Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1526114
14 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2024 jetting processes aligns with the alloy you are using in other parts of the assembly. e last thing you want to do is create an alloy on the board that is not fully understood. e auto- motive and aerospace markets dictate higher reliability standards than most others, and because of that, require alloys that perform superior to traditional SAC305. If it's that important, does it become a fairly involved conversation between the assem- bly house and the design team to make sure that they're lining things up the way they're intended? Murling: Yes. If you're a contract manufacturer, and you have the option to pick, you don't nec- essarily think about flux compatibility consid- erations. You might select a jetting solder paste that's not compatible with the other chem- istries on the same board. You want to make sure that your chemistries are compatible. e solder paste vendors can always tell you the details of their own formulations. When choosing the right solder formulation and solder flux formulation, how critical is it on the design side? Murling: We have quite a large technical sup- port team here at Indium Corporation. We can help any customer with whatever information they need, whether it's printing, dispensing, or jetting. I want to point out that the Mycronic user interface, as an example, will scan a barcode for the job, and the machine does all the work. You tell it where to put the paste; it knows how much paste, and it knows what pressures to use. It knows the heat required. It knows all the variables inside the machine. So, you're not tweaking and fine-tuning print speed or pres- sures like you would on a printer, or the auger speed or time pressure on a dispenser. Are you talking about the operator on the floor? Somebody has to program the setup for that particular job. The machine has to be looking at the data somewhere. Murling: at's one of the values Mycronic brings. Actually, it's difficult to make a paste that's Mycronic-approved because the sol- der paste supplier needs to do a basic round of tests to be qualified. Mycronic then does sev- eral tests to develop the information in the bar- code. Aer that, the barcode doesn't change. e machine scans the barcode and knows what to do. e only difference is the board that's programmable. I've heard very good things about the ease of use for programming. All that's needed is to specify where the paste goes. e claim is that an engineer can pro- gram a board with thousands of apertures in 10 to 20 minutes. at's pretty quick. Given that this application is usually for lower-volume things, that would make a lot of sense. Murling: For R&D centers for NPI, for whom they may be testing to see if the product works, you put down paste, attach components, and verify. And then when you're ready for high volume. Adam, what's your prognosis for jetting? Murling: I do see a growth opportunity for jet- ting, maybe not as a standalone production solution, but as a supplemental application to printing and for the NPI side. Gents, thank you both for your insights. Murling: You're very welcome. Lasky: My pleasure. SMT007 " Really, how clean is clean? "