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MAY 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 93 The PCB industry recognizes the passing of Brian Keith Fisher of Port Orchard, Washington, on Sunday, May 3, 2020. His network of friends and acquaintances was vast as he had worked in many areas of the industry including as a plater, a laminator, in distribution as a manufacturer's representative, a copper foil supplier, and ultimately for a copper foil manufacturer. Brian might also be considered one of the fathers of using foil cap lamination, instead of the more common core cap, used in the early stages of multilayer construction. In the early '80s, there were on- ly a few fabricators that were interested in this approach which, has become commonplace today. Brian's PCB career began in Palo Alto, California, with a company affiliated with Hewlett Packard. Later on, he moved to Everett, Washington, to join John Fluke Manufacturing. His next stop was Mica Laminates in Culver City, California, working in the technical marketing department supplying copper-clad laminates to the electronics indus- try. He later returned to Washington state, and in 1979, started American Pacific Marketing to pro- al-stage or kiss cycle has advantages for higher layer counts as well. The release of volatiles is optimized during the low-pressure portion of the kiss cycle. Another probable cause of delamination within the resin itself is defective incoming material from the supplier. If the fabricator has taken all necessary precautions to ensure prop- er storage of the prepreg, including storage at low humidity and low temperature, this issue requires a new lot of prepreg material. Remember, the printed wiring board fabrica- tion process is made of chemical and mechani- cal processes. Understand how these work together to ensure the fabrication of a high- quality product. PCB007 Michael Carano is VP of technology and business development for RBP Chemical Technology. To read past columns or contact Carano, click here. in Figure 3, a thorough review of the prepreg storage conditions—as well as the lamination cycle—is in order. If a single-stage press cy- cle was used in this case, one should switch to a dual-stage lamination cycle. While up to 10–12-layer multilayer boards are amenable in a single stage, in most board stackups, the du- Figure 3: Delamination within the resin itself. vide Northwest fabricators with many of the consumables used in plating and drilling, progressing from his house to a warehouse in Redmond. In 1997, this business was sold to Electrical Insulation Suppliers, and Brian joined forces with them to coordinate sales of APM's broad product line. Brian left EIS to begin working at Circuit Foil, providing sales and technical support for their products in the U.S. Later on, he would leave Circuit Foil to begin a new ad- venture in the agricultural industry, specifically harvest- ing, storing, and reselling bee pollen to improve crop yields for farmers for a large part of the West Coast. He performed that duty until mid-2019, at which time he fully retired and pursued his real passion for woodworking from his home with some limited commercial applications. In the 35 years that Brian was in the indus- try, competitors would tell you he was a tough guy to get out of an account. He was an innova- tor and was not afraid to try things even though they had never been done before. He was a leader, a mentor, and a friend to many. He will be missed. Recognizing the Passing of Industry Veteran Brian Keith Fisher Brian Keith Fisher