Homebrew PCBs

Not that this has anything to actually do with Homebrew PCBs, but this
is the problem with outsourcing. Simple economics and risk management
are lost in this process.

The NREs (Non-Recurring Engineering charges) are divided across the
manufacturing volume as a cost. Now, if we make 20 of the product,
then the design NRE will be very large per unit. If we make 20,000 of
them, it will be small. The difference per unit between a high and a
low cost designer is tiny. 

However, by having the design done in-house or by a separate design
contractor locally, you have a much greater level of control over the
design copyrights, and consequently a lower risk profile.

I've had clients discover this the hard way .. outsource the design to
India, and then discover that the designer suddenly becomes their
competitor by making some small improvements or changes to the product
and selling it himself. And what can we do about it? Nothing, because
there is no design protection in those countries worth speaking of.

And I've seen it more than once.

Manufacturing outsourcing is an absolute must, simply because it is
the only way to compete at the manufacturing level with anyone else
making product in those countries. But keep the real value of the
product - the intellectual property embodied in it - at home.

And I'm not an American .. I'm Australian. Outsource to us at 65 cents
on the dollar for design work if you really want to save some money -
at least we do have decent intellectual property protection laws here.

But when your clients say they're going to get the design (or
programming) done in India or whatever .. tell them they're probably
giving away the very core asset of their company while they're doing it.

Even more off topic .. what really frightens me is outsourced data
management. The thought of my bank outsourcing all of my personal
details to a database running in India scares the heck out of me. If
there was one thing I could change, it would be to amend the data
privacy laws in my country to state that not only can the data not be
revealed to a third party, it must be fully managed in the country in
which it was originally provided. The second that data crosses a
national boundary it may as well be posted on the internet for all the
security on it is worth. Ask your bank where their data is managed and
take your money out if it is in a country other than the one you live
in .. or think about the possibility of trying to sue a Cambodian data
operations company for revealing your financial details to your
ex-spouse (and I'm married and have no ex! :^)

Phil

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "boons007" <boons007@...> wrote:
>
>   I had decided not to buy Altuim Designer and go forward in the 
> market bcause the pcb design market is being heavily outsourced to 
> china, indonesia, malaysia etc..
> 
>   After "Slaving" in the business for too many years.. I have 
> decided it's a loosing proposition to compete against $15~25 per 
> hour including overhead for oversease Design services.
> Part of the reason for the low cost is PCB designer making $8 ~ 25 
> a "DAY" depending on country...