The first processor to be supported in the RapiDex service is the Intel Atom, with other embedded processors to be added throughout the year. Using the service, customers define the processor, memory, I/O and connectors, and boards are built to the exact dimensions required.
The company claims that, unlike other customisation services, RapiDex was developed from the ground up, to enable boards to be delivered in timeframes never before possible. It is expected that around 50% of all motherboard customers could find the service useful.
The set-up fee of $75k also makes the service suitable for low volume production runs, according to the company, stating that typical customisation engagements today require open-ended, non-recurring engineering fees and significant volume commitments, while with this service customers pay a small manufacturing set-up fee to receive the first article boards in as little as four weeks from order.
On approval of the first article boards, customers can order volume shipments with a low minimum order quantity of 100 units. Emerson claims unit prices are competitive with prices of equivalent standard motherboards.