When looking up the data for the Lumex laser diode OED-LCD15001 the only thing that was available via Digikey links was a one-page drawing, with some data on there. However, in large letters it says on the right bottom "Uncontrolled Document". Hmm...
If I had ever released an uncontrolled document to the public the V.P. of Quality control of my employer would have read me the riot act.
The other thing that puzzles me is how sparse those "data sheets" on laser diodes are. Rarely more than two pages, leaving more questions than answers.
Ahh, finally found it, it is the LDC15001. Well, one of the problems with lasers is there is a large variation in output power and maybe some of the beam quality measurements from one unit/batch to another. Why are you paying $120 for this? I built a unit that used visible (670 nm) lasers some years ago, and I was able to find them through Digi-Key for under $20 each, they were also 5 mW. These devices don't look very exotic.
What the heck does "uncontrolled document" mean, anyway? That they won't guarantee device performance to that sheet's specs? That specs may change sometime in the future? I have no idea.
Maybe we have different definitions of 'uncontrolled', but as far as I can see, any published document HAS to be uncontrolled, because you don't know who has it, so you can't update every holder's copy.
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OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk
2006 is YMMVI- Your mileage may vary immensely.
Sorry for the typo, should indeed read LDC15001. It was just one example, I am not going to use these. At least not with that kind of data sheet. It needs to be more detailed and more precise, it's not enough to know that the spectrum will be somewhere between here and the Klondike.
I am looking for one in the same frequency range but that can be pulled a few nm and ideally without etalon filter ratcheting.
I don't either. My first boss said "Don't you ever publish something like that."
Take Analog Devices as an example, or pretty much any other semi mfg for that matter. They don't stamp their drawings "uncontrolled" but they include the rev level.
I don't think it's all that ominous - I've seen documents with lots of stuff saying they're proprietary, don't release without proper authority, that sort of thing. I think "uncontrolled" just means that it's available to the public.
The places I've worked used the term "Uncontrolled Document" for in house documentation that did not have all the proper signatures to assign a rev level, but the data was needed right away. As soon as an official version existed, they were to be rounded up and destroyed. Generally, they never left the engineering office. The rare exception was an emergency job where something had to be ready to ship at the same time the documentation was ready. It also included test procedures that were in the process of being written, and hadn't made it to the "Preliminary" release.
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I don't know much about ISO 9000 - I leave that to someone else, but I think 'uncontrolled document' is PART of its provisions. It allows for copies to be issued on the clear understanding that they won't be automatically updated. If you need the latest version, you have to ask for it.
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OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk
2006 is YMMVI- Your mileage may vary immensely.
Yes, we used to put a notation, something to the effect that the document was invalid if printed. The only "official" document was that available online at...
Seems like 99% of everything printed falls into that category -- it's a "pull" model for updates rather than a "push" model. At least for public documentation...
John is right. The "CONTROLLED COPY" and its "UNCONTROLLED COPY" counterpart are part of the documentation requirements of Quality Management Systems (like ISO-9000, etc.) and they are not related to the revision level or release state of a document. Therefore, it is perfectly valid to have a "controlled copy" of a preliminary document or an "uncontrolled copy" of a final release document.
If you have an "uncontrolled copy" of a document, it means that "your" copy is not under "control" of the person or department which issued the document. On the other hand, the same person or department keeps records of how many "controlled copies" of a document has been made and who had received them. Thereafter, each time an "original copy" of a document is modified, replaced, etc., it is in their duties to make sure that each holder of a "controlled copy" receives a new "controlled copy" of the updated document (this is why it is usual that, when someone receives a "controlled copy" of a document, he or she have to sign a form in acknowledgement).
Even when a company use a Quality Management System, it is up to them to decide which documents are "into" their quality system and which not. So, in the Analog Devices example, they might have decided that all documents for general public are out of their quality system.
Yes, I know about that method, commonly used within a corporation where you must swap docs upon QC request. But I have hardly seen anything labeled "uncontrolled" outside a corporation.
IMHO that would get them into hot water at least for med, mil and other areas. When a doc is released at, say, Rev C then it is to be cast in stone. Not to be altered. If it is altered it must become Rev D. So when they issue a doc with a particular rev level this must match what's in their doc center.
In the laser diode case there was no rev level I could find on the doc. That's a big no-no in my field. Even all my intermediate design stages all have progressing "X + number" rev levels. No exceptions. This is not just to cover the legal bases but if a client calls and says they want to try this older version again we can instantly lock onto the same page by looking at the right bottom corner of the document where the rev level is.
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