Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/597087
10 The PCB Magazine • November 2015 pATTy's perspeCTive Patricia Goldman is a 30+ year veteran of the PcB industry, with experience in a variety of areas, including r&D of imaging tech- nologies, wet process engineering, and sales and marketing of PWB chemistry. She has worked actively with IPc since 1981 and served as taec chairman, and is also the co-author of numerous technical papers. to contact goldman, click here. We also asked how you turn data into useful and right action. Most of these answers were a little vague, suggesting that many of you aren't quite sure what to do with the data you col- lect. And some of you mentioned, "Too much data!" To help you with your data and IoT issues, we've got some great articles for you this month. Jason Marsh of Insulectro starts us off with the big picture, or as he calls it, the 50,000-foot view of the Internet of Things. He not only presents it in a very readable way, he succeeds in bring- ing IoT home and explains what it means to the PCB industry (good things!). This will get you charged up. Next, Steve Williams gets down to brass tacks with regard to analyzing data. He explains statistical methods, and why you should use them. He gets right in the trenches with you and makes it easy to understand. Dave Becker of All Flex gets right to the practical side of things with a discussion of wet process control in a PCB facility, including the most important parameters to be measuring and controlling. In some areas, though, identifying which data to collect is not as obvious. If this has you a little baffled, be sure to read Dave Dibble's commentary on what and how to measure, fol- lowed by some advice on what to do with your results. Now, because some of you have been ask- ing for more technical articles, I am pleased to offer several in this issue. Thomas Gottwald and Christian Rößle of Schweizer Electronic AG have written about the challenges of power elec- tronics, from substrate requirements through assembly. They also present some technologies that address these issues. In his column, Karl Dietz revisits digital im- aging—it's not just laser anymore. Then, Dirk Muller of Coherent Inc. provides a detailed over- view of the various types of lasers used for mak- ing vias and how to decide which one to use. Finally, we have what may be best described as an article of interest. Doug Bathauer of In- tegral Technologies talks about disruptive tech- nologies and their effect on companies, using conductive polymers in the automotive indus- try as his case in point. Once again, all three of our e-magazines have this same data focus. Do check out the others for more perspectives on this sometimes difficult-to-get-your-arms-around subject: SMT Magazine and The PCB Design Magazine. To wrap up the year, in December we will be exploring the nitty-gritty of our industry's as- sociations—IPC, SMTA, IEC, CPCA and a host of others. Be sure to tune back in. I hope by now you have subscribed so you can get it (and our newsletters) delivered right to your virtual door/mailbox. PCB references 1. Forbes.com DATA, DATA AnD More DATA!