Services

Design for Manufacturability Review (DFM)
Maturing products sooner, not later
The focused, engineering-based manufacture of prototype and pre-production pilots ensure our ability to provide viable manufacturability feedback both during the process and after. Our data driven infrastructure allows our engineers to develop comprehensive post-build reports at the end of each build. Our post-build reporting identifies opportunities to improve the design, reliability, and manufacturability of the product with an emphasis on reducing production costs for future builds.

Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA)
EPE’s robust board assembly operations are configured to accommodate both highly complex and traditional technology requirements. Our flexible manufacturing environment has been designed to meet the changing needs of our customers. Standardized equipment platforms include identically configured, multiple top and bottom-side surface mount lines, as well as equipment feeders for offline setups. Our powerful shop floor quality tracking system captures data from a variety of sources including AOI and X-Ray enabling our engineering teams to quickly address any issues that arise--strengthening production quality and minimizing operational costs.

Our strengths include:

• Wave soldering

• Press fit connectors

• Automated pin through hole (PTH) assembly

• Single and double sided surface mount (SMT) assembly

• Passive discrete packages down to 0201

• BGA and Micro BGA assembly & rework

• CSP, QFP, FPGA assembly

• RoHS and Lead-ed components and manufacturing

• Aqueous and no clean chemistries

• Conformal Coating

• Functional & RF Testing

Flex Circuit Assembly
Flex circuit assembly has been a problem solving technology for more than 20 years. As the electronics industry continues to push for smaller, lighter faster solutions, demand for rigid flex and flex cable assembly solutions continues to increase. Flex circuits have an incredible adaptability for electrical connections because they are multidimensional and conform to virtually any shape. Rigid flex assemblies reduce the requirement for mechanical interconnects between boards, which can improve signal quality. In addition, they are resistant to shock and vibration damage making them ideal for hostile environments. Flex circuits by their construction require specialized equipment and experience. Key to that experience is the understanding of the specific handling and singulation risks associated with flex circuits. EPE engineering works closely with our flex fabricators to optimize manufacturability and produce high yields by mitigating the risk of solder joint stress and circuit damage. Special process carriers with hold-down capability are used to support the flex circuit assembly through the manufacturing process. Depending on the volume and complexity of the individual product singulation of flex circuits takes the form of routing or a singulation die which shears the circuits from the panel. From RF to military applications, EPE’s unique flex circuit skills support a variety of leading edge, multi-layer rigid flex assembly and flex cable assembly requirements.

Systems Assembly & Test
Using a scalable system –level manufacturing environment allows EPE to provide flexibility in a high-mix, low volume environment. Our electro-mechanical sub-assemblies and systems integration are manufactured in self-contained cells designed to support specific program and customer requirements. These uniquely configured cells give us the ability to handle changing production needs and shifting schedules while maintaining optimum quality and productivity. Our manufacturing systems were developed to handle dynamic engineering changes and to quickly scale to meet product and volume demands. Our capabilities and experience allow our customers to achieve significant improvement in cycle time, asset utilization, reliability, flexibility and responsiveness.

Supply Chain
Linking it All Together
At EPE our materials team specializes in supply chain design and management including global sourcing, materials management, and logistics tailored to meet unique customer needs. Our purchasing and planning team focuses on specific customer requirements, implementing schedule changes, ECOs, and other program variations quickly and efficiently. Our materials team proactively works with our customer to quantify the nature of their demand and understand service level requirements. This information along with market benchmarking has led us to develop a suite of logistics solutions that focus on maintaining flexibility while continually reducing lead time and cost. The underpinning of these solutions is our MRP sharing program. Implemented with key suppliers and distribution partners it is a simple system that allows us to respond quickly to increased demand while mitigating liability. Building on the visibility that MRP sharing provides, EPE was able to implement an extensive Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) Program. Our VMI program allows us to maintain the critical balance between service and cost that our customers require. Not all customers have requirements that are suited to a VMI program, so also maintain a variety of configurable Consignment and Bonding programs with our distribution partners and critical suppliers. In combination, these programs allow us to create a customer-specific solution that recognizes the need for speed and flexibility while controlling cost and liability.