Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1479191
26 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 Michael Carano is a noted subject matter expert with respect to process control, electro- plating and metallization technology, surface finishing, and reliability. So, it was only natu- ral that we sat down to talk about mechanizing an existing facility given today's fickle environ- ment. Will any of the CHIPS funding trickle down to bare board fabrication? What process can be adjusted on the factory floor? e focus needs to be more than just on manufacturing and getting work out the door, he says, but also process control. Nolan Johnson: You have a wide-ranging view of the current market, and how fabricators should approach advancing their capabilities. Walk us through your IPC ought Leaders Program paper. Michael Carano: To start, everyone is talking about the $52 billion CHIPS Act, but our folks in the PCB industry say, "Hey, that's great, but chips don't float. Where are the chips going to go?" Unless we build out PCB capac- ity as well, the chips will "float back" over the ocean into an OSAT or something like that. ere's no IC substrate capability here with any volume. In my paper, I was asking about what it would take to double the capacity of existing fabrica- tion by upgrading the equipment. It would be about $10 to $12 million per fabricator, with maybe 100 fabricators altogether—about $1.2 billion. Now if you include brick and mortar, then I would double that number to about $3.5 billion, then double again to a $7 billion market over a couple of years by making this invest- A Focus on Process Control Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team