Avoiding the Pitfalls
To successfully find a spectrometer for your OEM product, be clear and detailed about your application, avoid “over-specifying,” and make sure you choose a supplier who can support your needs.

Choosing an OEM spectrometer for your new product is just like choosing a spectrometer for your experiment. However, there are additional considerations related to making a product that can be reliably manufactured, sustained over time, and capable of meeting all of the various regulatory requirements.

Spectroscopy is a technique in which the design criteria exist as a set of trade-offs. The optimal spectrometer depends entirely upon the application. The design trade-offs also involve money, so it is important to have a cost target for the system in mind. The design process begins by asking a series of questions: What are you trying to measure? How fast do you need measurements? Where is the sample? Who will be operating the instrument? How much can it cost? And the most important question of all: Why are you making the measurements?

Understand the Why
Everything follows from the application. Be clear on what you’re trying to measure and be sure that spectroscopy can give it to you.

The best way to reach your goals is to let your supplier know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Spectrometer manufacturers have a wealth of experience across different industries and can offer experiment insight, not because they’re experts at what you do but because they’re experts in spectroscopy.

Imagine, for example, you’re building a diagnostic system for skin cancer detection. Your pitch to dermatology diagnosticians is that it can reduce biopsy time from four days to four hours. This tells your manufacturer a lot about what kind of components you’ll need. If they only know you’re trying to detect cancerous tissue, your system could be for an operating theatre, for hospital use, or for a laboratory application, each of which could require different performance criteria.

Understand the What
Once you and your supplier understand the why, it’s time to think about specifications and parameters. In spectroscopy in general and miniature spectrometers in particular, instrument design involves a series of tradeoffs. You can optimize optical resolution, for example, by considering higher groove-density gratings and smaller entrance aperture sizes, although doing so may truncate spectral coverage and reduce light throughput. For an application where light throughput is more important – fluorescence, for example – the reduced throughput becomes a critical trade-off to consider.

If it’s important to be clear on what you need as far as performance and specifications, it’s doubly important to be clear on what you don’t need. It’s easy to get caught up in specsmanship, focusing on getting the components with the best numbers. What matters is not whether that component outperforms any other, but which collection of components, assembled into an instrument, will deliver better value for your customers. Slightly better resolution might sound great, but if it’s not relevant to your application, you’re paying for performance you don’t need.

As with all electronic equipment, being able to secure parts and produce consistent performance over the life cycle of a product are challenging tasks. Electronics components are always in a state of change. The 5-cent capacitor that was designed into your product suddenly becomes a $25 part, with 18-week lead times, when one day the only factory in the world that makes it burns down. This volatility requires constant engineering maintenance to find new sources for discontinued parts, and to test and evaluate their effectiveness. If the part is a critical component, such as the spectrometer’s CCD array, finding a replacement may well be impossible. You should have an OEM provider who routinely tracks the life cycle of key components, and who is in a position to offer lifetime buys and technical alternatives to keep your product viable.

Firmware, software and operating systems are also in constant flux, and your OEM provider must be committed to keeping ahead of industry shifts. Software drivers for spectrometers should operate on any of the popular operating systems, such as the latest version of Windows, Linux and Macintosh. If your products require communications over specific protocols, such as IEE 485, RS-232 or TCIP, then your OEM vendor should be prepared to offer these.

Governments are constantly erecting new regulatory hurdles. For example, RoHS-compliant parts and products were mandated for products sold into EU countries. These standards were rapidly adapted by other countries, and by many customers. Your OEM supplier must be ready to meet the challenges of finding RoHS-compliant parts, redesigning circuit cards, and providing suitable documentation.

Understand the Who
Technology is constantly changing. Your OEM supplier should be at the forefront of optical sensing so that you can choose state-of-the-art components. You do not want to find yourself at a competitive disadvantage when new measurement technologies emerge.

Your OEM supplier should be a partner in your project. They need to understand your application, your customers and your business model. They should be tasked with maintaining technological leadership, protecting your investment in your product through engineering maintenance, and managing costs by constantly improving their manufacturing efficiencies.

So how do you find the right partner? Start by asking the right questions. Do they understand the science behind spectroscopy, and what you’re doing, in particular? It sounds obvious but it isn’t always so. You don’t want just a component supplier, you want a manufacturer who is able to support your application. They should also be able to support your future needs, responding quickly to changes and adapting their components to your new designs.

Consider your needs in terms of the overall relationship. The contract shouldn’t just be about delivering hardware. You should also establish agreed-upon performance and QC standards, how and when that hardware is to be delivered, how returns/repairs should be handled, and so on.

Look for a company with a team designed specifically for OEM customers. Visit their facility, meet their engineers. Get a feel for who they are, because they’ll be an important part of your success.

Miniature spectrometers can be powerful tools for your OEM products. You just need to be sure you know what you want, why you want it and what performance you need -- and have a partner who will deliver.

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