| Abstract: | New product releases address the needs of both high- and low-volume printed circuit board manufacturers.
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| Keywords: | Printed circuit board manufacturers, printed circuit board manufacturing |
With a nod to the separate needs of both types of its customers, Cimnet Systems, a provider of ERP software and services for printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers, today released new versions of its Paradigm, iQuote, and Engenix products.
Cimnet, a business unit of Consona Corp., deals with two types of PCB companies: low-volume producers based primarily in North America and Europe, and high-volume, Asia-based companies. Certain enhancements in the updated products have been tailored for these customers, Cimnet General Manager Mehul Dave told Managing Automation.
For example, the 3.5 version of Paradigm, Cimnet's main ERP offering, includes enhancements related to currency exchange rates, inventory inspection and consignment management, and shop floor process management, which are of specific interest to the company's high-volume Asian customers. A large number of Cimnet's 150 customers are based in China, Dave said, and the region remains the company's fastest-growing segment.
Meanwhile, Cimnet has seen PCB makers in its North American and European markets begin to focus more on quick-turn, prototype-based production, for which they require a higher level of front-end automation. To address these needs, Dave said, the new version of Engenix (v2.2), a process engineering execution product, now enables the automatic creation of bills of material (BOMs), as well as functionality for the automatic engineering of PCB stacks that includes electrical impedance constraint information.
"It is not uncommon to run prototype products two, three, or four times until the design is finalized," said Mike Thiel, technology officer at Multicircuits Inc., an Oshkosh, WI-based electronics and electrical manufacturer, in a statement. "With Engenix 2.2, Multicircuits is able to generate a new, accurate traveler [a PCB component] in seconds, while the system keeps track of every adjustment."
Likewise, the new version of iQuote (v3.2) contains ease-of-use enhancements to its PCB panelizer, material search, and pricing modules. The panelizer, for example, which is used to optimize the layout of different shapes and sizes of circuit boards on a given panel, is now directly integrated with on-hand material information, facilitating faster and more efficient assembly, Dave said.
Dave also noted that the enhanced versions of Paradigm, iQuote, and Engenix are used by Cimnet's business process outsourcing (BPO) business, through which the company provides high skills, India-based second- and third-shift engineering services. The company's BPO services include assessment of quote requirements, planning and preproduction engineering to create BOMs, and CAM design work, he said.
Paradigm, iQuote, and Engenix are available as a fully integrated suite but may also be purchased separately. Pricing is based on the number of seats licensed. Existing Cimnet customers covered under maintenance agreements can upgrade to the new versions at no cost.
Cimnet, which is wholly focused on PCB manufacturers, mainly competes with small Chinese companies that offer ERP products regionally, Dave said. The company also occasionally finds its products evaluated alongside larger, more general ERP providers, which, Dave said, often lack the feature and function sets specific to PCB makers.
Cimnet maintains sales offices in the United States, India, China, and Germany. Customers include Coretec, Amphenol Printed Circuits, Meiko, and Hitachi Chemical.
The company was acquired by Consona in December 2005 and today operates as a business unit within Consona's industry-specific ERP group.
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