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Current IssueWet Process Control
In this issue, we examine wet processes and how to obtain a better degree of control that allows usable data to guide our decisions and produce consistently higher-quality products.
Don’t Just Survive, Thrive
If we are to be relevant and prosper during these next critical decades in electronics, we must do more than survive. As an industry, we can and must thrive. In this issue, our contributors explore these concepts meant to help you take your business to the next level.
Material Matters
Materials management is nuanced, multifaceted, and requires a holistic systems approach for business success. When building high mix, low volume, and high technology, managing materials and overall cost containment are even greater challenges.
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I-Connect007 Editor's Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
October 2, 2020 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
![](https://iconnect007.com/application/files/1516/3155/2964/Top5_300.jpg)
Most all the action this week involved the STMA International Conference and Exposition. I-Connect007’s Real Time with… video interviews generally led the way for views and clicks.
In each item, the intent was to make things better in some fashion. Whether it was pivoting on trade show delivery, optimizing the metalization process in the fab, adding more AI to manufacturing capital equipment, unifying and furthering the concept of the digital twin concept, or responding to company growth by upgrading systems with the help the equipment manufacturers, all these news items speak to being adaptable and forward-thinking.
If you attended SMTAI, I hope you had a productive time. If you didn’t, then be sure to follow I-Connect007’s post-show coverage next week. View more video interviews and show-related content at Real Time with… SMTAI 2020 virtual.
Real Time with…SMTAI 2020: ASC Makes Lemonade Out of Lemons
September 25, 2020
Steve Williams and Anaya Vardya, president and CEO of American Standard Circuits (ASC), discuss the upcoming virtual SMTAI show and how the company is “making lemonade out of lemons.” There may not be any face-to-face interaction, but virtual shows are open to attendees from around the world with no travel or hotel costs. Anaya explains how the COVID-19 lockdown has caused ASC to become more creative in its marketing efforts, including holding webinars and publishing two eBooks with I-Connect007. They also discuss ASC’s holistic approach to the marketplace, with a diversified product mix across various segments.
Real Time with...SMTAI 2020: MacDermid Alpha’s Single-Step Metalization Paper
September 30, 2020
One of the MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions’ technical papers from SMTAI details a new process for filling through-holes with copper in a single step. Carmichael Gugliotti, the primary author and an applications specialist, and Richard Bellemare, director of electrolytic metalization, address why this new process matters and what’s in Gugliotti’s technical paper presentation for SMTAI. To view Gugliotti’s paper presentation, log on to the SMTAI technical sessions before October 31, 2020.
Real Time with...SMTAI 2020: Creative Electron Moves Toward Autonomous Systems
October 1, 2020
Andy Shaughnessy recently spoke with Dr. Bill Cardoso, CEO of Creative Electron, a provider of advanced X-ray inspection systems. Bill discusses some of the new technologies the company would be demonstrating in its virtual booth at SMTAI, including a next-generation X-ray parts counter and a new software platform that offers better automation than ever. He also explains the company’s plan to migrate from automation to autonomous systems by using AI to help remove humans from the process.
Twenty Companies Join New Industrial Digital Twin Association
September 28, 2020
The aim of this new association is to bring together all of the parallel development strands working toward the industrial digital twin and to develop it as an open-source solution together with member companies. Users benefit from the early insights into the digitization of industrial products. This reduces effort, integration time, and costs in the own value creation.
NK Technologies Increases Capacity by Trading up With Manncorp
September 25, 2020
NK Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of innovative current-sensing products, recently improved their manufacturing capacity by participating in Manncorp’s Trade In, Trade Up Program. Learn more about this program.
Suggested Items
Atotech to Participate at KPCA Show 2024
09/03/2024 | AtotechMKS’ Atotech will participate in this year’s KPCA Show 2024 in Incheon, held at Songdo Convensia from September 4-6, 2024.
Victory Announces Breakthrough in PCB Technology with New Product Launch
08/29/2024 | openPRShenzhen Victory Electronics Technology Co., Ltd., a leader in the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing industry, is proud to announce the successful development of a groundbreaking new product.
Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—Electroless Copper
08/28/2024 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsRoll up your sleeves because it's time to get messy. In a recent episode of I-Connect007’s On the Line with… podcast, we discussed electroless copper deposition. This process deposits a copper layer into the through-holes and vias of what will eventually be a PCB. Electroless copper deposition feels like a black box to many people. It sort of looks like a black box, too. The boards go in one side, come out the other, and emerge differently. So, let's crack open that black box and look inside.
Maximizing ROI Through Better Wet Process Control
08/20/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial Team“When things get out of control, the variation in your wet process begins,” says Mike Carano,. “Just because they look like good boards and may even pass electrical test, it does not necessarily mean you have good boards. Once the chemistry is headed toward the right or left side of the process control parameter cliff, the plating is compromised. If the copper is thinner than it should be, when the customer puts it into service, the board may fail after 500 cycles vs. the requisite 1,000 or 2,000 cycles. The root cause issue is that you plated 7/10ths of a mil of copper instead of one-mil of copper because you were not controlling your process. The fact that you passed your own electric test becomes inconsequential.”
The Chemical Connection: Controlling an Alkaline Etch Bath With Low Copper Loading
08/07/2024 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionThis month, I wanted to continue my discussion on how much process control is actually needed for high-density circuit production. However, in the last month, I have been called on to help with a specific process control problem: how to control an alkaline etch bath when you’re not etching much copper. This problem has been cropping up more frequently as smaller shops (and a few larger ones) concentrate on low-volume, high-value plated through-hole panels such as prototypes, resistor cores, etc.