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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

I don’t know everything, but I know one thing: This job is never boring. Here’s just a sample of what we’ve published online in the last week: an article on zero liquid discharge technology, an interview with a flex fabricator about avoiding DFM issues, a feature on the use of AI in smart assembly processes, a news item about investment in advanced substrate development in the U.S., and a story about one woman’s journey in electronics, starting when she learned to solder at 11 years old.

With Flex and Rigid-flex, Ask the Right Questions

I recently met with Tony Plemel, senior applications engineer with Flexible Circuit Technologies. In this interview, Tony discusses when flex designers need to break the rules, when they can’t break the rules, and why it’s so important for fabricators to ask designers the right questions to ensure a successful build.

Advanced Materials Update with John Andresakis

At PCB West, I sat down for an interview with John Andresakis, the director of business development for Quantic Ohmega. I asked John to update us on the company’s newest materials, trends in advanced materials, and the integration of Ticer Technologies, which Quantic acquired in 2021. As John explains, much of the excitement in materials focuses on laminates with lower and lower dielectric constants.

Forecasting the Wind: IPC's Expert Economist on the Impact of Inflation Rates

In the enchanting world of Shakespeare's plays, prophecies often set the stage for unforeseen twists and turns. Just as Macbeth could not have anticipated the tumultuous journey that lay ahead after encountering the three witches, the financial markets and policymakers find themselves in a similarly uncertain terrain. Take prices, which rose sharply in 2022. The Federal Reserve was slow to respond. Although the rate of inflation has declined since reaching its zenith last year, it continues to exceed the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation goal. “Higher for longer” is likely the mantra for interest rates. This prolonged period of higher interest rates will have a ripple effect on various sectors of the economy.

Reducing Waste Makes Good Business Sense

Alex Stepinski, president of Stepinski Group, and Mike Brask, president of IPS, announce a new partnership to bring Alex’s latest generation zero liquid-discharge (ZLD) waste control systems to market. Alex first developed the ZLD concept 10 years ago at a state-of-the-art PCB manufacturing facility. Over the years he refined and improved the entire system to increase efficiency and lower cost, and different versions of the system are currently used in several facilities around the world. 

Alex Stepinski on High-reliability Fabrication 

Alex Stepinski, principal and president of Stepinski Inc., and principal of Smart Process Design, has designed leading-edge PCB facilities and introduced a variety of novel systems and technologies into PCB manufacturing. We asked Alex to share his thoughts on high-reliability fabrication techniques, where manufacturers go wrong, and what fabricators need to do to step up their reliability game.

PCBflow Fosters Collaboration Between Design and Manufacture 

During PCB West, I spoke with Susan Kayesar, program manager for PCBflow, a business unit of Siemens that provides a collaboration environment for designers and manufacturers. We discussed the intent behind PCBFlow and how this platform helps to improve pre-manufacture communications. 

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

My must-reads for this week all seem to be forward-looking: an introduction to Factory 5.0, an interview from the floor at SMTA International on rework stations, announcement of a merger of two components suppliers, board of directors news, and an insightful PCB CAD tool market projection report.

Got Questions? Standards Have the Answers

The I-Connect007 Editorial Team recently spoke with Gerry Partida, vice president of technology at Summit Interconnect, and co-chair of the IPC-6012 committee. Gerry has been involved with standards development for years, and he believes that adhering to IPC’s standards and specifications has been a big part of Summit’s success. In this interview, Gerry explains how Summit utilizes standards, manufacturing data, and information to reduce re-spins and scrap while increasing yield and profitability. He also discusses the repercussions that can occur when designers don’t follow IPC standards. As Gerry points out, everything you need to know is in the standards, so why not follow them?

A Gap in Capability in the Defense Industrial Base

The U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) recently announced information about developing a public-private venture to catalyze advanced U.S. circuit board manufacturing capabilities. To learn more about the program and how industry can take part, we spoke with Joe O’Neil, who is directing the development effort for the partnership.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

In this week’s Top 5, we start with a conversation with Mike Soble, who explains why SEL and Chemcut have such a great partnership. We have a review of SMTA International, which took place this week in Minneapolis. We also have a conversation with the design team at Monsoon Solutions; they explain how they geared their documentation process to the requirements of IPC standards. Mike Morando explains how to qualify your rigid-flex manufacturer. And we have an announcement about the IPC Checklist, a very useful document that I-Connect007 recently published.

Insulectro Flex Materials Showcase Offers Tips for Technologists

Insulectro continues its drive to educate PCB designers about the ins and outs of advanced flex materials. On Sept. 19 the company hosted an all-day seminar on flexible and printed electronic materials at its San Jose, Calif., facility.

MKS' Atotech: More Horizontal Panel Plating in the U.S.

Recently, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) opened its new $100 million captive printed circuit board manufacturing facility in Moscow, Idaho. The new facility features state-of-the-art PCB equipment from MKS’ Atotech, one of the leading providers of advanced PCB and IC substrate horizontal manufacturing equipment for the electronics industry. This type of equipment is normally delivered to Asian markets and is not usually seen in North America.

Notion Systems: The Arrival of the ‘Jet Age’

Notion Systems is a German-based company and one of the leading suppliers of industrial inkjet systems for functional materials. Antonio Schmidt, senior vice president of sales and marketing, explains that by applying the solder resist fully-digitally, Notion gave Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) the opportunity to save time, investment, space, and labor in their new printed circuit board manufacturing facility.

Chemcut: Blending Capabilities and Culture

Mike Soble, who works in technical sales for Chemcut, explains that despite the long distance between Idaho and Pennsylvania, working with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories on its new facilities was truly a perfect match.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

This week, our must-read picks include the PCB industry monthly report, IPC’s Alison James’ statement to the EU regarding the vitality of our industry, an overview of test and inspection, greenfield fabrication facility design, and the future of advanced packaging and solder.

Culture by Design: Building a Winning Team from the Start

If you want to attract top talent and achieve great results, your organizational culture is key. It’s hands-down one of the most important elements in your business and it’s quite possibly one of the best predictors of your long-term success. Studies have long shown the tie between strong cultures and higher productivity and revenue. So, it needs to be created and nurtured carefully. Your hiring practices need to support it.

Sigma Mecer: Turning Copper ‘Green’

Andreas Littorin is CEO at Sigma Engineering AB. The company has been manufacturing equipment for the PCB industry for 45 years, mainly a mature product for copper recycling of alkaline and acidic etchants in the PCB manufacturing process.

GreenSource Engineering: An Eye on Design

Schweitzer engaged the services of GreenSource Engineering to assist in the initial design of the facility, along with handling automation equipment. Nolan Johnson met with the GreenSource team— Michael Gleason, Marco Mirkovic, James Brown, and Rick Nichols—representing GreenSource Engineering and GreenSource Fabrication (GSF), to better understand their working relationship for the build-out of the new facility in Moscow, Idaho.

USPAE, DoD Launch $10 Million Defense Business Accelerator

In a major initiative to innovate how the Department of Defense (DoD) spurs commercial technology development, the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) and DoD launched a Defense Business Accelerator (DBX) to open doors for industrial base growth and stimulate private investment.

Schmoll: Pushing Drilling Forward

Automation is everywhere, and nowhere is that more evident than the machines from Schmoll used in the new captive facility for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Schmoll Maschinen GmbH Executive Director Stephan Kunz, and Evan Howard, service manager for Schmoll products, Burkle North America, discuss how their machines are perfectly suited for SEL’s production lines.

Book Excerpt: 'The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... Designing for Reality,' Introduction

Based on the wisdom of 50 years of PCB manufacturing at Sunstone Circuits, this book is a must-have reference for designers understanding the PCB manufacturing process as it relates to their design. Designing for manufacturability requires understanding the production process fundamentals and factors within the process that often lead to variations in manufacturability, reliability, and cost of the board.

The SEL Supply Line: An Introduction

During my recent tour of SEL’s new $100 million PCB factory in Moscow, Idaho, I spoke with Engineering Director John Hendrickson specifically about the partnerships they formed with the many equipment suppliers it took to build a new factory. I wanted to know when he’s choosing a supplier in a critical aspect, what is he looking for?

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

This week’s must-reads cover a little bit of everything: advanced packaging substrates, rigid-flex design, the potential loss of tribal knowledge, ultra HDI processing, and the need for fabricators to begin utilizing Smart systems. In a few weeks, we’ll be attending SMTA International in Minneapolis, and then productronica in Munich. We hope to see you on the road!

Rigid-flex Design Guidelines 

Rigid-flex circuits are unique structures; part rigid board and part flex, they’re increasingly working their way into many of the electronic devices we use every day. There have been many advances in rigid-flex lately as more companies find themselves exploring this technology. So, before I started writing this article about rigid-flex design, I double-checked a few things. Fortunately, there is plenty of rigid-flex information available on a variety of great websites that we all know and trust.
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