Maxim IC frustration - hard to find components

[[email protected]]

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult for small companies to
design with their components.
I am developing a new consumer electronics product. Unfortunately, I
planned to use 4 Maxim chips that are hard to find in small quantities
(1-40). Standard distributors like Arrow, Mouser and Digikey don't cary
them. These components are excellent matches for my design needs. Maxim
offers some of their ICs for purchasing on their website, but not the
ones listed below. Perhaps someone can recommend a broker or exchange
website where rare Maxim components can be purchased at reasonable
prices. I would love to find alternatives to these components if
someone can offer some advice. National, Linear and Analog devices
simply cant match the selection, sophistication and price of switching
regulators and battery charging ICs. Please feel free to recommend
other IC manuafacturers that specialize in these types of components.

DS2745 Low Cost I2C Battery Monitor
(chosen for its ability to cumulatively measure voltage & current to
estimate battery life, + its low cost, $1@1K)
http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/4994

MAX1555 Dual-Input, USB/AC Adapter, 1-Cell Li+ Battery Chargers
(chosen for its ability to intelligently charge a 1-cell lithium from
a wall adapter or USB port 5v rail, low cost .85@1K)
http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/4002

MAX1522 Simple SOT23 Boost Controllers
(chosen for its high frequency operation - small inductor, only a few
external components, low cost $1.07@1K)

MAX1724 1.5µA IQ, Step-Up DC-DC Converters in Thin SOT23-5
(chosen for its ultra low quiescent current, only needs a 10uh
inductor, has built in FET, very few external components, low cost
$1.45 @ 1K)
http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/3024

 

[Brian]

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult for small companies to
design with their components.
I am developing a new consumer electronics product. Unfortunately, I
planned to use 4 Maxim chips that are hard to find in small quantities
(1-40). Standard distributors like Arrow, Mouser and Digikey don't cary
them. These components are excellent matches for my design needs. Maxim
offers some of their ICs for purchasing on their website, but not the
ones listed below. Perhaps someone can recommend a broker or exchange
website where rare Maxim components can be purchased at reasonable
prices. I would love to find alternatives to these components if
someone can offer some advice. National, Linear and Analog devices
simply cant match the selection, sophistication and price of switching
regulators and battery charging ICs. Please feel free to recommend
other IC manuafacturers that specialize in these types of components.

Maxim isn't aiming for your market. They design these chips and hope someone
orders a GAZILLION. The rest never go anywhere.

 

[krw]

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult for small companies to
design with their components.

Don't worry. They make it equally impossible for large companies.

I am developing a new consumer electronics product. Unfortunately, I
planned to use 4 Maxim chips that are hard to find in small quantities
(1-40). Standard distributors like Arrow, Mouser and Digikey don't cary
them. These components are excellent matches for my design needs. Maxim
offers some of their ICs for purchasing on their website, but not the
ones listed below. Perhaps someone can recommend a broker or exchange
website where rare Maxim components can be purchased at reasonable
prices. I would love to find alternatives to these components if
someone can offer some advice. National, Linear and Analog devices
simply cant match the selection, sophistication and price of switching
regulators and battery charging ICs. Please feel free to recommend
other IC manuafacturers that specialize in these types of components.

They don't carry them because Maxim doesn't make (perhaps design)
them unless there is a huge demand.

Maxim isn't aiming for your market. They design these chips and hope someone
orders a GAZILLION. The rest never go anywhere.

Exactly. Go elsewhere.

 

[budgie]

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult for small companies to
design with their components.
I am developing a new consumer electronics product. Unfortunately, I
planned to use 4 Maxim chips that are hard to find in small quantities
(1-40). Standard distributors like Arrow, Mouser and Digikey don't cary
them. These components are excellent matches for my design needs.

I have been the same route with a Li-Ion charger design about three years back.
Having done the rounds of chip types we - like you - settled quite quickly on
the Maxim product for its functionality. Unfortunately Maxim want to remain
strictly a manufacturer, and the distribution chain which hangs off their
coat-tails isn't the most small-customer--focussed system you'll find. Here in
Australia the "official" distributor (Arrow) won't even break the factory MOQ.
We were fortunate that we located one offshore (NZ actually) Maxim reseller who
did carry the required IC and who actually broke the FMOQ down to something
sensible - ten off. Otherwise we would have had to compromise our design
objective by choosing another chip/supplier combination - and Arrow also
represent LT here :-(

Maxim
offers some of their ICs for purchasing on their website, but not the
ones listed below. Perhaps someone can recommend a broker or exchange
website where rare Maxim components can be purchased at reasonable
prices. I would love to find alternatives to these components if
someone can offer some advice. National, Linear and Analog devices
simply cant match the selection, sophistication and price of switching
regulators and battery charging ICs. Please feel free to recommend
other IC manuafacturers that specialize in these types of components.

(snip chip description)

We checked several offshore suppliers. Maxim in Singapore looked promising but
the unzudders were a tad more responsive and I found their "quaint" version of
the English language easier to deal with that the Asian version.

Back to the web, check out their food chain ALL the way down, and you may just
strike it lucky.

 

[CC]

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult for small companies to
design with their components.
I am developing a new consumer electronics product. Unfortunately, I
planned to use 4 Maxim chips that are hard to find in small quantities
(1-40). Standard distributors like Arrow, Mouser and Digikey don't cary
them. These components are excellent matches for my design needs. Maxim
offers some of their ICs for purchasing on their website, but not the
ones listed below. Perhaps someone can recommend a broker or exchange
website where rare Maxim components can be purchased at reasonable
prices. I would love to find alternatives to these components if
someone can offer some advice. National, Linear and Analog devices
simply cant match the selection, sophistication and price of switching
regulators and battery charging ICs. Please feel free to recommend
other IC manuafacturers that specialize in these types of components.

Maxim isn't aiming for your market. They design these chips and hope someone
orders a GAZILLION. The rest never go anywhere.

That's why I just don't even bother to consider that Maxim exists
anymore when looking for chips.

 

[Winfield Hill]

[email protected] wrote...

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult for small companies to
design with their components.
I am developing a new consumer electronics product. Unfortunately,
I planned to use 4 Maxim chips that are hard to find in small
quantities...
DS2745 Low Cost I2C Battery Monitor
MAX1555 Dual-Input, USB/AC Adapter, 1-Cell Li+ Battery Chargers
MAX1522 Simple SOT23 Boost Controllers
MAX1724 1.5=B5A IQ, Step-Up DC-DC Converters in Thin SOT23-5

What a great testimonial for cool parts. What a great warning
to stay the hell away!!! The bean counters (always a very bad
sign) at Maxim simply chose to ignore the massive collection of
products that start small, and then build big. Sadly, it's at
their peril, because even big boys recognize a failed approach
and steer clear, for fear they'll choose a part and after a year
or two find it discontinued by the same bean-counter mentality.

Either you orient yourself towards your customer, or you don't.

 

[JeffM]

I don't know why Maxim makes it so difficult

for small companies to design with their components.
techman41973 @yahoo.com

You must be new here.
http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=author:Robert-Baer+Maxim

National, Linear and Analog devices simply cant match
the selection, sophistication and price of switching regulators
and battery charging ICs.

Old joke:
"How much are you asking for tomatoes."
"50 cents a pound."
"50 cents a pound?!--the guy down the road said his were only 35."
"Why didn't you buy them there?"
"He was out of tomatoes."
"Ah, that's different. When I'm out, mine are only 25 cents a pound."
..
..
Interesting how you put sci.electronics.design twice in the To: line.

 

[Tim Wescott]

That's why I just don't even bother to consider that Maxim exists
anymore when looking for chips.

Yet I have had Maxim sales guys tell me -- with straight faces -- that
Maxim never obsoletes a design.

As far as I can tell this is true -- the just don't make a run until
they have orders for 50000 pieces.

There are a few Maxim parts that just cannot be lived without; for those
you need to order a years supply a year in advance. Then just wait --
when the other 49800 get ordered they'll start building your parts.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Posting from Google? See http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/

"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" came out in April.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

 

[Robert Baer]

That's why I just don't even bother to consider that Maxim exists
anymore when looking for chips.

Hmmm....I have said the same thing a number of times - and got a lot
of static.

 

[Mike Harrison]

That's why I just don't even bother to consider that Maxim exists
anymore when looking for chips.

Unless it's a 1-off you can build with a sample...!

 

[PeteS]

[email protected] wrote...

What a great testimonial for cool parts. What a great warning
to stay the hell away!!! The bean counters (always a very bad
sign) at Maxim simply chose to ignore the massive collection of
products that start small, and then build big. Sadly, it's at
their peril, because even big boys recognize a failed approach
and steer clear, for fear they'll choose a part and after a year
or two find it discontinued by the same bean-counter mentality.

Either you orient yourself towards your customer, or you don't.

I had a long conversation with the reps for Maxim whilst at my last
job, perhaps 4 years ago, and specifically asked them about the :
'We don't care about you unless you order a million and accept 16 week
lead times' attitude.
They assured me that they really had reformed, but the reality of the
situation is they have not.


My supply chain here has specifically asked I not use Maxim devices as
they find it nigh on impossible to get the parts. I find this sad and
amusing as Maxim sends me their 'engineering journal' touting their
great parts, but they just don't seem to want to sell them.

As for samples, you can get them, but you'll get the third degree over
it (don't want to give anything away too easily, do we).

As Win noted, it's silly to ignore the small customer that could become
a large customer. That's *precisely* how TI has now re-oriented itself,
and they are now posting record profits.

TI competes directly with Maxim (and has second sourced a lot of their
parts), and I find the support superb. Even though dev kits are
nominally $49 - $99 for most stuff, my FAEs get them to me for nothing,
because they *want me to design their parts in* and they know I won't
if I have a supply problem.

Contrasts in suppliers, indeed.

Cheers

PeteS

 

[Mike Harrison]

I had a long conversation with the reps for Maxim whilst at my last
job, perhaps 4 years ago, and specifically asked them about the :
'We don't care about you unless you order a million and accept 16 week
lead times' attitude.
They assured me that they really had reformed, but the reality of the
situation is they have not.


My supply chain here has specifically asked I not use Maxim devices as
they find it nigh on impossible to get the parts. I find this sad and
amusing as Maxim sends me their 'engineering journal' touting their
great parts, but they just don't seem to want to sell them.

As for samples, you can get them, but you'll get the third degree over
it (don't want to give anything away too easily, do we).

As Win noted, it's silly to ignore the small customer that could become
a large customer. That's *precisely* how TI has now re-oriented itself,
and they are now posting record profits.

...and precisely how Microchip have always been, and are now the biggest 8-bit micro vendor - ISTR
reading somwehere that no one customer makes up more than 3% of their sales.

 

[Fred Bloggs]

Hmmm....I have said the same thing a number of times - and got a lot
of static.

Yeah- but you're that Clarence nutcase troll...how's the speech
impediment coming along.

 

[Fred Bloggs]

National, Linear and Analog devices simply cant match the selection,

sophistication and price of switching regulators and battery charging
ICs.

That's a bunch of bull, you're not paying attention.

Maxim is not making them because the market is using a superior
alternative, get a clue.

 

[John Woodgate]

That's a bunch of bull, you're not paying attention.

Maxim is not making them because the market is using a superior
alternative, get a clue.

Well, that's true. Maxim doesn't seem to be making them at all.

 

[Joerg]

Hello Pete,

Or, to put it succinctly: If you don't orient yourself towards the
customer, somebody else will. However, it usually requires an upper
management change to truly understand that and most of all, live it.

My supply chain here has specifically asked I not use Maxim devices as
they find it nigh on impossible to get the parts. I find this sad and
amusing as Maxim sends me their 'engineering journal' touting their
great parts, but they just don't seem to want to sell them.

As for samples, you can get them, but you'll get the third degree over
it (don't want to give anything away too easily, do we).

Samples usually aren't the problem. The problems I found were when my
clients wanted to order the first reels and all they heard at the other
end of the phone line was some hard swallowing.

So far I have only designed out Maxim parts, mostly because of serious
logistics problems. I then always try my best to find a jelly bean
solution where every part in it is cheap and has half a dozen sources.

Advice to the OP: Learn how to do things without panacea chips, learn
discrete designs. It's amazing what you can do these days. Discrete
solutions are often significantly lower in cost than that nice cool chip
and also not larger in real estate. The only downside is you'd have to
deal with 0402 parts or smaller and eyes don't get better with age.

As Win noted, it's silly to ignore the small customer that could become
a large customer. ...

That's what many EU manufacturers do not understand. It is also the
reason why I typically don't use their parts anymore in designs and why
I wouldn't buy their stock.

 

[Tim]

Not my (limited) experience - I've used Maxim Direct in the UK and it has
always worked well.

 

[PeteS]

Hello Pete,


Or, to put it succinctly: If you don't orient yourself towards the
customer, somebody else will. However, it usually requires an upper
management change to truly understand that and most of all, live it.


Samples usually aren't the problem. The problems I found were when my
clients wanted to order the first reels and all they heard at the other
end of the phone line was some hard swallowing.

So far I have only designed out Maxim parts, mostly because of serious
logistics problems. I then always try my best to find a jelly bean
solution where every part in it is cheap and has half a dozen sources.

Advice to the OP: Learn how to do things without panacea chips, learn
discrete designs. It's amazing what you can do these days. Discrete
solutions are often significantly lower in cost than that nice cool chip
and also not larger in real estate. The only downside is you'd have to
deal with 0402 parts or smaller and eyes don't get better with age.




That's what many EU manufacturers do not understand. It is also the
reason why I typically don't use their parts anymore in designs and why
I wouldn't buy their stock.

I agree with everything you say here, with an addition. There is _very_
little, if anything, that Maxim makes that can not be done [at least as
well] with devices from another manufacturer. Those other manufacturers
are reaping the benefit of Maxim's short sightedness, imo. That goes
for just about all manufacturers, obviously.

Power, thermal management, serial drivers, hotswap - you name it, there
are at least 3 competitors in the majority of what they make, although
not always fit/form/function compatible. That makes little difference
at original design though.

I must sadly agree abut EU manufacturers too - I would use them, but I
just can't get them to understand that I am not going to buy 10k of
something for a prototype. So they lose the design. I don't know if
that's your experience with them; it certainly is mine, in general.

Cheers

PeteS

 

[Frank Bemelman]

That's a bunch of bull, you're not paying attention.

Maxim is not making them because the market is using a superior
alternative, get a clue.

There's a bit of a teaser

 

[PeteS]

<<
National, Linear and Analog devices
simply cant match the selection, sophistication and price of switching
regulators and battery charging ICs. Please feel free to recommend
other IC manuafacturers that specialize in these types of components.
Power
TI, Linear, National, Analog devices, to name a few. All these have
products equal or superior to Maxim.

Battery charging. See the list above.
I use a BQ24103 [TI] in a couple of products, and it works exactly as
advertised.

There are, of course, many other manufacturers - these are just the
really big outfits.

As an example on price, I am using the TPS65020 as the regulator for a
PXA based design. 3 switchers, 2 LDOs, multiple pin-assignable default
settings, I2C controllable Vout. Budgetary $3.75 / 1k qtys. That's
pretty competitive as far as I can find.

Want a highend controller that will handle 10A load steps without even
a hiccup? Try the LTC1735. Not the cheapest, but a damn good piece of
work.

No - there is nothing that Maxim makes that others can't do just as
well (perhaps with the addition of a few external components on
occasion, but that goes both ways).

Cheers

PeteS