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Ventec: The Flexibility We Need in Standards-driven Manufacturing
February 13, 2024 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Ventec International COO Mark Goodwin and technology ambassador Alun Morgan had quite a bit to say at productronica 2023 about slash sheets, IPC standards, and how to bring the PCB designer closer to the supplier. As Mark says, what matters to designers, manufacturers, and even consumers, is that the products meet compliance standards, such as REACH. They don’t need to know how something is built. They just want performance and availability.
Barry Matties: Since our last conversation regarding your recommendations with slash sheets, where are you now?
Mark Goodwin: At IPC APEX EXPO 2023, we learned that the whole industry has been misunderstanding the descriptive information at the top of the IPC slash sheet; it actually has no relevance. It is not part of the material specification.
Alun Morgan: The slash sheet structure was good 30 years ago when you could define properties by family groups, with only three or four resin types available. Today, we no longer have resin systems that are only one resin type; we have fillers and mixtures and all kinds of performance enhancements. The future moved on from that framework; it doesn't fit anymore.
That was why we joined in and worked with UL to create a comprehensive list of resin chemistry definitions for designers. If you're a PCB designer, you ask, “What do I need to know to make my decision?” Now, they can look it up and know exactly what it means when you say “primary resin,” “flame retardant,” or “filler.” We have a basis of understanding and some common language.
Goodwin: We worked on those definitions and proposed that they be included in the preamble of the IPC-4101 specs.
Morgan: I'm proud of our work with UL in adding definitions for resin chemistry terms in UL 746E. We all worked hard to ensure we had a base level (of terms and definitions) in place. It's the first step. The next work to be done—which is a lot—is to move into the performance area, which hasn’t been mapped out yet.
Goodwin: Those performance criteria should include physical, mechanical, and electrical properties.
Morgan: We've often argued that we should try and curate these within our industry sectors. That makes sense. If we've learned anything, it’s that the design process is far from materials. Designers don't understand detail about the material side. Why would they? Even for PCB manufacturing, the designers don't have a comprehensive understanding. Now, the designer can say to the engineer, “I'm a designer for automotive cabins,” and the engineer says, “Here’s a set of standards that will be appropriate for your kind of designs,” or “I design ECUs for under the hood.” Now, here are the products that would fit there. It's not the end of the story, but a starting place for these guys. If you can give them a starting place, how much easier the job is.
Goodwin: This happened naturally with thermal management. It was a new thing that came along with thermal modeling so the designers have a much deeper connection to the materials in that sector than they do in any other.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the January 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Paul Cooke of Ventec Talks About Glassless Revolution, High Reliability
04/09/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineMarcy LaRont from I-Connect007 caught up with Paul Cooke from Ventec at the SMTA UHDI Symposium on March 26 in Arizona. Paul discusses the challenges in developing future product lines for extremely high density, high reliability manufacturing, and focuses on the transition from glass to glassless substrate technology. He explains the advantages of using pure resin systems, enabling fabricators to create thinner materials for micro vias.
New Materials Simplify Fab and Design Processes
11/02/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamDuring PCB West, Andy Shaughnessy and Kelly Dack met with Paul Cooke, senior director of business development, Ventec International Group. In this interview, Paul discusses some of the global trends he’s seeing in new materials that address the issue of stacked microvia failure, and his drive to educate North American designers about the use of pure resin and no-flow materials.
Trouble in Your Tank: Processes to Support IC Substrates and Advanced Packaging, Part 4
09/28/2023 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn a previous column, the critical process of desmear and its necessity to ensure a clean copper surface connection was presented. Now, my discussion will focus on obtaining a void-free and tightly adherent copper plating deposit on these surfaces. After the desmear process, the task is to insure a continuous, conductive, and void-free deposit on the via walls and capture pad. Today, there are several processes that can be utilized to render vias conductive.
Trouble in Your Tank: Processes to Support IC Substrates and Advanced Packaging, Part 3
08/11/2023 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn two previous columns, I explored several of the key competencies and processes required to successfully jump into IC substrates. In this edition, the key process of desmear will be explored. These processing steps require additional improvements over normal through-holes due to small diameter through-holes and blind vias. Getting process chemistries down into these small holes can be very difficult, especially if they have any trapped air bubbles.
Elementary, Mr. Watson: Slash Sheets a ‘Smorgasbord’ of Materials
05/15/2023 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonSlash sheets touch on materials, one of my favorite areas of PCB design, and what I refer to as “the buffet of the PCB world.” After all, this smorgasbord of materials comes in an endless variety, with differing balances of reinforcement and resin, from different manufacturers and vendors, and from a variety of sources. Add the possibility of out-of-date or deteriorated panels, and it makes ensuring the quality of your next PCB design a real hit or miss.