Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘The Art of Going SLOW’
Happy’s Tech Talk #39: PCBs Replace Motor Windings
Punching Out: Characteristics of Successful Leaders in North American PCB and EMS Sectors
MTV Offers Solder Paste Testing Solution
June 17, 2020 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The miniaturization test vehicle (MTV) is a common benchmark test board that can gauge about 25 different paste properties and analyze how different solder pastes will perform in an assembly line. Chrys Shea details the work she’s done to develop and release the MTV.
Nolan Johnson: Chrys, let’s talk about your recent work with the SMTA specifically related to the MTV.
Chrys Shea: The MTV is meant to be a test vehicle that will help qualify new packages and processes for the next at least two to three years, but hopefully longer. We can always spin it if we need to get something smaller than an 0201 metric or a 0.3-millimeter BGA on there, but it’s sufficient to say that it will be solid for a while.
Johnson: What’s the overall purpose of this board and this exercise?
Shea: The original purpose of it was to help people quickly and easily qualify new solder paste because there’s always a lot of mystery around it and a fear of change; the process chemistry you’re currently using is the devil you know versus taking a risk on the devil you don’t. But every couple of years, solder paste manufacturers come out with better and better formulations. As a consultant, it kills me to go into a place where they need help and find them using a first-generation, lead-free solder paste when there are much better ones out there now. The impetus was to make qualifying a new paste quick, easy, and data-driven.
Johnson: For those who haven’t met you yet, what’s your background? What do you do as a consultant?
Shea: My background is in process engineering. I spent the first eight years of my career on shop floors, either in production or an NPI capacity. Over the next 12 years, I worked for suppliers, helping people on production floors and managing some solder paste R&D and testing labs, and then I struck out on my own as a consultant. Now, I work independently for users or suppliers as need be.
Johnson: And your key area of expertise?
Shea: Soldering. I started out almost 30 years ago wave soldering. I love making solder joints. We do a lot more SMT than wave soldering these days, but I particularly enjoy stencil printing because it merges two of my favorite fields: automation and material science.
Johnson: It seems to me like a test vehicle such as this should have been around a lot earlier. How did this get started? What caused that to happen now?
To read this entire interview, which appeared in the May 2020 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Preventing Surface Prep Defects and Ensuring Reliability
06/10/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIn printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication, surface preparation is a critical process that ensures strong adhesion, reliable plating, and long-term product performance. Without proper surface treatment, manufacturers may encounter defects such as delamination, poor solder mask adhesion, and plating failures. This article examines key surface preparation techniques, common defects resulting from improper processes, and real-world case studies that illustrate best practices.
Breaking Silos with Intelligence: Connectivity of Component-level Data Across the SMT Line
06/09/2025 | Dr. Eyal Weiss, CybordAs the complexity and demands of electronics manufacturing continue to rise, the smart factory is no longer a distant vision; it has become a necessity. While machine connectivity and line-level data integration have gained traction in recent years, one of the most overlooked opportunities lies in the component itself. Specifically, in the data captured just milliseconds before a component is placed onto the PCB, which often goes unexamined and is permanently lost once reflow begins.
BEST Inc. Introduces StikNPeel Rework Stencil for Fast, Simple and Reliable Solder Paste Printing
06/02/2025 | BEST Inc.BEST Inc., a leader in electronic component rework services, training, and products is pleased to introduce StikNPeel™ rework stencils. This innovative product is designed for printing solder paste for placement of gull wing devices such as quad flat packs (QFPs) or bottom terminated components.
See TopLine’s Next Gen Braided Solder Column Technology at SPACE TECH EXPO 2025
05/28/2025 | TopLineAerospace and Defense applications in demanding environments have a solution now in TopLine’s Braided Solder Columns, which can withstand the rigors of deep space cold and cryogenic environments.
INEMI Interim Report: Interconnection Modeling and Simulation Results for Low-Temp Materials in First-Level Interconnect
05/30/2025 | iNEMIOne of the greatest challenges of integrating different types of silicon, memory, and other extended processing units (XPUs) in a single package is in attaching these various types of chips in a reliable way.