The trajectory of new electronic technologies is currently light years ahead of past predictions. Electronic components are continually becoming faster, smaller, and more powerful, and there is every indication that this trend will continue. While rapid changes and improvements are great for consumer products, they present a challenge in the aerospace and defense sector. Why? Since the life span of most defense systems is decades or even longer, provisioning quick technical changes based on the latest innovations poses one of the most challenging issues. Helping organizations overcome this is Vanguard EMS. The company believes reliable electronics manufacturing means defects can’t move to the next step of the process without being addressed. This core tenet drives Vanguard to develop and deliver defect-free products for leading medical, aerospace, defense, and industrial organizations.

“Maintaining device quality, reliability, and on-time delivery while ensuring traceability of components, employees, training records, supplies, and tools are non-negotiable in the world of highrisk electronics, and that’s the capability we bring to the table,” states Chris Smith, director of sales at Vanguard.

Vanguard’s program management teams keep its clients’ manufacturing projects at the forefront of their attention. Backing them is the Director of Materials and Purchasing Team, who assists clients in mitigating counterfeits, complying with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and high-reliability standards, and driving cost savings. Simultaneously, Vanguard’s customer product specialists focus on program documentation and revision control to ensure a smooth transition of information through different production processes. The Vanguard team enforces rigorous reliability and quality standards the moment a technician steps onto the manufacturing floor.

Even before work begins, team members must pass an electrostatic discharge test, or they are unable to open customer documentation at their work-station. By locking them out, the system ensures they pass ESD before they can work on customers’ products. Vanguard also produces interactive, illustrated work instructions that take all guesswork out of the assembly. Additionally, the highly qualified technicians only work on products once trained to handle those particular requirements.

Besides its workforce competencies, Vanguard has also developed a proprietary process flow and manufacturing execution system called SMARTer Manufacturing. From the ability to directly download vital documentation to providing interactive work instructions, SMARTer leaves nothing to chance. The tool is specifically built for electronics manufacturing, having undergone design and capability refinement for over 12 years. With SMARTer, clients can gain insights into their product development programs as they move through different manufacturing stages by seamlessly accessing historical records and defect dates to the solder joint.

Maintaining device quality, reliability, and on-time delivery while ensuring traceability of components, employees, training records, supplies, and tools are non-negotiable in the world of high-risk electronics, and that’s the capability we bring to the table

Vanguard is equally mindful of leveraging innovative technology like the ViTrox Advanced 3D X-Ray Inspection to examine printed circuit board assemblies for defects at the micron level. Another key example is the 12-zone nitrogen reflow oven, which ensures a high level of control over solder uniformity and reflow profiles. These work in conjunction with each other to reduce solder voiding. These devices are just the tip of the iceberg as Vanguard incorporates newer tech-driven tools to offer full traceability and early defect detection to keep its clients’ production costs down.

With such unparalleled capabilities, Vanguard plans to continue impacting the defense and aerospace sector and help derisk electronics manufacturing. The company is poised to be there at every step of its clients’ product innovation journey and make their transition into the digital world a hassle-free endeavor.