I will need between 1000- 10,000 PIC microcontrollers
programmed with a custom firmware design. Paying
someone to use a $100 programmer all day to burn
firmware in these devices is not feasible, which is
probably why there are companies that specialize in
this function.
I would rather not ship the devices directly to the
end user that licenses my technology, in efforts to
protect my firmware designs. I guess I have two
options. One, is to have Microchip program the devices
before they ship them to me or directly to the end
user that licenses my technology. I am just not sure
if 1K units is above the minimum for factory firmware
programming. The other option, is to have one of these
other companies program these devices, where I would
ship the devices to this company or have Microchip or
the distributor ship the PICs to the company. Can
anyone recommend such a company, that offers
competitive rates? Roughly how much per unit, do they
companies charge.
My biggest concern when dealing with these type of
companies, is that they are reliable, where they are
carefull to enable code-protection in the PICs to
protect my firmware designs before shipping the
programmed PICs to my licensee end-user. Thanks.


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