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FEATURES

Reflow Soldering
Thermal Profiling Small PCBs
Every board, no matter the size, shape or thickness, requires a unique thermal profile for a perfect assembly process. Paste type needs to be accounted for, as does thermocouple placement. Consider these rules-of-thumb for optimizing the profile.
by Simon Ilustre

ECTC RECAP
Out on Safari at ECTC
Attendance jumped at the annual component technology show, spurred by interest in 2.5D packaging.
by Sandra Winkler

EMS Sourcing
Why Mexico (Again) Matters
As wages continue to rise in China and fuel costs escalate worldwide, some North American manufacturers are reevaluating their global operations to determine if production locations are optimal, reinvigorating discussion over whether China or Mexico is best for lower-cost production.
by Tonya Vinas

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Model behavior.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  No such thing as too big to fail.
  Peter Bigelow

• Global Sourcing
  Rebalancing the supply chain.
  Wally Johnson

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  Not your father's MCM.
  E. Jan Vardaman

• Getting Lean
  Standardization vs. customization.
  Chris Munroe

• Test and Inspection
  Overlapping test strategies.
  Andrew Tek

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.