Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1519075
30 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2024 ity to any U.S. PCB manufacturer as a sub- contracted service. Second, PCBMC will cat- alyze commercial and government demand for domestic UHDI PCBs. ird, this PPP will transfer all the knowledge and exper- tise to operate a UHDI manufacturing facility to any U.S. PCB domestic manufacturer. e fourth core benefit provides education and workforce development. e PCBMC will be growing and upskilling the current workforce while attracting new workers into the industry. Finally, we will be delivering leapfrog technol- ogies through R&D efforts to help U.S. PCB manufacturers become and stay more compet- itive globally. That is a big initiative with important goals. How did this project come about? is project has been developed by industry, for industry. USPAE began holding indus- try workshops with government input in late 2022 and early 2023 to better understand the challenges and start devising a solution. In the fall of 2023, the Department of Defense pro- vided funding to USPAE to conduct qualitative and quantitative research documenting those needs and formally propose solutions for the PCBMC. We've got a great team. Using the PPP business model, how will this facility bring UHDI capabilities to PCB manufacturers? With a mix of both government and private funding, our vision has been that the proposed manufacturing facility will be rapidly stood up utilizing modified semi-additive process (mSAP) technology. Once the facility is opera- tional, the PCBMC will begin providing UHDI subcontracting services to the U.S. PCB fabri- cation base. Our vision from the beginning has been that by utilizing a shared resource model, PCB fab- ricators would build a core using its existing capabilities and send that core to the PCBMC, which will be run through the mSAP pro- cess and shipped back to the PCB manufac- turer. Obviously, there's a lot more detail in the data and product transfer that must be closely worked out with industry to determine the best approach to meet the needs of each of their unique business models. One of the keys is that the PCB manufacturers maintain their customer relationships. Now, they will be able to offer one additional level of up-capability. The PCBMC would be an outsourced process supplier, in essence, for very high technology work. Once you're operational, how much capacity will you offer to U.S. manufacturers? e exact capacity and how to measure it are difficult because we are not talking about just cores and panels anymore. We think of capac- ity in terms of the number of sequential build- up layers. At the same time, the PCBMC would certainly not be positioned to meet all produc- tion requirements. e logical outcome is that the PCBMC would obsolete itself through that knowledge transfer to industry and shi the focus toward continued education, workforce development, and R&D efforts. e facility could also provide additional capacity should there be a sudden demand surge. Joe O'Neil