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Semiconductor manufacturers on vacation? — Parallax Forums

Semiconductor manufacturers on vacation?

Erik FriesenErik Friesen Posts: 1,071
edited 2010-03-23 17:52 in General Discussion
reference post http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=891490

Has anyone else noticed all the out of stock parts from misc manufacturers, or is this normal?

Look at these lead times, they are ridiculous.

www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/REF3140AIDBZT/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuBck1X%252b7j9fIs%252ba2gLkdiAVCA%2fKip4598%3d 7/08/2010

soic uln2803
www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/ULN2803ADWR/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMupZfs%2fwBb3DB9e3JcsATRuxH6nY0aykdM%3d 5/13/2010

this is the best(lets get real folks!)
www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/ON-Semiconductor/MJD32CG/?qs=HVbQlW5zcXXjBqvjCEjbVg%3d%3d 10/29/2010

Comments

  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-03-23 12:27
    It's a general problem in the industry. Manufacturers with their own fabs, like Microchip, seem to be able to meet demand.

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    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2010-03-23 13:24
    Seems we have two choices.

    Place the orders with manufacturers that did a really poor job of stocking/estimating market demand, then close our doors and go on an extended vacation while we wait for the parts to arrive.

    Find a substitute from a more dependable manufacturer and order from them now and in the future.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2010-03-23 14:04
    I can't speak for them.

    Imagine you are a distributor. You stock something for a customer. The customer changes direction and stops buying that part. You are now stuck with an asset you can't sell. It happens all the time. A distributor gets stuck with a frozen asset. The asset is worth cash but the distributor can't sell it. Meanwhile the distributor is paying employees, rent, taxes, etc., and the part is taking up shelf space.

    This is why managers and employers are hesitant to spend money; they are afraid of losing money. They may wait for X numbers of orders to come in before they fill that part.

    It is probably good advice to generate projects with different parts.
  • John R.John R. Posts: 1,376
    edited 2010-03-23 14:38
    We're treading on dangerous territory with this disucssion, as it starts to address political issues, but here goes:

    Part of the problem may stem from reliance on 3rd world countries for low cost production facilities. These regions tend to not be real stable politically, and also tend to be in areas where mother nature seems to throw occasional (or not so occasional) temper tantrums.

    I liken this to the situation with Cadmium and catalytic converters. The primary source for Cadmium was South Africa, and at the time the converters were really "ramping up", South Africa was going through major economic and political changes. Made for "interesting" costs, and expensive converters.

    Point being, between the economic situation, natural disasters and political turmoil, we are very succeptable to "volitility" in the semi-conductor market.

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    John R.
    Click here to see my Nomad Build Log
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,568
    edited 2010-03-23 14:44
    When I was ay National Semiconductor, it seems that there is always a 'tape-out' crunch just before Christmas and company shut-down until the New year. This was/is common practice with other Chip manufactures as well... TI, Motorola, Intersil, and several others. What you may be experiencing right now is that lull as it propagates into the market. Statistically things usually pickup here in the next few months just before the physical year in May/June begins.

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    Beau Schwabe

    IC Layout Engineer
    Parallax, Inc.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-03-23 15:36
    What we're seeing now is more than just an annual cycle. These things always happen during a recovery from a recession. In a recession, inventories become high because demand is low. In order to minimize the carrying costs of high inventories, manufacturers cut production in response. When demand picks up again, as it's doing now, inventories become depleted faster than production can ramp up again to replenish them.

    Think of inventories as charge on a big capacitor (the warehouses) being fed by a variable current source (production) and being drained by a variable current sink (demand). Throw in some inductance (market momentum), and the oscillations in inventory start to make sense.

    It's during times like these that designers relearn (yet again) to spec multiple-sourced parts. smile.gif

    -Phil
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2010-03-23 16:04
    Phil hit hte nail on the head.... This has been a growing problem over the last 6 months. At work, I have to spec alternate parts almost on a daily basis because parts that were "off-the-shelf" back in November are now "long-lead" parts. Many common parts now have lead times up to 16 weeks. We have one assembly that may not be built until July because a QFN packaged switching regulator part is single sourced and that manufacture has a 14 week lead time. Alternates are available, but not in a QFN package.

    Also, it seems many manufacturer's are updating their part numbering schemes for RoHS and upgrades. We have found many alternates from the same manufacturers simply because the part we are looking for has been changed to a RoHS part number or they have made a newer version of the part with some new features. Once we find the new part numebrs, we can update our system and get decent lead times.

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010

    Post Edited (WBA Consulting) : 3/23/2010 4:09:14 PM GMT
  • Erik FriesenErik Friesen Posts: 1,071
    edited 2010-03-23 17:41
    I have got on Mouser for not putting "end of life" stickers on parts(small voice in a big world). I have to the best of my ability tried to use parts that can be sourced from more than one place. There are some things that have no real replacement though, like fram for instance.
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2010-03-23 17:52
    It a fun thing to think about. It might partially be explained by an economic downturn - but I think it also has to do with the particulars of this downturn. Think about it this way;

    1 - Manufacturing is capital intensive (This has always been the case)
    2 - Capital markets have experienced a bit of 'uncertainty in these past 18 months (This is distinct from other downturns)

    Things will clear out in the next 6-12 months, either mfg's will accumulate capital or gain better access to capital markets.

    It's not a big deal for me - I'm flexible and always try to minimize design and component inventories, but I imagine the hiccup can be very disruptive if you've got a rigid design / production process.

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