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2006 Issues

FEATURES

  • Procurement
    'Re-Sourcing' Outsourced Electronics
    It's called a "priceberg": 80% of the risk may be hidden below the waterline in startup and ramp-down, where management costs per units sold tend to be the highest. Building a harmonious, minimally disruptive dual-sourcing strategy requires an understanding of priceberg composition.
    Ed Grimes

  • Customer Service
    What Your Field Service Representative Wants You to Know
    They are like firefighters. When you need them, you need them now. The results can be tense, technical – and funny.
    Frank Murch

  • PCB Design Trends
    Understanding Outsourced PCB Layout
    Here are an EMS provider's insights into the stages of PCB layout, for which key components include corporate standards and OEM-EMS collaboration.
    Paul Barsley

  • Cover Story
    Maintaining Customer Satisfaction during EMS Acquisition Integration
    Customers of EMS firms aren't buying an end product; they are buying the capabilities, systems, processes and internal culture used to manufacture their product. This in turn puts pressure on the EMS company to manage expectations – and move quickly.
    Todd Baggett

  • Case Study: Preforms
    In the Hot Zone
    In the competitive oil and gas drilling industry, a project's success – and a company's reputation – can hinge on seemingly insignificant variables such as a few degrees of temperature on a circuit board. That was quite literally the issue facing a major oil-exploration company as it performed data-collection tests at a client's wells sunk deep in the Indian Ocean.
    Cheryl Ross

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    Where will you be next fall?
    Mike Buetow

  • Talking Heads
    Juki Automation Systems' Bob Black.
    Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

  • Focus on Business
    Formal programs for sharing customer information.
    Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

  • On the Forefront
    Anorexic packaging.
    E. Jan Vardaman

  • Screen Printing
    Automated stencil inspection.
    Clive Ashmore

  • Better Manufacturing
    Getting what you want.
    Peter Grundy

  • Tech Tips
    Lowering wire bonding defect rates below 100 ppm.
    American Competitiveness Institute

  • Wave Soldering
    The role of eutectics.
    Gerjan Diepstraten

  • Test and Inspection
    Using x-ray laminography on PTH joints.
    Jeremy Jessen

  • Process Doctor
    Dendritic growth.
    Terry Munson

  • Equipment Advances
    Inovaxe's inventory control tools.

  • Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Assembly Insider
Product Spotlight
Classifieds
Ad Index

On the cover: EPIC's wave solder equipment changes profiles based on each assembly's bar codes. (Photo courtesy EPIC Technologies)

FEATURES

  • Nickel Stencils
    Improvements in Pb-free Stencils
    When screen printing with Pb-free solder pastes, stencils made from pure nickel or a nickel alloy help to achieve paste transfer efficiency comparable to the levels achieved using SnPb pastes with stainless steel laser-cut stencils. Combined with the efficiencies of a framemounted interchangeable foil stencil system, nickel is the optimal medium for process repeatability and productivity.
    Clive Ashmore and Michael Zahn

  • Placement Software
    New Tools for High-Mix Manufacturers
    Though the speed and accuracy of modern component placement systems still factor greatly in equipment evaluation, software is emerging as a differentiator. Here, a major EMS company discusses how use of new software helped it cut NPI setup by 1.5 to 2 times.
    David Garfield and Steve Bowen

  • Cover Story
    Key Issues in Supporting Customers Not Transitioning To Pb-Free
    Many OEMs need to sustain leaded products for reasons of cost or reliability. This article looks at challenges associated with products that are not transitioning to Pb-free and suggests considerations for both the EMS company and the OEM.
    Curt Williams

  • Case Study
    Finding Hidden Placement Problems
    High-mix, low volume EMS companies spend large amounts of time in machine setup and changeover. Using a special technology that measures machine accuracy, one EMS provider was able to improve its placement machine accuracy.
    Kary Voegele

  • DfM Trends
    Practical Steps to Reduce Total Cost of Ownership
    From R&D to boxbuild, the telecom equipment supply chain is highly complex. Yet many OEMs fail to bring their EMS providers into the process until a new product is ready for volume production. Here’s how to fix that.
    Petra Ebner

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    A Speedline solution.
    Mike Buetow

  • Letters

  • Talking Heads
    Kyzen's Tom Forsythe.
    Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

  • Global Sourcing
    Labeling China.
    Chelsey Drysdale

TECH TALK

  • Screen Printing
    Process verification and tracking.
    Joe Belmonte

  • Better Manufacturing
    Reliable Pb-free joints: An oxymoron?
    Phil Zarrow

  • Tech Tips
    Attachments to "die" for.
    American Competitiveness Institute

  • Wave Soldering
    Pb-free coatings and alloy combinations.
    Gert Schouten

  • Test and Inspection
    Custom test plans.
    Shebetey Alkhasov

  • Process Doctor
    Rescuing failed hardware.
    Terry Munson

  • Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Assembly Insider
Industry News
Market Watch
Ad Index
Product Spotlight

On the cover: How to accomodate OEMs that are sticking with lead solder. (Photo by Gino Santa Maria, 2006)

FEATURES

  • Test and Inspection
    Evaluating ROI of AXI vs. AOI
    A model for calculating savings from reduced DPMO against equipment investment costs clearly demonstrates that the economic benefits of either technology depend upon the board complexity, throughput, labor costs, cost of field failures and returns, and equipment performance, as well as capital equipment, programming and operating costs.
    Keith Fairchild

  • Supplier Sourcing
    Prototype vs. Production Outsourcing
    When outsourcing PCBs, OEM procurement staff must fully understand the differences and nuances associated with prototype and production manufacturing, regardless of where those services are situated.
    Zulki Khan

  • Board Finishes
    Pb-Free Hot Air Leveled Solder Coatings
    A series of tests from wetting balance to copper dissolution show that the most popular Pb-free pastes work better with HAL versus other common finishes.
    Howard Stevens and Nimal Liyanage, Ph.D.

  • Cover Story
    Simulating Pb-Free Reflow
    Computational fluid dynamics simulation of the reflow oven makes it possible to design PCBs for Pb-free manufacturing by predicting thermal gradients during solder reflow processing.
    Sherman Ikemoto and Robin Bornoff

  • The Dover Deals
    'Confusion and Clarity'
    As a new owner – Francisco Partners – enters the scene, what's in store for Universal, Vitronics and Unovis?
    Mike Buetow

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    The downside of higher stocks.
    Mike Buetow

  • Talking Heads
    TXP's Eric Miscoll.
    Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

  • Focus on Business
    Preventative maintenance.
    Dr. Jonathan Linton

TECH TALK

  • Screen Printing
    Printer customization considerations.
    Joe Belmonte

  • Better Manufacturing
    When Lean goes too far.
    Phil Zarrow

  • Soldering Tips
    To flip, or not to flip?
    American Competitiveness Institute

  • Wave Soldering
    Configurations for soldering conveyor angles.
    Gert Schouten

  • Equipment Advances
    Assembléon's "A" series of placement machines.

  • Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Assembly Insider
Ad Index
Product Spotlight

On the cover: Predicting thermal gradients during reflow. (Photo courtesy Flomerics)

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