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MAY 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 9 is evolving in overdrive right now. e money is coming from new sources; increasingly it's coming back home to Europe and North Amer- ica. Even if you're not thinking about expand- ing your capabilities, you're probably thinking about how to expand your capacity, or you're sorting out how to respond to the human cap- ital challenges that came to a near crisis with the pandemic. If your facility is looking to respond to customer demand for new technol- ogies, then you're just adding that to the list, right? A brand-new additive process line, for example, may meet your customer demands, but it doesn't run itself. We simply must look at our business processes and change them to meet the times. So, what to fund first? Where do I start my investment in my company? Do I fix the staff- ing issue, so I have all my capacity back? Do I remove process steps with new equipment so that I don't need as much staff, and reclaim valuable floor space I can use later for new capabilities? Perhaps my company needs to follow yet a different path? Where exactly is that golden egg in my facility? With all these opportunities (demands?) on our investment budget, what provides the greatest return on investment? Where is the hottest area that will maximize the payback to help fund further investment? As is oen the case in this complex, constantly-shiing real world, the answer isn't really that simple. As we spoke to the experts, we frequently heard, "Well, it depends." Everyone's mileage will vary, of course. What we determined was that, while there wasn't just one singular hotspot for ROI, there were a few that bubbled up to the surface. e team at Technica, for example, shared their perspective on the "golden egg" poten- tial they see in the marketplace. at conver- sation shed light on inkjet printing technol- ogy throughout the fabrication process, direct imaging, and robotic automation. Our wide- ranging discussion with all4-PCB's Torsten Reckert also highlighted automation and direct Nolan Johnson is managing editor of PCB007 Magazine. Nolan brings 30 years of career experience focused almost entire- ly on electronics design and manu- facturing. To read other columns or to contact Johnson, click here. imaging solutions but added waste management systems as an unexpected ROI hotspot. We went deeper into specifics as well. For example, Sunny Patel detailed Candor's initial experience with its brand new Indubond induction press. I'm also including a discussion with Atlantic Microtool's Neil Robinson and Bruce Siemering, who joined Chemcut's Christopher Bonsell and Jerry Reitz to discuss a highly approach- able robotic material handler. Perhaps you saw this unit in action in the Chemcut booth at IPC APEX EXPO 2022? Depending upon your own organization, there ought to be at least one golden egg opportunity for you out of these discussions. Not to be outdone, of course, our colum- nists weigh in on ROI-complementary topics. Todd Kolmodin looks into the future of elec- trical test. Luca Gautero slices his way through PCB cross sections. Our young engineer col- umnist, Page Fiet, shares simple secrets to make mentorships more effective. Christopher Bonsell examines the interaction between wet processes and Industry 4.0, and Happy Hold- en's column on copper etchant regeneration reminds us that there is ROI in cost contain- ment as well. Finally, Travis Kelly's PCBAA column details some of the market forces in play now. ere is much to be optimistic about in PCB fabrication right now, and those of us who cap italize on the coming conf luence of demand and revitalization support, will thrive in the coming years. So, what is your first golden egg? You can always contact us with feedback or topic suggestions. Your comments are part of the conversation driving our industry forward. I hope to hear from you. PCB007