Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1428512
NOVEMBER 2021 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 35 them in two of our factories; one built two, the other one built one, and all three of these boards were built in four weeks and delivered. A lot of it was the collaboration we did regard- ing what can we do in the design to simplify and reduce the opportunities for failure, so we have a more successful build. It was all collab- oration. Johnson: What's the customer's mindset about the analysis? Do you have to educate them on what that's all about? Do you have to twist their arms or are they starting to welcome this? Partida: It's been embraced very easily. When I see a stackup, and I'm concerned about the microvia reliability, we do a whole bunch of things to analyze it. I do the analysis and show that the graph says it doesn't make six reflows. I say, "Hey, we should have a conversation." It's education, a little bit of shock value, and we've steered away from the rocks into safer waters in the design, and we're able to have a build that works. Johnson: at sure creates a compelling event for your customer, that graph, that shock value. Obviously, there's a payoff for them. As a fabri- cator, how is this monetizing for you? Partida: When it comes to the question, how do you monetize or approach this concept, there is value in the upfront expertise involved in this process, and that's how we see it being employed. Expect that, with customer knowl- edge and consent, it works its way into being one of the non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs. Johnson: Do you see a longer-term impact? Partida: I'm glad to have this conversation. I think this is something that should be shared in the industry. e industry will benefit from cost avoidance by finding out that the design is not optimal to get through assembly. We can have optimal designs before we start fabricat- ing. It will have greater success for a customer's reduced respins. Although it does seem like we're going to build fewer boards, the more successful companies are, the longer they will be in the industry and be successful. is pays forward with that cost avoidance. Johnson: Gerry, thanks. is has been a great interview. PCB007 Gerry Partida is director of technology at Summit Interconnect.