Elementary Mr. Watson: Chasing Checkmarks, Not Signal Integrity
Target Condition: Rethinking the PCB Stackup Recipe
Connect the Dots: Evolution of PCB Manufacturing—Lamination
Planning, DFM, and Inspection: Key to High-reliability Fab
October 30, 2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
At PCB West, Andy Shaughnessy and Kelly Dack spoke with Marc L’Hoste, VP of West and South Americas for ICAPE Group, a company that supplies and manufactures high-tech PCBs at locations around the world.
We asked Marc to share some advice regarding high-reliability fab. In this conversation, Marc is clear that planning, pre-work, and inspection are the key ingredients to high-reliability success.
Kelly Dack: Marc, you fabricate quite a few high-reliability PCBs. How do you define high reliability and what is your perspective on what high reliability means in our industry?
Marc L’Hoste: IPC class 3 stands out for high-reliability printed circuit boards, but it also depends upon the type of industry and the type of customer. When we look at our own customers, about 20% of them are in the automotive industry, which has always been very complex to navigate. Automotive suppliers have very high standards to follow, such as the IATF ISO certification. For example, the quality levels are usually measured in parts per million (PPM) of manufactured parts. Over the past 15 years, we've been able to deliver fewer than 40 PPM for the automotive industry, which means less than 40 defective PCBs per million—significantly better than we see in standard consumer production where we are usually talking about 250 PPM. The same applies to other critical industries, such as aerospace, with certifications like AS9100, and critical processes with sampling and DPPM (defective parts per million) controls.
Dack: That’s a pretty low defect rate. What are some of the most typical causes of failures you see in high-reliability fabrication?
L’Hoste: A lot of different points need to be checked. For me, it always starts with the design itself, and making sure that whoever designs the board follows the IPC guidance. We have spreadsheets and guidance sheets that we can share with our customers. Let’s say Bob is tasked with selecting the right manufacturer for his boards. Bob must make sure that, if you build a flex or rigid-flex circuit board, you're not working with a factory that specializes only in rigid or metal PCBs. Selecting the right manufacturer usually means auditing them to make sure they have the right technical capabilities to build these boards. Choosing the right materials and finishes is also critical, and the finishes you select will depend upon the type of components on your boards. OSP (organic solderability preservative) is great, of course. It's very cost-effective, but if you have a BGA on your board, that might not necessarily be the right finish to choose.
Once you've nailed down all these different points, make sure that you do a good inspection on your board. A 100% test is always mandatory. Automatic visual inspection is very important, too. What we propose at ICAPE Group is a kind of double inspection. We have about 60 quality inspectors, and some of them are directly working with our engineering and manufacturing partners. Their job is to control the quality of our boards at these different locations. We have double points of inspection in the process: 100% inspection on our boards at the factory, and then inspection with our own quality people at our partners’ locations before we ship.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the October 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"In a year when every marketing dollar mattered, I chose to keep I-Connect007 in our 2025 plan. Their commitment to high-quality, insightful content aligns with Koh Young’s values and helps readers navigate a changing industry. "
Brent Fischthal - Koh YoungSuggested Items
SMT Perspectives & Prospects: Artificial Intelligence Part 6: Data Module 1
10/07/2025 | Dr. Jennie Hwang -- Column: SMT Perspectives and ProspectsData is one of the six pillars of AI infrastructure. It is critical to the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) models. AI data, essential to both the training and inference of Generative AI models, connotes the datasets used to train, validate, and test AI models. Training data provides models with a frame of reference by establishing a baseline against which models can compare new data using pre-trained models for predictions or generating new content.
Indium to Showcase Sustainable Solder Paste and Alloy Technologies at Detroit Battery Show
10/03/2025 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation, a leading materials refiner, smelter, manufacturer, and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, automotive, electric vehicle (EV), thin-film, and thermal management markets, will feature a range of sustainable, high-reliability solder products at The Battery Show North America, to be held October 7-9 in Detroit, Michigan.
Indium Features Next-Generation Materials for Semiconductor Assembly at IMAPS
09/29/2025 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation, an industry leader in innovative materials solutions for semiconductor packaging and assembly, will feature its lineup of high-reliability products at the International Symposium on Microelectronics, organized by the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS), to be held from September 29 to October 2 in San Diego, California.
Arc-Tronics Strengthens Inspection Capabilities with Three New Saki AOI Systems
09/26/2025 | Saki America,Saki America, Inc., an innovator in the field of automated optical and X-ray inspection equipment, is pleased to announce that Arc-Tronics, Inc., a high-reliability EMS provider based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, has recently installed three 3Di-LS3 Series Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) systems in its production facility.
New Podcast Episode Drop: Optimize the Interconnect—It’s a Wrap!
09/29/2025 | I-Connect007The final episode of the On the Line with… Optimize the Interconnect podcast series ties together insights from across the program, underscoring the growing importance of unified solutions for high-volume HDI PCB manufacturing. Final guest Kuldip Johal, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Business Development, emphasized that manufacturers must balance yield, reliability, and scalability as interconnect density and complexity continue to increase.