In the past two years, I helped a graduate student make a graduation project, which was used in the production line to automatically remove defective products.
The project does not need to be implemented, only the technical links involved in the middle, what plan to use, and specific technical implementation details.
It took about 2K or so, and it took almost half a month, and I feel that I have lost a lot.
If I accept it, I can only bite the bullet and finish it. Now people often ask me to make proposals, but I basically refuse them.
Why?
Because I am not familiar with that kind of product, unless I have done it and have ready-made reference circuits and codes, otherwise I will not accept it. If I accept it, I will dig a hole for myself.
Many people think that they can make money by receiving external orders for technology, but you may not believe it, and many of them will lose money.
1. My understanding of outsourcing companies
Some time ago, a student of Wuji MCU was hired by an outsourcing company and asked me how I was doing.
Solution companies can better train an engineer's technology, but they are not vertical enough. In the end, they may know a little about everything, but they are not good at it.
It doesn’t matter if it’s your first R&D job, accumulate experience first, if you are an experienced engineer, I don’t recommend it, unless the company’s product is very vertical and is aimed at a certain field.
Solution companies mainly accept some outsourcing projects. For example, if you don’t understand technology and want to make a certain product, you can entrust them to develop it.
There are two general types of charges:
1. The solution company will help you develop and produce, and finally give you a fully functional PCBA, which will be settled with you according to the quantity.
2. A one-time development fee will be charged, and the drawings and source code will be given to you.
Many companies are more willing to go the first way, just like a hen laying eggs, and the second way is to kill the hen directly for money.
But solution companies are generally very tiring, and it is more difficult to make a lot of money.
Once the customer's products are in large quantities, they will develop and produce them themselves, and the cost will be lower in the long run.
Different customers involve products from different industries, and each industry has different product solutions.
To put it simply, the technology cannot be used universally, and the products of different customers require you to relearn the knowledge of their industry.
for example:
For example, customer A entrusts you to develop a fingerprint lock. Single-chip microcomputer is a common technology. On this basis, you need to know which fingerprint solution is the most cost-effective. Before that, you may not know anything about fingerprint sensors.
This is interlaced like a mountain. Although single-chip technology is common, different industries have different best solutions and even algorithms.
If you don't know the industry well, the things you make will not be competitive in terms of price.
If it is a graduation project, it doesn't matter. If you are a product that needs to be mass-produced, you must be very cautious when sending it out to outsource.
If it is a solution company that does everything with messy products, there must be problems with the products it makes.
The correct way is to find a company that specializes in solutions for this industry.
For example, if you want to make automotive electronic products, if the product involves communication with the car, you must be familiar with protocols such as ISO15765-4, KWP2000, ISO9141, and J1850 PWM/VPM.
Generally, the solution company you are looking for is not specialized in automotive communication, and it is difficult to make these agreements stable.
Maybe there is no problem at the beginning of the test, but there are a lot of problems on different models.
At this time, you can find OBD module manufacturers and use their solutions directly to save trouble.
Second, the solution company is so miserable, why do people still do it?
What are the benefits of being an outsourcing company?
1. Determine the development direction for the company
Many outsourcing solution companies think so in their hearts.
I don't know what product to make myself, and I am not very familiar with the market conditions, so I just help others develop it.
With a lot of development, we will gradually have data and know which products are easy to sell.
This is the first benefit, which is to set the direction for the company in the future.
2. Build your own product library
When outsourcing companies help others to make products, they are also accumulating technology for themselves. If there are more products, there will be more fields that they can do.
To put it simply, it is to treat others as guinea pigs to accumulate one's own technology.
2. Can engineers earn money by accepting foreign orders?
From an engineer's point of view, it's the same.
If you are not familiar with this kind of product, it is best not to take an order easily.
Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time learning in the early stage.
Many pitfalls do not appear in the research and development stage, but in the mass production stage, and you will be bankrupted in minutes.
Even if you don't need to pay, you have to cooperate to solve it. If the cycle is prolonged, it will be a loss in calculation.
3. Is it reliable to find MCU completion or project outsourcing in a certain treasure?
If you don't have someone you know well to help you do, a certain treasure is definitely more reliable than you can find casually, at least you can return the product or give a bad review if you are not satisfied.
Bishe is relatively simple, and the function can be realized, so a certain treasure should not be a big problem.
However, many treasures are middlemen, and the actual orders are also sent out to cooperative engineers or companies.
If you want to save costs, you can go to some technical groups to find group owners to see if they can help you design.
If you are developing a product, it is better to choose a physical company, and it will be more reliable to meet and chat.