Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1515990
80 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2024 Interview by Barry Matties I-CONNECT007 Over the past few months, we have met sev- eral of IPS's team members. IPS has been a manufacturer of wet process equipment for printed circuit board fabrication for over 30 years, working from its Cedar City, Utah, loca- tion. In this interview, you will meet IPS team members Travis Houchin, Larry Boehm, and Kaal Glazier. Travis has been in the indus- try for 15 years, Larry for 20 years, and Kaal, who studied manufacturing engineering in college and graduated in 2019, joined IPS last year. With this group of two seasoned indus- try experts and the voice of the next genera- tion, we cover several topics, including AI, and some useful tips when considering equipment, especially in brownfield sites. Barry Matties: Larry, have you been in the industry for many years? Larry Boehm: Starting in high school, I worked for Viking Chemical, which did conformal coatings. We mixed resins, material, and hand- dunked PC boards. at was around 1986— and I wonder why I'm falling apart. I have been with IPS since last year. What changes or surprises stick out over your decades-long career? Boehm: First, the technology: everything from the laminates, signal integrity, I/O speeds, and the complexity of vias. You're now look- ing at things so complex from a basic double- sided board. Now you have Kapton® materials and other technology, for example, in missile programs, space, and satellite programs. It's never-ending, and it's such an advanced mate- rials market. Kaal, you're fresh in the industry. What has caught your attentiont? What's been most interesting to you? Kaal Glazier: ere is a lot to be considered. One thing is being at the manufacturing facili- ties and seeing how packed some manufactur- ers can be when it comes to real estate—try- ing to get a new process into such a small area. at challenge makes it a lot of fun for our engi- neering team. While looking at how we meet customers' demands in such a small space, I've asked a few times about going vertical, making a double-decker machine while keeping haz- IPS Engineers on AI and More