Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1522641
14 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2024 More automation means less human handling of material, which can significantly contribute to quality. But what if you need to grow and you're limited on space. We've replaced some equipment with other equipment that is more space efficient. For example, we took out two drill machines and replaced them with one new laser drill. Last year, we converted our dock area into usable floor space and then converted our existing warehouse to add 2,000 square feet of manu- facturing space. Soon, we'll be installing a Pluritec X-CUT machine, which is a good example of automa- tion. It trims the edges off the panels aer lam- ination, does X-ray and serialization, and sets up for drilling. We've replaced three pieces of equipment with that one. Has materials management become more or less difficult to manage? Having more materials to manage now, which has clearly grown over the years at ASC, makes it more challenging than in the past. We're building so many different technologies and are always adding new materials. If we get into substrates, we'll just keep adding more mate- rial types. ere is a level of complexity that increases simply because you're increasing the number of materials you're working with. Let's talk about the quality aspect of materials man- agement. Those challenges will look different based on the materials you use. What is your holistic registration strategy? It is critically important to have a holistic registration sys- tem, especially as things get increasingly tighter. As part of that, it's important to have a way to analyze your ongo- ing registration data and then put a certain amount of feed- back into your system so you can correct your scaling factors in real time. Having the right piece of soware will help you do that. is is critical. Ultimately, every stackup has its own nuances associated with registration because the kind of prepreg, the amount of copper on each layer, and then, to a lesser extent, the dielectric core materials, are all influencing your registration. You can have identical stackups, but if the copper dis- tributions are totally different, they won't per- form the same way. is is where having a good soware tool can account for a lot of those things. Of course, you still need human intelli- gence to really look at the work and know what is going on. You have one machine that replaced three machines, and many of these new machines have AI and machine learning. What are your thoughts on technical workforce needs? We're seeing that you need both process engi- neers and high-level operators or technicians. Ultimately, you need both. I do not see this changing any time soon. Anaya, it is always a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you for sharing your materials management strategy. Happy to do it. ank you, Marcy. PCB007 Building out the warehouse area.