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Entrepreneur’s perspective highlights the impact of “digital”
By Bill Schweber -- EDN, 2/17/2005
Matthew Lorber, president and chief executive officer of Copley Controls Corp, founded the company in 1984. His previous start-ups include Solid State Instruments in 1961 with Massachusetts Institute of Technology roommate and co-founder and chairman of Analog Devices Ray Stata; Analog Devices, in 1965, again with Stata; Printer Technology in 1971; and Torque Systems Inc in 1973. Copley designs and manufactures power amplifiers and motion-control drives for semiconductor, medical-resonance imaging, packaging, and automated assembly/inspection systems.
EDN: What has been the biggest change in product architecture over the years?
Lorber: Everything has gone digital. Software is now handling a larger portion of the system, and there are many more networked products.
EDN: How has this change affected design and development?
Lorber: In the old days, the compensation to match the motor and drive used discrete components, but this tuning is now done in software. This gives [engineers and] the users greater flexibility. It also means we have fewer variations to build, since we can make changes in the field, or the customer can do it himself. This is a big advantage for everyone. Plus, users can make changes as their application changes or the understanding of the application changes. They can even program changes dynamically, to make the drive control shift operating modes, depending on what the drive is being called on to do.
EDN: What changes do you see in engineering skills?
Lorber: Years ago, it was impossible to get tech people. Some companies even went into schools to groom students with potential. Now, it’s easier to get the people we need; in the last 10 years, there has been a much better supply of good technical people.
EDN: Do you have any observations about the design process?
Lorber: It takes a lot longer to get a mechanical part designed in than an electronic part. The biggest change in the past years is that the PC and software have changed the design process. A lot of the design activity is tremendously easier; it’s all associated with less design dog work and with better control of inventory. Every business area is better controlled and understood. At the same time, new-product development is the key issue in this business, and the cost of new-product development is higher than ever.
EDN: Did you make any mistakes that taught you a lesson?
Lorber: Certainly, we have not always guessed right. We developed products for a copper process used in IC production, since the underlying technology resembled existing amplifier technology we had, but we didn’t appreciate the dominance of some other competitors in that market.
