Cleanliness is next to stickiness.

Tricks to eliminate exposed copper.

This month we look at solder pad coverage. Some quality engineers still want to see solder coverage, regardless of the PCB surface finish. If they see the original surface coating, they become concerned, regardless of what is stated in IPC standards.

In the case of NiAu (FIGURE 1), it is most likely the solder paste will reflow and wet the pad toe area right up to the solder mask. In the case of an organic surface protectant (FIGURE 2), the solder paste will reflow successfully, wetting the termination and pad, forming a reliable joint. However, the solder may not reflow and wet any farther than the original print area on the OSP coating on the pad.

Ask only for what you need for practical decision-making.

Not a day goes by that I am not asked, or demanded, to provide volumes of data on what appear to be trivial things. Between DFARS flow-downs, NIST protocols, Dodd/Frank requirements and AS/ISO documentation, the verification and validation needs have reached hyper levels. But as time spent providing these data grows exponentially, I keep returning to two simple questions: Does the requester really know what they need? And is the information provided truly accurate?

We are a product of our experiences. My career commenced in the mid-1970s. Then, I was the “young pup,” the gofer and protegee to more seasoned coworkers. That was the era when businesses were just starting to adopt computers as management tools. The hot new area in every large corporation was the “Management Information Systems” department. They had the sexy new mainframe computers that took up the entire basement, typed code on snazzy keypads, and were able to generate reams of reports containing tons of data.

Does artificial intelligence make you concerned for your job? Are humans at imminent risk of being replaced by robots, or even software-driven functions?

Kyle Miller says no and no.

Miller is head of a team of product developers at Zuken in Bristol, England, that is working on AI-based place-and-route technology. In addition to the 20-plus years spent in CAD tools, he has a doctorate in artificial intelligence, which means he’s a lot better at math than me or you.

Speaking at Zuken Innovation World in mid-April, Miller outlined the headway Zuken is making in machine-learning tools. The short answer: quite a bit. Machine learning-based programs are very good at pattern recognition and converting data into usable forms. Everyday uses include Google’s Android-based speech-to-text tools. ML is also apparently superior in finding and exploiting bugs in software, to the extent the developers of the space-flight simulation role-playing game known as Elite Dangerous had to eliminate the function after their game’s ML exploited a glitch to create an unstoppable weapon.