Do I Buy or Build?

Adding graphical LCD color touch to my product

A good analogy for the buy or build decision is building a house versus buying one. In both cases, the following questions are relevant:

• Do I have very specific requirements that can't be met by what's on the market?
• Do I have the time to build my own? Can I get it built in the time I have available? How badly will I get yelled at if it's late?
• Do I have the necessary experience? Will I be able to recognize the critical design choices when they arise, and choose the right one?
• Do I know about the implementation minutiae involved, like zoning, and permits in the case of a house, and cabling, timing, and sequencing for LCDs?

You get the picture. It comes down to the time, money, and resources you have, and the specific requirements of your product.

Sometimes the answer is easy

• The production run will be large enough to amortize development expenses
• The form factor or feature set mandates a custom solution
• Unit cost budget mandates an "in-house" design

Sometimes, the decision requires greater scrutiny

Reach products could save you a lot of time, money, and risk. Use this table to help you analyze your project.

	Reach products	In-house system
Product availability	Product is available off-the-shelf. Production orders can be pulled in or pushed out. See Pricing and  Availability, and Long Term Supply for full Reach availability policy.)	Putting a new board into production carries lead time and supply risks. Accurate demand forecasts must be developed. to ensure availability and minimize excess inventory.
Design costs	None	High: Research includes deciding on the right processor; deciding on the most appropriate operating system; identifying reliable sources of LCD components.
Design overhead	None	Each new part needs an Approved Vendor List (AVL), which requires a huge amount of work to do correctly. Single-source parts can have high minimum buys (e.g. 3,000 pc. reel).
Operating system	Works with any operating system, and with, or without, a host OS.	You must choose an operating system and become (very) familiar with it, if you’re not already.
Learning curve	Very short.	Very long, if you and your team are not already familiar with the components of the system you have in mind. It will involve substantial time away from core responsibilities.
Analysis paralysis	None.	There are many options. It’s easy to spend more time evaluating your choices than creating the design.
Graphics library	None required. The library is built into the Reach product.	There are many libraries to choose from, and the advantages and disadvantages of each might become apparent only after you’re deep into implementation.
Learning LCD technology	None required.	LCDs are unique: Data sheet timings can be incorrect, required signal and power sequencing and timing can be missing altogether.
LCD system maintenance	Not applicable.	Total control of (and responsibility for) LCD system maintenance, which includes changes in available products, supply, etc.

If you’d like to read an in-depth discussion of your choices, please check out our white paper, Need help adding a graphical color control interface to your product? Fill out the Free Download form in the right hand column of this page to get the PDF file.

 

Other reasons to buy rather than build

If what you want to do is upgrade an existing product, consider Reach. While Reach can be a valid choice in other situations, this is where our products truly shine.

• Time to market: If your schedule is tight, Reach products are the answer.
• Low risk: Reach products are used by hundreds of companies worldwide. Products are fully-tested and they’re designed by highly-experienced LCD engineers.
• Reliability: The Reach command protocol is simple and robust. No code added to your system that could cause problems. The hardware uses long-life components and generous operational margins.
• Easy to debug: All commands are in easy-to-read ASCII, and the GUI interaction can be easily logged to identify problems.
• Firmware version control: Reach provides customers with reliable, repeatable firmware version control. You can order exactly the same version you put into production.— no upgrade surprises.
• Works with any processor, from small 8-bit microcontrollers to 64-bit multi-core.
• Instantaneous boot and shutdown.

Reach does custom designs too

If you need something that can't be handled by Reach's standard products, give us a call. Almost all of our standard products were initially developed to solve specific customer requirements. 

Bottom line? Which makes more sense?

Designing your own LCD system from scratch is the riskiest and most costly option you have. Given all that, does it make sense to do it, anyway? Or does it make more sense to buy Reach products? 

What’s next?

• Technical questions? See how it works.
• Concerned about cost? Find out more about Reach pricing.
• Curious how others have used it? Read client success stories.

How Does it Work?

A standard asynchronous serial port connects your system's microcontroller to the SLCD controller. Simple ASCII commands are used to draw images, text, controls, and other interface elements, on the screen. The controls report back over the serial line... More  

“I could buy an LCD panel from one vendor, and buy other components from another vendor, but then I would have to spend the rest of my life getting the two to work together.”

- Prospect

Try Before You Buy

Order a development kit which contains everything you need to get a touch interface up and running in a matter of days...More

Why Reach?

Reach Technology gives embedded engineers adding a color touch control surface to the product a jump start. They see lower development costs, reduced risk and decreased time-to-market... More

“If we did three times the volume, we could justify actually doing our own design. In our situation, we are better off using Reach modules.” 

- Alan Gibson, Santa Barbara Infrared, the designers and manufacturers of the most technologically advanced infrared IR and Electro-Optical EO test instrumentation available

Have Questions?

Call sales and customer service
at 510-770-1417 or email us.
Call technical support at 503-675-6464 or email a Reach engineer.