July 28th, 2010
The current economy has driven business to do more with less. This is very true in the electronics industry.
We are constantly driven to manufacture Character, Graphic and Static (Segment) LCD Displays that take up less room and meets RoHS standards in a shorter amount of time.
The push to design products to use less power is not new. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is pushing to have the US meet new power saving requirements. The goal is to minimize the amount of power necessary when a product such as a cell phone is in ‘sleep mode’. See http://www.acoel.org/2009/02/articles/energy/climate/united-states-needs-to-get-on-board-in-2009-with-the-onewatt-initiative/
At Focus Display Solutions we are expanding our Character and Static LCD display modules to operate at 3.3V instead of the standard 5V. This is true for both our custom (engineered and designed) LCD display and standard LCD monochrome display.
Every Segment Display, 7 (seven) segment, 14 (fourteen) segment and 16 (sixteen) segment has the option of both 3.3 volt and 4.7 volt. All three options of segment displays (STN, TN and FSTN) are available. See http://focuslcd.com/static.php for more details.
We also offer Alphanumeric LCD displays, also known as Character LCD’s, in both 4.7 volt and 3.3 volt. The most common of these are 8 x 1 LCD Display, 8 x 2 LCD Display, 16 x 1 LCD Display, 16 x 2 LCD Display, 16 x 4 LCD Display, 20 x 2 LCD Display, 20 x 4 LCD Display, 24 x 2 LCD Display, 40 x 1 LCD Display, 40 x 2 LCD Display, 40 x 4 LCD Display,
All of our Numeric LCD Displays are monochrome.
Tags: Character, Graphic, International Energy Agency (IEA), LCD displays, onewatt initiative, RoHS, Segment, Static
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July 17th, 2010
Is safety stock back in style?
Many suppliers do not want to carry excess inventory. It was not good business sense to tie up your cash and hope someone will come along and purchase your product. But this is changing.
The style is changing. Why?
- Lead times on segment displays, character and alphanumeric LCD’s have increased in the last few months. Customers (OEM’s) need inventory in a week or two, not 12 to 16 weeks after they place their purchase order.
- Many LCD suppliers are discontinuing their LCD displays. This is true for 16×1, 16×2, 20×2, 8×1, 8×2, 20×4 LCD displays. We receive calls for CCFL and EL backlights often. There is still a demand for 7 (seven) segment, 14(fourteen) segment, and 16(sixteen) segment static displays. It seems that many suppliers are scaling back on monochrome displays.
- Earning interest on cash in the bank is at an all time low.
Please call us if you need a replacement STN, FSTN or TN character LCD.
Tags: 14(fourteen) segment, 16x1, 16x2, 20x2, 20x4, 7 (seven) segment, 8x1, 8x2, alphanumeric LCD, and 16(sixteen) segment, CCFL backlights, character LCD, EL backlights, FSTN, LCD displays, LCD suppliers, monochrome displays, OEM, static displays, STN, TN character LCD
Posted in Displays, Inventory | No Comments »
July 4th, 2010
Well, maybe this is not the best title, but there are a few basics that are good to know before you move ahead on a custom LCD display. This is true for all static, segment or glass displays such as 7 (seven), 14 (fourteen) and 16 (sixteen) segment displays. This is also true for all Character / numeric LCD modules.
Our goal is to recommend a standard display whenever possible; not a custom Liquid crystal display. If this will not work, we are able to suggest alternatives. Sometimes the customer needs a custom LCD with tooling to replace a module that has been discontinued. Below are a few guidelines.
- If the customer pays for the tooling/ engineering (NRE), then the customer owns that LCD display. module In other words we cannot sell that display to any other customer without the permission of that customer.
- When the customer has approved the drawing of the display, we will then request samples. As a general rule, when the customer pays for the LCD tooling, we supply 5 samples at no cost.
- The cost of freight to bring in the custom lcd module samples is included in the tooling cost. This is for the first shipment only.
- The tooling fees for static, glass or segment displays are lower then for a character LCD module (alphanumeric LCD display module).
- The use of TN, STN or FSTN does not affect the tooling fee for the custom display, but this will affect the unit cost.
Here is a link showing the process for a custom display.
Tags: character LCD, custom LCD, glass displays, Liquid crystal display, segment displays
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June 18th, 2010
The more you order, the lower your cost. This has always been true. The cost of 10K liquid crystal displays (lcd display modules) would be 5% or 7% less expensive than if you ordered 100 displays. This is also true for custom STN displays, FSTN displays and TN numeric displays. But lately we have seen some suppliers offer a price break by as much as 30% to 40%.
One example of this is when one supplier dropped the price by 35% when the customer increased the quantity from 10K to 50K displays. As it turned out the supplier quoted the 10K units to be manufactured in China and the 50K quantity to be manufactured in Cambodia.
A supplier could send you a sample from a factory in one country and then ship you samples from a different factory. This could cause problems later if there are any differences between the sample and production lcd module units.
The next time you receive a quote with a very large price break in character LCD modules, segment displays, and monochrome graphic LCD’s, make sure that the units will be produced by the same manufacture as the sample you receive.
Tags: character lcd module, custom lcd display, FSTN, graphic lcd, lcd display module, monochrome lcd, numeric displays, Segment Display, STN, TN
Posted in Displays, Pricing | 1 Comment »
May 24th, 2010
Does “this quote is valid today only” sound like something you would hear from a salesman at the car dealership?
In the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD display module) industry we have enjoyed the luxury of honoring a customer’s quote for 30 days. In fact, if someone waited 45 days to place the PO, we would still honor the 30-day quote.
The cost of character, static and graphic monochrome LCD’s has not changed that much over the last few years.
This may be changing soon.
Why this drastic change in LCD display module prices? China is looking to increase minimum wage by as much as 20%. (see http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE62F07R20100316).
The main concern I have is that the change in price could come very rapidly and with very little notice. End-users of our LCD modules need to be able to forecast their cost and profits for months in advance.
Could the price of LCD monochrome displays and custom lcd displays change every month or week and by a significant percentage as was the case of gas prices? Do you remember how businesses would charge a “fuel surcharge” onto your shipping cost as gas prices increased?
The impact that this could have is staggering.
Tags: character LCD, China increase minimum wage, fuel surcharge, grahics display, lcd, liquid crystal displays, pricing, static lcd
Posted in Displays, Pricing | No Comments »
May 13th, 2010
I am not talking about off shore drilling of oil, but the drilling out of the mounting holes on a LCD module.
LCD’s with a PCB (printed circuit board) attached are called a chip on board. They come with two or four mounting holes to attach the LCD display module to the customer’s product. This is true for both a character LCD module and a monochrome Graphics display.
The standard diameter of this hole is 3.5mm. Sometimes a customer needs a larger hole to accommodate a larger screw.
The danger in drilling out the mounting hole to a larger diameter is that you stand a good chance of cutting a trace (see FAQ for trace). When this trace is cut, one of two things can happen.
- The connection between one part of the display will be severed from another part of the display. This may cause the backlight or the LCD module to stop functioning.
- The trace is now exposed to the environment and will allow moisture and other contaminants to come into contact with the copper. This may allow the display to continue working for some time and then after an extended period of time the LCD display module will fail. Or worse yet, become intermittent.
If you need the mounting holes to be larger, please contact us. We can redesign the PCB to accommodate any size of mounting hole that you require.
LCD display modules with a PCB (printed circuit board) attached are called a chip on board. They come with two or four mounting holes to attach the display to the customer’s product. This is true for both a character LCD module and a Graphic LCD display.
Tags: character LCD, COG, Graphics display. Backlight, lcd
Posted in Displays | 1 Comment »
April 29th, 2010
How does a Volcano in Iceland affect LCD modules in Arizona?
http://www.sixsigmatraining.org/news-blog/volcano-throwing-off-just-in-time.html.
We have not had a volcano in Arizona for some time. At least, not one I remember. The ash from the volcano in Iceland has caused delays in shipments for companies that keep a very strict JIT (just-in-time).
We have always had a policy to make every effort to hold stock of our customer’s inventory before they need them.
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We ship all our character LCD modules, static segment displays, and graphic LCD’s (displays) by air (UPS), not boat. That means they will be arrive weeks before the boat arrives.
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We order the LCD display moduless to arrive a few weeks before a customer’s MRP requests delivery.
JIT (just in time) is a way to save cost, but we think that it is more important to have inventory for our customers before they need it. Maybe we should start a new industry key word such as JBD (Just Before it is Due)?
We strive to have what you need before you need it and at a cost to help you maintain your profits.
Tags: Displays, JIT, just-in-time, lcd, liquid crystal displays, MRP, volcano
Posted in Displays, Lead time | 2 Comments »
April 17th, 2010
What do you do when you find out the LCD module you have used in the past is no longer available and there is no replacement LCD display that is a drop in equivalent?
I believe one of the reasons this is happening is due to the labor shortage in China. LCD module suppliers that supply character LCD modules, static segment displays, graphic monochrome displays, OLED’s & TFT’s are finding that they need to pick and choose which business is high profit and let go of the low profit business.
Once you receive news that your LCD display modules is EOL (end of life), you begin your search for a replacement LCD display. Many times this display is unique to that supplier and no one else manufactures this exact display.
One thing to keep in mind is that our unit cost for the replacement LCD display may be higher than what you were paying in the past. The most likely reason for this is that your previous display supplier manufactured that display in very large quantities. We will be manufacturing this display in much smaller quantities.
To understand lead-times better, please review our recent journal entry regarding the labor shortage in China.
Contact us to find out how we can help cross over your current display. We will help you find the equivalent part you will need for your product.
Focus Display Solutions ® © 2010 Focus Display Solutions
Tags: Discontinued displays, Discontinued LCD, Obsolete displays, Obsolete LCD
Posted in Discontinued, Displays | No Comments »
April 10th, 2010
See the article posted at http://www.displaysearchblog.com/2010/02/labor-shortage-in-china-impacting-the-supply-chain/
I never thought I would see a labor shortage in China! But, it is true. We are starting to see an increase in lead-times from the LCD module manufacturers.
We are also finding that many of the manufacturers are no longer interested in smaller quantities. This is requiring us to purchase larger quantities and hold them in inventory for our customers for longer periods of time.
How will this affect smaller customers that cannot afford to purchase larger LCD module volumes?
How will the longer lead-times affect manufacturing in the US and Canada?
Tags: Displays, inventory, labor shortage, lcd, Lead time
Posted in Displays, Lead time | 1 Comment »
February 19th, 2010
Why do customers choose a EL backlight over a LED? The LED backlight comes with a ½ life of 50K hours, while the EL’s half life is closer to 3K hours?
LED backlights are the most popular option when backlighting is needed. The disadvantage of LED is that there are hot and cold spots. That is areas where the backlight is very bright and other areas where the light fades away.
EL backlight provides a more even flow of light with the added advantage of being thinner. The thickness of a character LCD module display with EL backlight could be as much as 8mm thinner then a LED.
Tags: backlight
Posted in Displays | 2 Comments »
