Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1372612
MAY 2021 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 35 We have several oth- er metrology tools. Con- focal microscopy is not used enough. People use SEMs for things that could be done with con- focal. Confocal is non-de- structive. We are focusing on non-destructive tools, not cross-sections, not SEMs that are gold sput- tered and things like that. Everything must be non- destructive in an Industry 4.0 factory so you can get these learning loops in place. You must throw out a lot of the experience and embrace the new tools; it's quite simple to put a scale or a tensiometer inside a machine to check weight. It really is, but nobody thought about it before and we're doing it. It's also quite simple to use confocal microscopy to measure a dimple or check the size of a feature. e units are quite cost-effective and they're very popular in oth- er industries; but in the circuit board industry we're kind of a strange bunch. Johnson: How retrofittable are those? Stepinski: Very easy. Matties: You need instant feedback if you want dynamic control over your process. Stepinski: We have many other tools in the works that are a little less developed, but this is the stuff already on the books that we're install- ing in our clients' factories. Matties: One thing that was kicking around in my mind is people look for standards, like the CFX standard that is coming out. On the PCB side, the CFX didn't really come into the bare board market. I've heard that they're going to try to move it in there, but all the action is re- ally on the assembly side. Do you see this be- coming an industry standard soware, or do you see this as a Beta/VHS kind of thing? Stepinski: e industry needs to step up and get these things standardized. One of the chal- lenges with standardization is, "Who should be in the room to do standardization?" at's probably the biggest barrier to getting stan- dards done because we could easily have In- dustry 4.0 soware standards in our market. If you've got too many people involved who have no clue what's going on, then the process can be slowed down until there's no point to it. Go to MIT and take a two-day course on what In- dustry 4.0 is. e course will cost you $3,600, and then you can participate meaningfully. If we had some qualifications to get into that IPC sponsored room, I think we could have this done in pretty short order, because there's a lot of smart people in our industry. Matties: We certainly appreciate your time. You're always so generous with your thoughts. We appreciate that, and it is well-deserved suc- cess. You've worked hard for this. Stepinski: anks. Really appreciate it. Matties: Robert, thank you very much. Zajac: ank you. PCB007 Laser confocal microscope image of a printed circuit board used for electrochemical testing. (Source: Surface Science Western)