-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Hole Truth: Via Integrity in an HDI World
From the drilled hole to registration across multiple sequential lamination cycles, to the quality of your copper plating, via reliability in an HDI world is becoming an ever-greater challenge. This month we look at “The Hole Truth,” from creating the “perfect” via to how you can assure via quality and reliability, the first time, every time.
In Pursuit of Perfection: Defect Reduction
For bare PCB board fabrication, defect reduction is a critical aspect of a company's bottom line profitability. In this issue, we examine how imaging, etching, and plating processes can provide information and insight into reducing defects and increasing yields.
Voices of the Industry
We take the pulse of the PCB industry by sharing insights from leading fabricators and suppliers in this month's issue. We've gathered their thoughts on the new U.S. administration, spending, the war in Ukraine, and their most pressing needs. It’s an eye-opening and enlightening look behind the curtain.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Isola: Evolving with the Market
December 26, 2017 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Stollenwerk: Yes. What we are doing is working very closely with the European Space Agency. They are still looking for a local producer, and we are a local producer. It fits their strategy, and we are also doing well, so this could be for us also a certain growth. Since we were not so involved in the polyimide business in the past, we may be involved in the near future.
Matties: Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you feel like we should be sharing?
Stollenwerk: In terms of supporting the Isola strategy to produce in all regions, we are doing R&D in all regions as well. We have invested a lot of money in our R&D center in Düren since we had the very low changeover in terms of people. We have a lot of experience, and we want to use this experience for further developments. We have started to run the R&D, for example, in two shifts, which is uncommon. We are also adapting to reduce the time to market for these kinds of products, especially for the automotive world.
Matties: What drives your R&D?
Stollenwerk: First, we have very close connections to the OEMs here, especially to the automotive OEMs like Autoliv, Bosch, Continental, Hella and all the big guys. We are doing R&D for what they call the front edge, for what they believe they will need in three or five years. Then when it comes a little bit closer to their reality, we start again to do larger projects together. In terms of the high Tg, but high thermal reliable base material with thick copper cladding, thick copper will be for sure an issue, an important issue for E-mobility. Here, I think we are also showing our capability to make these R&D things here. To make the small series with products we have already from the varnish point of view, but putting things together with thick copper, including providing special high resin content bonding prepregs with specific flow characteristic’s that you need to close all these big gaps after etching.
I think these are major things where we are working on, on the R&D side, where we are running two shifts in order to make some new first samples very fast.
Matties: Karl, we certainly appreciate your time today. It's nice to catch up with you. Glad to hear things are going well.
Stollenwerk: Thank you very much for your time. It was nice to talk with you about how we see these things. We will work hard to continue in that way.
Matties: No doubt about that. Thank you.
Stollenwerk: Thank you.
Page 3 of 3Suggested Items
Trump Copper Tariffs Spark Concern
07/10/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPresident Donald Trump stated on July 8 that he plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, sparking concern in a global industry whose output is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors, and a wide range of consumer goods. According to Yahoo Finance, copper futures climbed over 2% following tariff confirmation.
Happy’s Tech Talk #40: Factors in PTH Reliability—Hole Voids
07/09/2025 | Happy Holden -- Column: Happy’s Tech TalkWhen we consider via reliability, the major contributing factors are typically processing deviations. These can be subtle and not always visible. One particularly insightful column was by Mike Carano, “Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper,” where he outlined some of the possible causes of hole defects for both plated through-hole (PTH) and blind vias.
Trouble in Your Tank: Can You Drill the Perfect Hole?
07/07/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the movie “Friday Night Lights,” the head football coach (played by Billy Bob Thornton) addresses his high school football team on a hot day in August in West Texas. He asks his players one question: “Can you be perfect?” That is an interesting question, in football and the printed circuit board fabrication world, where being perfect is somewhat elusive. When it comes to mechanical drilling and via formation, can you drill the perfect hole time after time?
The Evolution of Picosecond Laser Drilling
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIs it hard to imagine a single laser pulse reduced not only from nanoseconds to picoseconds in its pulse duration, but even to femtoseconds? Well, buckle up because it seems we are there. In this interview, Dr. Stefan Rung, technical director of laser machines at Schmoll Maschinen GmbH, traces the technology trajectory of the laser drill from the CO2 laser to cutting-edge picosecond and hybrid laser drilling systems, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each method, and demonstrating how laser innovations are shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Day 2: More Cutting-edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/18/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) summer conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the third of three articles on the conference. The other two cover Day 1’s sessions and the opening keynote speech. Below is a recap of the second day’s sessions.