Nexus GB, the exclusive UK distributor of Datakey Electronics’ range of rugged portable memory products, has produced a checklist of issues that OEMs should consider before integrating portable memory into a new design to help avoid the, often costly mistakes that can go hand in hand with integrating consumer style memory products, such as USBs and SD.

Industrial memory products are specifically designed for use by OEMs and are portable, rugged and fit for purpose. However, many designers simply aren’t aware that industrial memory is an option; they design-in consumer memory because they think it is the only choice.

Below are the top ten factors that OEMs should consider when integrating portable memory into a product :

  1. Look for memory that is guaranteed to work in the OEM device – While consumer memory may fit physically, it may not work in the device – for any one of countless technical reasons. As a result, the design engineer using consumer memory should pre-qualify those products on the market that do work. This eliminates perhaps the most compelling reason to use consumer memory – widespread availability.
  2. Look for longevity in the product life cycle – Consumer memory becomes obsolete when the manufacturer ceases production. The right industrial memory product is guaranteed to offer substantially better longevity because industrial manufacturers understand that your product may need continual maintenance over a long period.   
  3. Always choose a controlled connector so that only approved products fit – If you design in USBs or camera cards, users can plug in untested, unqualified consumer memory. This isn’t the case with a specialist memory key or token.
  4. Choose the right amount of memory – If your application only requires 4MB of memory, there is no need to buy a device that provides 32GB. As with all design engineering projects, over specification can be expensive.
  5. Do your products operate in a harsh environment? Both the memory device and the mating reader may need to be immersion rated, produced for a specific temperature, shock rating or ESD (Electro Static Discharge) rating.
  6. Triple check the mated cycle life – If your product is used ten times a day, a typical USB connector will only last five months. This may be great for the spare parts business but it will leave your end users pretty unhappy! Always ensure that the usable life cycle of the product matches its predicted usage.
  7. Check the product support for industrial OEMS – Consumer memory manufacturers focus on consumer OEMs and industrial memory manufacturers on industrial work, so it’s vital that you match your own organisation to the manufacturer correctly.
  8. Use form factor to discourage theft – USB drives and SD cards are targets for misuse and theft but a stock design from a specialist portable memory supplier isn’t. If there is the possibility of product or data theft in your application, this should be a key consideration.
  9. Use form factor to improve data security – By design, most industrial products do not plug into standard PC ports, whilst USBs and memory cards are made for this purpose. It may well be beneficial to your security strategy if lost products can’t be accessed without specialist equipment.
  10. Watch out for changing standards – USB and SD ‘standards’ can and do change. Indeed, history shows that these standards are driven by the consumer market and changes can adversely affect embedded OEMs who adopt the products.  For instance SDHC cards use a different addressing method to SD cards, meaning embedded devices using SD can’t also use its successor, even though they fit in the receptacle.

In conclusion, while the process of choosing the form factor and reader is simple, it’s only the first step. The crux of the matter is dealing with security and longevity issues, plus making sure that the device meets ruggedness standards required by the environment. So, our advice would be; conventional memory – forget it. If the device needs to be on the market in twenty years time, or even five, you need specialist OEM memory.

Nexus GB Ltd can offer you a catalogue of serial memory products (serial EEPROM or SPI flash) that are fit for use in industrial applications and which have been proven in military, government, medical and industrial applications for over 35 years. 

Even if you are part way through your product development and have already built in a USB or SD port, it is not too late to adapt your design to integrate a more rugged, secure memory system.  Whatever the stage of your development, contact us on 01794 301439, visit http://www.nexusgb.co.uk or email info@nexusgb.co.uk.