Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1494936
38 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2023 moves in that direction, circuit board manu- facturing will as well. Johnson: If you just had one piece of equipment that you could buy today, what would it be? ere are so many that we would really love to have. Ultimately, we would probably look at an enhancement to our solder mask process (LDI or mask printer) or more of an automated cop- per plating process. Matties: You must choose just one, Matt. I'd choose the plating line; I would rather go in that direction first, but with the limita- tions in floor space in our shop, it would be a tough install. Johnson: Take the floor space out of this thought experiment. What one piece of equipment would be the greatest ROI to your current process? Probably the plating line. It would increase our capability and consistency with the higher aspect ratio plating holes, which is where our current roadmap is headed. Our current solder mask process probably has several years before it starts being pushed by technology. Over- all, being able to metallize those higher aspect ratio holes consistently and effectively would be the single best piece of equipment we could purchase. Managing Costs Dan Feinberg: What does your cost cutting look like? Is it by volume, where you can get better pricing on materials? Are you automat- ing, so you can sidestep the increasing labor costs? What is the success behind that goal? We're attacking it from as many sides as we can, as we add equipment and capabilities. With every equipment upgrade we look at potentially adding some level of automation to minimize labor impacts. We're also looking at different chemistries and materials, as well as more efficiencies within our processes. We're looking to reduce some of the overbuild pan- els and boards that we have currently so that there's less to recycle and still meet customer needs. We've had fairly stable pricing in terms of materials, but that is increasing. Our material vendors are fair with pricing. Vol- ume isn't necessarily a very effective approach as a cost-cutting mea- sure for us. As the vol- ume goes up, the unit price decreases, the dol- lars per panel decrease, and labor becomes a much bigger percentage of those orders. e path forward is increasing the number of boards within a panel and improving the capabilities aimed at higher dollar value per panel. The Value of Marketing Matties: It sounds like, for you, the key factor is marketing to pick up a higher volume of more profitable part numbers. Yes, marketing has always been one of our key components. Unlike most circuit board shops, Sunstone has always had really effective and strong marketing. We continue to do so. Our challenge for this year and the next is to flip the perception that Sunstone is only a low tech, fast board shop. We want to be understood as being capable of higher production and higher capabilities—still fast, still high quality, and still reasonably priced.