Circuits Assembly - January 2008 - (Page 22)

Better Manufacturing Evolution or Revolution? Like the equipment itself, trade shows follow a development curve. he electronics marketplace is stable, with growth evaluate all they need from their desks. They can downoccurring mainly in key regions or sectors. In load specification sheets and glossy images, find peer much of Europe and the U.S., the market has reviews, and in fact, do everything save for touch and shifted to medium-volume, highly complex assemfeel the physical machine. blies and prototypes. This is a generalization, but it The burning question: Can an exhibition survive on highlights the difficulties show producers face trying evolution or must there be revolution as well? On the to maintain exhibitions in mature areas. The costs of evidence of this year’s Productronica, survival prosrunning any exhibition in a stable area start to eat into pects look good. But is the same true for smaller, more profits; worse, long-running exhibitions can start to parochial shows? I believe the two major factors to be look tarnished. the ability to educate a local audience and be able to Does this matter? Well, yes. For it not a matter of demonstrate technology successfully to those who need greed among organizers, it’s more the market percepto see it in action as well as read the theory. tion. As manufacturing costs are pared to the bone and Many shows have working lines or a featured fewer engineers employed, there are fewer products area, but the impact is less in funds and people to release to travel a show as large as Productronica. to far-off exhibitions. Therefore, Large shows are like departthe home exhibition has a part ment store windows; small to play in educating new shows are like university staff and showing equiplabs. Visitors to smaller ment to those who cannot shows are often new gradtravel. However, a shrinkuates, junior engineers or ing region cannot support apprentices needing the more than one exhibition: hands-on to translate the If two separate exhibitions concepts they have read are set up in the same into reality. region in a shrinking enviOur shows have ronment, cannibalization evolved into evolution Figure 1. Factors (outside circles) that impact machine and is a risk. demonstrators. If a totally process innovation. This is the state of the innovative, revolutionary market today. development occurs, it The real key to exhibition growth is in revolution. will create a change in the exhibition world and change When surface mount was in its infancy and throughthe show focus until stability resumes. An analogy for hole technology was the de facto standard, anything in this is the machine tool industry, which underwent a the SMT world either was genuinely innovative, or at revolution in the 1970s when automatic tool changers least appeared to be so, and there was always a variety were engineered into lathes and milling machines to of new ideas and developments to see. Consequently, create machining centers. Prior to that, all tools were most exhibitions were busy and most regions could changed by hand. support two or three per year. The world has turned Themes of increased placement speeds or coping and SMT has become mainstream. The revolution has with legislation are evolution, not revolution. It’s a suball but ended. We are in a phase of evolution. tle distinction. If we ever get a truly “lights-out” factory Wandering an exhibition the size and strength of that can run automatically and unattended for long Productronica, one realizes just how little genuinely periods, that will signal a revolution. We are a long way revolutionary development is taking place. Sixteen from that. The pressures on manufacturing (Figure 1) years ago, nearly every booth displayed something will never go away, but they show areas of development entirely new. It’s the same everywhere, of course, but that might one day lead to a revolution. Productronica may have survived because it takes place If that is the case, the exhibition world will have biennially and it has built a reputation for information plenty to do toward promoting these inventions, dissemination. although I suspect the current format – a couple of In the past, to keep pace with the times, engineers major shows worldwide, supplemented by many small needed trade shows. They now have the Internet to regional events – will remain. In the meantime, start launch their information trawl and, in theory, could saving for a new pair of comfortable shoes. ■ Circuits Assembly JANUARY 2008 circuitsassembly.com T Peter Grundy is director of P G Engineering (Sussex) Ltd. and ITM Consulting (itmconsulting.org); peter.grundy2@ btinternet.com. His column appears bimonthly. 22 http://itmconsulting.org http://circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - January 2008

Circuits Assembly - January 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Focus on Business On the Forefront Screen Printing Better Manufacturing Walking on Water Flux Selection for Lead-Free Wave Soldering An A-to-Z Guide to X-Ray Inspection, Part II Evolution in Action Research Priorities for the Electronics Industry Selective Soldering Process Doctor Pb-Free Lessons Learned Materials World Product Spotlight Ad Index Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - January 2008

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