5 signs you are changing your product to make the electronics fit.
Standard electronics can be the right choice. The problem starts when your product has to keep changing to make them fit.
Standard vs custom electronics is not a choice between cheap and expensive. Standard electronics are the right choice while the product works with them as they are. It is time to review when a new function does not fit, when the product changes to fit the electronics, when every version needs a new workaround, when the same change repeats in every unit, or when future changes depend on a platform you do not control. The right path is the one that creates less extra work over the life of the product: standard, adapted platform or custom.
No workaround yet.
At the start: the standard solution fits.
Later: the product starts changing around the limits of the electronics.
The five signs, one by one
A new customer function does not fit
The standard electronics cannot support the new function without changes around the product.
Is this a one-time request, or is it becoming part of the product?
The product needs to change to fit the electronics
The standard solution works, but the product needs changes in other areas to use it.
Would the product need the same changes with a better-fitting electronics solution?
Every new version needs another workaround
Version 1 needs one change. Version 2 needs another. The product keeps changing around the same electronics.
Are you improving the product, or adapting it to the electronics?
The same product change repeats in every unit
A change that looks small during development may become part of every unit in production.
Is this extra work now part of production?
The standard electronics limit your next product change
The next function or product version depends on what the standard platform can support. Your product may have to wait for changes you do not control.
Can the electronics support the changes your market needs?
Standard vs custom electronics: choose the right path
The question is not “standard or custom?” The question is which option creates less extra work over the life of the product.
Standard
Keep standard electronics when the main requirements fit, there are no repeated workarounds and the electronics do not block future product changes.
Good choice when the product works with the solution as it is.
Adapted platform
Consider an adapted platform when most of the solution already fits, but a limited change is needed in functions, inputs and outputs, software, communication or size.
Good choice when most of the solution works and only one part needs to change.
Custom
Consider custom electronics when the same needs repeat across many units or product versions, and a specific solution can reduce this extra work.
Good choice when the same workaround repeats in the product, in production or in future changes.
What the comparison is really about
How many changes the product needs around the electronics before it can do its job.
Whether the extra work happens once in development or in every unit produced.
Whether the electronics can support the changes the product will need later.
Questions about choosing the electronics path
When are standard electronics the right choice?
When the main requirements fit, there are no repeated workarounds and the electronics do not block future product changes. In that case the product works with the solution as it is.
What is an adapted platform?
An existing electronics solution with a limited change in functions, inputs and outputs, software, communication or size. It makes sense when most of the solution already fits and only one part needs to change.
Standard vs custom electronics: which one creates less extra work over the product life?
It depends on where the extra work appears. If a workaround happens once in development, standard electronics can still be the better option. If the same change repeats in every unit or in every new version, a specific solution can reduce that work.
How do I know if my product is adapting to the electronics?
When every new version needs another workaround around the same electronics, or when the next function depends on what the standard platform can support. The question to ask is whether you are improving the product or adapting it to the electronics.
If you recognise one of these signs in your product
You may not need a fully custom solution. KELD can help you review what already works, where the extra work appears and which option makes more sense: standard, adapted or custom electronics.
See how KELD designs and manufactures custom electronics for manufacturers.
