Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1525368
24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2024 designed to allow for the tool to cool down. We got that down to about two hours using Carbonite tools. How old or new is this coating technology, and did it come from somewhere else? Perfect Point was issued the patent for the Car- bonite tool in 2018. We started by implement- ing it at the highest tech shops, but lately, there has been a lot of growth because the technol- ogy level is elevating industry-wide. e Car- bonite tools are now our best-selling tools. Let's talk about ROI. Moving to coated tools means higher product quality and repeatabil- ity, but also better process time. What's the algorithm for ROI? We developed a complex calculator designed to make ROI calculations that takes into con- sideration the number and cost of the tools, and costs for support material, resharps, pro- cessing time, labor, machine maintenance, etc. e last two can be difficult to quantify, but even taking those out and just looking at the consumable cost and the run time can give you a very good idea of ROI. Give me an example of an ROI calculation you might use when talking to a customer. For one customer, we were able to decrease their hit counts by three times and increase their throughput by four times. When we plugged all the data into the calculator, it equated to a 30% cost savings. That is a nice chunk of savings. So many of our shops are having to consider making progressive changes. They have to be clear about the ROI. These tools are more expensive than standard tools, but they are cost-efficient. is is one rea- son why we have moved away from diamond- coated tools in the drill room. Our carbon- based coating provides the same benefits as dia- mond-coated tools at a fraction of the cost. Can you use standard drill machine technol- ogy with these high-end coated drill bits? e coated tools are plug-and-play with every machine on the market, whether it's brand new or 30 years old. e shank dimensions are the same as with a standard tool, and our rings are set in the exact same way. e coating is also very thin (0.000007"), so the diameter of the tools is virtually unaffected and won't trigger a diameter error on the machine. Diamond coating is thicker? Typically, it is much thicker—up to 10X thicker in many cases. Before we close, is there anything else you want to share about this technology? e technology excites me for many reasons and we have been able to do mechanically-drilled holes using coated tools into diameters that nobody ever thought possible. We have two dif- ferent users drilling 3-mil through-holes using this technology. Coated tools are where the industry is headed from a quality perspective, and thankfully the ROI is there too. It's really the leading edge that will enable the industry to accomplish what it needs to move forward. This has been interesting, Alex. Thank you for making time to talk with me today. ank you very much. PCB007