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FEATURES

• Buyers Guide
  2009-10 Circuits Assembly Buyers Guide
  Our annual guide to suppliers of equipment, materials and services for electronics assembly.

• Cover Story
  A Novel Six Sigma SnPb Solder Paste
  Although Six Sigma principles have been used in the industry for years, for the most part they have been applied to PWB fabrication or assembly processes – not to product development, and certainly not to soldering materials themselves. The recent development of a new SnPb solder paste, however, combined modern raw materials and the application of these principles.
  By Steve Ratner, Martin Lopez, John McMaster, Frank Murch and Mike Skrzat
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  The EMS sector's ongoing profit problem.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Talking Heads
  Sanmina-SCI’s Sundar Kamath talks alternative energies.
  Mike Buetow
• Focus on Business
  How program managers can beat the recession.
  Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

• Screen Printing
  The effect of printing and reflow on broadband boards.
  Dr. Rita Mohanty
• Reflow Soldering
  When wetting rears its ugly head, check for missing pads.
  Ursula Marquez de Tino
• Materials World
  Mitigating tin whisker risks through conformal coatings.
  Dr. Renzhe Zhao

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Product Spotlight
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the Cover:A new approach to solder paste development gets rid of "trial and error"