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The Silent Killer: Suspect/Counterfeit Items and Packaging

1409 F1 coverOver the past several years, U.S. based organizations have curtailed traditional internal verification efforts due to reliance on contract manufacturers, distributors and suppliers to do the right thing. The inspection of ESD sensitive parts is very important, but without special safeguards, the additional handling to remove and repack a product for validation can cause both physical and ESD damage in the process. For parts, including those not sensitive to static electricity, measures must be utilized to detect, inspect and validate the packaging that identifies and protects the product.

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Novel Approaches for the Detection of Counterfeit Electronic Components

A worldwide epidemic of counterfeit electronic components is flooding the market and affects the supply chains of all industries. It is estimated that the financial loss due to counterfeit components is over $10 billion per year. Counterfeiting itself becomes profitable when scrapped components, components from recycled products or inexpensive components can be “remarked” and sold as a new, more expensive, higher reliability version. Much of the effort today has not been placed on preventing counterfeiting but rather screening components to identify and remove counterfeits before they are used in a finished product.

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Company recalls counterfeit circuit breakers

Miami Breaker, Inc. of Miami, FL has announced the recall of about 43,600 counterfeit Square D-brand circuit breakers.  The recalled circuit breakers, which were imported by General Breakers and Panels, Inc., also of Miami, have been determined to be counterfeit by Square D.