Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1284035
56 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2020 with customer box, customer packing tape, and customer packing slips so that nobody would know that the product came from our company. We currently do that. Although, for most of the customers, we don't necessarily do the box build. In terms of the box build side of the business, we are quite active in doing com- plete system build and system-level test. Johnson: Are there reliability challenges with box build that are more than simply workman- ship? Castro: A very simple thing that is a challenge for us is the mechanical assembly or hardware installations. Sometimes, we have an issue where the front panels don't match with the assembly. That's the main concern with box build. The customer provides us the design and drawing, which we follow. We order the mate- rial that we request for a customer, and we install this during the box build. Sometimes, it doesn't match. We have that issue all the time. The BOM from the customer may tell us we have 10 screws, for example, but they provided us only a few. That's a hardware issue, which is the main thing for the reliability. We need to install it correctly in all these directions to make sure that the design is being followed. Johnson: The biggest challenge is that you sort out a new job and have to ensure that the parts and BOM are correct. Castro: That's the main thing. Another problem is if the documen- tation or BOM provided to us have discrepancies. Sometimes, when materials come, it's a cosmetics issue on box building assemblies. Johnson: Once you get over the hur- dles of setting up the BOM, coor- dinating incoming inspection for pieces of the sub-assembly, does the process become more straight- forward? Castro: Yes, and that is in the receiving instruc- tion process. When we receive these mechan- ical parts, it depends. If it is consigned, it is just provided by the customer. If it's turnkey, then we have to inspect all the material that we receive in receiving inspection. If it's provided by the customer, we're going to inspect that during the build. The problem is going to cost a lot if there's an issue with their material when they put it on the floor and start the building. Dan Feinberg: That brings up a good topic. Nobody has 100% reliability, but we all want to get there. That's the goal. We have discus- sions at various IPC events stating that reli- ability has become a major issue over the last few years—much more so than it used to be. It started with the switch away from leaded sol- der. As we get into more things like autono- mous transportation and 5G, those are mov- ing more slowly than was predicted 3–4 years ago. There will also be the ability to do long- distance robotic surgery, not someone running the robot from the next room. Robotic surgery is going to become much more common, but the reliability is super critical. Can you imagine someone doing open-heart surgery from 1,000 miles away, and the interface device fails? When talking about box build and reliabil- ity issues, what areas are of the most concern Touch up and second OPs.