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Insight
Jun 1, 2022
Revealing the true cost of warranty-related recalls
Increasing hardware lifespan for less than an extra 0.5%
Rainer explained how small changes in ADAS hardware materials for minimal incremental price increases, can result in major safety and reliability improvements, helping OEMs minimize the risk of warranty-related recalls.
He used a mathematical price formula based on averages to highlight the true cost of warranty-related recalls as a consequence of electrical failures. Data from Stout published in 2022 showed that 40% of warranty-related vehicle failures are electronic-component related. This includes hardware and materials used for ADAS.
Calculating the costs
Venz hypothesized: “If the average cost to design a Level 2 autonomous vehicle is $47,000, of which some 30% is electronic content, comprising $14,100 of the overall cost, then ADAS represents 20%, or $2,820. Replacing traditional materials with more robust, innovative new alloys and conductive adhesives, would represent less than half a percent of the overall vehicle cost, so small as to be insignificant. That’s a tiny increase that could bring potentially large rewards.”
“The increased automation of driver functions is leading towards full vehicle autonomy. Enabling this is an array of electronics that require long-term reliability due to the critical functions they perform, such as braking and steering. Material selection is critical to optimizing hardware to meet and exceed the necessary reliability requirements .
Critical materials
"Often critical materials will be a very small percentage of the bill of materials but can have a massive impact on the financial performance of OEMs and affect their reputation. Materials must be changed from a perceived cost to an operational cost. After all, it represents the cost carmakers are willing to put on vehicle safety.”
MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions showcased how its own material solutions which can contribute to a significant increase in vehicle safety and reliability of electronics. For example, the company’s Innolot alloy has been proven to improve solder joint reliability by some 40% compared to a traditional SAC alloy (228 BGA).
Furthermore, its advanced conductive adhesive, Atrox, delivers thermal conductivity of 50~200 W/mK, compared to an average of 1~5 W/mK for a standard epoxy. Both materials illustrate dramatic improvements in thermal resistance and dissipation respectively which in turn deliver extended characteristic life of the systems in which they are used.
