A quality end product is the ultimate goal of any manufacturer, going back to the earliest stages of its design. But in electronics, the end product is the sum of so many more parts than almost any other category. These components—either active, passive, or electromechanical—are often considered commodity products, given their simplicity in most cases and basic function. But that doesn’t mean they could be overlooked, as any electronic instrument or device is only as good as the sum of its parts.
For the most part, basic electronic components can be packaged discretely, in networks of like components or arrays, or integrated inside packages like integrated circuits. With that, such packages can be considered components themselves. Here’s a look at some discrete component products recently put on the market.