IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1547121
OCTOBER 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 101 • Desmear, metallization, and hole plugging • Fine-line and tight-registration, image transfer, and etching • Blind via plating (super fill copper) • Quality control and qualifications (test vehicles, reliability verification) The investments noted in Table 1 should not be considered trivial. They are the cost of entry for competing in a lucrative, less crowded market. The industry is pushing technological boundaries and creating unprecedented opportunities. Demand from AI, high-performance computing, electric vehi- cles, aerospace, defense, and autonomous systems is accelerating the adoption of heterogeneous integration, chiplet architectures, advanced substrates, and HDI technologies. These developments increase the importance of coordinating design, materials, assembly, testing, reliability, and manufacturing capabili- ties. Investment in technologies, materials, tools, and processes will enable fabricators to improve yields, increase productivity, and enter the realm of advanced packaging and high-performance circuit board fabrication. Michael Carano brings over 40 years of electronics industry experience with special expertise in manufacturing, performance chemicals, metals, semi- conductors, medical devices, and advanced pack- aging. To read past columns, click here. T RO U B L E I N YO U R TA N K T RO U B L E I N YO U R TA N K Table 1: At a minimum, these investments must be made Investment Cost (approximate) in 000** Combo UV/CO2 laser via formation equipment $300–$800 Laser Direct Imaging $600–$800 Copper Via Fill plating Cell $150–$200 High Speed Mechanical Drills/Routing $500–$800 (with back drill capability) Lamination Presses (state of the art) $750–$1,200*** Etching/developer upgrades $350–$500 Registration systems (optical/pinless bonding) $400–$600 (pinless optical) Direct Metallization (horizontal) $350–$450 Flying Probe Tester $200–$400 (high end tester) Via fill technology (paste fill)/planarizer $150–$250 Electroplating Line new/upgrades $750–$1,000 Vacuum Laminator $100–$200 (higher with fully automated line) Plasma Systems $400–$500 Engineering/IT upgrades $300–$400 Online plating solution analyzers $125–$150 In-house reliability testing/QC $400–$500 **Cost approximate and could vary depending on style of each piece of equipment *** State-of-the-art lamination presses are required for leading-edge PCB fabrication. The press is not simply bonding the layers together; it serves to control resin flow, dielectric thickness, copper balance, layer registration, Z-axis CTE, warpage, and final drill registration.