Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1514628
8 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2024 Nolan's Notes by Nolan Johnson, I-CONNECT007 Let Your Walls Down I'm careful about not complaining too much in my life and in my professional writing. Complaining usually gets you nowhere. Back in college, I heard a quote that has stuck with me: "If you're going to complain about a prob- lem, have a solution to offer along with your complaint. at's the way to move things for- ward." So, pardon me while I lodge a com- plaint and suggest a change in behavior about PCB fabricators and designers. As long as I've been in this industry, fabri- cators have been downright territorial about their processes. It doesn't matter whether it's capabilities, limits, CAM processes, or even the chemicals used in the plating and etching processes, fabs don't divulge that information. Meanwhile, they want OEMs and designers to improve the manufacturability of their designs by working closely with the fabricators, and PCB customers should better understand what goes on inside the fab. While it seems those two goals contradict each other, it's not necessarily true. ere are plenty of examples of innovators giving their disruptive technology away: • Volvo developed the seat belt, then chose not to patent it. • Bell Labs developed and gave away TCP/ IP. at's the data packet technology that makes the internet work. • Speaking of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee gave away HTTP, allowing browsers to proliferate in our lives.