Observations from Malaysia and Thailand.

There has been a push of late by many OEM and EMS companies in the PCB industry – intensified by Covid and simmering trade and political tensions – to reduce the West's reliance on China for printed circuit board manufacturing.

In the past year, several of our customers, primarily from OEMs in the automotive, RF and testing industries, have asked for an "Out of China" or "China+1" strategy.

These customers have been buying boards from China for years for products or technology that does not fall under any export control.

So why the change now?

Concerns about IP protection and supply chain issues certainly factor in. But also, the optics of buying PCBs from China are not as favorable as they once were.

In that vein, we recently traveled to Thailand and Malaysia to search for PCB manufacturing facilities in those countries.

An unchecked rise in automation could equal a decrease in quality of life.

They say that the more things change the more they stay the same. Sometimes, perhaps, but not all the time – especially when people are involved.

For ages, people have strived for a good lifestyle. In ancient times, simply surviving – literally – might have been the definition of a good lifestyle. Over time, the definition has pivoted, influenced by the times in which people were living. For over a hundred years, people took both the short- and long-term view when defining their lifestyle. Short term, the idea was to have a good job, one that paid as well as possible, provided upward potential for both compensation and responsibility while also offering a level of stability, so one did not have to worry every day, week or month "if" they would have that job.

Most in our industry entered it because they saw a potential for growth – personal growth, as well as growth for the organization with which they were working. Most also started in an entry-level position and through hard work, observation and learning, could either become an expert in the area or on the equipment/process they operate, or be promoted to managing process, people or both. And while living in this short-term lifestyle called a career, people also built a life that in the long term provided a comfortable and happy environment for themselves and their family. Some call this the American dream, but I view it as a global vision, one shared by citizens around the world.

It's far past time to use the complete power of the tool to your advantage.

Design automation is one of my favorite topics. When I think of design automation, what first comes to mind are three words: optimization, efficiency and speed. Some design engineers and layout professionals are reluctant to learn new technology to design better, faster and more efficiently in the quest for delivering a quality product to market at the lowest engineering and manufacturing cost. Earlier in my career, I too was reluctant to give in to automation when it came to designing PCBs. I recall, about 20 years ago, I was under a typical project deadline in the project design cycle. You know what I'm talking about: "We need it done today! Oh, and by the way, we have more design changes for you to implement, but we still need it completed and released today!"

It was during that type of project for a specific aerospace customer where I made the decision to use automation to route signal traces. For the first time in my career, I used the autorouting feature in my tool. Talk about an uneasy feeling, like a stomach cramp. It was gut-wrenching to let go of my manual approach for designing PCBs, especially knowing I was under a very stressful and tight project time constraint. In the end, and to my surprise and amazement, I managed to successfully implement autorouting. By doing so, I managed to finish earlier than expected, which shocked the EE I was working with, along with everyone else on the project ... and I came in with several alternate versions of the same design for the EE to choose from. Success! What a feeling! One of the highlights of my career, for sure. I have never looked back. To this day, more than ever, I stress harnessing the horsepower of the CAD tools and using their capabilities to your advantage.

Automating inspection in secondary assembly operations.

One of the first lessons in quality management is the difference between quality assurance and quality control. Quality assurance focuses on eliminating defect opportunities before they occur, while quality control focuses on inspection strategies that eliminate defects before they escape the factory. There is universal agreement that quality assurance is more cost effective than quality control. Lean manufacturing principles are based on a quality assurance focus. That said, use of automated inspection equipment has been growing dramatically in recent years because increasing density and complexity in printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) is driving the need for a blended quality assurance/quality control approach that includes mass inspection.

Over the past 18 months, SigmaTron International's facility in Tijuana, Mexico, has been exploring the best way to automate inspection and integrate the captured data into real-time corrective action throughout its entire PCBA assembly process. A July 2022 PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY column, "An Industry 4.0 Approach to Employing 3-D AOI on an SMT Line," discussed the journey of integrating Industry 4.0 capabilities in a Lean Six Sigma framework in this facility's SMT area. Once that phase was completed, implementation of 3-D AOI capability began in secondary assembly work cells. Typical secondary assembly operations include soldering cables and components such as switches which can't be reflowed, adding rubber caps and placing QR labels.