40 The PCB Design Magazine • April 2015
PCB007
News Highlights
Schmoll Keeping an Eye on the Future—
and on LDI
In this interview, Thomas Kunz, who has been at
the helm of Schmoll Maschinen as president since
1993, discusses the company's lengthy history in
mechanical engineering (more than 70 years!),
current global scope, and what he sees as a steady
progression in directions that make the most sense
to customers, which include laser direct imaging.
IPC Volunteers Recognized at APEX
IPC presented Committee Leadership, Distin-
guished Committee Service and Special Recogni-
tion awards at IPC APEX EXPO® at the San Diego
Convention Center in February. The awards were
presented to individuals who made significant
contributions to IPC and the industry by lending
their time and expertise through IPC committee
service.
IPC Opens Latest Statistical Programs
IPC's global statistical programs for the laminate,
solder, process consumables and assembly equip-
ment industries are now open to new participants
for 2015. The deadline for IPC members to sign
up is April 15. Participation is free to IPC-member
companies as a benefit of membership.
Shennan Circuit Gets Top Supplier Award
"Having a network of strong-performing suppli-
ers that share our commitment to delivering ex-
ceptional quality and cost-effective solutions is
essential to meeting our customers' needs," said
Wayne Flory, vice president, material & supply for
Rockwell Collins. "Shennan has been a strong-
performing supplier since we started working with
the company nearly ten years ago."
HDI Leads Rigid PCB Growth in 2014
High-density interconnect was still a main engine
of growth in rigid PCB field in 2014, and is ex-
pected to maintain the momentum in 2015. As
mobile phone screens become larger, PCBs for
mobile phones have to react accordingly. To en-
sure light weight and thinness of mobile phones,
the demand for more advanced anylayer HDI in-
creases tremendously.
How 3D Printing will Impact
PCB Fabrication
In the near future, we will enter an era where elec-
tronic devices are printed, rather than assembled.
They will be fabricated layer-by-layer as a single
object, rather than assembled from separate me-
chanical, electrical, and optical parts. This article
describes the implications that 3D printing will
have on PCB manufacturing.
Material Witness: Low-Flow Prepregs—
Defining the Beast!
The term "low flow" should make sense to both
suppliers and users of the products. A low-flow
prepreg flows sufficiently to wet out and adhere
to bonding surfaces and to fill innerlayer copper
details, but does not flow so much as to fill in cut-
out areas in a heat sink or run unevenly out of the
interface between rigid and flexible elements of a
rigid-flex PWB.
Raising a Unified Voice for an
Advanced Manufacturing Economy
The electronics manufacturing industry is an im-
portant sector in the global economy, and John
Hasselmann, VP of Government Relations at IPC, is
an advocate for policies that will help our industry,
as well as the prosperity and welfare of billions of
people.
Reliability and Harmonization of Global
Standards at Forefront of EIPC Efforts
At IPC APEX EXPO 2015, I-Connect007 Technical
Editor Pete Starkey caught up with EIPC's Michael
Weinhold and Alun Morgan, who were happy to
discuss both recent and ongoing focuses for EIPC,
namely, reliability. Also touched on was the impor-
tance of the alignment of global standardization
processes, especially for Asia.
FlexTech Honors Flex Electronics Firms
FlexTech Alliance awarded Thin Film Electronics,
Vitex Systems and Pacific Northwest National Lab-
oratories (PNNL), and California Polytechnic Insti-
tute's Graphic Communication Department with
the 7th annual FLEXI Awards for Innovation, R&D,
and Leadership in Education awards, respectively.
40 The PCB Design Magazine • April 2015
