Electronics Reliability for Demanding Applications

These issues were discussed during the panel “Electronics for Demanding Applications. From Design to System Reliability,” held at Evertiq Expo Kraków 2026. The discussion was moderated by Ewelina Bednarz, Global Content Manager at Evertiq. Joining the discussion were Maciej Sobolewski from Fideltronik and Jacek Małecki, CEO of Best Supply.

The Fideltronik Group is Poland’s largest EMS provider and has been operating in the market since 1986. The company supports customers throughout the development of electronic products, from design and rapid prototyping through validation and certification to volume production and post-market product support. It also develops solutions related to automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and industrial data analytics.

Best Supply specializes in services for the electronics industry, including EMS, cost optimization, component sourcing, process outsourcing, and the organization and transfer of production. The company operates primarily in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.

During the Kraków panel, representatives of both companies showed that electronics for demanding applications are the result of cooperation between designers, manufacturers, suppliers and a range of specialists responsible for quality, certification and logistics.

Reliability as a Design Parameter

A device intended to operate in harsh conditions may be exposed to a wide range of adverse factors, including high temperatures, vibration, humidity, aggressive chemicals, thermal cycling and mechanical overload. Each of these factors affects the choice of PCB material, trace routing, solder joint technology, protective coatings, enclosure design and testing methods.

Maciej Sobolewski suggested that demanding projects should not be treated as a separate, almost mysterious category of electronics.

“From my point of view, these are simply project parameters. In order to take them into account in the design, they should be clearly defined as early as possible" - said the Fideltronik representative.

This may seem like a simple principle, but its implications are far-reaching. If it is known from the outset that a device will operate in a high-humidity environment, an appropriate protective coating can be planned. If a system is expected to be exposed to shocks, heavy components may need to be positioned differently. If a product is intended to operate for several or several dozen years, both the technical parameters of the components and their future availability must be considered.

Requirements should then be verified at every stage of product development, from the initial concept and prototypes through production preparation to testing and certification. Reliability is not a single parameter that can be assessed during final inspection. It is the result of an entire sequence of design and technology decisions.

Designing for Real-World Manufacturing

One of the key concepts discussed during the panel was DFM (Design for Manufacturing or Design for Manufacturability), meaning design that takes into account the actual possibilities of manufacturing a device. A good electrical schematic and a correctly designed PCB do not necessarily guarantee that production will be repeatable and cost-effective.

DFM principles are not entirely universal. Each manufacturing site has a specific machine park, its own suppliers, particular process materials and experience with selected technologies. As a result, a design that is easy to implement at one factory may require modifications when transferred to another manufacturer.

Sobolewski pointed out that the best situation occurs when an EMS provider is involved in the project as early as the stage when the basic requirements are being defined. The manufacturer can then ask what temperatures the device will operate at and whether it will be exposed to condensation, vibration, chemicals or mechanical loads.

“If the manufacturer is involved in defining the design rules that we need, they can ask the right questions at an early stage” - he emphasized.

This approach reflects Fideltronik’s business model, which combines design capabilities, prototyping, testing, certification and manufacturing. It makes it possible to assess a design not only in terms of functionality, but also in terms of assembly, automated testing, production scalability and subsequent product support.

The opposite situation is a project delivered to a factory only after the documentation has been finalized. Problems may then emerge during industrialization or certification. There may be insufficient clearance between components, inadequate space near the edges of the PCB, or insufficient room to perform a particular manufacturing process. At this stage, modifications can be costly and, in some cases, impossible without redesigning the device.

Jacek Małecki noted that the problem has become more pronounced as competencies have become increasingly divided between OEM companies, which design products, and EMS companies, which manufacture them.

“I have seen many cases in my life where a project developed by an OEM company could not be manufactured or industrialized” - said the CEO of Best Supply.

In his view, knowledge of manufacturing processes is gradually declining within some OEM companies. Consulting the future manufacturer before the design is finalized can therefore help prevent errors whose correction at a later stage could result in delays of several months.

The Supply Chain Becomes Part of the Device Architecture

For many years, the supply chain was treated primarily as a purchasing and logistics function. Today, it is increasingly becoming part of the product architecture. A designer cannot limit the assessment of a component to whether it meets the required technical specifications. They must also determine whether it can be sourced, how long it will remain in production, whether alternatives exist and how a price change could affect the economics of the entire device.

This is where Best Supply’s experience is particularly relevant. The company works in areas including sourcing, supply management, finding hard-to-source components and optimizing manufacturing costs.

Jacek Małecki described the current market situation as highly dynamic. He pointed out that price changes for some components can undermine the economic viability of an entire project.

“What are you supposed to do? How do you sell a product in which the memory that cost USD 23 two months ago now costs USD 150? In my opinion, the entire product isn’t worth that much”.

The best protection is to design in alternatives. For processors, memory, power-management devices and other critical components, it is worth considering a second or third source of supply. Pin-compatible alternatives are the ideal solution, but this is not always possible. Sometimes an alternative component requires changes to the software, power supply, PCB design or even recertification.

The component lifecycle is equally important. A manufacturer may classify a device as new, mature, intended for further development or approaching end-of-life. When a PCN, or Product Change Notification, is issued, the company must decide whether to purchase sufficient stock for several years, identify a replacement or redesign its product.

Jacek Małecki referred to the defense industry, where devices can remain in service for two or three decades. In such cases, component database management becomes a strategic process. An engineer should not freely select components found online, but instead use a controlled catalog containing information about price, lead time and expected availability.

Managing the lifecycle of components requires discipline. When a manufacturer announces that a component is being discontinued, the product owner must make a decision well in advance. They may place a last-time buy, build a stockpile for several years or begin the component replacement process. In electronics intended for defense or industrial infrastructure, failure to respond can threaten the ability to service the entire system in the future.

It’s Not Just About Semiconductors

The discussion also showed that supply risks extend beyond integrated circuits. In advanced electronics, supporting materials such as solder pastes, adhesives, cleaning agents, resins and protective coatings can be equally important.

Maciej Sobolewski gave the example of a coating material that was used during the certification of a product in the United States but cannot be sold in Europe due to local regulatory restrictions. A substitute can technically be used, but this may require new samples, testing and revalidation. As a result, what initially appears to be a simple materials issue can delay product deployment by several months.

Another potential problem is the minimum order quantity. A manufacturer may be required to purchase 20 liters of a substance even though only one liter will be used over six months. The remaining material may expire, while its cost is spread across a relatively small number of devices.

This shows that chemical properties are only one of the criteria involved in material selection. Packaging, shelf life, regional availability and production volume also matter. The supply chain therefore extends beyond the components listed in a product’s bill of materials. It also includes all substances and processes required to manufacture and protect the product.

Inventory Is Making a Comeback

For years, just-in-time manufacturing was seen as a symbol of modern production, with components arriving at the production line almost exactly when they were needed. This approach reduced inventory and freed up capital. In an unstable environment, however, it can increase a company’s exposure to delays, transportation disruptions and sudden price increases.

Jacek Małecki pointed out that companies holding larger inventories can sometimes perform better financially than those that try to minimize stock at all costs.

“If I want to continue to exist as an end customer today, I have to anticipate these difficult times and secure sufficient cash resources to provide myself with inventory buffers” he argued.

A buffer does not, of course, mean accumulating components without analysis. Inventory also generates costs, while components can become technologically obsolete or be removed from a project. What is needed is a risk assessment: which components are critical, what their lead times are, how quickly their prices are rising and whether they can be used in other products.

The changing approach to inventory reflects a broader transformation in industry. In a stable environment, cost efficiency was the primary objective. During periods of disruption, resilience becomes equally important. A company must not only manufacture cost-effectively but also maintain its ability to produce when it can no longer rely on predictable deliveries.

Poland’s Opportunity in European Electronics

The panelists also devoted considerable attention to the position of Polish EMS companies. In their view, domestic manufacturers, despite their relatively small share of the European market, can benefit from challenges facing Western European industry, the trend toward relocating production and growing demand from the defense, automation and industrial sectors.

Jacek Małecki said that the strengths of Polish companies include technical expertise, speed of action and a willingness to solve unusual problems.

“We in Poland are much better; we are outstanding in Europe in this respect. Generally speaking, I would say things are bad, but compared with the rest, they are fantastic" he said, with his characteristic optimism.

Sobolewski pointed out, however, that the development of advanced manufacturing requires scale. A new production line can cost several million euros. A company therefore needs sufficient size, experience and financial stability to invest before a project is fully operational.

The example of Fideltronik shows the importance of reaching an appropriate critical mass. The company has almost 40 years of experience and an established design, manufacturing and R&D infrastructure. This enables it to handle both volume production and complex high-mix, low-volume projects requiring considerable flexibility and frequent configuration changes.

The growing importance of defense and transportation also means more complex requirements. Sobolewski noted that a standard FR4 laminate is not always sufficient. The type of solder material, resistance to thermal cycling, shock and vibration, environmental requirements, regulatory compliance and a range of other factors can all be important.

Even transferring a fully functional design from one factory to another may require changes because local DFM rules and available processes are not identical. A device prepared for a facility in Norway or the United States may therefore require adaptation before production can begin in Poland.

From Component to System

The key conclusion from the Kraków discussion is straightforward: reliability cannot be added to a finished product. It has to be built from day one by asking questions about the operating environment, production scale, certification, assembly technology, materials, component availability, costs and product lifetime.

From this perspective, electronics engineering becomes a discipline of managing interdependencies. A good component in a poorly designed system will not ensure reliability. An excellent design without available materials will never reach production. A local factory cannot solve problems if the documentation was created without consulting manufacturing engineers. Even the cheapest design can become expensive if a single critical component becomes unavailable.

Ewelina Bednarz’s questions guided the discussion from the earliest design decisions through materials and logistics challenges to the capabilities of Poland’s EMS sector. This provided a broader view of reliability as a characteristic of the entire environment in which a product is designed, manufactured, developed and serviced.

Supply chain management, DFM, lifecycle management and inventory planning are therefore no longer supplementary activities for an electronics designer. They are becoming part of the design itself. As Sobolewski summarized: “If you know what you need and can define those needs, everything is possible”. In electronics for demanding applications, precisely identifying those needs is the first and most important test of reliability.

The next Polish edition of Evertiq Expo will take place on October 22, 2026, at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw. We invite you back to Kraków on June 9, 2027.