[analog31]

Not this exact thing, but I make a hardware product akin to a guitar pedal. I designed around a component type that the semiconductor industry was phasing out. One day I noticed that the list of alternative parts at my distributor included many that were marked "obsolete." I panicked and bought the entire stock of the part number that I use.

At this point I have the only stock of this part in the world, and it's more than a lifetime supply, but otherwise I'd have been faced with a re-design and limited options.

For another of my products, during the pandemic, the part I was using became unavailable, and I had to re-design my board to accommodate a part of the same type in a different package. Then I couldn't buy either part, but found an odd lot at a Texas Instruments factory in China, which I bought.

Dealing with shortage and obsolescence issues is a constant battle. There have been crises in the industry caused by plants catching on fire.

[marysol5]

One thing I've always said that with products, especially when they're parts. They should be required to be made "open" as soon as you stop making and/or selling them.

They're making you nothing, they're going to vanish into the nether if the documentation is lost....