When Boeing Inc. builds an aircraft, it is built to last. Boeing’s B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber, for example, has been in service for the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1954 and is predicted to remain a part of the USAF’s active fleet through 2040. While aircraft like the B-52 have withstood the test of time, as well as the hazards of combat, there is one adversary that these massive machines have yet to conquer — component obsolescence.
For military/avionics manufacturers, the issue of obsolescence, or Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS), has been brought to a head during the last decade by several factors. One is the increasing disconnect between the military systems’ extended life cycles and the quick-turn technology cycles of a typical commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) device. Another factor is the sharp decline in legacy component availability because of industrywide restrictions on the use of hazardous substances (RoHS) and the subsequent conversion of materials.
Even as some OEMs continue to struggle with substantial total ownership cost overruns, others are making great strides in mitigating the risk and expense of obsolescence with the help of their authorized component distributor partners. Although many component manufacturers have long since given up supporting the low-volume needs of the military/avionics market in favor of eminently more profitable high-volume consumer applications, distributors like Avnet Inc., Arrow/Zeus Electronics and Rochester Electronics Inc. continue to develop programs and solutions to address the unique needs of long-life cycle defense and aerospace electronics systems.
In addition to a distributor’s obvious capacity to provide advance inventory positioning and lifetime buying programs, one of the most valuable obsolescence management tools a distributor can offer is market insight, says David Moore, director of business development for Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas Defense Aerospace Business unit, Phoenix. As the industry’s largest distributor, Moore explains, Avnet serves an extremely broad and diverse customer base. Through its sales-analysis tools, Avnet is able to monitor the life cycle of a component and predict when the manufacturer is likely to cease supporting the technology. “One of the primary reasons a supplier will obsolete a product is because it is no longer profitable,” says Moore. “By watching sales trends, our team of market analysts can see when a product’s sales begin to approach the back end of the bell curve. Our customers can use this information to understand where the risk is even before an end-of-life notice is issued." This information enables designers to make more informed component choices, to maximize the life expectancy of a system’s bill of materials. For even more expansive market data, Avnet customers can subscribe to the distributor’s Prómiere service, which includes access to component technical information and decision-support tools from IHS Inc., Englewood, Colo.
To ensure customers in need of legacy parts have access to a reputable source of either residual or remanufactured parts, Avnet maintains an exclusive partnership in North America with Newburyport, Mass.-based aftermarket supplier and manufacturer Rochester Electronics. Through this partnership, Avnet customers not only gain seamless access to Rochester’s inventory of more than 500 million factory-direct components, but also have the advantage of working with a pedigree manufacturer that is authorized to recreate an integrated circuit using the original manufacturer’s die. “In today’s market, with the increasing proliferation of counterfeit and substandard product into the supply chain, the assurance that product is fully traceable is critical,” says Moore.
Currently Rochester is authorized by more than 40 of the industry’s leading manufacturer’s, including AMD, Altera, Intel, and Texas Instruments, notes Rochester Sales Director Kevin Tzitson. When Rochester manufacturers a component for a customer, the company guarantees to supply that product until the program no longer requires it, he adds.
Like Avnet, Arrow/Zeus Electronics, Purchase, N.Y., a division of Arrow's North American Components group, maintains a partnership with an authorized aftermarket manufacturer — QP Semiconductor, Santa Clara, Calif. — to provide customers with extended access to mission-critical integrated circuits once the original manufacturer ceases production. With more than 2,400 devices in its Qualified Manufacturers List portfolio, QP is among the top suppliers approved by the Defense Supply Center, Columbus [Ohio] (DSCC). The company reports that it supplies more than 11 percent of all center-listed products. Arrow/Zeus is also listed on the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program notification system. This program is a centralized database for managing and disseminating DMSMS information from the Department of Defense. The database is populated with information from 100 suppliers and OEMs, as well as DMSMS information from the DSCC, the DMSMS Technology Center and the Defense Logistics Information Services.
Obsolescence management solutions from distributors like Avnet, Arrow and Rochester have been key in enabling Boeing to better manage its DMSMS dilemma, says Bill Scofield, associate technical fellow, Advanced Platform Systems, Boeing Phantom Works, Seattle. Scofield notes that distributors’ close working relationships, particularly with semiconductor manufacturers, give them insight into the suppliers’ technology road maps that most OEM customers would never have. “They provide a very valuable conduit of information with regard to design decisions, which allows us to design with some flexibility, so that our systems can accommodate future generations of parts without the massive redesigns and recertifications we have seen in the past.”
