Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1433652
DECEMBER 2021 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 29 tion in the raw materials, so some raw materi- als are extremely tough to get. Transportation and raw materials are complicated. e shops don't know when they will get the raw material, so they are replanning their schedules all the time and creating a low effi- ciency for manufacturing. Matties: How do you manage this? What advice are you giving your customers and how are you expediting their orders? Chauvet: We tell them to anticipate as much time as possible. We discuss updated lead times. Aer we get the PO, and if it's a need that was not anticipated, we have some options. One is working on alternative raw materials. We have the lab here in Indianapolis, so we have exper- tise on raw materials, and we know the differ- ence in raw materials, so we can propose alter- native material to the customer that is available at the key time. Matties: For clarification, when you're talking about raw material, are you talking about the base material, the laminates, and such? Chauvet: Yes, the laminates. In the second step, when we get the PCBs, we can just compare the true material. We can do some tests on cross-sections of the raw material, then check that quality both before and aer is the same or equivalent. Matties: Let's talk about your lab. To have a lab where you can analyze and test materials, both pre-production and post-production, must give you a huge advantage. Chauvet: We have two labs. We also have one in China. is is more to check the quality of mass production, etc. e lab in the U.S. is huge. Some of our staff have 40 years of experi- ence in the PCB industry. Matties: I think that today's customers are more willing to look at alternate materials for the sake of timeline, where perhaps two years ago, maybe they were a little more resistant to that. Chauvet: Correct. Sometimes, they have no choice. e main thing is to know the raw ma- terial, and to have the customer trust us with the experiences we have. If we just send the datasheet, sometimes the customer can't iden- tify whether it's similar or better. We have dif- ferent customers, but sometimes they are not an expert in PCBs and how to design the boards. ey are used to using the same lami- nate or raw materials, but they have never used different raw materials. Bare board electrical test— MicroCraft EMX6151 Flying Probe. BGA repair station— ERSA Kurtz IR PL 650.