Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1221561
54 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2020 a system that allows us to look at different PCB shops and eval- uate their capabilities. It also al- lowed us to remove the expertise of someone like me. You do not need someone that's worked in the PCB industry to be able to evaluate the shops. You are able to look at their capabilities for do- ing these different board struc- tures and evaluate them to say, "This type of board can go to this shop because they're excellent at it, and we know we're going to get great yields." A database helps us get the appropriate tech- nology of a PCB into the right shop with the highest yield. That allows us to not put a board at a high-tech supplier when it doesn't need to be. If it's a two- or four-layer board, for ex- ample, it can go to the lower-technology PCB shops. We were able to create a quote mod- el that drove this using the PCQR 2 data and their database of PCB suppliers. We're able to extract the information and load it into our quote model, so when our designers put in the variables, our system automatically sends the quote to only the suppliers that we have ap- proved for a particular type of technology. That allows us to make sure that we don't just pick someone that we like working with; we are picking the correct technology and cost, so we're more competitive now. Without put- ting a specific number on it, I can say that we have saved millions compared to if we had fol- lowed our previous course. Goldman: Tell me a little bit more about PCQR 2 . What does it stand for? Block: It stands for process capability, quality, and relative reliability. Goldman: You're now chairman of that commit- tee. Tell me about the structure of the com- mittee, who gets involved, and the purpose. I know you just told me about what it is to National Instruments, but tell me about the committee. Block: In the committee, we're trying to make sure that the types of structures that we're testing are the latest structures that our electrical engineers are going to need in the future. Goldman: Can you explain the whole basis of PCQR 2 ? There are a set of test boards and designs that companies build to, and then they're tested. Block: Yes. Our committee has come up with these different struc- tures; there are different board designs based on what you want to test a shop for. If it's a lower- technology shop, you're not going to give them the hardest board and let them fail at every- thing. You're testing them for what you're look- ing for and the technology of that type of PCB company. Then, you can develop the different structures on there, like lines and spaces. Let's say they're only good at 0.004"/0.004" on outer layers; on inner layers, they're 0.003"/0.003". You can put that in, see that, and then you see other shops can do 0.003"/0.002". That allows you to see that a particular board design is ap- propriate for this supplier. We can evolve with the technology because when we first started, for example, we didn't have as many microvia structures. We started with microvias that just spanned layers one to two. Now, we have a complex board that's test- ing one to two and one to three. There are also staggered and stacked microvias on a sequen- tial-lamination board. In the open committee, we discuss the technology with not only the subscribers that come in, but we also have a lot of our PCB suppliers that are interested in it because they know we're going to try to push the technology. The suppliers give us recom- mendations, but the subscribers are also look- ing at what's being driven by their electrical engineers and the complexities they need to produce their products. Goldman: I presume that when you subscribe, you pay for access to the data. Al Block