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Retrospective
In Memoriam
2011 will likely be recalled as a transitive year, one in which we took stock of the pros and cons of various geographies and business models as we tried to come to grips with very uncertain economic times. It will also be recalled as the year we lost some of the industry’s biggest names from all ends of the design and manufacturing spectrum, from Steve Jobs to Werner Engelmaier. This month we reflect on their impact on our industry and our lives.

Stencils
SMT Stencils from a Production Perspective
The SMT stencil market is burgeoning with new materials, coatings and cutting technologies, all of which promise to improve the solder paste printing process. Which of these options really help assemblers keep yields up and costs down, and which are nothing more than techno-snake oil borne of marketing genius? An investigation took a comprehensive look at SMT stencils under volume manufacturing conditions.
by Chrys Shea

Automated Inspection
Implementing Good Test Coverage and Eliminating Escapes
Recent experiments on AOI, AXI and ICT in a production setting revealed multiple test coverages are ideal to ensure no escapes. The researchers found there is room to reduce testing coverage by studying detectable defects and testing yield, and a DPMO prediction can be made for a new assembly program.
by Gaosen Li, An Qi Zhao, Andrew Ho, Wei Wen, Zhen (Jane) Feng, Ph. D., Murad Kurwa, Haolee Yang and Liang Chen

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Productive Productronica.
  Mike Buetow

• Talking Heads
  DEK's Michael Brianda.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  On the margin.
  Peter Bigelow

• Focus on Business
  The real challenge of diversity.
  Susan Mucha
  

TECH TALK

• Screen Printing
  Drawn to stencils.
  Clive Ashmore
  

• Test and Inspection
  ICT costs.
  Sam Wong
  

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.

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Industrial Health
Evaluation of Employee Exposures at a PCB Plant
A confidential employee request for a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) at an electronics manufacturer specializing in PCB fabrication and assembly explains how third-party audits are initiated and reviews best-in-class controls for maintaining factory worker health.
by Srinivas Durgam, Chandran Achutan, Ph.D., Carlos Aristeguieta, M.D., and Maureen T. Niemeier

DfT
Smoothing the Layout to Test Flow
When layout and test take place under the same roof, determining the right strategy to increase test coverage for a given product becomes much easier, and ensures the end-product will be successfully tested.
by Zulki Khan

Dispensing
Solder Paste Jetting: A Broadband Solution
Recent product miniaturization breakthroughs have pushed stencil printing solder paste to its current process limits. Many different approaches can be taken to address this issue. A just-published study takes a step approach to understand the challenges associated with noncontact dispensing, better known as jetting, associated with both large-volume jetting and ultra-fine dot jetting.
by Rita Mohanty, Ph.D.

Component Qualification
Acoustic Screening to Remove Suspect Plastic Components
Most gap-type anomalies make no difference in the proper functioning or lifespan of the component. Some, though, depending on size and location within the package, can expand until they break a connection. A new technique to image the bulk of the mold compound in many sequential slices reveals the real dangers.
by Tom Adams

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Packaged up.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  Vertically challenged.
  Peter Bigelow

• Sherman’s Market
  A stellar first half.
  Randall Sherman
  

TECH TALK

• Defects Database
  Tapered stencil apertures.
  Dr. David DiMaio
  

• Process Doctor
  Do away with DI.
  Dr. Harald Wack
  

• Getting Lean
  When the ‘fix’ is worse than the cure.
  Michael Ford

• Solar Technologies
  Wafer technology recipes.
  Tom Falcon

• Materials World
  New TIM adhesives.
  Jie Bai

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.

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EMS Profile
Out of the Fire, ACD Heats Up
Years after its building went up in flames, the Dallas-area design service bureau has transformed into a fast-growing contract electronics assembler.
by Mike Buetow

Inspection
Why Does SPI Have Such Huge Tolerances?
Automated solder paste inspection, a must for most PCB assemblers, appears to use ridiculously wide specification limits. Most SPI program generators read a stencil Gerber file and set the target paste deposit volumes to 100% of the apertures’ theoretical volumes, with tolerances of +/-50% – a ridiculously enormous tolerance.
by Chrys Shea

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Unrepressing transference.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  Evolutionary approaches.
  Peter Bigelow

• Focus on Business
  The sales funnel.
  Susan Mucha
  

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  The importance of being thin.
  E. Jan Vardaman
  

• Screen Printing
  Tighter paste particle distribution.
  Clive Ashmore
  

• Tech Tips
  Tin whisker qualification.
  ACI Technologies Inc.
  

• Test and Inspection
  Boundary scan: present and future.
  Tan Beng Chye
  

• Process Doctor
  Agent informant.
  Dr. Harald Wack
  

• Getting Lean
  Lean partnering.
  Chris Munroe
  

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.