it may be hard to believe in today’s multi-tasked business environment, but there appears to be a “disconnect” between thermal management specialists and real world manufacturing. some thermal management specialists believe their responsibility and focus are limited to resolving specifically defined heat issues within a product. this is an unfortunate, but common attitude when design and manufacturing are separate whether their location is in different facilities within the same organization, different organizations or different countries. communication and perspective dissimilarities with these separate entities can become an obstacle and eventually impact the product’s time-to-market. outsourcing, always initiated for cost reasons, becomes an even greater detriment, perhaps due to language problems or conflicting corporate cultures. that is the price companies pay for having design, thermal management and manufacturing in separate locations—and the price may be too high.

the ability to transfer an idea or discuss a technical problem can turn into an arduous and ultimately expensive task simply because of communication impediments stemming from cross border locations. testing technicians, production managers and thermal design engineers may each have a different view of a product issue that may not be easily resolved face-to-face, let alone over thousands of miles. while this is not to be viewed as a blanket criticism of outsourcing, it is a fair warning. the fact is: issues tend to be handled more expeditiously and tactfully when all involved departments are at the same location and, most important, on the same page. that along with costs associated with delays may be just a few of the reasons why more u.s.-based companies are considering centralizing design and manufacturing under one roof.  [read the rest of the editorial at ee times here, "time to streamline thermal management design and production."]