Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Precision Milling of Underfilled SMT Components
Learning with Leo: Drones—Meeting Demand Without Compromise
Nolan’s Notes: Our Spotlight on North America
Ensuring Compliance With the U.S. CHIPS Act: Identifying the Source of Electronic Components
January 13, 2025 | Dr. Eyal Weiss, CybordEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
The U.S. CHIPS Act aims to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing and enhance supply chain security. As part of this initiative, manufacturers must ensure compliance with specific regulations regarding the sourcing of electronic components. This white paper provides an overview of the compliance requirements, relevant laws and standards, and introduces innovative technological solutions to verify the provenance of electronic components. Moreover, it highlights the importance of comprehensive verification that extends beyond sourcing to include the production stage, finished goods, and semi-finished products. By ensuring that all components are original and have not been tampered with at any point in the supply chain, manufacturers can maintain product integrity and uphold regulatory compliance.
1. Compliance Requirements and Relevant Laws
The CHIPS Act emphasizes the importance of transparency and traceability in the semiconductor supply chain. Essential compliance requirements include:
- Documentation of origin: Companies must maintain detailed records documenting the origin of all electronic components used in production.
- Verification processes: Manufacturers are required to implement processes that ensure the authenticity of the source of their components, reducing reliance on potentially fraudulent documentation.
- Adherence to standards: Compliance with industry standards such as IPC-1752A (Material Declaration Management) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems) is essential for ensuring quality and traceability.
2. Current Solutions: A Trust-Based Approach
Despite the clear regulations, current solutions predominantly rely on trust. Manufacturers depend on paper reports and documentation provided by the supply chain to verify the sources of their components. This approach has significant drawbacks:
- Lack of ground truth: Existing methods do not provide a technological means to obtain ground truth regarding the origins of components. Verification is limited to the accuracy of documents and trust in suppliers.
- Increased risk: The reliance on paperwork increases the risk of fraud and misrepresentation, which can lead to non-compliance and reputational damage.
To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the January 2025 SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Precision Milling of Underfilled SMT Components
05/13/2026 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileUnderfill is a polymeric material used to fill the gap between a printed circuit board and the underside of surface-mount area-array packages such as BGA, QFP, and QFN devices, thereby surrounding and protecting the solder interconnections. This material increases the component's reliability when subjected to mechanical impacts and shocks by distributing forces.
Connect the Dots: Designing for the Future of Manufacturing Reality—Surface Finish
05/07/2026 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsWhen designing the complex boards that many electronic devices require to operate, designers should consider manufacturability at every step. This is my last article focused on designing for the always-evolving manufacturing reality. Choosing the right surface finish has always been important. If you are creating intricate designs with a wide variety of components, like for an ultra-high density interconnect (UHDI) board, surface finish is a critical last step.
Strong AI Demand vs. Weak Consumer Segment Creates Pricing Divergence Among MLCC Suppliers
04/28/2026 | TrendForceTrendForce’s latest research shows that the MLCC market in 2Q26 is showing a clear split between robust AI-driven demand and soft consumer demand.
Cleaning Is Critical
04/28/2026 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineMike Bixenman, president of Magnalytix, and his colleagues Vladimir Sitko, founder of PBT Works, and Adam Klett, PhD, director of science at KYZEN, discussed how cleaning can affect reliability, in a Professional Development Course at APEX EXPO 2026. We spoke to Mike after the session to better understand the context for the current activity in cleaning technology.
Infineon Technology Demonstrates Proven Reliability in Space on Artemis II Mission
04/21/2026 | InfineonNASA's Artemis II mission has successfully returned to Earth after ten days in space, having approached the Moon and reached the farthest distance from our planet ever achieved by crewed spaceflight.