Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1456062
MARCH 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 51 precisely focused on the target area, which then adds to the overall reliability because you're not inducing a thermal stress cycle on the adjacent material. Hillman: Yes, exactly. You're minimizing collat- eral damage as things get smaller and smaller. It used to be, when the pitch was 1.25 mm, you had lots of room to do things. But now with tolerances so tight, it's very easy to have a pro- cess issue. at means we just need to be more surgical. Matties: You talked about the mentorships that you had early on. For young engineers coming into the industry today, what advice do you have for them regarding the soldering process? What they should prepare and plan for? Hillman: I think that's a really interesting ques- tion because both the SMTA and the IPC are working hard to create mentorship and assis- tance programs for new engineers. University of Maryland, with CALCE and CAVE3 down at Auburn, are doing their best to graduate talent that then can be used by the industry immediately. But there's a pretty big herd of gray-haired folks, and we're not going to be around for- ever. School only teaches you how to learn; it doesn't teach you what to learn. I was priv- ileged to have some great mentors around me who guided me and answered questions. For the new engineers, the first thing is wher- ever you land, find your mentor. Who can you talk to and ask questions? It may not be some- body in the company but possibly through one of the associations—SMTA, Universal, IPC, IEEE. Talk to other professionals. We're a small industry. We won't talk about IP and competitive advantage topics, but we can dis- cuss general topics. ere are a lot of people out there who can help. e other trick is to be open to opportu- nity. When I accepted the position at Rock- well Collins, I was the third person that they interviewed. e first two people turned down the job, for whatever wild reason, so I may not have been where I am today just out of pure luck. One needs to be open to possibili- ties and where those might lead in one's career. Matties: You stayed in one spot for 35 years. Do you have any regrets for doing that? Hillman: Oh, heck no. I'm a lab rat. It was sug- gested during my career that maybe I should go into management. I know I can manage people, but I really think my strength, my pas- sion, is solving problems and working on tech- nical issues. Being in one group, one spot, has been exactly where I wanted to be. at may be the other point to ponder for those coming into the industry. What is your passion? If you're really into putting process flows together, you like linking equipment, or programming a process, if you love what you do, the rest of it falls into place no matter where it is and under any circumstances. Matties: Dave, I really keyed in on your passion. If you can wake up every day and live your pas- sion, I believe you have won the game. Hillman: Exactly. I've told my co-op students over the years that engineering is easy, peo- ple are hard. In our relationships with cowork- If you're really into putting process flows together, you like linking equipment, or programming a process, if you love what you do, the rest of it falls into place no matter where it is and under any circumstances.