• View the Digital Edition
  

FEATURES

• ATE Boards
  Processes for Building Test Boards
  Test load board assembly has unique nuances and quirks that most assemblers may not properly translate.
  by Marilyn Ta
  

• KeyTronicEMS
  Of Mice and Men
  In the topsy-turvey world of electronics manufacturing services, KeyTronicEMS has turned 23 straight quarterly profits. For its unique but systematic approach to the EMS rollercoaster, and its stellar performance in all types of environments, KeyTronicEMS is our 2009 EMS Company of the Year.
  by Mike Buetow
  

• Paste Deposition
  Optimizing Solder Paste Printing
  Counterintuitively, the trend analysis shows keep-out distance has little or no effect on paste transfer efficiency and height for 0402 and SOP type pads.
  by the iNEMI Solder Paste Deposition Group
  

• Cover Story
  PoP Assembly Process Fundamentals
  Package stacking is proving ideal for a variety of applications requiring greater functionality, higher performance and a smaller footprint: Stacking pre-tested package sections enables a high degree of flexibility for designers, permitting virtually any combination of memory to be combined with any logic chipset.
  by Vern Solberg and Phil Damberg
  

• Retrospective
  In Memoriam
  A look back at friends and colleagues who left us in 2009.
  by Mike Buetow
  

• Circuits Assembly 2010 Buyers Guide

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Productronica productive, foretelling.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Sherman's Market
  The near-term EMS market.
  Randall Sherman

TECH TALK

• Screen Printing
  Practical printer/dispensers.
  Clive Ashmore

• Selective Soldering
  Avoing cross-contamination.
  Ursula Marquez de Tino, Ph.D.

• Wave Soldering Troubleshooting
  Wave's sizzle is no tasty sound.
  Paul Lotosky

• The Defects Database
  Don't let microsectioning destroy the hole.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio, Ph.D.

• Test and Inspection
  OEMs still drive test technology.
  Jun Balangue

• Process Doctor
  Reacting to 'reactivity.'
  Harald Wack, Ph.D.

• Getting Lean
  'Testing' Lean strategies.
  Chris Munroe

DEPARTMENTS

Off the Shelf

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FEATURES

• Paste Printing
  Overlooked Features of Stencil Printers
  Some PCB assemblers opt not to use vision inspection and other major stencil printer features, as well as setup process techniques. Yet several problems can occur if a vision inspection isn’t deployed.
  by Alex del Rosario
  

• Cover Story
  Tin Whisker Observations
  Tin whiskers are known to be a hairy problem, with the potential to cause transient or catastrophic electrical short circuits. Here, Raytheon and industry colleagues reveal the observations and SEM images of tin whiskers captured during a series of investigations and experiments aimed at better understanding their growth, evaluating associated reliability risks, and developing mitigation techniques.
  by Robert R. Ogden and Robert F. Champaign
  

• Process Control
  Minimizing Solder Paste Printing Variation
  Research into printing process factors finds the stencil blade angle affects the overall time the paste spends over the aperture, as well as the maximum filling pressure. Both characteristics have a significant effect on the resultant aperture fill.
  by George Babka
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  A sticky mess.
  Mike Buetow
• Talking Heads
  Tessera’s Craig Mitchell.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Focus on Business
  Focused government investment can have a positive impact on business.
  Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  TSV adoption.
  E. Jan Vardaman
• Screen Printing
  Edge clamps and paste transfer.
  Dr. Rita Mohanty
• Selective Soldering
  ‘Dropping’ in on Pb-free alloys.
  Ursula Marquez de Tino and Brian Roggeman
• Wave Soldering Troubleshooting
  Avoiding icicles’ chill.
  Paul Lotosky
• The Defects Database
  PTH corner cracks.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio
• Test and Inspection
  Implementing the 5DX.
  Barbara Koczera
• Process Doctor
  Cleaning creep corrosion.
  Terry Munson
• Tech Tips
  ‘Fixed’ on pallets.
  ACI Technologies Inc.
• Materials World
  Underfill reworkability.
  Jie Bai
• Technical Abstracts
  In case you missed it.

DEPARTMENTS

Off the Shelf

• View the Digital Edition
  

FEATURES

• Cover Story
  Cleaning COTS Parts in Military Applications
  Commercial off-the-shelf components are incompatible with high-rel processes.
  by W. John Wolfgong, Ph.D.
  

• EMS Management
  Best Practices in Contract Manufacturing
  Though different in size and scope, these six companies have long track records of success.
  by Randall Sherman, Dave Leone and Frank Klomp
  

• iNemi Roadmap
  Keeping Connected
  Connector technology still grapples with smaller platforms, higher speeds and placement issues.
  by John MacWilliams
  

• Reflow Soldering
  Anatomy of a Correct Thermal Profile
  Complex, BGA-laden PCBs demand one-of-a-kind profiles.
  by Simon Ilustre
  

• EMS Service Trends
  Trends In Prototyping Service Needs
  What drives them and how can design teams optimize the process?
  by Duane Benson
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  One-stop shopping.
  Mike Buetow
• Talking Heads
  Why a top five fabricator sees value in diversification.
  Mike Buetow

TECH TALK

• Screen Printing
  Combining clamping and snugging in a single board handling method.
  Clive Ashmore
• Reflow Soldering
  Larger pads and better PCB layout will reduce strain.
  Ursula Marquez de Tino, Ph.D. and Brian Roggeman
• Wave Soldering Troubleshooting
  If solder isn’t reaching the components, check these areas.
  Paul Lotosky
• The Defects Database
  What look like open BGA joints might be tricks of the light.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio
• Process Doctor
  Chemistry cleaning trials should be conducted prior to equipment selection.
  Harald Wack, Ph.D.
• Tech Tips
  Special software permits factory floor adjustments, potentially saving capital investments.
  ACI Technologies Inc.
• Test and Inspection
  Five ICT tools for limited access testing.
  Andrew Tek
• Solar Technologies
  The two primary ways need more repeatable accuracy.
  Darren Brown
• Technical Abstracts
  In case you missed it.

DEPARTMENTS

Off the Shelf