Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1479191
SEPTEMBER 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 33 Carano: at's exactly right. Matties: It sounds like one of the first audits a shop should do is determine what the process engineer is working on. What's a typical day? How do we free them up from the things that are, as you're saying, not taking care of the cus- tomer, if you will? Carano: Exactly. Remember that you have the line workers that are feeding the etchers and moving the panels on the floor. You want to invest in their training so when there's an issue, they will notice it, stop the line, and call the engineers. is is "customer facing," problem solving, and making improvements. From an engineer, I always look at their total chemical costs and they tell me, "Oh, my costs might be too high." Well, how do you know? How are you analyzing it? How are you con- trolling it? If they're into a situation when the bath gets contaminated, we just send it to waste treatment. Well, that adds cost. At that point, it's contaminated and why? Maybe that's the first thing you do. at's the engineer's job. I've worked with some great engineers over the years who really understand how to con- trol things and optimize processes. ey spend their time doing that and educating folks on the line. I've seen these engineers improve how the chemistry is managed and added, how it's controlled. Not only does it improve yields, but it reduces waste and cost. People always look at cost per liter, cost per gallon. It's not the price, it's the cost of owner- ship. What does it cost you to make this circuit board? at includes a lot of things, including the quality of the handling, the yields. You're looking for an efficient use of the processes and that can be done with people paying good attention. I've had people tell me their electroless cop- per is $2 a square foot. I look at it and I can see why. ey're wasting chemistry. e vats are not shutting down properly at night, so the chemistry is plating out. You could be doing some simple things that don't cost you any- thing: Turn down the temperature and turn on the air pump to keep the baths stable over- night or clean out the tank on the weekend to prevent any doubt. at's waste, so don't get mad because your costs are high. When you get it back to running properly, then the cost per square foot goes down by 50% or more and the reliability is also there. Some very simple things can be done, but it's about education, training, certification, and getting everyone on board— including the ownership and management. Matties: Right. If management doesn't buy in, it's not going to happen. Carano: No, it won't and that's the same story. If an OEM doesn't come to them with the design and says, "I need you to build this. I want you to build the 20-micron lines and spaces," they won't make the investment into that next tech- nology. It's a shame because there are some great opportunities to do this process-, chem- istry-, and material-wise. It could be done. Matties: In a brownfield site, what's the priority in terms of transforming the facility? Carano: I would start with a top-down audit of all processes, including imaging materials, han- dling storage, and humidity chambers. How are you controlling the plating processes? Where are the matching processes. From there you make the recommendations. You need better controls and better lab equipment. You can't