Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1505694
24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2023 an outer layer or an inner layer. is simpli- fies the factory by removing unique processes and providing redundancy as we will have two Chemcut DES lines. Panel plating also gives us a little bit more repeatability on copper thick- ness across the surface of the panel, where you only have the density of holes driving copper thickness variation. On our Chemcut etching line, we've added a Sigma Mecer etch recirculation and recla- mation system. e copper is removed from the etchant, plated on big copper sheets, and then sent out for recycling. e long-term goal is plate out in a form that we can reuse in our platers. Before dry film, we are cleaning the copper surface, microetching for adhesion, going through an electrostatic cleaner, and then we do a preheat. Not a lot of people do that, but we're getting the panel up to temper- ature. In the film laminator, we have heated rollers; we are helping promote adhesion as much as possible. Is that a measurable improvement that you can come back and quantify? Most shops don't do that. Hendrickson: Not yet. We're starting with our lower-complexity boards; I expect the extra cleaning and heating of the panels to pay off when we produce our boards with finer features. Aer dry film, we put it in a buffer to get the panel back down to room temp before imaging. We have a Schmoll MDI imager, which has a tandem table with two robots; a scanner on the line will scan the barcode and automatically load the program. e panel is loaded in the first drawer to image the top side, and then the robot flips it to the second drawer and images the backside. Panels are then put in a buffer to let the dry film settle for five minutes before moving on to develop. In your lamination area, you went all in with induction presses. What was your thinking behind that? Chemcut CC8000 inner layer develop-etch-strip (DES) system using cupric chloride etchant. The two large portions of the line shown are the etching chambers.