Operations Management: Donner Report
Donner Company
Donner Company was established in 1985 and it had specialised in manufacturing circuit boards for experimental devices and for pilot production runs. It also manufactured the printed circuit boards to the specifications of its customers.
Some of the characteristics of the industry in which this company operating are as given below
• There has been a consistent growth along with other industries like computer, telecom, and defence establishment related industry.
• It is directly related and dependent on the above mentioned industries for its growth and survival. If they don’t flourish then, it might face sluggish demand for its product.
This in essence points to high growth in demand that is there, along with the strong cyclicality, which makes long term demand projection very hard.
The management believed that it was more adept than its rivals at anticipating and resolving the problems inherent in new designs and prototype production technique. Most of the company’s managers were engineers with substantial experience in electronics industry. This indicates the strength of Donner in fulfilling small orders that are technologically complex and the relative ease with which they can run with a batch production system
Production Process
Donner’s manufacturing process produced circuit boards known in the trade as soldermask over bare copper (SMOBC) boards. This SMOBC process became popular in the early 1980’s as customers demanded denser circuit patterns and greater reliability.
Manufacturing process consists of three stages. In the first stage, artwork and computer control tapes are produced while raw materials are prepared for processing. In second stage, the conductor pattern is transferred to dielectric base stock. In the third stage, the base stock is cut and shaped to create the individual printed circuit boards.
Overall System Processes flow
CNC Drill vs Manual Drill & Punch Press vs CNC Router:
Operation Setup
Donner Company was established in 1985 and it had specialised in manufacturing circuit boards for experimental devices and for pilot production runs. It also manufactured the printed circuit boards to the specifications of its customers.
Some of the characteristics of the industry in which this company operating are as given below
• There has been a consistent growth along with other industries like computer, telecom, and defence establishment related industry.
• It is directly related and dependent on the above mentioned industries for its growth and survival. If they don’t flourish then, it might face sluggish demand for its product.
This in essence points to high growth in demand that is there, along with the strong cyclicality, which makes long term demand projection very hard.
The management believed that it was more adept than its rivals at anticipating and resolving the problems inherent in new designs and prototype production technique. Most of the company’s managers were engineers with substantial experience in electronics industry. This indicates the strength of Donner in fulfilling small orders that are technologically complex and the relative ease with which they can run with a batch production system
Production Process
Donner’s manufacturing process produced circuit boards known in the trade as soldermask over bare copper (SMOBC) boards. This SMOBC process became popular in the early 1980’s as customers demanded denser circuit patterns and greater reliability.
Manufacturing process consists of three stages. In the first stage, artwork and computer control tapes are produced while raw materials are prepared for processing. In second stage, the conductor pattern is transferred to dielectric base stock. In the third stage, the base stock is cut and shaped to create the individual printed circuit boards.
Overall System Processes flow
CNC Drill vs Manual Drill & Punch Press vs CNC Router:
Operation Setup