Emerson Network Power Introduces Fast, Flexible and Affordable Customization of Embedded Motherboards

Emerson Network Power is introducing the RapiDex service at the Embedded World exhibition being held in Nuremberg, Germany, 1-3 March. The Intel(r) Atom(tm) processor is the first to be supported, with other Intel embedded processors being added during 2011. Users of the RapiDex service specify the processor, memory, I/O and connectors and boards are built to the exact dimensions desired for ease of mounting in custom enclosures.

Services offered to customers by embedded suppliers and other independent third parties that are capable of streamlining both the design and production process are increasingly becoming competitive differentiators across the embedded marketplace, said Richard Dean, director, Embedded Hardware & Systems Practice, VDC Research Group. Emerson Network Power, which is making several strategic investments to develop an innovative portfolio of services to be marketed and sold through a dedicated channel, is introducing the RapiDex service at a point in time when worldwide customer demand for such services is also increasing.

Unlike conventional embedded board customization services, Emerson's RapiDex was designed from the ground up to enable boards to be delivered in timeframes that were never possible before. At the same time, motherboards designed using the RapiDex service benefit from the same manufacturing quality and product warranties as every other Embedded Computing product from Emerson Network Power, said Brian Brown, vice president and general manager, Embedded Services, Emerson Network Power. The ability for a design engineer to specify boards that are tailor-made to their needs without the high cost and volume commitment normally associated with custom motherboard development is a giant step forward.

Designers who are rapidly bringing new applications to Intel's embedded processors are looking for innovative solutions in the way embedded motherboards are specified and built, said Joe Jensen, general manager of Lower Power Embedded Products Division, Intel Corporation. With solutions such as Emerson Network Power's RapiDex service, developers using Intel embedded processors will not have to compromise on their hardware specification.

Innovations in board design technology and manufacturing processes have enabled Emerson Network Power to drastically reduce the front-end costs for custom boards. Typical customization engagements today require open-ended, non-recurring engineering fees and significant volume commitments. With Emerson's RapiDex service, customers simply pay a small manufacturing set-up fee to receive first article boards.

A simple specification procedure and a new Emerson Network Power manufacturing process enable fast execution of customer requests. Customers receive first article boards in as little as four weeks from order. On approval of these first article boards, customers can order volume shipments with a low minimum order quantity of only 100 units. Unit prices are competitive with prices of equivalent standard motherboards.