[time-nuts] Re: Materials for a Rubidium Standard

[Lux, Jim]

On 9/5/23 2:35 PM, glenlist via time-nuts wrote:
> Hi Jim
>
> as a manufacturer of high tech complex electronics, but without yield 
> issues (like a Cs tube) I wouldnt quite agree with those numbers. , 
> especially in modern times.
>
> for something high tech, generally 3 to 5 x mfr cost, depending on how 
> much software is in it these days.....


yeah, I was used to fairly straightforward things (PWBs, mechanical 
stuff) so we figured from BoM (parts) cost - figuring labor is in the 
multiplier.

And of course, a lot depends on the distribution channel - we'd protect 
our distributors and the downstream retailers, so "factory price" was 
always MSRP, and higher than you could actually buy it for in 
distribution. We didn't want to run a sales organization, or more 
importantly, a support organization.


Someone else posted 3xparts to wholesale another 3x to retail - and that 
could work (it's 9x parts)..


A sufficiently small fraction of the parts cost of what I worked with 
was discrete components - so going from a $0.01 resistor to a $0.001 
resistor didn't make much difference.  Going from a $100 Qty:1 motor to 
a $50 Qty:25 motor made a bigger difference.  Metal fabrication also 
sees a pretty fast decrease in cost when you order 100 identical 
brackets vs 1 - setup and lot charges.




>
> Certainly once you reach reel quantities, prices fall, and with clever 
> design, you can maximum quantity of common parts on boards to more 
> quickly achieve reel quantities, which may be between 300 and 5000 
> pieces per reel . An LDO you buy from digikey for $2 might be 20 cents 
> on reel.  Although it depends on the mfr. Some parts at Digikey that 
> are $2 might only be $1.50 on reel.
>
> So, very much horses for courses.
>
> For something that involves a poor yield, like the Cs tube, with a 
> high manual labour, the multiplier might be quite high- yes. and 
> wouldnt change much with quantity unless process improves
>
> -glen
>
>
> On 6/09/2023 12:24 am, Lux, Jim via time-nuts wrote:
>> On 9/3/23 7:20 AM, Bob Camp via time-nuts wrote:
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> It is not uncommon for outfits to make some of the parts themselves. 
>>> Not everybody
>>> makes the same decisions, but they all do a fair amount of “local 
>>> fab” on this or that.
>>> They also may custom tool “captive” sources for some parts.
>>>
>>> Next up is the simple issue of bulk buying. When you are buying a 
>>> thousand parts a
>>> month for years, you get a *much* better deal than somebody going 
>>> out to buy one
>>> or two pieces. Indeed, a lot of OEM’s won’t even return your emails 
>>> unless you are buying
>>> above some "may thousands of dollars worth a year” kind of level.
>>>
>>> There really isn’t a lot of market for some of these
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