Flexible Thinking: Rules of Thumb: A Word to the Wise
Happy’s Tech Talk #29: Bend-to-Install Semi-flex FR-4
Connect the Dots: Five Best Practices for Designing Flex and Rigid-flex PCBs
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New Year, New Equipment—Right?
This month, we will discuss the equipment purchasing decision-making process. How many of you can recall the earliest “dippy dunk” PCB shops, so-called because that’s exactly how it was done? There were no conveyorized lines, no automatic hoists, no load/unload stations, maybe not even a lab for analyzing the plating baths.
Part 2: EIPC’s Winter Conference in Lyon, France: Day 2 Review
The final session, on European needs for new technology, product safety and training, was introduced and moderated by EIPC board member Dr. Michele Stampanoni, vice president of strategic sales and business development at Cicor Group.
EIPC’s Winter Conference in Lyon, France: Day 2 Review
The first day of the conference had started and ended in the dark—a long and technically intense day! After a convivial conference dinner and a good night’s sleep we were back on the bus, this time in daylight at the slightly later time of 8:00 a.m., for the journey from downtown Lyon back to Alstom’s conference facility in Villeurbanne, and it wasn’t raining. In fact, there was even some sunshine later in the day!
Start Your IPC APEX EXPO Show Experience Here
As many prepare to travel to California from February 24 to March 1, IPC APEX EXPO 2018 will offer a collection of exciting events for both newcomers and industry veterans, including educational opportunities and showcase exhibitions. Want a sneak peek into the upcoming events at IPC APEX EXPO 2018? This exclusive pre-show coverage publication from I-Connect007 is all about San Diego or bust!
Orbotech’s Strategic Decision for End-to-End Partnership Benefits Everyone
Barry Matties met with Sharon Cohen, president of Orbotech West, at productronica 2017 to discuss what’s new at Orbotech, specifically their shift to be more customer-centric and to provide regional coverage across the globe. He also discusses the current trends in the marketplace and Industry 4.0.
Part 2: EIPC’s 2018 Winter Conference in Lyon, Review of Day 1
We continue with the rest of Pete Starkey’s report on Day 1 of the EIPC Winter Conference in Lyon, France. Included in this segment are presentations by Ventec, Ericsson, TTM and others, plus photos of their evening tour of Alstom.
EIPC’s 2018 Winter Conference in Lyon, Review of Day 1
Venue for the 2018 EIPC Winter Conference was the splendid new Alstom Transport Information Solutions facility in Villeurbanne, in the Lyon metropolitan area of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. An extremely popular event—117 delegates represented a total of 20 countries, unprecedented in recent years, and only just fitted into Alstom’s conference suite. Indeed, some were even standing at the back!
IPC APEX EXPO: App is Where It’s At
In an interview with I-Connect007, IPC Exhibits Manager Kim DiCianni discusses the IPC APEX EXPO 2018 app and how this powerful tool will keep attendees on track. She also highlights its usefulness for exhibitors.
The Best It’s Ever Been, Every Year: The Goal for IPC, Part 1
The end of 2017 caps an exciting time for IPC and IPC China as membership has grown substantially, in part because of new offerings from the organization to its Asian members. Meeting with Barry Matties at HKPCA, John Mitchell and Phil Carmichael discuss the areas of focus for IPC in the upcoming year, first and foremost being education and welcoming a new generation into the industry.
Staying Ahead of Market Trends Through Education
ESI equipment has been in high demand with the recent rise of flex and HDI. But when Barry Matties met with Patrick Riechel and John Williams at HKPCA, they explained that it is really ESI’s future protection and flexibility in the process that keeps them ahead of the market and allows for ongoing success.
Cicor’s Approach to Miniaturization: Cost of Function, and More
Barry Matties spoke with Karl Heinz-Fritz, VP of technology, about Cicor’s newest product line, which can shrink the size of a circuit by up to 40%, and the importance of measuring the cost of functionality.
In Terms of Experience, a 10,000-foot View of China
In the past 30+ years of PCB manufacturing in China, you would be hard-pressed to find someone more connected to the pulse of the Asian market than Gene Weiner. Barry Matties met with the industry veteran at HKPCA to get his take on the show, the current and future market conditions of China, and any effect the new U.S. administration might have on trade relations going forward.
CES 2018, Augmented Reality and Much More
The actual CES show is spread across many locations in Las Vegas. The main exhibit halls are at or near to the Las Vegas Convention Center with three buildings, two floors each, all filled with hundreds of booths. Then there is The Sands Convention Center with multiple halls filled to the brim and hotels with their own convention centers and floors of exhibitor suites. With almost 200,000 in attendance, all locations are very busy.
CES 2018 Showstoppers: LaunchIt and Press Event
“ShowStoppers LaunchIt is about giving innovative entrepreneurs a shot at getting the attention of angel investors on the lookout for innovation and new ventures. It’s also about gaining additional visibility with other industry influencers and dealmakers, as well as with the press who are always looking for the ‘what’s new’ story at CES.”
Preview: CES 2018 Unveiled
The official CES events started only about 15 hours ago. I have already been to CES Unveiled, an amazing (but somewhat long) NVIDIA press event, and now the Panasonic press conference is soon to begin, launching the Press Day activities. So far, it’s been amazing!
Getting the Heat Out
Increasing consumer demands for high performance and the need for high reliability in sectors such as automotive, LED lighting, and renewable energy mean that thermal management is now front and center on the priority list for PCB manufacturing.
Weiner’s World—December 2017
Hold on to your seats! 2018 will be a year full of rapid changes, surprises, and growth. M&A activities will flourish. The supply chain will suffer shortages and changes as demand increases, copycats will rush to market, and new markets and potential suppliers will vanish before they are established.
Automation and Traceability Critical for High-Throughput Probe Testing
Peter Brandt, atg’s director of sales for Europe, India and Japan, joined Barry Matties at productronica to share his views on regional variations in electrical testing requirements, automation, traceability, and how to anticipate and satisfy the future demands of the market. Group general manager Dr. Jochen Kleinertz also comments on the need for close cooperation with customers to guide the R&D effort.
Institute of Circuit Technology Harrogate Seminar 2017
A return to the historic spa town of Harrogate in Yorkshire, England for the Institute of Circuit Technology Northern Seminar, to enjoy a diverse programme of presentations on safety standards, research in selective metal deposition, and developments in imaging and inspection techniques.
RTW HKPCA & IPC Show 2017: IPC Asia’s Philip Carmichael on the Changes in PCB Value Chain
During the 2017 International Printed Circuit & APEX South China Fair (HKPCA & IPC Show 2017) in Shenzhen, IPC Asia President Philip S. Carmichael speaks with I-Connect007 Managing Editor Stephen Las Marias about the move in the value chain that’s driving the electronics manufacturing industry forward.
HDI: Today, Tomorrow and the Future
For the November issue of The PCB Magazine, our editorial team interviewed some of the top HDI experts in the PCB supply chain. Joining us on the conference call were Steve Bird, PCB/flex technology manager at Finisar, and Tony Torres of APCT.
HDI: Born in the USA and Making a Comeback
There is no denying that high-density interconnect (HDI) has been around a long time—over 25 years, believe it or not. From almost the moment of its conception in the U.S., the technology was adopted by and used almost exclusively in Asia.
Video from productronica 2017: DIS Improves Registration of Flex and Rigid-Flex PCBs
From the show floor at productronica 2017, we stopped by the DIS booth for a conversation with Tony Faraci. Here, he explains how DIS has tackled the challenges of handling and alignment of flex-rigid multilayer builds (especially cut-out pre-preg layers and packing pieces) and automated what was previously an operator-dependent manual process.
Video from productronica 2017: Rogers Discusses Trends Driving Growth
Dirk Lefelon, European sales manager for Rogers Corporation, discusses his group’s final 2017 results. He also explains what the new year will bring, including increased investment in capacity for the European market, especially for the automotive segment.
Happy Holden and Charles Pfeil Discuss the Past and Future of PCB Design, Part 1
When it comes to the PCB design community and the challenges facing it, as well as where design has been and where it’s heading, there aren’t many people as qualified to speak on the topic as long-time industry veterans Happy Holden and Charles Pfeil. Joined by I-Connect007’s Barry Matties at the recent AltiumLive 2017 event in San Diego, the three sat down for a discussion about the current state of PCB design, what the future holds, and what it means to be a designer.
New I-Connect007 Team Members Tour American Standard Circuits
Recently, Anaya Vardya, CEO of American Standard Circuits, invited two of I-Connect007’s newest team members, IT coordinator Jonathan Zinski and Editor Kiersten Rohde, to tour his facility in West Chicago, Illinois. Happy Holden, resident PCB expert, also joined the newbies on their field trip to ASC. In the following articles, Jonathan and Kiersten describe their experience touring ASC. Special thanks to Anaya for hosting the I-Connect007 team.
Catching up with…Brigitflex
Today, Brigitflex is building unique custom-made boards for companies all over the world, from large defense and aerospace companies to small incubator companies inventing new products. They have become well-known as the shop to go to when nobody else can solve your problems.
Final Finishes: Taking Gold Thickness into Account
Martin Bunce was one of several people from MacDermid Enthone who presented at SMTA International this year. He sat down with me for a chat about his paper on final finishes, particularly with regard to controlling gold thickness.
A Guide to IPC Survey and Report Season
IPC Director of Market Research Sharon Starr found time to discuss the recently conducted and published surveys and research reports and a few others still in the works. These reports are free to survey participants, which is certainly a great incentive for taking the time to complete them. (Hint: That’s a call to action for those of you sitting on the sidelines.)
HDI’s Beneficial Influence on High-Frequency Signal Integrity
The increasingly widespread use of finepitch ball-grid array (BGA), chip scale packaging (CSP), and other evolving technology form-factors means that new fabrication techniques must be used to create printed circuit boards (PCBs).
Strategies for Developing Copper Plating Systems
I-Connect007's Patty Goldman met with Dr. Albert Angstenberger, global technology manager for metallization with MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions, while at SMTA International. He presented a most interesting paper on copper pillar plating systems that we hope to publish in The PCB Magazine sometime in the future.
IPC Status Update: Training, Standards, and More!
At the recent IPC Fall committee meetings that are co-located with the SMTA International conference and show, IPC’s president and CEO, John Mitchell, sat down for a chat with me for an update on what’s happening at IPC.
Patty's Perspective: (Signal) Integrity for All
Our topic this month is signal integrity, certainly a common one in our industry. Signal integrity is achieved by controlling impedance, so my advice is to do that. There, I’m done. Just kidding…of course I’m not done. But if you are in PCB manufacturing and you think this is just a design problem and doesn’t concern you, please think again.
Update on IPC’s Validation Services and Hints of What’s to Come
SMTA International is the perfect time to get updates on IPC happenings. One that I’m always curious about is the Validation Services programs. At the busy show, I managed to find a quiet spot so Randy Cherry, IPC’s director of Validation Services, could fill me in on the latest.
3D Printed Electronics for Printed Circuit Structures
Printed electronics is a familiar term that is taking on more meaning as the technology matures. Flexible electronics is sometimes referred to as a subset of this and the printing approach is one of the enabling factors for roll-to-roll processes.
Institute of Circuit Technology Hayling Island Seminar 2017
This year’s event had a well-chosen and varied programme featuring presentations on process chemistry and R&D consortia, a discussion of controversial standards proposals and a review of the experiences of commissioning new technology in a start-up factory.
RTW SMTAI: Prototron Continues its Growth
Dave Ryder and Russ Adams of Prototron Circuits discuss the firm's 30th anniversary and their continued growth. Prototron recently hired several new staff members, and the company still has one open position to fill.
The State-of-the-Art in PCB Pre-production Engineering
If there’s one benefit of old age, it’s being able to remember the introduction to our industry of technologies that may be taken for granted by the present generation, but were revolutionary at the time. I can recall the history of Ucamco as far back as the late 1980s when, as one of the very early adopters of the DISC laser plotter and its associated electronic PCB front-end tooling system, our company gained entry to a spectacular new world of pre-production engineering capability.
Ventec Shares Their Insights on the Laminate Market, Part II
The discussion on laminates and markets with Ventec’s Mark Goodwin continues as he talks about the importance of service, where Ventec is headed, and offers some advice on partnering with your supplier.
Weiner’s World—August 2017
IPC is planning to hold a special meeting on automotive electronics for senior executives during IPC APEX EXPO 2019. The meeting will be planned and produced by the IPC Ambassador Council. Its presentations will feature senior members of the entire automotive electronics supply chain.
Laser Patterning & Metallization to Reduce Process Steps for PCB Manufacturing
This paper details a new methodology for the plating of conductive features onto glass dielectrics. A laser is used to ablate material from a glass substrate in the desired pattern, and copper is “seeded” into these features using laser-induced forward transfer of a copper foil.
Patty's Perspective: How do You Define Process Step Elimination and Automation?
This month, we can call our theme PSE&A—a fancy acronym for process step elimination and automation. Sounds straightforward, but what exactly do we mean by “process step elimination?” Does it refer to shortening the numerous steps involved in making a printed circuit board? There sure are a lot of them, but they all must be necessary—or why would we have them?
IMPACT Interview: Fern Abrams, IPC
At the recent IMPACT Washington D.C. 2017 event, I-Connect007's Patty Goldman speaks with IPC's Fern Abrams to get the inside story on the meeting with EPA.
Victory Giant Technology: The Qualified Forerunner of PCB Smart Factories
The topic of the July issue of PCB007’s China Online Magazine is “Automatic PCB Factories,” focusing on the pressures of cost, delivery time and process, and the irreversible trend toward automated PCB factories. Centering on this theme, we interviewed Andy Zhou, COO of Victory Giant Technology (HuiZhou) Co. Ltd., the first domestic PCB manufacturer who carries out large-scale implementation of intellectualization throughout the factory.
Catching up with Prototron Circuits Tucson GM Kim O’Neil
This has been an exciting year for Prototron, which has achieved Mil-PRF-31032 and gone into the flex business. Most recently, Prototron received word that they had achieved their AS9100 Rev D, which made me want to check in with Kim O'Neil and find out more.
The Speed of Nouya: Interview with Bao Xinyang of Shanghai Nanya
The theme of the June issue of PCB007 China Magazine is "High-Speed Materials." As is becoming more widely understood, domestic material supply is the only way for China’s high-frequency, high-speed circuit board industry to grow.
IPC: Department of Labor Releases RFI to Seek Information on Overtime Regulations
This week, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a Request for Information (RFI) to gather additional feedback from the public on the overtime regulations, which define and delimit exemptions from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements for certain executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and other employees.
A Conversation with New Isola Chief Revenue Officer Michael White
In a recent conference call with Isola’s new Chief Revenue Officer Michael White, I-Connect007 Publisher Barry Matties, and Managing Editor Patty Goldman gained a deeper understanding of the internal reorganization happening right now with Isola and Mike’s plans for Isola’s marketing team.
Review of the 2017 IPC Reliability Forum
IPC continues to lead our industry by example with their inaugural Reliability Forum, held in Chicago in April. The event was focused on manufacturing high-performance products and featured industry royalty from both a speaker and audience standpoint.
The Skills Gap – Meet People Where They Are!
A perennial concern in the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry is the lack of skilled talent in many parts of the country. According to a recent IPC member survey, most companies have a hard time recruiting qualified production workers, engineers, and other technical professionals.
Embedded Technology: A Useful Tool in Freedom CAD’s Toolbox
Freedom CAD has been designing and fabricating boards with embedded technology for years, and doing some pretty innovative work along the way. I asked Scott McCurdy, Freedom CAD’s director of sales and marketing, to share some details about their embedded processes, as well as the challenges and opportunities that embedded technology offers.
Patty's Perspective: What Happens in Washington Doesn’t Stay in Washington—It Reaches All of Us
I went to my second IMPACT Washington, D.C. event this year (May 1–3) and, as much as I applauded last year’s event, this one far surpassed it—just ask anyone who was there. In this month’s issue, a special section on IMPACT backs that claim.
Mr. Laminate Tells All: PTFE is About to be Banned by IEC TC111
There, I said it. Technical Committee 111 of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is preparing to effectively ban PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) materials from electronics. As history goes, the electronics industry has focused on only two of the four halogens (bromine and chlorine) to be limited in order to be called “halogen-free” or more accurately “low-halogen.” But now, fluorine is being dragged down too, just because of its location in the periodic table.
Weiner’s World – June 2017
On the way back from Hong Kong last week I had the good fortune of meeting an officer of Allegro Microsystems and enjoyed a wide ranging discussion with him. One of the "take home" items was concern about an expanding shortage of rare earth metals used to make ICs for the burgeoning automotive sensor market. The second was how important the roles of partnering and consortia are in the rapidly advancing autonomous automotive electronic field.
Rex Rozario, OBE, Wins Two Awards in Two Weeks
During their recent summer conference, the European Institute of Printed Circuits (EIPC) presented Rex Rozario with its distinguished Honourary Fellowship of the Institute Creditation for his contributions to the world electronics interconnection industry. Then at the Devon County Show, Rozario received the Pride of Devon Award for his contributions to Devon businesses and local radio.
The Significance of the PCB in the Value Chain of the European EMS Industry
At SMT Nuremberg, Pete Starkey meets with Dieter Weiss, who comments upon the significance of the PCB in the value chain of the European EMS industry, and looks to a future where we embrace an open-minded attitude and a willingness to work together.
A Brief Tutorial on Embedded Capacitors
Compunetics has been operating in the embedded components market for more than 20 years. Initially driven by their parent company’s need for high layer-count, high-density embedded capacitance cards for their OEM product offerings, technology and processes were developed which are mature and reliable.
Better Together: How HDP User Group Showcases the Industry’s Best Side
HDPUG is a non-profit trade organization comprised of members from top companies in the electronics industry, from materials suppliers and manufacturers, to OEMs and end users. Key activities include collaborating on issues facing multiple industries and bringing people together on projects who might not have met otherwise. Barry Matties met HDPUG’s European representative and project facilitator Alun Morgan at the recent EIPC Summer Conference to learn more about the group and current projects.
14th Electronic Circuits World Convention
The 14th Electronic Circuits World Convention (ECWC14) started in Seoul to the usual fanfare after the opening ceremonies of KPCA 2017. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted by KPCA’s Jung Bong Hong and the representatives of the other WECC members: WECC Secretary General Rex Rozario; Jin Zhangi (CPCA); Alun Morgan (EIPC); Vikram Desai (Electronic Industries Association of India); Canice Chung (Hong Kong PCA); David Bergman (IPC); Kushal Patel (IPCA); Toshifumi Kobayashi (JPCA), and Rich Wu (TPCA).
Happy Holden Second Recipient of I-Connect007 'Good for the Industry' Award
Our second 'Good for the Industry' award has been presented to Happy Holden. After working with Happy for a number of years it is clear to see that he is dedicated to improving the industry. He has a long history in the PCB industry, starting off with HP in the '70s. Not only did he develop HDI, but he then wrote the HDI Handbook, which is provided to readers at no charge.
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