The Marketing Minute: A Brand Visibility Playbook—Get Seen, Heard, and Remembered
American Made Advocacy: Supporting the Entire PCB Ecosystem—Materials to OEMs
Marcy's Musings: The Hole Truth—Via Integrity in an HDI World
Happy’s Essential Skills: Engineering Economics (ROI)
August 10, 2016 | Happy HoldenEstimated reading time: 7 minutes
Copper/tin pattern plating line with rack strip: $400,000USD plus $15,000 installation, purchased in 1991, eight-year operating life, five-year depreciation
Capacity: 500 18" X 24" (450 mm X 600 mm) panels per shift. Load: 2 rows of 4 panels.
Process: load- micro etch- rinse- rinse- sulfuric acid- copper plate- dragout- rinse- fluoroboric acid- tin- dragout rinse- rinse- dry- unload- rack strip- dragout rinse- rinse- load.
Figure 2: ROI payback worksheet.
Figure 3: Cash flows for plating investment.
The equivalent interest rate that could be earned on the investment of $400,000 + $15,000 installation and startup is:
35.0% interest; this is the ROI, as calculated in Figure 2 and summarized in Figure 3 with its cash flows.
These tradeoffs can be seen in Figure 4, where I have calculated the cost of manual production for electroless copper and electroplating copper/tin versus four automation strategies.
Figure 4: a) Electroless copper curves of manual versus automatic cost per square foot; b) electroplating copper/tin curves of manual versus automatic cost per square foot[2].
Other Engineering Spreadsheets
Figure 2 shows an Excel Worksheet for the automation ROI. Other typical engineering spreadsheets could be:
- Major Equipment—New equipment versus old equipment or manual labor
- Yield Improvements—Yield improvement using new materials, process and machines
- Process Change—Process improvement using new materials, process and machines
- Technology Acquisition—Technology acquisition using new materials, process and machines
- Material Changes—Justification for changing materials
- Environmental Improvement—Justification for changing environment/energy equipment, processes or materials
- Safety Improvement—Justification for changing safety equipment, processes or materials
- Customer Required Change—Justification for changing materials or processes for a customer
Financial Functions in MS EXCEL
To help you get started with MS Excel, Figure 5 shows the 16 financial functions that are part of every Excel program.
Figure 5: The 16 financial functions that are part of every Excel program.
References
- The Principles of Engineering Economy, G. Ireson, 1964, McGraw-Hill.
- “Justifying Process Automation,” H. Holden, NEPCON, Anaheim, California, May 1972.
Page 2 of 2
Share on:
Suggested Items
The Evolution of Picosecond Laser Drilling
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIs it hard to imagine a single laser pulse reduced not only from nanoseconds to picoseconds in its pulse duration, but even to femtoseconds? Well, buckle up because it seems we are there. In this interview, Dr. Stefan Rung, technical director of laser machines at Schmoll Maschinen GmbH, traces the technology trajectory of the laser drill from the CO2 laser to cutting-edge picosecond and hybrid laser drilling systems, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each method, and demonstrating how laser innovations are shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Day 2: More Cutting-edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/18/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) summer conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the third of three articles on the conference. The other two cover Day 1’s sessions and the opening keynote speech. Below is a recap of the second day’s sessions.
Day 1: Cutting Edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/17/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) Summer Conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the second of three articles on the conference. The other two cover the keynote speeches and Day 2 of the technical conference. Below is a recap of the first day’s sessions.
Preventing Surface Prep Defects and Ensuring Reliability
06/10/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIn printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication, surface preparation is a critical process that ensures strong adhesion, reliable plating, and long-term product performance. Without proper surface treatment, manufacturers may encounter defects such as delamination, poor solder mask adhesion, and plating failures. This article examines key surface preparation techniques, common defects resulting from improper processes, and real-world case studies that illustrate best practices.
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.