JUNE 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 39
through without that being correct. There's no
interrupting.
Stepinski: I don't think you're ever going to get
rid of the translation piece up front. The chal-
lenge is somebody has to drive industry stan-
dardization. And the market kind of fights this
a bit. The market says, "Give us your order, and
we won't ask you a million questions." Some
people do things this way: "We'll solve these
problems for you, and you'll leave it alone."
Most designers have never built a circuit board,
and that's a big challenge if you're a fabricator
because there are multiple fabs that can build
products for somebody. You can't push back
too much because then they will go to some-
body else. And to me, these kinds of variables
prevent standardization.
Matties: It's not just a challenge for the fabrica-
tors; it's a large cost.
Stepinski: Not all people accept the challenge
from the fabricator. Why don't we try to do
this in a different way? Some people do, but
some don't. Some people want to send the de-
sign out at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday, have a nice
weekend, and don't want to get 20 questions.
They don't want to fill out your form, so the
data is all standardized. That's human nature.
Matties: With the margin so slim, though,
that's a large cost because—a lot of times—
you're putting all that effort in to make a quote
before you even get the job.
Stepinski: Yes, the only way you get through
that is if you share some of the savings with
the customer and give them a reason to work
with you on that or have a unique technical
offering that you can provide. It differentiates
you from the other person because they're
going to gravitate toward the path of least
resistance that can produce the parts.
Matties: That's my point. "Why do I need to
do it? The fabricators are going to take care of
it for me."
Stepinski: Right, and they'll go to the one that
does it for them. That's the nature of the mar-
ket for this. That's why we've never achieved
standardization in this area, and I don't think
we will.
Matties: Interesting. Alex, I always enjoy our
conversations. Thank you so much.
Stepinski: Thank you. PCB007
GreenSource Fabrication has made the news quite a bit over the last two years. Its innovative approach to PCB fabrication
developed at the New Hampshire facility has extended the boundaries in technology, configurability, automation, environ-
mental stewardship, and precision. Here is a sampling of some of I-Connect007's coverage of GreenSource Fabrication.
GreenSource Fabrication: Previous Coverage
• GreenSource: The Future by Nolan Johnson, PCB007 Magazine, October 2018
• GreenSource: Good for the Industry, Good for the World by I-Connect007 Editorial Team, PCB007 Magazine, March 2018
• GreenSource Fabrication Boosts HDI E-Test Capabilities With New atg A8a Tester PCB007: atg Luther & Maelzer, July 26, 2018
• GreenSource Fabrication: Redefining Automation PCB007 Magazine, October 2018
• Schmoll and Burkle: Lasers and Drills for GreenSource by Patty Goldman, PCB007 Magazine, October 2018
• GreenSource Fabrication Announces Acquisition of AWP Group PCB007: GreenSource Fabrication, December 17, 2018
• Automation Attracts: The New Guard to PCB Fabrication I-Connect007 Editorial Team, PCB007 Magazine, October 2018
• Ascentech GEN3 Bare Board Contamination Tester at GreenSource PCB007: Ascentech LLC, March 13, 2019
• Alex Stepinski: GreenSource Fabrication Update by Barry Matties, PCB007 Magazine, January 2020
