5 ms·

> I suspect replacing the MCU with discrete components would have resulted in a more expensive product if there was no shortage. And what? Complexity, and BOM

> I suspect replacing the MCU with discrete components would have resulted in a more expensive product if there was no shortage. And what? Complexity, and BOM size are not a problem by themselves alone. You should not view it in isolation from the context. This is exactly the thinking which led the client running into this — "Trying to save money at any cost" The point I make is that they easily spent a multiple times the price of this panel entire production run as a punishment for that. Blinkey leds, and an interlock in between few buttons is really an overkill for MCU, and should've been treated as such no matter how many cents can be saved. You can save a few dollars on a screwdriver if you can put in screws with a hammer, but you are certainly better off not doing that.

Dylan16807 5y ago
> And what? Complexity, and BOM size are not a problem by themselves alone. You should not view it in isolation from the context. Sure. So what's important about context? Is it impossible to have a 555 shortage? > Blinkey leds, and an interlock in between few buttons is really an overkill for MCU, and should've been treated as such no matter how many cents can be saved. Would you refuse to use 1% resistors if they were cheaper than 10% resistors? Overkill isn't bad by itself. > You can save a few dollars on a screwdriver if you can put in screws with a hammer, but you are certainly better off not doing that. It's more like a set of 100 drill bits being cheaper than the specific 20 you need all wrapped in individual boxes.
- baybal2 5y ago
  If you will ever have a 555 shortage, than any EE can conjure something similar in a few days from parts at hand.
shard 5y ago
There are an infinite number of ways to make a project less fragile to changing market conditions. But you can't maximize all of it, it's all trade offs. Would making a project more resilient to semiconductor shortages increase vulnerability to other factors? Perhaps the increased electrical load pushes the battery requirements above the budgeted space. Perhaps the increased costs puts the product above the budget for customers, and making the project no longer viable in the marketplace. There are too many factors that I don't know about to possibly comment on all of it. The replacement of the MCU with discrete components was mentioned, and I commented on a few of the factors with could be involved with the decision, and did not claim to have made an exhaustive analysis of the product spec to determine why the choices were made.

Dylan16807 5y ago

> And what? Complexity, and BOM size are not a problem by themselves alone. You should not view it in isolation from the context. Sure. So what's important about context? Is it impossible to have a 555 shortage? > Blinkey leds, and an interlock in between few buttons is really an overkill for MCU, and should've been treated as such no matter how many cents can be saved. Would you refuse to use 1% resistors if they were cheaper than 10% resistors? Overkill isn't bad by itself. > You can save a few dollars on a screwdriver if you can put in screws with a hammer, but you are certainly better off not doing that. It's more like a set of 100 drill bits being cheaper than the specific 20 you need all wrapped in individual boxes.

baybal2 5y ago
If you will ever have a 555 shortage, than any EE can conjure something similar in a few days from parts at hand.

shard 5y ago

There are an infinite number of ways to make a project less fragile to changing market conditions. But you can't maximize all of it, it's all trade offs. Would making a project more resilient to semiconductor shortages increase vulnerability to other factors? Perhaps the increased electrical load pushes the battery requirements above the budgeted space. Perhaps the increased costs puts the product above the budget for customers, and making the project no longer viable in the marketplace. There are too many factors that I don't know about to possibly comment on all of it. The replacement of the MCU with discrete components was mentioned, and I commented on a few of the factors with could be involved with the decision, and did not claim to have made an exhaustive analysis of the product spec to determine why the choices were made.