Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/288471
84 SMT Magazine • April 2014 realtimewith.com CliCk To View Video Interview guest editor kelly dack chats with CEO greg Delarge, who explains that Plasma Etch is waging a "de-smear" campaign! plasma Etch and the War on De-smear by Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2014 Michael ford is senior marketing development manager with val- or Division of Mentor graphics Corporation. To read past col- umns, or to contact the author, click here. enhancing rules for better performance and quality, as well as following any changes to the processes. This ongoing work is asynchronous to the product models being introduced, repre- senting a very worthwhile investment of their time and expertise versus a significant reduc- tion of their day-to-day repetitive work-load for each product. We now have a lean NPI flow (Figure 2). Lean, because the waste of time and effort for every- one involved in the flow is virtually eliminated. Compatible tools supporting the lean NPI flow, work together at design, fabrication, and assem- bly, working through, for example, ODB++. The premise of this flow is that we expand the scope of specialists to work outside of their comfort zones by establishing a process flow with feedback loop that enables each special- ist area to help the other, without straying outside of their area of expertise and excel- lence. With Lean NPI, the designer can per- form a more comprehensive task, including DFM, but without having to be a manufactur- ing expert. The business impact of this flow is very significant, bringing products to market in a fraction of the time and cost previously needed, mainly through the reduction of res- pins and elimination of needless data recon- struction. Justification for the introduction of the complete set of lean NPI tools is not hard to find. This is a great example of how software is evolving, not only providing the specialist sup- port of key functions, but also bringing mem- bers of a team together who until now have been unable to communicate and help each other effectively. SMT The eSSenTiAl Pioneer'S SurViVAl guide EXpaNDiNG YOUr COMFOrT ZONE continues