Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1484263
NOVEMBER 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 59 sive investment from circuit board fabrica- tion into assembly. We learned many lessons regarding over-optimizing the supply chain into China. Ryder: I see the recent uptick in business and development in Southeast Asia and North America as an ovewhelmingly positive develop- ment for our company and my team. Templeton: e trend has indeed reversed somewhat, where there's more investment in what can be done here in the United States and Europe. Previously that wasn't really a serious option. Ryder: Our via drilling sys- tems, for example, have found increased relevance for the North American PCB manufacturing mar- ket; to be honest, that was not my core focus when we developed the tool. While the technology envelope of the U.S. PCB market dif- fers from the Asian market, there is a renewed focus and regional invest- ment on technology development and we're proud to be a part of that. Johnson: Getting more modular and adaptable is a strength in North America and Europe. Not so much in Asia, where they've optimized on full-blown production. at sets up the ability to do expansion in North America. Are you seeing that? Ryder: We see indications of it. ere has been some indicative investment. We recently announced being named a strategic partner and supplier for TTM, for example. Currently we don't see an expansion boom, but clearly a renewed focus on manufacturing excellence. We'll see where it heads. e CHIPS Act is a step in the right direction, but it's also three or four steps up the supply chain. It starts to address the semiconductor sourcing problem, but it doesn't directly address sourcing of PCBs, substrates, and packaging technology. But perhaps we'll see some domestic investments in these market segments spin of f the semi- conductor boom. Johnson: Based on the activity you're seeing, what types of facilities are North American companies investing in? Are there more green- field opportunities? Ryder: I don't see many greenfield facilities going up now, but that's not to say there aren't any. Johnson: So, the companies are modifying and updating existing facilities? Kyle Baker: Primarily, yes, albeit on a smaller scale than what we typically see from customers in Asia. Johnson: When you think about the feature sizes and tolerances in HDI, but especially UHDI, there's work that happens in heterogenous integration, mak- ing those components and making things fit together. We start to push down into dimen- sion sizes similar to what caused the semicon- ductor industry to make clean rooms. at's how it would seem to me. Templeton: We are seeing that the cleanliness and the control within the factory environ- ment is getting more critical, especially for our system. Certainly, as vias and density on the panels go up, that drives tighter tolerances on the system, the environment, temperature control, and humidity control. It all comes into play. Johnson: As well as the substrate itself.