40 The PCB Design Magazine • May 2016
Green Legislation and the Impact on
Electronic Materials and Processes
In general, "green" and "environmentally friend-
ly" refer to manufacturing that involves the re-
placement of toxic substances with less toxic ma-
terials, the elimination of materials or processing
steps, less consumption of chemicals (i.e., more
efficient or higher yield processing), reduction of
water use, reduction of energy use…
Williams and Beaulieu: Board Shops
and CMs Must Communicate Better
Two well-known consultants in the PCB industry,
Dan Beaulieu and Steve Williams, have joined forc-
es to try to help close the divide between CMs and
board shops. I recently sat down with them at IPC
APEX EXPO 2016 to better learn about their strat-
egy for bringing the two sides together.
IPC President John Mitchell on the Past,
Present, and Future, Pt. 2
In Part 2 of our on-the-show-floor interview with
John Mitchell, conducted at IPC APEX EXPO 2016,
John continues describing IPC's key measures, and
then invites industry folks who are reading this to
participate in a unique challenge—some might say
experiment. The question is, will there be any takers?
Rep. Mike Honda Visits Bay Area Circuits'
California Facility
"I am grateful to Bay Area Circuits for hosting me
today," said Congressman Honda. "It's great to
hear from the employees that have played a vital
role in the company's success. It's a reminder of
the contributions they make to this country's and
California's economy."
The Sum of All Parts: Total Concept—
Growing for the Future
Last month, we discussed the importance of the
PCB industry's need to focus on a "made in USA"
philosophy. This month, we will go over how to
methodically do this amid different company cul-
tures and different logistical challenges.
Happy's Essential Skills:
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a
systematic process to evaluate failure modes and
causes associated with the design and manufac-
turing processes of a new product. It is somewhat
similar to the potential problem analysis (PPA)
phase of the Kepner-Tregoe program.
Walt Custer Elaborates on his Annual
IPC APEX EXPO Forecast Presentation
IPC APEX EXPO 2016 has come and gone, and this
year, Walt Custer's annual presentation forecasting
the upcoming year for the industry was much an-
ticipated, as always. I met up with Walt at the show
to learn about his presentation and dig deeper into
his findings.
IPC President John Mitchell on the Past,
Present, and Future, Part 1
We conducted this interview with IPC President
John Mitchell on the show floor at IPC APEX EXPO
to discuss the event, the changes on the IPC board,
and the key metrics that IPC uses to measure their
own performance and effectiveness. John also in-
vites the industry to a unique challenge.
American Standard Appoints Dave Olson
Vice President of Operations
Anaya Vardya, CEO of American Standard Circuits,
announced the appointment of industry veteran
Dave Olson to the position of Vice President of Op-
erations.
Weiner's World: March 2016
Sellers of equipment at the Shanghai CPCA event
complained of continued poor business. This was
especially evident amongst those selling to firms
building boards for phones and other portables de-
vices as indicated below. However, not all reports
were bad. Major fabricators such as Wu's in Chi-
na, not dependent upon HDI or flexible products,
stated that they were "satisfied" with their current
business levels.
PCB007
Highlights
