TM4C129 product availibility

Hi Ovanes,

Thank you for your interest in the TM4C129ENCPDT device and inquiry regarding product life cycles. The TM4C129x products are sold to a wide variety of customers and used in a wide range of applications with expected production lifetimes often in excess of 10 years, including industrial and medical applications. Our product life cycles are typically 10-15 years, consistent with customer requirements.

Although all the products will reach its end of life cycle eventually, TI will ensure our customers are informed properly and allowed sufficient time for transition when it occurs. Typically, we will give our customers at least 12 months’ notice and allow a Life-Time-Buy at the end of product life for up to a 6 months delivery.

Best regards,

Daniel

IMHO marketing speech for "as long as sale figures are high enough". That would be industry standard.

One can get MCUs with a vendor's guaranteed life time commitment  - for a significant premium.

Bravo (again) f.m. - few here register your directness & knowledge.

Note that vendor - and vendor alone - serves as MCU's "Judge/Jury!"    (when time to, "Pull the Plug" upon hapless MCU...)
 
Might there be a "bigger issue" - missed by poster's (limited), "Ten year lifetime request?"   Does not innovation drive the introduction of NEW Products - often exceeding the performance, capability & value of (most any) older device?    What then?   Can an old/tired/limited MCU (really) "claim its socket" for Ten years?   Should it?

Firm/I seek to provide "high value" to our clients by recognizing this reality - and (often) employing the, "MCU du jour" on a small, "daughter board" - which enables the quick/easy UPGRADE to the "latest/greatest."   Such (completely) SOLVES lifetime issues - thus deserves high consideration - does it not?

Further - we may provide two such MCUs - from the get-go - and from different vendors - so that "source independence" is gained.   Such "forward thinking" is appreciated by our clients - and may provide insight to (many) here...

Actually when it was been an issue for me, the requirement was for availability 20 years after end of production of the component the micro was in. That was driven by the spare parts requirement of the manufacturer the component was going into.

Robert

And actually - when multiple of our defense clients require the (costly) replacement of key/critical, "Sub-Systems" our ability to "drop in" an improved device - quickly, completely & efficiently - is spectacularly welcomed!

Ten or (even) 20 years lifetime (may) be ok for a very remote (border-line unreachable) system - yet the appeal of "eased upgrade" is undeniable - and (likely) trumps any 10 (or 20) year commitment by a "bottom-line driven" MCU vendor.  (if any would (still) make such guarantee!)   (I highly doubt)

Real world requirements (today) dictate the "eased" accommodation of "latest/greatest" - which my "method/madness" (above) details...

Ten or twenty years of production/support are IMHO an unreasonably high expectation for a mass product like the (average) Cortex M4.

Such long commitment do e.g. exist in the PLC market, for systems that target long-living installations like water processing and power plants. As said, the premium is rather hefty. A factor of 10, compared to otherwise equivalent controllers/PCs, is not uncommon.

BTW, those manufacturers have to battle with discontinuation issues as well. But for a proper margin, second-source producers "spring up". As an example, the i8088 / 8086 / 80186 market has long been left by Intel itself ...

Oh, I agree it's not reasonable to expect that kind of lifetime from the micro. Just that it is sometimes a product requirement. In that case I mentioned it was agricultural equipment. PLC's would definitely not have been an option.

And the problem isn't really updates while production is occurring, it's maintenance after the end of production. While production is occurring there is budget for occasional redesign/respec for an obsoleted component. The harder issue is what happens 15 years after the end of production when a component is obsoleted? Have you kept enough stock to serve out the remaining life? Is there sufficient documentation and resources to design in a replacement?

It's a different market than high turn-over consumer products. They tend to avoid PC/Cellphone parts since they obsolete too quickly. Specialized components tend to be avoided for similar reasons, once their narrow market disappears so do the parts.

Robert

And yes, you can expect no assurance as to supply from the semi manufacturers, although big enough purchases might help. You either have to assure yourself of a large enough supply to cover all contingencies or risk a redesign after your end of product life.

Just that it is sometimes a product requirement.

I know that such products and requirements exist. Just think most general-purpose MCUs (like the TM4C) are not designed to for this market - and rather targeting the faster-moving consumer markets (IMHO to a large extent fad products). The PLC market, OTOH, is more geared toward longer maintenance - that's why I mentioned it.

As an example, I know that Freescale promised 15 year availability for it's iMX6 processor (a Cortex A). Not sure what happened to this promise with the "formal disappearance" of Freescale ...

That's (formal disappearance) a great point.    Even with (and especially with) formal "guarantee" the "longevity" promise may be "breached" via reorganization, acquisition or factors "beyond maker's control."    Caveat emptor...

Yes indeed. And besides formal disappearance the fine print in those guarantees will often render them moot. Intel made such a promise years ago when they were still targeting the embedded market and promptly broke the spirit of it with their second (IIRC) product released with that guarantee. They insisted they kept to the letter of their promise but it was a clear breach of the spirit.

Robert