• View the Digital Edition

FEATURES

Apex Expo Recap
Let’s Get Small
At IPC Apex Expo this year, small was big. Benchtop was in and integration was all the rage at the annual North American trade show.
by Mike Buetow

Cover Story
Bridging Technology between Conventional 3D and TSV 3D Stacking
Two new multi-die DRAM packages have thin profiles and minimize wirebond length.
by Belgacem Haba, Ph.D.

SMT Automation
Robotics Assembly from Prototype to Production
Behind every robot is the manufacturing assembly process of how the robot was built. Here, the author details some key areas of the Benchmark Electronics’ Robotics manufacturing process, from a prototype or new-build stage to steady-state production.
by Scott Mazur

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Acquiring minds.
  Mike Buetow

• Talking Heads
  Gary Ferrari and the IPC-2221B.
  Mike Buetow

• Talking Heads
  EMS Business on Block, Woods Still Sees Bright Side.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  I will, I promise.
  Peter Bigelow

TECH TALK

• Selective Soldering
  To the point.
  Chris Denney

• Defects Database
  Check your shorts.
  Dr. Chris Hunt

• Test & Inspection
  Getting inline.
  Tian-Chiok Lian and Wee-Sheng Yong

• Getting Lean
  Line design.
  Edward Basconi and Victor Contreras

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.

• View the Digital Edition

FEATURES

Cover Story
Lead-Free Assembly Design for Manufacturability Considerations
The changeover to lead-free has brought with it serious implications for many key design rules. A look at the system-level management requirements and key DfM elements shown to improve overall yield, quality and reliability of high-complexity, high-reliability hardware.
by Matt Kelly and Mark Hoffmeyer, PH.D.

Factory Layout
‘U Turn’
How one EMS company slashed production time by half by switching from a straight line flow to a “U” shaped layout.
by Per Jennel

Quality Assurance
Availability Index and Minimized Reliability Costs
A model for quantifying how the total cost of improving and maintaining reliability can be minimized, and the relationship of that minimized cost to the availability index.
by Ephraim Suhir, Ph.D., and Laurent Bechou, PH.D.

ESD Basics
How Much Protection Is Enough?
Five questions to ask concerning ESD protection.
by The ESD Association

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Rethinking responsibility.
  Mike Buetow

• Talking Heads
  HDPUG’s Marshall Andrews.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  The great equalizer.
  Peter Bigelow

• Focus on Business
  Evaluating technology improvements.
  Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

• Designer’s Notebook
  Footprints' accuracy.
  W. Scott Fillebrown

• In Flex
  Reducing flex assembly thickness.
  Dale Wesselmann

• Screen Printing
  Material volumes.
  Clive Ashmore

• Selective Soldering
  Double row headers.
  Chris Denney

• Tech Tips
  Solvent approval.
  Brian Ellis

• Materials World
  Learning to love QFNs.
  Jie Bai

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.

• View the Digital Edition

FEATURES

RoHS Compliance
Can RoHS Conversion Actually Reduce Product Cost?
he initial conversion of consumer and other electronics to RoHS was painful and costly at all levels of the supply chain. But over the past six years, many valuable lessons have been learned that can ease the coming transition for the next wave of products pursuing compliance, not to mention older designs that need to be updated. A look at the keys to a successful, economically advantageous conversion.
by Philip DiVita, David Steele, John Kanavel and Chrys Shea

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Let’s get small.
  Mike Buetow

• Talking Heads
  Alpha’s Bruce Moloznik.
  Mike Buetow

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  25 and counting.
  E. Jan Vardaman

• ESD Basics
  Getting the Most from ESD Standards.
  The ESD Association

• Soldering
  ‘Stamp’ of approval.
  Al Cable

• Defects Database
  Probing BGA joints.
  Dr. Chris Hunt

• Getting Lean
  Formalizing risk mitigation.
  Steve McEuen

• Technical Abstracts
  In Case You Missed It.