EIPC Summer Conference 2023: Day 2 Review

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

This is the final installment in this three part series. For part one click here; for part 2 click here.

We had an early start to the second day of the EIPC Summer Conference on Friday, June 16 in Munich. Delegates had returned home safely from the downtown conference dinner and most had successfully avoided late-night networking in the hotel bar. Bright-eyed and attentive, they eagerly awaited the opening session, while casting admiring glances at Alun Morgan who had finally received his baggage and was now splendidly attired in a smart suit, collar and tie. 

The session on supply chain and metrology was moderated by EIPC Vice President Oldrich Simek from Pragoboard in the Czech Republic. As his first speaker, Simek introduced Gerd Appelt from Göttle who gave an informative but rather unnerving reflection on the bullwhip effect, from crisis to crisis. 

He reviewed the effects on our industry of a chronological series of crises from 1987, when a shortage of multilayer materials and pressing capacity led to the highest prices in history for laminate and prepreg, through the dot-com bubble in 2000, the financial crisis in 2009, the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, the ED copper foil shortage in 2017, the glass yarn shortage in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the explosion in the Guodu resin plant in 2020, followed by a fire at the Suzhou Xingya resin plant, the fire at the Nitto Bosekis glass cloth plant in 2020, the Evergiven blockage of the Suez Canal in 2021, the shortage of drill back-up material and the fire at ITEQ's Xinpu plant in 2021, the UV-block shortage in 2022, plus the global container shortage and the war in Ukraine. Already in 2023 we have seen the hydrochloric acid shortage and the fire at the EMC plant. 

Appelt commented that the frequency of crises appeared to be increasing, and asked what has been the effect on the supply chain, reminding us that whereas supply chains play a critical role in ensuring that goods and services are delivered to customers in a timely and efficient manner, in times of crisis such as natural disasters, pandemics, or geopolitical unrest, supply chains can be disrupted, leading to significant challenges for businesses and consumers.

He defined the bullwhip effect as a supply chain phenomenon appearing as an inverse ripple effect of forecast errors throughout the supply chain that leads to amplified supply and demand misalignment and results in increasing swings in inventory in response to shifts in consumer demand as one moves further up the supply chain. He went on to comment on factors that can result in the occurrence of the bullwhip effect: inaccurate demand forecasting, batch ordering, order consolidation, poor inventory management and lack of information sharing. The resulting ripple effect causes suppliers to either overproduce or underproduce goods. 

So, what happens in the supply chain when the shortage is resolved? Customers stop to order materials, stocks that have been built up are dismantled again, raw material delivery times fall back to the short term level and cost pressure in the supply chain increases enormously, resulting in staff cuts, short-time working, and competitive takeovers. At the end of the day, the available supply chain is shrinking. 

Appelt reminded delegates that there are only 164 PCB manufacturers left in Europe, with only three laminate and prepreg manufacturers and nine laminate and prepreg distributors, no glass cloth or yarn manufacturers, no resin manufacturers and one copper foil manufacturer.

He outlined some supply-chain management strategies in preparation for the next crisis managing supply chains during times of crisis, including planning for flexibility, considering alternative sourcing, and investing a little in the existing supply chain.

UL Standards
As an expert in understanding and navigating the standards maze, Emma Hudson gave some background on UL Standards, summarised industry changes impacting UL Recognition and commented on new standard proposals and the task groups examining them.

She explained that a UL Standard is developed by a Technical Committee (TC), formerly known as a Standards Technical Panel, that includes representation from different parts of the industry and each member, including UL, has a single vote. 

UL 796, the standard for safety for printed wiring boards, and UL 746, the standard for plastic material properties, are developed by TC 796. UL 796F and UL 746F, the corresponding standards for flexible materials, are developed by TC 796F. Hudson represents EIPC on the rosters of both committees. 

Reviewing the industry changes impacting UL Recognition, she first discussed the solder resist formulation changes being made in response to the REACH SVHC regulations, which could lead to a new UL grade designation for the solder resist. If the solder resist is given a new UL designation, it will need to be added to the PCB manufacturer’s UL file to be able to be used on a Recognized PCB. Testing may or may not be required and if certain criteria are met, Recognized solder resists may be added to existing Recognized PCBs without testing.

Next, she reviewed the new Assembly Solder Process parameters replacing traditional Solder Limits and using SMT reflow profiles to represent the assembly soldering processes, describing the testing required to upgrade a PCB to Assembly Solder Process parameters. 

No significant changes were proposed to UL 796, except a clarification of existing requirements, and for UL 796F, proposals at the preliminary review stage were largely to clarify existing requirements and to bring UL 796F in line with UL 796. Similarly, it was proposed to bring UL 746E in line with UL 746. There are currently five active teams working on new UL proposals under development.

Hudson advised fabricators planning any changes to an existing PCB type to get it updated to reflect the new Assembly Solder Process parameter or to create a new PCB type. She also suggested checking to see if the Permanent Coatings Program could be used for any new solder resist addition without extra testing.Page 1 of 3

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