Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1060280
DECEMBER 2018 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 55 Dunn: Yes, particularly in the last couple of weeks. Before that, a lot of people were aware of it and thinking about it, but maybe hoping it wasn't going to be put into place for PCBs. Since then, there's been a lot of conversations on what it will impact. For ex - ample, maybe I need to do my prototypes domestically for now, or what other options are there for low-cost countries? I know that there's been some kind of hold back on or - dering if there's time to be able to do that, to see how this shakes out. Matties: And maybe that goes to. You men- tioned that while the shops still have work in their queues, it seems like some of the quoting activity has stalled a bit. Dunn: There's definitely been a slowdown the last few weeks in quoting. It could be extreme- ly long component lead times, the boards are not quite as urgent, or just fiscal year end. There are a lot of variables here. Matties: It has been nice to catch up with you. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you think we should share with the industry? Dunn: Going along the line of what's being pre- sented at AltiumLive today, we should break down barriers and be more engaged in work- ing with the next step—both before you and after you—in the process to really understand each other's needs. As we've said throughout this conversation, there is a lot of uncertainty and potential change coming up in the indus- try. The more we work together and put our heads together to solve some of these prob- lems, the better. It's kind of like having apple pie and ice cream—both are good apart, but if you work together or put them together, it's even better. Matties: It's interesting because a lot of the onus of the communication is being placed on the designer. How does the fabricator get more involved in communicating with the supply chain? Dunn: We see that about 98% of jobs that come into a fabricator go on hold for a tooling ques- tion. A lot of those questions are very repeti- tive, so I think it's taking the time to figure out how to teach each other. Both sides are frus- trated by that. Nobody wants it to happen, and yet we just don't take the time to stop long enough to be thoughtful. Matties: Prototron Circuits recently published an eBook in our The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to… series on producing the perfect data package. Dunn: Yes, I just downloaded that. Matties: Have you read it? What did you think? Dunn: I skimmed through it today. I think it's very well done. Mark Thompson is great at what he does. Matties: Absolutely. I think this goes to exact- ly what you are talking about, right? Unless we start communicating, why are we making the same mistakes over and over? The mis- takes are seemingly simple to resolve. It gets resolved at some point, so why not resolve it before we send it, cause stress, and delay the systems for everybody? Dunn: Exactly. Matties: Thank you so much, Tara. Dunn: Thank you, Barry. PCB007 Tara Dunn is the president of Omni PCB, a manufacturer's rep firm specializing in the printed circuit board industry. To read past columns or contact Dunn, click here. To download your copy of Prototron Circuits' eBook, The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to… Producing the Perfect Data Package, click here.