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52 The PCB Magazine • March 2016 tion. Most optics maintain a similar replacement cadence, but may be longer or shorter depend- ing on the compressed air and environmental air quality, the amount of debris generated by the laser process, and the frequency of preven- tive maintenance optics cleaning, among other factors. The system supplier's highly-trained field service engineers generally perform system troubleshooting and major maintenance, while the customer's maintenance team will perform more frequent and simpler preventive mainte- nance tasks. Managing Operating Costs Personnel costs are different for laser pro- cessing equipment than for other capital equip- ment. While operators, maintenance engineers, and supervisory staff are standard for all capital equipment, laser processing equipment requires at least one trained laser process engineer and a laser safety officer. Unlike mechanical drill- ing, where there is a well-defined set of speeds and feeds that are used for a given material and drill bit, laser processing requires active process development to ensure robust, high-yield pro- cesses that are tailored not only to the material and via type and size, but also to the upstream and downstream processes. Any company that uses the Class 4 lasers that are typically used for material processing should employ a laser safety officer to ensure processes are put in place and employees are properly trained to avoid serious laser-related accidents [1] . In a previous article, Keeping on Top of Laser Safety [1] , we discussed this in more detail. Improving Yield Yield costs—the number of panels lost due to yield/quality issues multiplied by the cost of a given panel—can become significant if you do not take proactive steps to reduce them. Strin- gent quality requirements are no longer limited to the medical device and defense industries. Even in the consumer electronics industry, some OEMs have begun to introduce financial penalties considerably above the raw board costs for any scrapped boards. These trends, coupled with the ever-more-sensitive materi- als and smaller features to be processed, require more sophistication from you and your system suppliers. Adding Automation Finally, if you are considering complement- ing your laser system with an automated ma- terial handling solution such as a roll-to-roll handler or stack handler, don't forget that it also has a critical role to play in ensuring high process yield. Especially as materials become thinner and more easily damaged, your materi- al handling solution should be chosen not just on lowest cost, but also on its ability to handle material without wrinkling, scuffing, or other damage at the maximum throughput available through the laser system you are considering. Maximizing System Utilization System utilization is the percentage of sys- tem time spent in production after subtracting system downtime. Scheduled downtime can typically be estimated by reviewing the system's preventive maintenance guide as requested from the supplier prior to purchase. Unscheduled downtime, on the other hand, is typically more difficult to judge. The sup- plier's service team should be able to provide reasonable estimates of service event frequency and how long it takes on average to perform major interventions such as replacing a laser. System troubleshooting often has uncertainties associated with it. The biggest factors related to ensuring minimal downtime include the sup- stepping up to laser proCessing for flex, part 2 " While operators, maintenance engineers, and supervisory staff are standard for all capital equipment, laser processing equipment requires at least one trained laser process engineer and a laser safety officer. "