Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1525368
18 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2024 must look at it broadly. How will you minimize variation? e only way to do that is to have better control and collect the data. Matties: You make a strong case that by bringing process control into your facility, your operating windows will tighten up automatically. at's exactly right. If fabricators come at this with at least a general strategy of implement- ing process control to tighten up their capabil- ity window, the ROI will be significant. When you are controlling things better in tighter windows, your costs will go down. A cou- ple of years ago, a fabricator asked me to help improve the distribution of the gold on their electroless process. ey had been making the additions incorrectly which was causing exces- sive plating across the panel. ey were going from 1.6 microinches to 5.5 microinches across the panel. e distribution was terrible. ey were wasting so much gold. ey were only doing about 100 to 125 boards a day through the line, but by making a few adjustments in the racks and the solution flow, they reduced their gold consumption over a period of six months by 300 ounces and kept a tighter pro- cess control window between 2.1 and 2.5. At $1,000 an ounce, that is a savings of $300,000 over a six-month period. Matties: Those are bottom-line dollars right there. You could hire two engineers with experience with that money. ere are many things a small- to mid-sized fabricator can do with $300,000. LaRont: Thank you, Mike. Happy to help. PCB007