I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week 

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

We’ve finished the first full week of August, and now more than midway through summer. This week brought us quite a lot of military and aerospace news, with headlines from Airbus, Rocket Lab, AST Space Mobile, Menlo Microsystems, CACI, and L3 Harris. In other news, Pete Starkey takes us on a tour of RoBAT in England, highlighting the ever-important topic of high-technology SI testing.

Sadly, we lost another industry veteran this past week, Jim McElroy of iNEMI, we highlight a fitting tribute to this industry leader. We have the latest episode of the “Design for Reality” podcast, and Michael Carano never disappoints with his column, “Trouble in your Tank” on direct metallization––a perfect preface to the October issue of PCB007 Magazine on that topic. I round out this week’s must-reads with Dan Beaulieu’s column, “Risk It for the Biscuit.” Have a great Friday!

A Visit to RoBAT
Published August 5

Who doesn’t want to read something that begins with, “It was the beginning of July, on an English summer’s day—overcast and raining—as I drove up to Cheshire …” Pete Starkey takes the reader on a tour of the RoBAT facility in England with his characteristic flair and thoroughness. Metrology and testing is continually called out as an area of great challenge going forward. Thus, high-speed SI testing for complex assemblies, and more recently, bare boards is vitally important to the future of electronics manufacturing. If you missed it the first time around, it is a worthy read. 

In Memorium: Jim McElroy, iNEMI CEO
Published August 7

Jim McElroy was at the helm of iNEMI for 13 years, the longest tenure of any iNEMI CEO. He presided over a period of tremendous development for the organization, including its move from being, NEMI, an exclusively U.S. centric organization, to becoming the international group we know today. “Jim had an amazing ability to relate to and work with people at all levels, from the CEOs of multi-billion-dollar corporations to the technical staff working in the labs,” said the iNEMI announcement. “He often said he had hundreds of bosses, recognizing that he not only answered to a board of directors but also to the people in every member company who had a vested interest in iNEMI's success.” 

Are You Ensuring PCB Durability? Dive Into Solder Mask and Legend on ‘On the Line with…’ Podcast
Published August 8

Matt Stevenson of ASC Sunstone continues this popular series by taking a deeper dive into the PCB manufacturing process. With a functioning PCB in hand, there’s still essential work to protect it from environmental effects and document the circuit components. This episode focuses on the crucial steps of applying solder mask and silkscreen. Click on the link to view this podcast and other titles in this series.

Trouble in Your Tank: Processes to Support IC Substrates and Advanced Packaging, Part 5
Published August 6

Continuing on his series on advanced packaging, Mike Carano takes on the issue of direct metallization as an alternate to traditional electroplating. He discusses the carbon black and graphite direct metallization processes in contrast to electroless copper, and outlines the benefits around metal thickness (or thin-ness), surface topography and cycle time, as well as the indisputable positive realities regarding sustainability and waste treatment of these newer metalization processes. 

It’s Only Common Sense: You Gotta Risk It for the Biscuit
Published August 5

To take a risk or not take a risk? That is the question that Dan poses in this installment of It’s Only Common Sense, and posits that being risk-averse is often counterproductive and certainly does not contribute to quick forward movement. “Deciding when to take a risk in business involves a combination of intuition, analysis, and strategic thinking.” Dan offers some guidelines to help navigate the question of whether the risk may be worth it.