Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1221561
86 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2020 Watson: It has much more of an impact on the beginning of the project than it does later on because everything is lined up waiting for this hardware and ready to move forward with that prototype. That's the reason why I was on the phone with Germany this morning: They were a day behind. I asked them some very serious questions about what was going on with the delay. Matties: That's typically their issue, not yours. Watson: Right. A lot of times, the biggest issue is the procurement of parts, especially when you're doing a quick prototype. When you have a fabrication that only takes a day or two, especially a simple four-layer board, you're do- ing a day or two of fabrication, and you have a day or two to get parts in. Holden: When we wanted to beat everybody in time to market, one of the big problems was that the time delay in getting a solder paste stencil was two weeks. Somehow, they magi- cally couldn't get that time down in the printed circuit, so we put the solder paste on while it was still in the board shop at the panel level. The prototypes never have any solder paste stencils; they flux, place the part, and reflow. That saves all of these days that our competi- tors put in that we never had. Think outside the box and consider how you can get past the bottleneck. Watson: They have solder paste stencils now. I understand that they're 3D printed onto the board. Holden: But they don't print it at the board lev- el, where you have all the things already in the panel. That's a much higher resolution when it's a panel. That was one reason we were al- ways interested in jetting solder paste rather than stencil; however, it interferes with the components, but not in the bare board state because there are no components at the bare board state. The simplest solution is right here, not fighting the powers that be. Matties: When you have a string of vendors lined up, and you're a day late, that hurts. Watson: For every fabrication and assembly build, we do a post-mortem analysis cover- ing how well we did and what issues arose. We find the root cause of the problem and try not to do that again. A lot of that is done now through managing projects in Altium and the collaboration tools. Everything is documented inside the PCB design. If we have problems, then that communication about solutions hap- pens inside. Holden: I think the key thing is you have a post- mortem. We had a post-mortem after every de- sign at HP. We would review the problem and write down how we could do this better and faster the next time. Watson: Those post-mortems are fantastic be- cause that's where you start to analyze your- self, including how well you did and what the issues were. Matties: This is where the truth really matters, though. You have to realize you're attacking the process and not the people because when they feel so connected to their work, it's hard not to take it personally. Watson: Right. And you constantly keep trying to improve that process. Matties: Thank you for your time, John. Watson: This has been great. Thank you all. PCB007 A lot of times, the biggest issue is the procurement of parts, especially when you're doing a quick prototype.