Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1501483
60 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2023 functions like nonconductive depth drilling and routing, not to mention using our new touch probe to achieve those smaller depth tolerances that are the new norm. I have a background in capital equipment for semiconductor, so I recognize that moving to a linear motor gives you a lot more positional accuracy. You'll gain accuracy as well as speed which is, effectively, instant positioning. Linear motors in the Z-axis have been a source of growth for Schmoll. We are replacing a lot of old equip- ment. Added capacity is encouraging, but custom- ers are also looking for new capabilities. What do customers want in their drill machines? e demand in drill machines is speed because speed is money. It's a massive benefit if they can make more boards in less time. If your machines are holding accuracy a little bit better than some of the older machines, now you're making boards faster and with better quality. In the last three years, you've installed something like 200 new machines; that's a lot more to service. How has the service department changed? What have Burkle and Schmoll done regarding overall serviceability for these new machines? When you work on a Schmoll machine, there's a lot to learn. It's at least a year before you feel comfortable as a service technician. When we hire new staff, we fly them around the coun- try, giving them exposure to how it all works. ey shadow one of our service engineers, then always travel to the factory in Germany to learn. It's hard to justify hiring enough service technicians until you have enough machines to keep them all busy. But our management understands that we need to hire staff early. We have many machines on order, being built, and sent here, so there is a lot of demand for service. At times, we feel like we're behind with our hiring, and it's due to the long train- ing process. Developing our service depart- ment has been delicate. I started with Schmoll by building machines in Germany, then moved into service, and was relocated back to North America. In 2018, it was just me and two other service engineers. Now, our department has 13 engineers. at's a big increase in just a few years. Not only that, but these technicians are more specialized in products like laser, direct imaging, X-ray, and post-etch punch machines, in addition to the drill machines. North America is big, and our engineers must be cross-trained in multiple machines. To bring on that many, you must have created a formalized training program. For our training, we have them shadow some- one more experienced for about three months, so they get comfortable on the machines. Interestingly, all of us walk around with smart- phones that contain PCBs, but the general public doesn't really understand printed cir- Evan Howard