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The Shaughnessy Report: HDI Class Q&A with Dan Smith

Is North America falling behind the rest of the world in HDI technology development? Not if Dan Smith can help it. Dan, AKA "The New Mr. HDI," is busy putting together the first IPC HDI certification course and exam. We caught up with him via e-mail and discussed the HDI course, what it takes to be an instructor and Happy Holden's 400-gig "data dump."ANDY: We meet again, Dan. Via e-mail, that is! So, how is the content development going for the IPC HDI certification exams?

DAN: The content of the HDI course was actually developed with input from Happy Holden, CTO Gareth Parry of Coretec, Dieter Bergman and Gary Ferrari. It was taught in four separate four-hour sessions this past winter-spring to more than a dozen students of the Baltimore IEEE Continuing Education Series. The response from these students (made up of electrical engineers, designers, mangers, industry inventors, and EMC specialists) was that people really want to learn HDI from A-to-Z. The content of this course was presented to the IPC Education Committee, and after a brief discussion, was given the green light.ANDY: Who are the instructors, and what type of training will the instructors receive?DAN: The IPC Education Committee will determine the candidates, but more than likely, they will be those who have trained a) students and b) other trainers in both IPC CID and IPC CID+ courses. The type of training they will receive is focused on two topics: a) the IPC CID+ HDI course "on steroids," and b) their ability to be "enabler" lecturers or motivators. This course demands that each teacher must engage the students individually and as a group. With education dollars being scrutinized by both companies and some individuals paying out of their own pockets, it is really important that this course's teachers interact and educate these professionals into becoming HDI implementers. In other words, they can't just stand there and lecture.ANDY: Does the certification build upon what's in the CID+? Should interested designers get their CID+ before they take the HDI exam?DAN: The IPC Education Committee has stated that IPC CID certification is the only required prerequisite, while the IPC CID+ certification is optional. I personally believe that the IPC CID+ will be of benefit for those designers who are entry-level to mid-level grade. If the course outline above scares you, the IPC CID+ course should be taken as a "bridging" course.ANDY: When will the first HDI certification exams be given?

DAN: My original timetable became delayed due to an excessive workload of several projects hitting simultaneously. More than likely, the first course will probably be at IPC APEX/EXPO 2011 in Las Vegas.

ANDY: HDI took so long to take off in the industry. But it seems to solve quite a few pressing problems, such as signal integrity and power integrity issues.

DAN: HDI is a means to interconnect a PCB design with a unique set of fabrication processes. Because HDI designs are traditionally denser than through-hole designs, SI and PI issues make it more critical to be cognizant of the laws of physics throughout the design. There is an IPC high-speed course on the horizon as well. I saw that course outline more than a year ago, and that course is going to be even more rewarding for those designers who want to be recognized as "best of the best" by taking these new courses.

ANDY: You inherited Happy Holden's 20-plus years of HDI data and presentations. From a historical perspective of the PCB design process and HDI technology, did any of his information really surprise you as you examined his life's work?DAN: Yes. I, too, like Happy, am a perpetual "pack rat." The only thing in Happy's 400 gigabytes of data that really surprised me is that our technology "drivers" (both leading-edge companies and technologists) did not feel the same pressure of Moore's Law to improve the quality of PCB fabrication technology that the IC industry felt. The PCB industry has only recently seen improvements in materials and EDA tools when dealing with the "RoHS Inquisition" and the "eye" of SI (signal integrity). I just hope that this recent momentum to advance PCB design and fabrication technologies continues and does not fall victim again to the bean-counters' wrath.

Dan Smith is a 30-year veteran of software design firms and military contractors. He has served as a PCB designer, programmer and product architect. For more information, contact him through LinkedIn, where he heads the PCB HDI - Next Generation group.