Jumping Off the Bandwagon

November 29, 2017

The Proper Position to Take on Voids in Solder Joints

The number of variables involved in void creation is daunting and not as well understood as you might think, notwithstanding the hundreds of technical papers written on the subject. The void acceptance criterion is ill defined and strongly tied to void locations, volume and size.

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November 02, 2017

Analyzing Material Cost in Today’s Global Economy—Hit the “Pause” Button

It was recognized that differences in the cost of material that are based solely on the geographic location of where the product is being assembled frequently occur. Further, for a given purchase volume, any increased shipping and distributor overhead costs do not justify the magnitude of these differences. In this column, Tom Borkes looks at reasons that could drive material price variation to these levels.

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August 07, 2017

Analyzing the Cost of Material in Today’s Global Economy, Part 3

Any increase in material cost based solely on an assembly operation's geographic location could, in itself, cause a condition that would not allow a turnkey electronic product assembler to successfully compete on the global landscape—notwithstanding the difference that exists in direct labor rates.

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July 07, 2017

Analyzing the Cost of Material in Today’s Global Economy, Part 2

There is no question as to the importance of pure science, classroom technology, design engineering, and pure mathematics. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand the seminal role these technological tools play in the development of a firm foundation for the proper execution of applied high-tech electronic product production. However, teaching how to apply the theory in production can never be effectively taught in the ivory tower.

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June 06, 2017

Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking and Analyzing Material Cost in the Global Economy, Part 1

Complex automated systems in electronics assembly lines require a workforce with high engineering skill levels—a workforce that not only can write code, but also understands the science involved electronic product assembly process. It's not automation technology that is eliminating people's jobs. It's an educational system that is not responding to the needs of the new industries that the automation technology is creating.

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March 30, 2017

A New Organizational Model Using Logic, Cost-Effectiveness and Customer Service, Part 3

Many of us look to the new U.S. federal administration with a high level of economic curiosity. How will the new president’s economic policies affect the high-tech electronic product assembly industry? Will the policies result in more jobs in our industry going to sources with low labor rates, or will they result in a renaissance of manufacturing and assembly activity here in the States and other high-labor-rate regions of the world?

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December 22, 2016

A New Organizational Model Using Logic, Cost-Effectiveness and Customer Service, Part 1

In the beginning, there was through-hole technology (pin-in-hole). Then, someone said, “let there be SMT,” and the earth and firmament creaked and groaned as Atlas shrugged.

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November 30, 2016

Leadership in Your Company: Something to Worry About?

Leadership is an ingredient that most feel is important, even though many find it is hard to define. Some say that you will know good leadership when you see it. In this article, Tom Borkes of The Jefferson Project discusses the role of leadership, and how it can be taught in the academia.

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January 18, 2017

A New Organizational Model Using Logic, Cost-Effectiveness and Customer Service, Part 2

In previous articles, Tom Borkes talked extensively about one of the controllable components of labor cost: the counterweight to competing against low labor rates—using automation to reduce labor content. Over the next few months he will drill down into the other controllable component of labor cost: indirect labor.

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October 25, 2016

Do the High-Paid Managers in Your Organization Add Value?

The widening gap between industry need and academic preparation has an adverse effect on the ability of a company to compete in the global manufacturing marketplace—and all competitive roads in any capitalist free market business ultimately lead to a cost versus contribution analysis. This article discuss another important cost driver—the cost of management and leadership, what a company gets for that money.

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August 11, 2016

Moving Beyond Paideia: Learning for Earning

The complexities of our technological world and global marketplace now demand the development of specific, saleable skills as part of the student-customer's educational process--and that the template for teaching these skills must be based in the real world. Tom Borkes explains why in this article.

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August 03, 2016

The STEM Trap

Post-secondary schools have not been responsive to the changing landscape of the modern electronic product assembly operation—they really can’t, considering the lack of real-world experience of most of the faculty. In this article, Tom Borkes explains why.

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June 17, 2016

The Production Engineering Student as Customer

Production, industrial, process, manufacturing engineering, to name a few fields of engineering study, will never be successfully taught on-line. In his latest article, Tom Borkes explains why.

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May 31, 2016

The Henry Ford Division of Labor Production Model

We are all aware of what the price of assembling a product is based upon: material cost, number of labor hours needed for the product assembly and test, and labor sell rate in dollars per hour. In this article, Tom Borkes writes why the disparity in labor sell rates is still daunting.

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May 11, 2016

The Importance of Being Earnest (Educated)

This new column in SMT Magazine, titled "Jumping Off the Bandwagon," is dedicated to the continued development and improvement of the high-tech electronic product assembly industry, and the human component of that industry. For his first article, Tom Borkes talks about issues that, unless addressed, will continue to put product assembly at a disadvantage in high labor rate areas of the world.

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