A good library is built with an understanding of the manufacturing limits.

One of the primary factors in the quality of a printed circuit board design system is the makeup of the component footprints. The board can only be as good as the foundational pieces. Making it up as you go along is not a process for the long term. Errors or inconsistencies in the library account for a fair share of the feedback we receive from the fabricator. That is the wrong time to consider the fundamental building blocks of our collective occupation.

The source of the component footprints should be considered. A good cross-section of the supply chain provides the customer with schematic and layout symbols. This is, of course, to make it easier for us to implement their chips and other parts. CAD tools often come preloaded with a number of device examples to get you started.

Take those "freebies" with a grain of salt. One of the ways this kind of help can get in the way is in terms of traceability. One of the more important aspects of a good library is to have one and only one instance of a particular part. Naming conventions come into play here. Many, but not all, of the baseline libraries use naming conventions outlined by IPC-7351.

Mobile health is a pandemic-driven change that could benefit everyone.

The pandemic has driven countless changes in behavior, lifestyles, working patterns, and our values. Many of us are taking a keener interest in our health than before and we're using the technology in our pockets to help keep on top of our wellbeing. Mobile health, or m-health, is a growing market that already hit $60 billion in 2022 and is predicted to top $300 billion by 2030.

We know that the sooner we seek help with an illness, the better the prospects for a satisfactory outcome. Despite this, many of us, upon noticing any unusual signs, are inclined to "wait and see." That's usually less than ideal and sometimes has dire consequences. M-health not only permits better self-awareness by enabling continuous monitoring of our own vital signs, but can also overcome procrastination by automatically reporting any worrying signs as soon as they become apparent. A suitable response and – if necessary – a care plan can then be configured quickly, leading to faster recovery. Our devices can effectively take us to the (digital) doctor at the first sign of trouble. This should contribute to better health and longer lives for everyone. It may also reduce the overall load on healthcare services by helping more people avoid acute conditions that can be costly and time consuming to treat.

It's also clear that m-health will lead to an explosion in the quantity of potentially sensitive personal data gathered into the systems that manage our care. This is necessary to accumulate digital knowledge regarding the indicators for various conditions, so that systems can become progressively better at detecting illnesses in their early stages and recommending the best course of action. Moreover, this knowledge will be based on real case data and therefore should be accurate and unbiased.

Does the paste mixing methodology affect print performance?

Solder paste formulation technology has come a long way. What once had to be treated with precise handling – limited exposure time on the stencil, rotations, refrigeration protocols, etc. – even as early as 10 years ago has changed dramatically. Solder paste chemistries are so robust today, in fact, some don’t even require refrigeration.

Given this advancement, a recent conversation about some analysis our team performed was a bit surprising. During our printing evaluations, the solder paste material wasn’t processing as it should, so one of the material supplier’s application engineers came in to assist. We explained the problem and he asked, “Are you manually stirring the material or putting it in a machine to rotate?” When we responded that we were doing the latter, he said, “Don’t.”

Given how far paste material stability has progressed, this response had our team wondering if solder paste mixing was even necessary. Does it introduce variations into the stencil printing inputs that are best left alone? And, if mixing is required, is hand stirring superior to machine blending? Although we thought we knew the answers, we decided to test our hypotheses.

Observations from Malaysia and Thailand.

There has been a push of late by many OEM and EMS companies in the PCB industry – intensified by Covid and simmering trade and political tensions – to reduce the West's reliance on China for printed circuit board manufacturing.

In the past year, several of our customers, primarily from OEMs in the automotive, RF and testing industries, have asked for an "Out of China" or "China+1" strategy.

These customers have been buying boards from China for years for products or technology that does not fall under any export control.

So why the change now?

Concerns about IP protection and supply chain issues certainly factor in. But also, the optics of buying PCBs from China are not as favorable as they once were.

In that vein, we recently traveled to Thailand and Malaysia to search for PCB manufacturing facilities in those countries.