One of the challenges we see in the industry regarding low-cost, low-margin engineering devices is the lack of incentive for companies to continually support these devices. Even if there is an incentive, various reasons can lead to their discontinuation.

Reasons for Device Discontinuation:

• Lack of Incentive for Engineers: In larger companies, newer engineers often handle certain product lines. When financial metrics show a decline, these products are often axed or abandoned.
• Supply Chain Fragility: The pandemic highlighted how fragile the global supply chain is. Many products were discontinued because parts were no longer available. Hoarders and scalpers exacerbated this issue.

Impact:

Integrating a tool into an engineering workflow is immensely time-consuming. As teams grow, the need to acquire more of the same tools becomes apparent. Unlike software, the lifecycle of an engineering tool can span over a decade.

Imagine this scenario: you’re mid-flight in delivering a product. You’ve prepared the manufacturing process, scripted and documented it, and secured necessary approvals to expand your engineering team. You’ve meticulously selected the right candidates. Just as your new resources are onboarded, you discover the company producing your essential tools has gone out of business or discontinued the tool you rely on.

Our Solution:

To address these challenges, we have a clear strategy in place:

• Product Availability Promise: Each product we create comes with a guaranteed End of Life (EOL) date. We commit to supporting software and hardware updates as long as the chip manufacturers continue production and the supply chain remains unaffected by major disruptions such as natural disasters, global pandemics, or war. For more details, visit our Product Availability Promise page.