Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1534953
you to have one high-capacity unit that can provide for all your reliabil- ity and robustness testing needs for via structures or solder joints. Prior to this, multiple units were nec- essary to provide both the capac- ity and range now delivered by the HATS² test system. Back to your supply chain. Neves: Correct. Because somebody comes to you and says, "I can sell you a chemical that will be three cents less a liter, a material that's two cents less a square foot." That's attractive, right? I want to look at that, but I need to look at more than just the datasheets and salesper- son's promises. I can now quickly build coupons, test them in the HATS² system, and know whether or not the salesperson is right. If I'm investing money into this new equipment, what should I expect for ROI? What's the real value proposition? Neves: The path forward for this has typically been that a customer asks you to do this test, and you sub- contract it to one of the services out there. As that gets busier, you look at the money you're spending on test services and say, "I can buy a piece of equipment and put it in my facility and save money." That's normally the progression toward investment in this type of equip- ment. That's what we expect. When a piece of capital-intensive test equipment is placed in a manufac- turer's lab, a different value propo- sition is assessed. It doesn't build anything or create revenue. The lab is always viewed as a cost center. The only way to truly make it appeal- ing for people to purchase a non- revenue-generating piece of equip- ment is to examine the cost cen- ter and say, "I can help you reduce expenses by placing this equip- ment in your facility." They can see it, feel it, and justify their budget. Naisbitt: As Bob says, it's a high capital cost, but the value propo- sition of them spending so much money on test services and consid- ering bringing it in-house is where we anticipate the model will gener- ate lots of activity. Will there be any special skill set required for an operator of the HATS² test system? Neves: We've worked very hard over the past three years with techni- cians at two labs where we've been conducting R&D to ensure that an entry-level operator can easily run the system. The real challenge was to make the input such that an entry-level operator with just an hour or two of training could suc- cessfully run it. We have reached that level now. The retail version of the HATS² test system is no longer an engineering unit but a produc- tion unit that can be set up, trained with inputs, and operated by techni- cians on the floor. Naisbitt: What about interpreting the results? Neves: The system's results are output to several different people. We output an Excel workbook that has every piece of data we collect and give that to the engineer, who can dive through it, give it to a data specialist, or give it to AI and ask what it means. We also have a program that does that for you and arranges the data together in a nice test report with " " Our system allows you to have one high-capacity unit that can provide for all your reliability and robustness testing needs for via structures or solder joints.