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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Read ‘Ugly Sweaters’ of the Week

In commemoration of the holiday week, we look at what has become a popular tradition in both the U.S. and England: the ugly Christmas sweater. This fabulous tradition has grown in recent years to encompass not only ugly sweaters but sweatshirts, cardigans (a type of sweater), pajamas, and even headgear. For the sake of simplicity (and far too many options from which to choose), we will stick with sweaters. As we round the bend on Christmas 2024, wade halfway into Hannukah, and look toward the New Year, let’s relish “the ugly.”

Revolutionizing Inner Layer Registration

In this interview with Anthony (Tony) Faraci, founder and president of DIS, we delve into enhancing inner layer accuracy and yields, pivotal to boosting profitability in the circuit board industry. Tony has extensive experience in the development of tooling technology over the decades, which ultimately led to his founding DIS. From his beginnings at Multiline to tackling the challenges of registration accuracy, Tony's insights clearly lay out the complexities of modern manufacturing and the innovations in shaping the future of inner layer registration.

Merry Christmas from I-Connect007!

Though a modern Christmas typically brings to mind vivid images of a jolly Santa Clause, excited children opening gifts on Christmas morning, and huge feasts on festive looking holiday tables, the great holidays in every culture and religious tradition comes with an interesting historical context. 

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

Hey, wait a minute, this is the lead-up to the penultimate holiday week, so why is the news cycle so busy? Normally, this period of time—what with all the holiday distraction—is when companies either go quiet or publish press releases covering those throwaway news items. Instead, this week brought in so much important news that I had to be quite discerning in my choices. Newsletter subscribers definitely got a lot of news this week. 

The Effects of Copper on a Transmission Line

As technology advances, our substrates become increasingly smaller, and chip technology has progressed to where HDI and UHDI are household terms. Ten years ago, this new design architecture would strike fear in the hearts of any plating engineer. Unfortunately, North American and European manufacturing has lagged due to excessive offshoring of commercial and some high-reliability product lines. Fortunately, most of the military and aerospace product has remained controlled. But in doing so, the designs utilized by the mil/aero and medical sectors’ reliability lines were corralled into the manufacturing capabilities of the North American and European providers.

Statistically Testing Inner Layer Yield Improvement Projects 

Can we trust our measurement system to give us reliable data? Is it accurate, repeatable, and reproducible? Measurement is the foundation of quality. We measure for two primary reasons: to make decisions on product quality and to provide data that will inform continuous improvement projects. We can engage in continuous improvement projects if we are confident in our measurement systems.

Sayonara to the Last Standing Copper Foil Plant in North America

In July 2021, PCB007 Magazine published an interview with Michael Coll and Chris Stevens of Nippon Denkai about the new acquisition by Nippon Denkai of the last-standing ED foil manufacturer in North America. The plant in Augusta, Georgia, was formerly owned by Oak Mitsui, Inc. and had been purchased by Nippon Denkai the previous March, after which significant investment was made with the expectation of providing more jobs.

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

This week, Peter Tranitz discusses the upcoming Pan-European Electronics Design Conference, set for Jan. 29-30 in Vienna, Austria. Pete Starkey brings us a review of the most recent EIPC Technical Snapshot webinar, which featured a global PCB maker update by Dr. Hayao Nakahara. Don't miss our interview with Manfred Huschka, who explains how companies can begin their own China Plus One plan. Stan Farnsworth breaks down photonic soldering and discusses its use in soldering materials that are not typically compatible. I also enjoyed Dan Beaulieu’s discussion on the value of consistency, and why just showing up for work is half the battle, especially in an inconsistent, evolving industry like ours.

EIPC Technical Snapshot: Factors Driving the Fluctuating Demand for PCBs

EIPC continued its series of online Technical Snapshots with a webinar on Nov. 21 presented by Dr. Hayao Nakahara of N.T. Information Ltd, who summarised world PCB production and shared his vision of the market over the next five years. With information gathered from many sources, Nakahara examined factors driving the increasing demand for printed circuit boards. 

Real Time with... electronica 2024: STARTEAM GLOBAL Meeting Challenges Head-on

STARTEAM GLOBAL CEO Daniel Jacob and CTO Martin Schneider speak with Pete Starkey at electronica 2024 about their global presence in China, Thailand, and Europe, and how additive manufacturing and inkjet printing are keeping this PCB manufacturer at the forefront of technology. They’re excited about sustainability, the future, and competing on the world stage.

Does China Plus One Actually Work?

We all know of the current geopolitical challenges between the U.S. and China, which have motivated companies to investigate shifting supply chains to other countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, India, and Malaysia while continuing to source mainly from China. This strategy is being referred to as China Plus One. In this two-part article, I will summarize the current economic trends in China, and look at the trends in wider Southeast Asia.

Has the Time Finally Come for Tin-nickel Plating?

In the 1980s, Electrochemicals, Inc. (now Electrochemical Products) made a significant shift from furniture and industrial goods to electronics and manufacturing. During this journey, a tin-nickel plating alloy was developed. In 1984, Mike Carano, a young engineer, published a paper on tin-nickel plating alloy, but after some initial attention, the plating solution fell into obscurity. Today, PCB fabrication looks largely the same, yet changes are afoot, chiefly due to the demands for very fine feature capability on printed circuit boards, as well as environmental sustainability. So, in this fascinating conversation with Mike Carano and Happy Holden, we take another look at tin-nickel and its advantages in both performance and sustainability.

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

This week’s must-reads include a discussion on innovation and embedded components within the layers of a PCB with Accurate Circuit Engineering. We revisit the real cost to manufacture in a case study on how a seemingly small design error can have a dramatic effect on your end customer’s costs. Dan Beaulieu provides this month’s book review highlighting the criticality of fostering creativity in the workplace. Bert Horner of The Test Connection discusses his decision to launch a new, complimentary business venture, The Training Connection; and Ramon Roche of NCAB talks about electric vehicle charging.

Real Time with... electronica 2024: NCAB—Shaping the Future of Electronics Manufacturing

Michael Larsson, Global Director of Sales at NCAB, shares insights into the company's focus on sourcing production outside of China as well as their commitment to sustainability through innovative materials for recyclable PCBs.

Understanding Depreciation for Electronic Manufacturers

As a PCB design engineer, your focus is on creating innovative, cost-effective designs. However, the financial aspects behind your designs—such as depreciation—play a significant role in the overall business. While depreciation may sound like "accounting speak," understanding it can help you make better decisions for your projects, especially when dealing with equipment, machinery, or even intangible assets like software licenses.

Calculating PCB Complexity and First-pass Yields

There are three things I know mathematically about PCB yields: Defects that produce low yields may be systemic and repeatable, while others may be random (but you can test for this); you can predict yields if you take the time to collect the data; and yields are such wonderful things, so we should write about them more.

Accurate Circuit Engineering on Passion and Pushing the Envelope

In this interview at PCB Carolina in November, James Hofer, general manager of Accurate Circuit Engineering (ACE), shares insights into the company’s innovative approach to component embedding and highlights the passion and dedication driving his team’s commitment to quality and innovation in PCB manufacturing. James is still having fun as they push boundaries and do some pretty cool things in the process.

Case Study: PCB Design Flaws Affect Product Cost

In the rapidly evolving aerospace industry, precision and reliability are paramount. “AeroTech Solutions” (not the company’s real name), an aerospace company specializing in satellite technology, recently faced a significant challenge that tested its operational integrity: A flaw identified in the PCB design of its latest satellite model led to unexpected delays and cost overruns.

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

If you’re in the U.S. today, odds are you’re at home enjoying the aftermath of a Thanksgiving holiday meal. Let me just say that whether you had a Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by family, friends, or both, I hope it was joyous. If you know someone who doesn’t have friends or family with whom to share this time, please reach out and include them. Chronic loneliness can exact a measurable toll on our mental and physical health. Wherever you are on the globe this holiday season, I encourage you to reach out to someone who might be battling loneliness and connect. It will make a difference to them. Not only will it help get you in the mood for your winter holiday of choice, but it’ll be good for your mental health as well.

Happy Thanksgiving From the I-Connect007 Team

As we take time to observe Thanksgiving, the I-Connect007 team wishes to offer our thanks to our readers, advertisers, and contributors: designers, fabricators, engineers, assemblers, quality and process control gurus, chemists, physicists, supervisors, managers, entrepreneurs, business owners, standards writers, industry experts, and more. Thank you all for your support.

Real Time with... electronica 2024: ICAPE—Localized Manufacturing Strategies and Strategic Acquisitions

Pete Starkey interviews Christelle Bonnevie, chief industrial officer at ICAPE Group. Bonnevie summarizes the evolution of the group and the strategy of developing a network of manufacturing facilities outside Asia. She also discusses the recent acquisition of NTW in Japan and explains the mechanism of integrating it into the ICAPE organization.

Process Yield Statistics and Distributions

The costs of poor quality include all expenses incurred for not making or providing a perfect product the first time, including scrap, rework, re-purchasing raw materials, labor, and inventory. Companies operating at a three-sigma quality level can spend about 25% of their annual sales remediating poor quality costs. Other estimates put the costs of poor quality in the range of 25–40%. Poor quality can destroy a company.

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

In this week’s roundup, I’m highlighting a variety of articles. We have an interview with Jess Hollenbaugh, a recent graduate working for Polar Instruments. We also have an interview with IPC’s Matt Kelly and Devan Iyer, whose white paper may provide a way forward for companies dealing with complex advanced packages. Our newest columnist Tom Yang describes the U.S. PCB industry from the point of view of a technologist from another country, and Dan Beaulieu has a review of Malcolm Gladwell’s follow-up to The Tipping Point. Finally, we have my review of PCB Carolina, a one-day tabletop show that keeps expanding, much like my waistline after eating their catered food. Enjoy!

IPC Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Patty Goldman

In my first article of this special series, I wrote a synopsis of the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame (HOF) Award, along with a commentary on its first few members, particularly Pritchard. Over the years, IPC members who have contributed significantly to IPC and our industry have been awarded this high honor and recognition. Though many early HOF members have passed away and are unknown to today’s IPC membership, their contributions still resonate. Over the coming months, I look forward to researching and reporting on IPC Hall of Fame members and their contributions. This month, I highlight Patty Goldman.

Real Time with... electronica 2024: Inside CEE PCB—Innovations in Technology

Marcy LaRont Interviews Tom Yang and Jerome Larez From CEE PCB. Tom and Jerome showcase the company's advancements and emphasize the importance of automation in PCB manufacturing for quality and efficiency. The CEE PCB focuses on sustainability and aims to connect with high-tech clients while exploring new partnerships for high-volume production.
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