Fabric sourcing designated supplier

Chapter 28 closed with a description of process capabilities and the tolerances that must be met. An important success factor in supply chain management (SCM) is certainly the design of the products that the supply chain must source, make, and deliver. It has been observed by many that the engineering department largely determines the cost of operations. This certainly applies to the manufacturing department in the company that must fabricate and assemble the product. It is just as tme for suppliers who must meet their customers specifications. If the tolerances described in the Chapter 28 are too tight, the product cannot be made cost effectively. Thus, the quotation above is one to keep in mind when addressing supply chain costs. 

Fill Materials. Since the fill material is an additional fabrication material that becomes a part of the design construction, procurement documentation is required to specify a fill material type and thereby implement the via fill process. The selection and documentation of the fill material require the same consideration as the base laminate preference. This is especially critical when targeting a lead-free-compatible process. Currently, an industry-based material specification for via fill material does not exist.Therefore, specific fill-material brands may be named on the drawing, or some other form of user/supplier agreement must be established.The fabricator has preferences for the type of material used for via fill. Just as suppliers often have preferences for a specific solder mask brand, they also often prefer to use of a specific via fill material around which they have developed their principal processes. Supplier preferences can be driven by specific via fill material characteristics, such as accessibility, equipment compatibility, process supportability, plateability, and/or shelf/pot life. This may complicate source selection, or it might influence the use of a dedicated service center for the hole-fill process. The fabricator may not always know the reliability of its preferred material for a given via structure or end-use environment. 

This approach also results in sourcing of the key equipment with the same strategic suppliers for a series of plants. By doing this, the suppliers can justify making the first-of-a-kind investments in design engineering, fabrication, test and start-up equipment (e g. fabrication... 

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