Parallax as a solution to the domestic semiconductor shortage
Ken Gracey
Posts: 7,392
An executive order was signed today. While the content of it is not published yet, it's based on this Fact Sheet.
I've asked our representative to bring Parallax to the discussion. Automotive applications? Why not?
Ken Gracey
Comments
It's not the first time I've written such a letter. My last one wasn't answered and this particular situation is even more urgent now, as @erco knows.
Ken Gracey
Oh, these are economic posts (not political) and the intent is to further all of our collective efforts to create solutions, products and innovation.
No Forum Rules broken here.
Ken Gracey
Of course, some of this, with much larger players, was already underway way back in 2020 - hopefully games in Washington do not affect this ?
May 2020:
"TSMC already operates a foundry in Camas, Washington, and has design centers in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California.
" The company expects to spend about $12 billion between 2021 and 2029 on the project, with construction slated to begin next year. The plant, scheduled to start production of chips in 2024, will enable TSMC’s American customers to fabricate their semiconductor products domestically. It will use the company’s 5-nanometer technology and is expected to create 1,600 jobs and have the capacity to produce 20,000 wafers a month."
I feel your pain, Ken, in a very personal way; and I'm not bashful about naming names. Let's look at what happened when Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions (TAOS), an American innovator and manufacturer, was bought out by Austria Micro Systems (AMS). They have discontinued three of TAOS's chips critical to products that I designed and that Parallax sells. They have proven to be a very unreliable supply-chain partner.
In one case, that discontinuance has, in part, led to the demise of one of Parallax's products. In another, it's caused a mad scramble to find a substitute and a complete board redesign. In the third case, a lifetime buy "opportunity" has created a dilemma about whether to spend the money or not on a chip that's been EOL'd.
None of this would have happened if the company were still under American management. And forget about trying to get call-in technical support from AMS. There's no one there, like there used to be, to pick up the phone to answer questions.
I sincerely hope that your representative in Congress heeds your plea to be included in the "100-day Review." It's not just the big companies that are affected, but also smaller companies like yours that form the backbone of American innovation and manufacturing.
-Phil
Ken, your statement is not political at all, and if, it wouldn't be bad. If I'm not allowed to express a political opinion but free speach is, something is wrong. The scissors already invaded my brain. But even political opinion must have a solid ground. We know, a monopoly can not be a omnipresent solution as a monopoly lives from give and take. Onesided. Relax and take a seat in your bathtub. And watch the foam. This foam is smooth and stable. If you stay long enough you will see that the bubbles merge, they become bigger and brighter, in the end there are a few, iridescent residuary bubbles and then, with a "plopp", everything is gone. Even the world community realized, that biodiversity is a value at its own and must be fostered. Distributed systems are inherently stable. The up and down, linked to every progress, needs compensation by other players. To not overshoot and not to be extinguished. Mountains are formed by mountains. Such simple. And, if someone thinks of the Propeller being a monopoly: that must be changed! But as the world is reluctant, there will be a return on investment ;-)
didn't know P2 was manufactured in USA, or maybe I forgot.
It is kind of crazy how cheap you can get stuff from China without paying any kind of import tax.
Definitely not like that in Germany, from what I've seen.
I can order plenty of cheapo items from China, so I don't think we have it so different.
Don't you have to go somewhere and pay some kind of tax to get your package?
Very rarely. Only import tax I remember paying in the last few years was the P2 Edge stuff Ken sent me recently, oddly enough.
< 22 Euros no, 22...150 Euros you have to pay 19% VAT. Over 150 euros there are lists with different additional taxes for different groups of goods, then it becomes typically german complicated.
[Pokes head above high water]
Ken, everything is political, lol.
Every nation should be manufacturing. It is good for everyone and we have seen mother nature educate us a few times now.
Let us hope they bite on your offer and standing ready to act!
Hope the best for Parallax. You would think your company would be on a short list to support this effort.
regards
WRD Bob Drury
I just deleted 3 lines of sarcasm, to say best of luck to you Ken!
Thanks to all of you for your support and sarcasm.
When a letter is sent, a message is written and crumpled, or something is simply scrawled in a journal - writing seems to relieve pressure. And I don't expect a response to any of my letters to our elected officials. Nobody is home there.
We're a mom-and-pop company and are certainly not well-connected in this way, anyway.
Ken Gracey
Think of that letter as a $0.58 lottery ticket. If you dont play, you cant win. Sure, the odds are not great, but someone wins. It could be Parallax!
Hey Ken,
At least we know if we send an email to you it gets answered . You're still small enough to care!
Good luck Parallax
fingers crossed!
Ken,
I know that you are a busy man, but your best bet is to see your local congressman in person.
I can't recall how many times I have been told one thing on the phone and then when I show up in person it's another story.
As a politician you see winners every day and all are equal. So why to fight for an individual company? Because every fight can initiate a success and that will be a success for all the not winners and losers too. So, what makes Parallax an exception: First: the only private company in the world to design a microcontroller. And: if this microcontroller is a hit then because it creates many successful applications that must create much more value. The Propeller is an enabler. That has to be the message. And it happened in Rockwell. ;-)
Washington Post says there are "38 microcontrollers in an Audi Q7 come from eight companies"
Maybe we can replace eight of them.
Ken Gracey
There's a lot to be said for that Ray.
Big enough to cope and small enough to care, I use it all the time ;-)
Good luck Ken and Parallax!
If you order a propeller from a distributor you'll see this
What are we supposed to be noticing on that label?
-Phil
USA
I would guess that the reason the USPS/ePacket letter wasn't responded to is because those policies are set by the international postal union, and it's not up to any particular country to decide. Now, asking senators to send someone knowledgeable on the topic to the IPU to argue the point may be worthwhile/reasonable, but just asking that congress/USPS fix it isn't an option here.
My own Mouser P2 order from the US arrived yesterday, and had the country of origin listed as China (CN), which seemed a bit strange. Are they manufactured or packaged there now, or is this wrong?
IC packaging was Philippines, pre-covid-19 at least. It'll be engraved near the lower edge of the package. Needs just the right angle of lighting to read.
I’d suggest Mouser’s main warehouse for the Asia Pacific region is in China. In this case Country of Origin would be where the package left from.
Oh, heh, the freighting origin of course.