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2011 Issues

December 2011 cover

 

FEATURES

Retrospective
In Memoriam
2011 will likely be recalled as a transitive year, one in which we took stock of the pros and cons of various geographies and business models as we tried to come to grips with very uncertain economic times. It will also be recalled as the year we lost some of the industry’s biggest names from all ends of the design and manufacturing spectrum, from Steve Jobs to Werner Engelmaier. This month we reflect on their impact on our industry and our lives.

Stencils
SMT Stencils from a Production Perspective
The SMT stencil market is burgeoning with new materials, coatings and cutting technologies, all of which promise to improve the solder paste printing process. Which of these options really help assemblers keep yields up and costs down, and which are nothing more than techno-snake oil borne of marketing genius? An investigation took a comprehensive look at SMT stencils under volume manufacturing conditions.
by Chrys Shea

Automated Inspection
Implementing Good Test Coverage and Eliminating Escapes
Recent experiments on AOI, AXI and ICT in a production setting revealed multiple test coverages are ideal to ensure no escapes. The researchers found there is room to reduce testing coverage by studying detectable defects and testing yield, and a DPMO prediction can be made for a new assembly program.
by Gaosen Li, An Qi Zhao, Andrew Ho, Wei Wen, Zhen (Jane) Feng, Ph. D., Murad Kurwa, Haolee Yang and Liang Chen

 

 

FIRST PERSON

    • Caveat Lector
      Productive Productronica.
      Mike Buetow

 

  • Talking Heads
    DEK's Michael Brianda.
    Mike Buetow

 

MONEY MATTERS

    • ROI
      On the margin.
      Peter Bigelow
    • Focus on Business
      The real challenge of diversity.
      Susan Mucha

 

TECH TALK

  • Screen Printing
    Drawn to stencils.
    Clive Ashmore

  • Test and Inspection
    ICT costs.
    Sam Wong

  • Technical Abstracts
    In Case You Missed It.

October 2011 cover

 

FEATURES

Industrial Health
Evaluation of Employee Exposures at a PCB Plant
A confidential employee request for a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) at an electronics manufacturer specializing in PCB fabrication and assembly explains how third-party audits are initiated and reviews best-in-class controls for maintaining factory worker health.
by Srinivas Durgam, Chandran Achutan, Ph.D., Carlos Aristeguieta, M.D., and Maureen T. Niemeier

DfT
Smoothing the Layout to Test Flow
When layout and test take place under the same roof, determining the right strategy to increase test coverage for a given product becomes much easier, and ensures the end-product will be successfully tested.
by Zulki Khan

Dispensing
Solder Paste Jetting: A Broadband Solution
Recent product miniaturization breakthroughs have pushed stencil printing solder paste to its current process limits. Many different approaches can be taken to address this issue. A just-published study takes a step approach to understand the challenges associated with noncontact dispensing, better known as jetting, associated with both large-volume jetting and ultra-fine dot jetting.
by Rita Mohanty, Ph.D.

Component Qualification
Acoustic Screening to Remove Suspect Plastic Components
Most gap-type anomalies make no difference in the proper functioning or lifespan of the component. Some, though, depending on size and location within the package, can expand until they break a connection. A new technique to image the bulk of the mold compound in many sequential slices reveals the real dangers.
by Tom Adams

 

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    Packaged up.
    Mike Buetow

 

MONEY MATTERS

    • ROI
      Vertically challenged.
      Peter Bigelow
    • Sherman’s Market
      A stellar first half.
      Randall Sherman

 

TECH TALK

  • Defects Database
    Tapered stencil apertures.
    Dr. David DiMaio

  • Process Doctor
    Do away with DI.
    Dr. Harald Wack

  • Getting Lean
    When the ‘fix’ is worse than the cure.
    Michael Ford

  • Solar Technologies
    Wafer technology recipes.
    Tom Falcon

  • Materials World
    New TIM adhesives.
    Jie Bai

  • Technical Abstracts
    In Case You Missed It.

October 2011 cover

 

FEATURES

EMS Profile
Out of the Fire, ACD Heats Up
Years after its building went up in flames, the Dallas-area design service bureau has transformed into a fast-growing contract electronics assembler.
by Mike Buetow

Inspection
Why Does SPI Have Such Huge Tolerances?
Automated solder paste inspection, a must for most PCB assemblers, appears to use ridiculously wide specification limits. Most SPI program generators read a stencil Gerber file and set the target paste deposit volumes to 100% of the apertures’ theoretical volumes, with tolerances of +/-50% – a ridiculously enormous tolerance.
by Chrys Shea

 

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    Unrepressing transference.
    Mike Buetow

 

MONEY MATTERS

    • ROI
      Evolutionary approaches.
      Peter Bigelow
    • Focus on Business
      The sales funnel.
      Susan Mucha

 

TECH TALK

  • On the Forefront
    The importance of being thin.
    E. Jan Vardaman

  • Screen Printing
    Tighter paste particle distribution.
    Clive Ashmore

  • Tech Tips
    Tin whisker qualification.
    ACI Technologies Inc.

  • Test and Inspection
    Boundary scan: present and future.
    Tan Beng Chye

  • Process Doctor
    Agent informant.
    Dr. Harald Wack

  • Getting Lean
    Lean partnering.
    Chris Munroe

  • Technical Abstracts
    In Case You Missed It.

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