Online BOM calculator simplifies costing process for IIoT custom ICs

Dublin – October 30, 2017 – S3 Semiconductors today announced an online bill of materials (BOM) calculator that shows how custom ICs are economically viable even in low to medium volumes. Learning from S3 Semiconductors’ 20 years of experience in designing custom ICs, the BOM calculator will provide an estimate of project development costs and give a guide to break-even volumes using just a few key data points. Such data includes shipment volumes, planned lifetime and technical information on the components required.

Aiming to disprove the myth that custom ICs are too expensive for designs requiring relatively small quantities, the calculator will be of particular interest to engineers engaged in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) developments. The data needs of the IIoT are responsible for increasing control system complexity, which in turn adds to the number of components used and the pressures on diminishing board space. The compound result of all these factors leads to difficulties in production, testing and inventory management.

Dermot Barry, VP and General Manager at S3 Semiconductors commented, ‘Custom control ICs offer many advantages over discrete designs. Not only do they use less power, but they also have no redundant features, simplify PCB design and offer increased security and IP protection. Custom ICs also help in making product differentiation much easier, as well as offering a solution to a growing problem for the electronics industry, that of component obsolescence’.

S3 Semiconductors has launched this free BOM calculator to simplify the process of costing a custom IC and give developers a quick and easy way to see break-even volumes for custom semiconductor designs without allocating any resources. In the process, the calculation will demonstrate how viable custom silicon is for low- to mid-volume designs.

The BOM calculator can be found at https://www.s3semi.com/bom-calculator/.

About S3 Semiconductors

S3 Semiconductors (S3semi) designs advanced mixed-signal chips and manages every aspect of supplying production devices to its customers using some of the world’s most advanced semiconductor production facilities. With more than 20 years’ experience designing advanced analog and digital circuitry for hundreds of customers around the world, S3semi is a new breed of semiconductor supplier, capable of customizing and optimizing chip designs for each customer and delivering them in volume production for as long as they are needed. S3semi delivers exceptional TCO (total cost of ownership) savings for its customers at volumes not previously thought possible with custom chip design. S3 Semiconductors has its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with offices worldwide. More information is available at www.s3semi.com.