Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1433652
DECEMBER 2021 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 33 ers or the tier one or tier twos that are trying to develop that and bring this knowledge that we have on these two points to help them design the board. Matties: I would think that the suppliers, the fabricators, are finding this to be a challenge, dealing with the mixed coppers. Chauvet: Yes. It's challenging and, at the same time, for the designer it's a new way to see things. In the past they needed to dissipate the heat, so we al- ready help them to dissipate the heat and to see the new rules, like about tolerances, etc. It's a bit challenging on both sides, just to be sure that the PCB is according to specifications. Matties: Do you consider yourself a broker or how do you classify your organization? Chauvet: We say that we are a PCB supplier. For us, we are not the trading company because we are embedded in the factory. We have the lab, we check the quality, we have an inspector di- rectly in the factory. We are much more than the trading company. We are really an expert in PCBs. Matties: Just to be clear, I'm hearing that your employees are working in the PCB fabrication facilities. Chauvet: Yes. We have inspectors working full- time jobs in the factory to check the quality af- ter manufacturing. We are already embedded in their process. Matties: e inspection, the work that they're doing, is exclusively for your customers? Chauvet: Yes. Correct. Matties: Oh, that's great. So, what's the advan- tage for an OEM to go through you vs. direct? Chauvet: ere are many reasons, but first it's the DFM. We check the file to be sure that ev- erything is okay. We can help them with the specifications, finding alternatives, etc. is is one of the steps. en we qualify the supplier for them. e same if you have a quality issue. How will you go to the factory to understand the is- sue and fix the problems? ey really cannot currently, so we have people who can go di- rectly there, we'll do some Teams calls, and we can just explain. We have people who can con- trol things in the factory. Aer, it's a security for them in the way that we are like an addi- tional inspector for the boards, but we do lab inspection in U.S. or in Asia. We'll manage the transportation for them. Matties: Good. Well, this has been really in- sightful and interesting. Chauvet: ank you, Barry. SMT007 Visit icapegroup.com for more details. X-ray inspection—Nordson Dage Quadra 3.