By Robert S. Mroczkowski
McGraw Hill
14 Chapters, 300 pages

Very few books dedicated to connectors exist. In fact, this is only the second book that I am aware of in the industry and the first that is a dedicated manual. The book covers, in detail, the many forms of interconnection with special attention paid to electrical and mechanical aspects. More discussions of applications would have been beneficial since the assembly issues were not fully addressed. It would have been helpful to have a section from AMP on pin-in-hole reflow for conventional parts since it is so pertinent right now.

The chapter on crimping and IDC assembly is one of the best I have seen. More space should, however, have been given to preparation of cables for all types of the compression joint. With this topic added, the book could then be used as a training manual for production staff as well as an engineer's manual.

The section on press fit was very interesting, but did not cover the use of different solder finishes on boards. The type of solder to be used is now a topic of debate. What should we use? Copper, tin/lead or gold? This title is, on the whole, a great reference book.

Electronics Manufacturing with Lead-Free, Halogen Free & Conductive Adhesive
By John Lau, Ricky Lee, Ning Chang Lee and Wong