and has recently launched BPM’s eCommerce store.

See Full 3901 Virtual Demo

See 3901