Small order component shipping presents several challenges to electronics distributors worldwide. In fact, many manufacturers and larger distributors set specific quantity requirements to avoid the unique challenges that come with processing and shipping smaller electronic component orders.
Worldwide component shortages, logistics issues, and a shift towards leaner procurement practices mean distributors must develop processes and protocols capable of safely delivering smaller orders of sensitive electronic equipment.
Digi-Key, a leading electronic distributor with global reach, took the challenge of safely shipping small orders of electronic components head-on. In response to the present logistics challenges companies face around the world, Digi-Key recently unveiled a new packaging product specifically designed to safely ship smaller component orders.
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Small Order Electronic Component Shipping Challenges
For many distributors, small orders present greater challenges than the fulfillment of large electronic component orders. Small orders strain distributors for many reasons, from cost-efficiency to handling to packaging practices engineered for higher quantity orders.
Cost Efficiency
Shipping small orders of electronic components can be less cost-effective compared to larger orders. Shipping costs, such as packaging, handling, and transportation, are often fixed or have minimum charges. Therefore, the cost per unit for shipping small orders can be relatively high, which may impact the overall profitability of the transaction.
Packaging and Protection
Packing small electronic components challenges distributors to plan the myriad forces that threaten the safety of these sensitive devices while en route. Distributors must plan for the typical physical forces, bumps, and jostles along the road that could result from damage to small pieces. However, they must also consider electrostatic discharge, an unseen force capable of damaging sensitive electronic components.
To ensure products arrive safely, distributors follow packaging practices that account for quantity and incorporate a variety of packaging products designed to provide physical protection and disseminate electrical discharges before they result in costly product loss.
Digi-Key Engineers Tackle Small Order Component Shipping For Broken Pack ICs
The challenge of small order component shipping occurs when quantities shipped fail to adequately fill shipping containers. Small orders allow for potentially dangerous shifts and movements while en route. Shipping options capable of delivering the flexibility necessary to accommodate customer order quantities rarely ensure industry-standard protections. Designed for larger orders, these containers inadequately prevent physical, environmental, and electrostatic damage during the shipping and handling process.
Digi-Key Electronics recently announced the acquisition of United States Patent Number D968,957. The patent, titled “Tray for Transporting and Storing Electronic Components,” represents a breakthrough invention by Digi-Key engineers Shane Heinle and Reid Landsrud and Digi-Key’s first patent award. Their aim in development centered around providing distributors with a safer, more efficient method for transporting broken pack integrated circuits.
What is a Broken Pack Integrated Circuit?
A “broken pack integrated circuit” refers to an integrated circuit (IC) removed from its original packaging. These small electronic devices feature multiple electronic components integrated into a single semiconductor chip. Commonly integrated components include transistors, resistors, and capacitors.
Manufacturers typically package ICs in protective containers or trays to ensure their safety during transportation and storage. However, handling or other processes sometimes damage ICs or their original packaging.
Challenges of Shipping Broken Pack ICs And Small Order Component Shipping
Transporting broken pack integrated circuits can be challenging because they are more susceptible to further damage, such as electrostatic discharge (ESD) or physical stress. Therefore, finding a safer and more efficient method to transport and store these components is crucial to maintain their functionality and prevent additional losses or failures.
Shipping integrated circuits (ICs) poses several unique challenges due to their delicate nature and sensitivity to various factors.
Fragility
Integrated circuits consist of intricate microelectronic components and delicate wiring patterns. Physical impact or excessive vibration during shipping easily damages these extremely fragile components.
Static Electricity
Integrated circuits are highly sensitive to static electricity, causing immediate or latent damage to ICs. Exposure to static electricity can result in malfunctions or complete component failure.
Temperature and Humidity Control
Extreme temperatures and humidity levels negatively affect the performance and reliability of integrated circuits. Temperature and humidity control during transportation is crucial to preserve IC integrity.
Packaging used for shipping integrated circuits must provide proper protection against physical damage, static electricity, and environmental factors. Each shipment includes antistatic materials and cushioning, engineered to absorb shocks and provide a moisture barrier against the elements.
Designing packaging products for integrated circuits presents plenty of challenges, but developing packing solutions for broken-pack integrated circuits adds a new dimension to an already challenging design problem.
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Design Methods and Testing
Digi-key engineers understood the herculean nature of their quest: minimizing package size and weight while maintaining the structural integrity and safety of smaller quantities of these sensitive components during transport.
The team invested countless hours researching, developing, and prototyping their new shipping container. Their work ensured this new packaging delivered the same level of protection to electronic components that the traditional, larger packaging offered.
Blueprints and diagrams provide exact dimensions for manufacturing. However, engineers understand that it is nearly impossible to make each product item run the same size. 3-D printing technology provided an economical approach to prototyping. The creators printed models which they used through rigorous tolerancing and dimensional verification testing.
Digi-Key Engineers Patent New Tray for Electronic Component Shipping
Digi-Key engineers Heinle and Landsrud introduced trays that are a quarter of the size of the industry-standard JEDEC trays. This size reduction not only facilitates the packaging and shipping of smaller quantity items but also diminishes the environmental footprint.
Reid Landsrud, supervisor and resident maintenance technician at Digi-Key, highlighted the substantial packaging savings achieved with these smaller trays.
As quoted in the company’s official press release, Landsrud remarked, “It’s amazing the amount of packaging we save by using this smaller tray, which offers the exact same benefits as the standard larger tray but is perfectly sized for the number of components we frequently ship. We are able to send components in a smaller shipping box, with a smaller moisture barrier bag, a reduced amount of desiccant, and at a lower shipping cost. This decrease in shipping and packaging expenses not only benefits our customers but also contributes to a lesser environmental impact.”
Related: Static Electricity and ESD Damage: New ESD Products for 2023
Fostering Partnerships and Inspiring Innovations
Digi-Key’s commitment to continuous innovation gained worldwide attention at the onset of the global COvid-19 pandemic. The company invented an in-house system to disinfect warehouse totes that supported continued manufacturing while promoting rigorous safety.
While Digi-Key continuously fosters innovative ideas. However, this particular patent marks the company’s first official recognition of its inventive prowess. Following the creation of the tray, Digi-Key collaborated with local Minnesota enterprises, namely Holland Molds of Wadena, Minn., RTP Company of Winona, Minn., and CCI of New Hope, Minn., to facilitate commercial production.
Shane Heinle, the senior supervisor of ESD program control at Digi-Key, expressed his satisfaction with the local collaboration. He publicly stated, “To me, everyone at Digi-Key is an engineer, and we have to make things work every single day. I’m glad to have had three Minnesota companies to work with for this project, as this is truly a local product from idea to production that is making a global impact on our customer base.”
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Contributed / Digi-Key Electronics
Digi-Key continues to lead innovation, earning awards such as the Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators.
The newly patented tray serves as another testament to the pervasive innovative spirit at Digi-Key. To learn more about Digi-Key’s new packing tray for safer small-order component shipping, read the company’s full press release here.
About DigiKey
DigiKey, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minn., USA, is recognized as the global leader and continuous innovator in the cutting-edge commerce distribution of electronic components and automation products worldwide. The company provides more than 14.9 million components from over 2,400 quality name-brand manufacturers available for immediate shipment. DigiKey also supports engineers, designers, builders, and procurement professionals with a wealth of digital solutions, frictionless interactions, and tools to make their jobs more efficient. Additional information can be found at digikey.com and on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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