Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1124788
34 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2019 A Conversation with Phil Kazmierowicz and MB Allen KIC I-Connect007 Managing Editor Nolan John- son recently spoke with KIC President and Founder Phil Kazmierowicz and Manager of Applications and Sales MB "Marybeth" Allen as they each transitioned into new roles in the KIC leadership team. The conversation ulti- mately turned to the current dynamics in the industry, particularly Industry 4.0 and stream- lining processes. To kick off the discussion, Johnson posed this question: "Generally speaking, there are two key parts to improving the efficiencies: faster, more accurate throughput, and increased uptime. From your perspective, watching the reflow process, what do you see as the greatest activity in the market for reducing the likeli- hood of the reflow process becoming the facil- ity's bottleneck?" Kasmierowicz, Allen, and Johnson then delved into this question throughout a series of conversations and emails, which have been edited into the discussion that follows. Faster, More Accurate Throughput On the topic of throughput, Allen wrote, "A key component to an efficient manufacturing operation is optimization throughout the fac- tory. One of the most effective ways to opti- mize is via software. Trial and error are a thing of the past. Optimization software not only assists with productivity but also defines and improves the process for the highest qual- ity result. The optimization process for reflow starts in the early stages of setting up a product for solder reflow." Allen continued, "Finding the correct rec- ipe for a reflow oven to produce a PCB within the current, very tight, lead-free process win- dows could take significant amounts of both resources and time. Our predictive software tools assist a customer to find this recipe very quickly, likely in just two passes, which signif- icantly reduces the amount of time just to set up a profile. In addition, our predictive soft- Reflow Your Solder and Your Data for Industry 4.0