Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1525368
14 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2024 LaRont: Mike, why doesn't every PCB fabrica- tion facility have automated sensors across their wet process line for better control of their processes and better and easier management? As we know, old habits die hard. ere really is no good reason for it, other than fabricators have always tended to rely on their suppliers to be their engineers. Again, it's an imperfect sys- tem. Matties: Add to that the many years fabrica- tors have been beating up their suppliers on lowering their costs; it's a vicious cycle. When you start taking revenue away from your supplier, technical service or some level of service will suffer. It's about fundamentals. In football, it's block- ing and tackling. It's about execution. If you're not committed to doing the execution, you're at the mercy of a bad system, and that's the point. I can walk into many PCB facilities today that do analysis instead of identifying the root cause of problems and determining the real costs. ey lack troubleshooting skills. LaRont: If you're always relying on your supplier, you don't think you need a deep understanding of those processes. is is where the semi- conductor industry is better, and we need to think more like them. For example, many years ago, I visited an Intel facility in Chandler, Ari- zona. When I saw the chemistry and photo- resist they used, I asked whether their suppli- ers were there to help solve any problems. Very simply and clearly, the Intel engineer said that if they had a problem and needed to rely on their supplier, it meant waiting two to three hours for a technical person to arrive. Dur- ing that waiting time, Intel would have wasted or squandered about 4 million of its product. "Everything has to work," he told me. "We don't have or look for technical service because everything has to work here on the floor with- out anyone from the outside, because then it's just too late." I don't expect our printed circuit board customers to go that far necessarily, but they should think about not having to rely on the supplier for everything. Matties: Mike, it's easy to say, "Here's a solution for one of your processes," but don't they have to start with a strategy? Isn't that the truth, Barry? It should be about your strategy, and where you want to go with the company. at's your war room, where you say, "How do we want to control our wet pro- cesses?" You have to know what those will be and what it takes to do it. Is it more staff, another URL, language translations, or more data stor- age space? What's the cost? What is your road- map? It's about strategy. You just don't say you want to buy a controller and hope it helps. LaRont: When you go into a company and see lots of opportunities for how they can