Challenges of Manufacturing RF Products

The author, Harvey Ikeman, has worked in the data communications field throughout his 30-year career and held positions in engineering, operations and manufacturing management. In 1987, Harvey co-founded Telesystems SLW Inc. of Toronto, Canada - a pioneer in wireless local area networking -and was responsible for operations and manufacturing. Harvey retired shortly after Cisco Systems, San Jose, California, purchased Aironet (formerly Telesystems) in 2000.
Harvey is enjoying his retirement by doing part-time consulting for local businesses, volunteering, traveling, keeping fit, and catching up on his reading. He and his wife, Margaret, call Akron their home, but when the Midwest winters get too cold, you'll probably find them in Sarasota, Florida. Their daughter is a student at Ohio State University.

Our world has gone wireless.

Wireless local area network devices, such as 802.11 and Bluetooth, are being embedded into a wide range of consumer, medical, and office products. Also witness the continuing advances in cellular telephony, GPS, and digital radio technologies. As products become more multi-functional and wireless-enabled, the line between core product functionality and RF (radio frequency) interface is increasingly blurred. All the more reason you must clearly understand the issues in bringing RF-based products into high volume production.

The manufacture of RF-based products requires a focused approach, certainly a RF-specific set of tools and know-how, and perhaps a stricter discipline than for non-RF products. Manufacturing must be geared up with the specific processes and skills required for RF products. You need to understand the design capabilities and limitations, and make sure your internal manufacturing team and/or Contract Manufacturer (CM) fully appreciates the sourcing, manufacturing, and test issues that lie ahead.

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