Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1202019
56 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2020 about each step of the process in the logical or- der that it happens. We'll cover the history of IPC, how to use standards, how PCBs are de- signed and made, solderability, cleaning, con- formal coating, reliability, and failure analysis. Even if it's not a comprehensive, deep dive in- to each topic, it will get you started. If it's your first time at the conference, and you walk into a technical session, it can be tough because speakers often use a lot of acronyms and don't have time to explain them; this is a terminolo- gy-heavy industry. I want to encourage people to get involved and make the most of their con- ference experience. Johnson: When I think of people who are de- signing PCBs, for example, who may not know the manufacturing process, they can sometimes make design decisions that are not manufac- turable because they don't know how it works from tank to tank and process to process. They don't have an awareness that the process is imprecise compared to what the CAD tool is going to tell them. I've had conversations in the past where someone says, "What do you mean you can't give me the six decimal points of accuracy? The CAD tool did." That was their perspective. Understanding the whole process is a critical part of being suc- cessful in the whole process. Sandy-Smith: Exactly. I still remember when I went to a board fabrication fa- cility with some new PCB designers; they were surprised and said, "Oh, each layer is manufactured separately and then stacked up!" That's a criti- cal thing to know when you're jump- ing into an industry where everyone is so experienced; those simple intri- cacies may be overlooked. I can't tell you how many times in my previous life as a solder expert where it was a revelation to someone that you heat up solder, and it melts; you don't put it there, and it's not like glue. It seems like something that's so basic if you already know it, but if you were never taught that, it's not a logical jump. It's something that I've been dreaming about ever since I've been in the industry because I know for the first few years when I attended conferences, terms and things being talked about would go over my head. You don't think about those things as much when they're hap- pening, but if I could have taken advantage of those learning experiences early on, that would have been so valuable and helped me understand better. Think about how much more anyone's employees would get from hav- ing all of the building blocks that you need for success. And when people come to these new ses- sions at the intersection, if they do want to dig deeper into a topic, they can go into the tech- nical conference, so I've introduced the single- session pass, so you can pay a session ticket to get into one session for $99 as a member. That way, if you want to go see your friend present, or you're super interested in a specific topic, like materials for space applications, you can sign up for that single-session pass. You don't have to go all in and buy the full conference pass; instead, you can come, test it out, and attend a presentation on a topic that floats your boat.