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Happy Thanksgiving From the I-Connect007 Team

In the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday is a celebration of gratitude and appreciation for the harvest and for the people close to us. Thankfulness, however, transcends just one day of official observance. The fourth Thursday of November is when the U.S. officially celebrates Thanksgiving Day and as we take time to observe this holiday, the I-Connect007 team wishes to offer our thanks to you, our global readers and contributors: designers, fabricators, engineers, assemblers, quality and process control gurus, chemists, physicists, supervisors, managers, entrepreneurs, business owners, standards writers, industry experts, and more. You breathe life into the vital, thriving, world-changing electronics industry. You are the real story.

Segment 9 of Koh Young Webinar Series: Koh Young Auto Programming (KAP)

In this engaging, 12-part micro webinar series, Koh Young topic experts Joel Scutchfield and Ivan Aduna examine 3D inspection, AI, CFX, connectivity and smart factory success. At just over 8 minutes, the ninth episode, “AI in Action” is now available to view. In this segment, viewers will learn about 3D profilometry technology and how it converges with Koh Young’s proprietary AI technology to deliver true automatic programming. This geometry-based software solution reduces the programming process to minimize time to production and reduce costs.

Koh Young Furthers Offerings in Conformal Coating Inspection

Joel Scutchfield, general manager of SMT business operations and director of sales at Koh Young, talks with Nolan Johnson about Koh Young’s newest conformal coatings inspection offerings. They also discuss how changing customer needs are creating expansion into new inspection applications. Scutchfield also announces an organizational change. If you didn’t make it to SMTA International in Minneapolis, don’t worry. We have interviews with the SMT segment’s top engineers and managers. Visit realtimewith.com now for all the interviews produced by I-Connect007 in partnership with SMTA at this year's event.

Now Playing: ‘Predicting Reliability in Electronics’ Presented by the Experts at GEN3

In this engaging, 11-part micro webinar series, topic experts Graham Naisbitt and Chris Hunt examine the history of the influences of Electro-chemical Migration (ECM) and the evolving use of Surface Insulation Resistance Testing (SIR) that has been developed over the past 25 years by GEN3 and its association with the British National Physical Laboratory. GEN3 and NPL have created the standard that has now been in widespread use around the world since the turn of the millennium. The second episode, “Electrochemical Reliability and SIR,” can be viewed in under 15 minutes. Presenters share information on research conducted by NPL as a pan-European project, provide an explanation of ECM as corrosion, discuss the meaning of objective evidence, and more.

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

This month—and this year, really—has just flown by. As someone mentioned to me recently, “There are basically only three full work weeks before New Year’s Day.” Yikes. Thanksgiving is next week, which means most of your customers and suppliers will be hard to reach. Unless there’s a problem, that is! In that case, they’ll find you, even if you’re carving a turkey with the kids and grandkids. So, with a short week on the horizon, most of us are in overdrive now, trying to get ahead of the game.

MacDermid Alpha's Scott Lewin Knows What's Important in Solder

Scott Lewin, regional marketing manager for the Americas for MacDermid Alpha, leads Nolan Johnson through what's important in solder, with various scenarios and their impact on EMS efficiency and quality. As Scott explains, “It’s not what’s new that’s important to the customer; it’s what’s important.” If you didn’t make it to SMTA International in Minneapolis, don’t worry. We have interviews with the SMT segment’s top engineers and managers. Visit realtimewith.com now for all the interviews produced by I-Connect007 in partnership with SMTA at this year's event.

Segment 8 of Koh Young Webinar Series: Going the Distance With AI

Designed to complement Koh Young’s I-007eBook, The Printed Circuit Assembler’s Guide to... SMT Inspection, Today, Tomorrow and Beyond, topic experts Joel Scutchfield and Ivan Aduna share highly focused educational information on the use of data gathered during the inspection process. In recent times, artificial intelligence has demonstrated promising potential across a variety of industries, from self-driving vehicles to virtual doctors, and it has far-reaching applications within the manufacturing sector. By using the right mixture of AI technologies, manufacturers can boost their efficiency, improve flexibility, speed up processes, and even achieve self-optimizing processes.

Now Playing: ‘Predicting Reliability in Electronics’ Presented by the Experts at GEN3

In this engaging, 11-part micro webinar series, topic experts Graham Naisbitt and Chris Hunt examine the history of the influences of Electro-chemical Migration (ECM) and the evolving use of Surface Insulation Resistance Testing (SIR) that has been developed over the past 25 years by GEN3 and its association with the British National Physical Laboratory. GEN3 and NPL have created the standard that has now been in widespread use around the world since the turn of the millennium. The first episode can be viewed in just over eight minutes. Viewers will be given an introduction to SIR and ECM, including objectives, why we use standards, and why “objective evidence” should be used in place of “cleaning.”

MIRTEC Introduces Extended Z-Axis AOI Vision Capabilities

Nolan speaks with Frank Cormier, regional sales manager for MIRTEC, about the new MV-6Z OMNI 3D In-Line AOI System. Frank outlines the new extended Z-axis vision system, and highlights how this new equipment is targeted to automotive and power supply manufacturers. If you didn’t make it to SMTA International in Minneapolis, don’t worry. We have interviews with the SMT segment’s top engineers and managers. Visit realtimewith.com now for all the interviews produced by I-Connect007 in partnership with SMTA at this year's event.

KYZEN’s Customer Engagement Initiatives

Tom Forsythe, executive vice president of KYZEN, gives Editor Nolan Johnson an update on the company’s new products, product development, and customer engagement, including plans for drawing more new customers. Forsythe also explains how KYZEN’s remote process capabilities wound up being a lifesaver for customers who could not get into their facilities during the pandemic, and why sometimes, “It’s better to be lucky than right.” If you didn’t make it to SMTA International in Minneapolis, don’t worry. We have interviews with the SMT segment’s top engineers and managers. Visit realtimewith.com now for all the interviews produced by I-Connect007 in partnership with SMTA at this year's event.

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

Welcome to Friday in mid-November. If you're celebrating Thanksgiving, have you made up your menu and bought the turkey? It will be here before you know it. Around here, we're talking financial news and I've selected my top five financial news items of the week. There was plenty to choose from and my picks this week highlight a few of the most-read financial news pieces from our industry, as well as a couple high-interest technology related pieces. We also released our latest webinar, an 11-part series from the expert at GEN3. Definitely check that one out!

Honoring Those Who Served

On this Veteran’s Day holiday, the I-Connect007 staff takes a moment to honor those men and women over the years, who served to protect and defend their country. Just on the I-Connect007 staff, we have loved ones who served, ranging from World War I to present-day active-duty military. The holiday isn’t intended to be a political statement, but rather a reflection on service, duty, and personal sacrifice. In some cases, the ultimate sacrifice. Our staff has submitted images of veterans who are near and dear to their hearts. Check them out!

Conformal Coatings and Legacy X-Rays

Viscom President Ed Moll talks about test and inspection, specifically around the company’s X-ray technologies and current state-of-the-art conformal coating inspection. About pain points for customers, Ed says, "It depends on the product line, whether its solder paste inspection, optical inspection, or X-ray inspection; a new recent trend would be conformal coating inspection. We are doing quite a bit of work in conformal coating inspection, which is being driven by the auto manufacturers requiring that those who are doing conformal coating are collecting data, not just visually inspecting, using a black light, and determining that it’s good."

IPC-J-STD-001: The State of the Standard

In 2015, it was recognized that the long-standing cleanliness provisions of J-STD-001 Section 8 were no longer adequate for modern electronics and that a new approach was needed. A group of cleaning subject matter experts (SMEs), dubbed the Rhino team, were assembled to create the new protocol. This group of SMEs was led by Doug Pauls of Collins Aerospace, a long-time leader in cleaning materials and processes in the IPC. He said “tiger” was overused and he always had a fondness for the rhino, a particular animal of the Serengeti.

Market Changes Require Re-evaluating Your Testing Processes

Nolan Johnson dives into test and inspection with Bob Neves of Microtek Laboratories China. From his perspective running a test lab, Neves shares his view on the current issues for contract manufacturers regarding test and inspection. Over the course of this conversation, Neves discusses the effect of the current supply chain on testing practices, factory automation, the collection an analysis of data, and more. For all the automation and data collection possible, Neves points out, it still comes back to the people.

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

It’s merger mania! Yes, there’s been a lot of M&A activity lately in our industry over the past few months. This week was no different when it comes to merger activities. In this week’s selections, we have news about DuPont’s acquisition of Rogers, Nano Dimension’s merger with Essemtec, and NCAB’s acquisition of Elmatica. We also have news from SMTA International, and an interview with Joe Clark of DownStream Technologies about their new flex and rigid-flex technology.

Explore the Depths of Your Dispensing Process

Past missions to the “final frontier” might have been more successful if the coating on the electronic assemblies had been measured using our novel inspection technology for the dispensing process. While this is just a hypothetical statement, it is highly likely that in a harsh environment like outer space, some effects such as crystal growth and surface contamination can occur. As such, sealing the electronics assembly from environmental contaminants is particularly important because any debris or moisture can form the breeding ground for crystal dendrite growth.

Test Strategies and Pain Points

In this interview with Bert Horner of The Test Connection, Inc., a test engineering service provider, he shares his insights on the trends and challenges for test and inspection. This discussion is centered around common challenges in the industry, and the importance of setting up your test and inspection strategy. Bert states, "The biggest challenge is giving access to the key points and understanding a test strategy prior to the assembly being built."

Perfecting the Application of Conformal Coatings Without a Capital Investment

Research chemist Michael Szwarc isolated the parylene polymer series in the late 1940s at the University of Manchester, England. He discovered the polymer as one of the thermal decomposition products of a common solvent, p-xylene, at a temperature between 700 and 900°C. Union Carbide scientist William Gorham later developed a deposition process to apply the film. He deposited parylene films by the thermal decomposition of di-p-xylylene at 550°C and in vacuum below 1 Torr, a process that did not require a solvent and resulted in chemically resistant films free from pinholes. In 1965, Union Carbide commercialized the material and the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that is unique among conformal coatings.

EPTAC Studying Low-Melt Alloys as In-Person Classes Resume

I recently spoke with Leo Lambert, the VP of Technology for EPTAC, about some research the company is doing into low-melt alloys. We also discussed EPTAC’s continuous growth, as well as some of the lessons learned during the pandemic and their plans moving forward.

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

This week’s top picks, as influenced by readership interest, don’t seem to hold to a particular theme. Previously, I’ve referred to this as a potpourri, and now that I’ve done that once, I can’t really do so again, can I? How about a mixed bag? No, I don’t think so. While the news is certainly a diverse assortment, this just feels too obvious.

Real Time With... SMTAI: Anaya Vardya of American Standard Circuits

Anaya Vardya, president and CEO at American Standard Circuits, speaks with Nolan Johnson ahead of the SMTA International exposition. Vardya shares why American Standard Circuits will be exhibiting at the show, and outlines the topics ASC will be presenting on the show floor.

Maximizing ROI and Usage of Test Equipment

With so many variables to consider, making informed acquisition decisions around modern electronic test and measurement equipment can be challenging. While this article focuses on electronic test and measurement equipment, the basic principles of asset optimization can be applied to almost any hard asset. In the context of test equipment, asset optimization represents total equipment life cycle management to reduce costs and improve efficiency and productivity.

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

There’s a lot going on in the industry this week, and my top five picks have a little bit of everything.

SMTAI Pre-Show Interview: Dan Hart of MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

Nolan talks to Dan Hart, Application Development Manager, about the paper his team will be presenting at SMTAI in early November, the work that went into the research, and why his team took on this research.

CapEx Planning With Summit Interconnect

The I-Connect007 Editorial Team recently spoke with John Vaughan, Greg Halvorson, and Brett McCoy of Summit Interconnect about their capital expenditure (CapEx) strategies. They discuss the challenges they face when planning CapEx after acquiring fabricators with different capabilities, and the need to have dedicated funds ready for expenditures each year.

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

Well, William Shatner finally did the field research for his role as Captain James T. Kirk this week, going sub-orbital on the Blue Origin launch platform. No, I’m not making fun of Shatner’s flight, quite the contrary. He’s the first actor in the entire Star Trek franchise to go into space while still living. And at 90 years old, he’s now the oldest person to make the trip as well!

Naprotek: Knowing Your Value and Maximizing It

Nolan Johnson talks with new Naprotek CEO Daniel Everitt about Naprotek’s value-add for customers, the market dynamics, factory automation, and more.

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

This week we have quite a potpourri for you. Our newest columnist, Kim O’Neil of Prototron Circuits, offers details on setting up your own quality management system (QMS). Emmy-winning tech writer David Pogue will be a keynote at IPC APEX EXPO, which I think is a great move on the part of IPC. We have an article from Brent Fischthal of Koh Young America on the value of investing in the latest AOI equipment, which can save you time and money by eliminating false calls.

Increase Production Yield by Investing in Leading-Edge Equipment

Let us consider automated optical inspection (AOI). AOI technology has been available for decades, but only since the introduction and industry adoption of real 3D measurement has it emerged as a major area of focus to prevent defects and improve production yields in post pre-reflow and post-reflow positions. Yet, many manufacturers are using antiquated 2D or quasi-3D systems that increase false calls and escapes.

Fane Friberg on Capital Expenditure Project Planning

In a recent survey, about 75% of SMT007 readers indicated that their organization uses a capital expenditure plan; about 25% do not have a planning process in place. Based on this information, the I-Connect007 Editorial Team reached out to Fane Friberg to discuss capital expenditure planning and execution.

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

Once again, seemingly like clockwork, the controversy erupts. It’s such a divisive issue, and it seems no one can be undecided in this debate; each of us is expected to take a stand. All of society—including the media—asks, “Which side are you on?”

24 Essential Skills for Engineers: The Story Behind the Book

In this interview with I-Connect007’s own Happy Holden about his newest book, 24 Essential Skills for Engineers, which he wrote over the span of his career, he highlights some particular moments from his time working at HP and as CTO of Foxconn which inspired many of the book’s chapters. Happy explains why he covered engineering skills as well as “soft skills” such as problem-solving and communication—skills which are keys to succeeding as an engineer.

Driving Lean Manufacturing with Digitalization

Reducing waste in the manufacturing process is always a challenge, especially when it comes to new product introductions (NPI). It is a key pain point for manufacturers, as waste leads to delays, unexpected costs, quality issues, and lost profit. Waste isn’t always about material that must be discarded—it can also include idle workers and equipment, unused material, and inefficient planning processes.

The Bill Comes Due: BOMs and the Digital Twin

The I-Connect007 Editorial Team recently discussed the subject of bill of material (BOM) with Michael Ford of Aegis Software. The conversation explored the current state of BOM creation, maintenance, and transfer, as well as the role BOMs play in product development and product life cycle. Naturally, attention also turned to the importance of the BOM within the digital twin.

BOM: The Path to Managing Parts

In the magazine this month, we start with some higher-level discussion about BOMs in the 21st century manufacturing world. We look at questions like “Who owns the BOM?” and “What makes up a BOM?” The reality is that BOMs are often oversimplified down to the component parts list when, in fact, a full-fledged BOM includes information on how to put the pieces together in a finished product as well.

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

Every fall, the action in the world of PCB design and manufacturing begins to pick up again. No more out-of-office email replies; summer vacation is over, and it’s time to get back at it. This week’s Top Five is a veritable pastiche of columns, articles, and news from the electronics industry.

Siemens Global Webinar: Data-Driven Manufacturing in the Electronics Industry

I had the opportunity to attend the second in the series of Siemens global webinars on data-driven manufacturing in the electronics industry, this time focused on data acquisition and analysis, discussing challenges and methodologies and detailing hardware and software solutions, exemplified by real-world illustrations of successful implementation.

BOMs and the Supply Chain from an Assembler's Point of View

Duane Benson of Screaming Circuits speaks with Nolan Johnson about issues assemblers encounter with BOMs and part shortages. Duane gives advice on how to avoid some common pitfalls.

A Multi-Tenant PLM Software Solution

To better understand how bill of materials and business operations software can interact, we reached out to George Lewis, vice president of corporate strategy for Arena, a PTC Business.

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

In some weeks, readership numbers are pretty even, which means I make my picks based on “excellence” or “achievement” of some sort. Other weeks, you readers “go viral” on a few key news items, making the selection process numerically driven. This was one of those weeks. Here, then, are the five most-read news items. Of course, leading the way are our esteemed technical editors, Pete Starkey and Dan Feinberg. These gentlemen are examples of my opening statement, as both enjoy huge popularity with readers precisely because they are so good at reporting on the industry.

Review: Emerging Opportunities for Additive Electronics

The special feature at SMTA’s virtual Additive Electronics TechXchange 2021 was a presentation by Dr. Matthew Dyson, senior technology analyst at IDTechEx, entitled "Emerging Opportunities for Additive Electronics."

Reducing the Cost of Solder Alloys Used in Wave and Selective Soldering Assembly Applications

The continued devaluation of the U.S. dollar and the industrial supply-demand balance between silver has increased the price of silver used in solder alloys. MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions has developed a number of low- and no-silver solder alloys to offset this continued trend in the increase in global silver cost. These alloys are appropriate for most applications, but not all.

From DesignCon: Neoconix Reacts Favorably to Higher-Density Market

During my visit to DesignCon, I stopped in to chat with Woody Maynard of Neoconix, a San Jose company making unique custom connectors. In this interview, Woody explains the technology, how they work with their customers, and where he sees the market headed.

BOM Connector: A Ready-Built Solution

Kevin Decker-Weiss of CircuitByte and Mark Laing of Siemens explain how a tool called BOM Connector can improve quoting and manufacturing flow. Mark and Kevin are openly enthusiastic about this topic; this conversation launched immediately into a technical discussion.

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

The kids and grandkids are back in school, and fall is on the way. During this busy week, we published a variety of articles, covering everything from trade shows to mergers. It’s hard to argue with IPC’s plans to require proof of vaccine or a negative COVID test to enter IPC APEX EXPO; you can expect other trade shows to follow suit in the future. We’d hate for a show to become a super-spreader event.

Whizz is Da BOM

In this interview with the I-Connect007 Editorial Team, Whizz President Muhammad Irfan shares his 20-plus years of experience by breaking down the bill of materials process in today’s challenging environment. Irfan describes what that means for his team and suppliers, and how we move forward in a post-pandemic climate.

How to Use Panelization Planning to Save Money and Resources

In this interview, Siemens’ Patrick McGoff speaks with Nolan Johnson about strategies to utilize panelization planning to save money and resources.

A Conversation with Javad EMS

Nolan Johnson speaks with Gary Walker, vice president and co-founder of Javad EMS, about who they are as a company, where they came from, and where they’re going.

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

The past couple weeks have delivered quite a bit of PCB manufacturing industry news, to be sure. If you haven’t already seen this news piece from USPAE, “Electronics Industry Summit With US DoD Spawns More Dialogue, Collaboration,” I’d like to bring it to your attention one more time.

Luminovo Cuts BOM Waste, Improves OEM/EMS Communication

Luminovo founder Sebastian Schaal says his company is using its experience as an AI provider to help implement LumiQuote, a new EMS RFQ software tool. Sebastian explains how LumiQuote helps cut down the waste in the BOM process and friction between OEM and EMS providers, and gives designers the EMS data they need earlier in the design process so they can make more informed decisions.

Nolan's Notes: The Designer to EMS Communication Process

CAD tool developers have been working toward “system design” for most of the history of the sector. Early in my career when I wrote code at an EDA startup that now is recognized as a major player in the market, we were working on the idea of system design. The compute power and wide area network resources necessary to realize the vision of full mechatronic system design just weren’t available then, but we were working on it.

From DesignCon: Fotofab’s Photochemical Etch Process

At DesignCon 2021, Nolan Johnson catches up with Charles Cohen of Fotofab about what the company does for the photonics industry, and how growth in the medical industry impacts his business.

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

This week, we’ve covered a variety of topics in our newsletters and websites. In my Top Five picks, we have quite a mixed bag of industry news and articles. In market reports, there’s good news from the North American PCB side of things, but bad news from the EMS segment, driven by long lead times and material shortages. We also have an article that gets down to the root cause, or causes, of the six-month lead time and price increases.

The EMS/Designer Relationship: Kelly's Story

In a recent discussion with John Vaughan and Kelly Dack, we explored how parts availability information can reverberate back to the design team in unexpected ways. In this part of the interview, Dack details how a parts availability issue can restart the design all the way back with the OEM design team.

Electronics Industry Summit With U.S. DoD Spawns More Dialogue, Collaboration

The U.S. Government, the electronics industry, and academia must continue to step up their joint efforts to address risks and gaps in the defense electronics supply chain.

How To Get Started With IIoT

Every company will have to decide just how much IIoT technology they want to bring into their environment, and how fast. In this article, we will offer some general advice and suggestions for those who want to experiment with a few IIoT devices before committing to a larger IIoT project.

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

I’m at DesignCon as I start pen this week’s must-reads. It’s good to be back in the convention centers, I have to say. In my last installment, I expressed the anticipation; I can now confirm that taking the pulse of our industry is so much easier when one is nearer the heartbeat.

A Deep Dive into Digital Twin

The I-Connect007 Editorial Team spoke with Aegis' Michael Ford to explore his vision and reality of the digital twin as a communication mechanism.

Factors Affecting Quality of Solder Joints in Multi-Busbar Interconnection

Tabbing and stringing is the dominant method in the market for making crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell modules. Soldering ribbons are used as an interconnection medium in this process on the four or five busbars of the front- and back-side metallization.
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