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30 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2022 Executives My best suggestion is one that has been used to great effect in some companies. Just like other industries are looking to poach from our industry, we can look at new sources to pull in from other industries. is opens a whole new pool of people to consider. ere are many kinds of manufacturing experts who can trans- late what they know and have done into our industry, whether at the general manager level, supply chain, procurement, human resources, development, engineering management, or financial. e added benefit of bringing in someone from outside is that you will also get new ideas and approaches. I call it diversity of thought. is is a competitive advantage and not something to be dismissed lightly. e workforce challenges will continue. We need to continue to do what we do to solve problems: work together and innovate. PCB007 Dr. John Mitchell is president and CEO of IPC. To read past columns or contact him, click here. Chapter 1: The Evolution of the Resin System Evolution of the Resin System Most basic resin systems have been around for a long time. Here is a lit- tle timeline of developments through more recent introductions. • In 1907, the first laminate was made with pure phenolic resin by Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formica became the first true sheet laminate. • The first application—a radio by Paul Eisler in 1936—led to practical manufacturing for mili- tary radios in the U.S., and use of single-sided copper-clad phenolic laminate started in about 1943 using paper and cotton as the structural component. Epoxy resin was introduced shortly after in 1947. • Still reigning as the lowest loss resin system, a PTFE, RT/Duroid® was introduced in 1949. • The first polyimide was discovered in 1908 by Bogart and Renshaw. However, the high heat-resistant polyimide laminate material was brought to the market in 1951. • Isola began production of copper-clad laminate in 1956. • Epoxy-based laminate systems followed around 1960 and used woven E-glass fabric. • Shortly after, G-10 epoxy laminate (non-flame retardant epoxy resin plus E-glass) and a flame-retardant epoxy version called FR-4 (flame- retardant epoxy resin plus E-glass) were introduced in 1968. From that time forward, there have been various blends, such as PPO (polyphenylene oxide)/epoxy, CE (cya- nate ester)/epoxy, and polyimide/ epoxy, that were created to balance properties of pure resin systems to achieve spe- cific enhanced properties. Each new resin system was built on learning from previous products. Resin system developments for high heat applications such as LED lighting, ultra-thin non-reinforced films for capacitance and halogen-free systems to meet RoHS and REACH environmental requirements, continue to be developed to address the perfor- mance and reliability needs. With each new need, laminate material manufacturers go into the lab and see what new raw material can be used to improve resin system performance. Download this book to continue reading. BOOK EXCERPT The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... High Performance Materials