CMR is an Italian Company, founded in 1975, with 15 employees (10 electronic
engineers) active in the industrial sector of Television and Radio Receivers,
Sound and Video Recording. The Company design, develop and produce Satellite
Receivers and Electronic Systems.
The electronic knowledge of the Company are in the field of Radio
Frequency, Analogue RF Signal Processing and Microprocesor HW/SW design
and development.
The Company's lines of product are: Coder/decoder systems, SMATV (Satellite
Master Antenna TV) receivers single and multi-user and Self Positioning
Satellite Receivers for End Users customers in a consumer market.
CMR markets its product in Italy with a representative network and
in other European Countries by means of distributors with a current
turnover of 1,820 KECU.
All its electronic products are designed utilising microprocessor
and analogue High Frequency components on PCB THT technology. A continuous
innovation is applied on the products with particular attention and
in conformity to the EMI and safety rules in force.
In order to face changing requirements of the growing market of multi-user
SMATV receivers, requiring modular systems with large capability of
programming and at a reduced cost, it is crucial for CMR to improve
the competitiveness of its product, concerning both technical features
and prices.
The objectives of the Application Experiment were:
- design of a SMATV multi-user receiver with a new architecture in
comparison with the existing product,
- acquisition of SMT technology for the manufacturing process of
the boards.
These objectives are aiming to: reduce the industrial cost of the
product in order to increase the competitiveness of the Company and
to increase the performance of the product as programmability, reliability,
better response to EMC requirements.
The objectives are reached by using a single microprocessor instead
of a distributed microprocessor architecture, allowing to increase the
receiver channels from the present 5 up to 30 and applying the PCB SMT.
With the AE the results have been a cost reduction of 20%, a price reduction
of 10% and a profitability increased of 24%.
It is estimated that the benefit of reducing cost will allow CMR to
increase its market share from the present 10% up to 12.5% in three
years.
The new project has taken seven months (the project started on the
1st April 1998 and ended on the 30th October 1998) with an investment
of 35 KECU and a further 15 KECU for the industrialisation phase. The
payback period for the investment is foreseen in 17 months and the ROI
is about 636% in a period of four years.
This experience already replicated applying SMT to other Company's
products, strengthened CMR to withstand the market competition for many
years to come. So, the SMT technology has represented for the Company
a way to face this growing SMATV market field.
This AE is of interest of every Company involved in small series electronic
THT-based products where the SMT technology adoption should represent
a "cutting costs" method.
