Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1111672
MAY 2019 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 83 you get onto a manufacturing floor. Something that looks great on paper or CAD doesn't nec- essarily translate to the manufacturing floor. The NPI Center can take that, get through the first build, and help critique it so that things run smoother, corrections are made, and it's less costly the next time. Essentially, we assist in DFM. Johnson: Lori, let's follow the flow through your shop. What does a perfect job look like to you? Let's start with the NPI, and then talk about what it looks like going into production. Lori Giglio: That's an interesting question. It's hard for me to answer because here we're dealing with new designs and every job is exciting. For every job an engineer walks in with, we can we help them to improve it. But nobody is going to walk through the door with the perfect design at an NPI center. They walk in with something in their hands, saying, "Is this even going to work? Can you make this into an actual product so that we can test it and see where we can improve upon some things?" I don't often see perfection. What I usually see is somebody's idea of something, and we partner with them and collaborate and get to a point where it can be repeatable and produced in the manufacturing environment. By the time it gets into the manufacturing facil- ity, it might be perfect. Johnson: At the NPI Center, I'm sure the 80/20 rule comes into play where 80% of the things you're fixing can be found in the 20% of the things that could possibly go wrong. What are the most common issues that you clean up for your customers? Lori Giglio: Issues could include a pad mis- match, a part that they thought was going to fit the right way but doesn't, or they put things on the edge that shouldn't be there. Sometimes it's the board layout, or they vio - lated some IPC standards and need to keep that in check too. Our board houses will often share that back as well, and we can help them with that. Johnson: Jeff, let's turn that question a little bit on its edge for you. Obviously, from the NPI Center, you get exactly what you need for pro- duction. What about the customer that comes to you from outside of that flow? Hamlett: It's critical to have all of the documen- tation in line. Our pro- cesses align with those at the NPI Center, so it flows pretty easily. In terms of the types of boards we're looking for, keep in mind we don't always take everything from the NPI Center over to produc- tion. We don't even sell it that way; we sell it as a standalone facility. If they want to bring in production, we'll take it, obviously, and it could even go to worldwide manufacturing in our China facilities. But we're looking for high-tech boards, low to medium volume, and very high mix boards with lots of density com- plexity. We stay away from smaller, consumer boards. We are looking at more box build type stuff too. Once it comes from the NPI Center, everything is pretty much in line; they've run it through a couple of iterations already, so we can hit the ground running. Vic Giglio: Lori's expertise is to make sure that as she's designing the process well, taking a concept, and making it a robust documenta- tion package as well as ensuring that the hard- ware is ready to go to the next level of man- ufacturing. Whether Lori works with another CM, a mom-and-pop shop, or a Tier 1, she has already done the homework for them. Now, they have a real documentation package that can move forward to streamline production, whether it's here or elsewhere. Lori works with all of the other CMs. There's not a caveat that they have to work with after the NPI and construction work is done. Feinberg: Right now, what do you see as your biggest challenge? For example, is it finding the most qualified employees? Jeff Hamlett