PCB007 Magazine

PCB-Apr2016

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10 The PCB Magazine • April 2016 Becker of All Flex Flexible Circuits explains in his column. Perhaps not to be used lightly or for a quick fix, but a very useful tool for your process improvement toolbox. As you can see, a good amount of process engineering involves process improvement and process streamlining, which is the essence of Lean and, as Steve Williams of the Right Ap- proach shows us, not that complicated; in fact most of it is good old common sense. We have a great technical article for you this month from Eva McDermott, et. al., of Amphe- nol Printed Circuit Board Technology, on the long-term thermal reliability of PCB materials. Just the sort of valuable, detailed study that en- gineers do (and yes, she is one). Next month we will be focusing on strate- gies to reduce handling errors—and we're not just talking automation. See you then! PCB Patricia Goldman is a 30+ year veteran of the PCB industry, with experience in a variety of areas, including R&D of imaging technologies, wet process engineering, and sales and marketing of PWB chemistry. Active with IPC since 1981, Goldman has chaired numerous committees and served as TAEC chairman, and is also the co-author of numerous technical papers. To contact Goldman, click here. I am still trying to believe really happened. I am now an IPC Ambassador! But let's talk more about this issue. I've start- ed us off with Joe Fjelstad of Verdant Electronics who likens PCB process engineers to a "Delta Force." He gives us a great feel for what it is that a process engineer does and needs to do. His column should inspire and encourage all those in the figurative trenches, plus he points out some newly available resources. This is followed by RBP Chemical's Mike Carano, back in action after a hiatus, with a fine article on troubleshooting. Mike is certainly an expert on this subject; he chairs the IPC Process Effects subcommittee and they have recently is- sued the latest rev of the troubleshooting guide, IPC-9121 "Troubleshooting for Printed Board Fabrication Processes," the first since 1997. Definitely a must have volume for every PCB manufacturer's bookcase. Departing slightly from his usual testing subjects, Gardien's Todd Kolmodin gives us a wonderful, step-by-step guide to building and maintaining a robust process, stressing the im- portance of each step along the way. Next, our newest columnist, Renato Peres of Circuibras in Brazil goes into some detail on DMAIC methodology used in Six Sigma. He in- cludes the kind of practical, down-to-earth ad- vice that process engineers want and need, hav- ing been there himself. Another technique used in continuous im- provement efforts is a Kaizen event, as Dave a salute to proCess engineers

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