2018 Magazine Archives

FEATURES

TEARDOWNS
Acer AH101 Mixed Reality VR Headset
The Acer Windows Mixed Reality virtual reality headset is small and light, with double-sided SMT and lots of flex circuits.
by Mike Buetow

MARKET FOCUS
AR/VR: The New Interfaces of Humans
The AR/VR market will grow in an augmented way, and the reality will not be a virtual one.
by Abhijit Ankalkote

HARSH ENVIRONMENTS
The Use of Particle Impact Dampers (PID) to Prevent Damage from Vibration
Excessive vibration causes premature component failure and damage to PCB assemblies in harsh environments. Such vibration and consequent failures can be mitigated using new NASA-invented devices.
by Martin Hart and Ron Hunt

STENCIL PRINTING
The Importance of Stencil Tension for High-Yield SMT Printing
An investigation of how stencil tension and condition of the foil influence the overall printing process.
by Michael Burgess and Laszlo Gyalog

SUPPLY CHAIN
Tier 3 EMS Success Creates an Unavoidable Conundrum
With factory expansion comes the time-intensive task of filling the new capacity. And that’s where many smaller EMS companies fall down.
by Joseph Fama

FIRST PERSON

• CAVEAT LECTOR
  Breaking the contraction cycle.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  Millennials, your time to take charge is now.
  Peter Bigelow
  

• FOCUS ON BUSINESS
  Has Trump been good for business?
  Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

• SCREEN PRINTING
  Automated paste management.
  Clive Ashmore
• GETTING LEAN
  A deep dive into data distribution.
  John Borneman
• TEST AND INSPECTION
  Inspecting arrays.
  David Bernard, Ph.D.
• TECH TIPS
  The multilayer PCB fabrication process.
  Akber Roy
• DEFECTS DATABASE
  Testing leadless parts.
  Martin Wickham
• View the Digital Edition