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From the first cold call to finally receiving that first purchase order, the July PCB007 Magazine breaks down some critical parts of the sales stack. To up your sales game, read on!
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NCAB Group USA’s Quality Manager Discusses PCB Cost Drivers at SMTA Luncheon
October 8, 2015 | NCAB Group USAEstimated reading time: Less than a minute
NCAB Group USA Quality Manager Holly Freve recently presented at the SMTA Space Coast Chapter September Technical Luncheon.
Freve presented “Cost drivers in PCB production.” She offered an in-depth discussion about board size, layer count, copper weight, manufacturing yield, and more factors that drive costs in PCB production.
Freve has 26 years of quality and customer service experience in the circuit board industry. She began her circuit board industry career back in 1989 as a quality engineer for Micofab in Amesbury, MA, working in the inspection and testing area. Her next position was at EMC, also in Amesbury, where she worked in a variety of positions in both quality and production engineering.
Freve joined PD Circuits in 2005 as part of the quality assurance management team, focusing on customer quality issues and resolution. PD Circuits was acquired by NCAB in 2012. Freve is now the Quality Manager for NCAB Group USA, responsible for the continuous improvement of quality and service to all NCAB customers. She is a certified IPC-A-600H inspector and recently received her Six Sigma Green belt.
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/18/2025 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007It may be the middle of the summer, but the news doesn’t quit, and there’s plenty to talk about this week, whether you’re talking technical or on a global scale. When I have to choose six items instead of my regular five, you know it’s good. I start by highlighting my interview with Martyn Gaudion on his latest book, share some concerning tariff news, follow that up with some promising (and not-so-promising) investments, and feature a paper from last January’s inaugural Pan-European Design Conference.
Elephantech Launches World’s Smallest-Class Copper Nanofiller
07/17/2025 | ElephantechJapanese deep-tech startup Elephantech has launched its cutting-edge 15 nm class copper nanofiller – the smallest class available globally. This breakthrough makes Elephantech one of the first companies in the world to provide such advanced material for commercial use.
Copper Price Surge Raises Alarms for Electronics
07/15/2025 | Global Electronics Association Advocacy and Government Relations TeamThe copper market is experiencing major turbulence in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on imported copper effective Aug. 1. Recent news reports, including from the New York Times, sent U.S. copper futures soaring to record highs, climbing nearly 13% in a single day as manufacturers braced for supply shocks and surging costs.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/11/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThis week, we have quite a variety of news items and articles for you. News continues to stream out of Washington, D.C., with tariffs rearing their controversial head again. Because these tariffs are targeted at overseas copper manufacturers, this news has a direct effect on our industry.I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
Digital Twin Concept in Copper Electroplating Process Performance
07/11/2025 | Aga Franczak, Robrecht Belis, Elsyca N.V.PCB manufacturing involves transforming a design into a physical board while meeting specific requirements. Understanding these design specifications is crucial, as they directly impact the PCB's fabrication process, performance, and yield rate. One key design specification is copper thieving—the addition of “dummy” pads across the surface that are plated along with the features designed on the outer layers. The purpose of the process is to provide a uniform distribution of copper across the outer layers to make the plating current density and plating in the holes more uniform.