Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1524164
98 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2024 Don Monn, national sales manager at Elec- tra Polymers, talks about the company's 40th anniversary and recent developments in inkjet solder mask technology. Don shares insights on the company's history, com- mitment to innovation, and the environ- mental benefits of its products. He dis- cusses the challenges and advance- ments in the circuit board industry since the 1990s, emphasizing the importance of education and mentorship. Everyone seems to be talking about workforce and staffing, but after the pandemic, staffing for manufacturing jobs became an even greater challenge. In April, IPC published a white paper, "Building Electronics Better: A Plan to Address the Workforce Challenges Facing the Electron- ics Manufacturing Indus- try." The paper addresses myriad issues surround- ing workforce recruitment, development, and reten- tion while outlining a spe- cific approach to tackle these challenges. Subtractive etching has been the technology of choice since the era of PCBs began in the mid-1950s. I can remember TV ads for one manufac- turer that claimed their TV sets were of much higher quality claiming, "We use wires to make the connections for our television sets, not cheap printed circuit boards." Imagine that. Many alternative technologies have been tried—e.g., conductive inks applied with an ink jet printer, direct metallization, and semi- and fully-additive manufacturing—but none have been able to match the low cost and high productivity of the subtractive process. Beyond Prepreg: The Glassless 'Revolution' As our industry rallies around the call to action for HDI and UHDI, we find unparalleled and myriad laminate options. This abundance is rivaled only by the question surrounding them: Can they measure up to the high technology packaging demands required in our near future? Unsurprisingly, recent developments in FR-4-esque materials for high- speed and high-density designs, as well as newer, glassless technology for replacing traditional glass-impregnated laminates and prepreg, are garnering much interest. Overcoming Workforce Challenges from Onboarding to Upskilling Forty Years of Innovation at Electra Polymer The Chemical Connection: Can the Limits of Subtractive Etching Be Extended? TOP TEN EDITOR'S PICKS Don Monn