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56 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2025 pany decided that this made the project econom- ically unfeasible, and it would be better off con- tinuing to purchase their circuit boards rather than onshore production. This was, of course, a bitter disappointment for us, but, given the circumstances, probably a wise decision for them for the immedi- ate future. Hopefully, the proposed tariffs will raise the price of offshore-manufactured boards to where they look at U.S. suppliers for their boards. That would be good for them and, in the long run, for us. This may have been a case of too much, too soon. Perhaps a better approach would have been to bring a percentage of the offshore product in- house and then, as experience and expertise are gained, gradually expand to the production needed. The other lesson is to make sure you understand the local environmental regulations before seri- ously considering bringing your board production in-house. Fortunately, the second example illus- trated here shows that it is possible to go from zero to full in-house production. The Devil's in the Details The second example is about a company that makes precision measuring equipment and pro- totypes. This company requires far fewer cir- cuit boards than my first example, but their circuit boards have very tight tolerances, and they've had trouble getting what they need from their outside suppliers. (I'm not sure whether their suppliers were on- or offshore). This company asked: Would bring- ing our board production onshore to allow for bet- ter quality control be economically feasible? We went through the same procedures as above. We provided quotes for the equipment we could supply and pointed them to other suppliers for their other equipment and chemistry needs. After all that, the company determined it would be feasible to make their own boards and bought equipment and sup- plies to set up a shop. Our contribution was a two- stage cleaning system for surface preparation and a cupric chloride DES system. However, we could tell by the questions they asked about our equipment that they had no expe- rience in actually running a circuit board shop and no idea how to keep it running efficiently. This was a situation we generally don't run into as an equip- ment supplier since most of our customers are already familiar with circuit board manufacturing. We had to think about what non-capital equipment a shop needs to keep the place running efficiently— those little things that you don't think of until you need them. We provided them with a list of useful things to have around that make running a shop easier and more efficient, including things that any small- to medium-sized shop should have. I convinced them they needed a small chemi- cal analysis lab tucked into a corner somewhere to back up the automatic chemistry controls, espe- cially for the free acid in the cupric chloride, just enough to do simple acid/base titrations. These are relatively uncomplicated and don't require a trained chemist, but are invaluable in confirming that the automatic chemistry controls are functioning as designed. We supplied a list of the necessary glass- ware and chemicals, and they set up a small chem- istry lab near the etch area. Another list of frequently overlooked items in the initial planning included handheld pH and ORP meters (keeping in mind that a person with one pH meter will always know what the pH is, while the person with two pH meters is never certain). Also included were a scale with at least a 200-pound max for making up their process chemistries, an electric drum pump for moving large amounts of chemistry, hand-operated siphon pumps for moving small amounts of chemistry, a shop vac, and a mop and bucket. A mop and bucket may seem some- what mundane, but you'll find them to be the most- used in the shop. Due to column length require- ments, this isn't a comprehensive list of all we sup- plied, and many of you can likely think of several other items that were overlooked. So far (knock on wood), everything seems to be running smoothly, but the next several months will tell. Starting a circuit board manufacturing facility from scratch is not something to be considered lightly, but it is possible with careful planning and foresight. PCB007 Don Ball is a process engineer at Chemcut. To read past columns or contact Ball, click here. T H E C H E M I CA L C O N N ECT I O N