Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/688506
10 The PCB Magazine • June 2016 Finally, we are introducing a new colum- nist Barry Lee Cohen (BLC), of newly opened, Launch Communications. His inaugural col- umn, Launch Letters, focuses on exceptional ser- vice, which he illustrates with an everyday ex- ample you will all relate to. Look for Barry's col- umns on marketing-related topics every month, with plenty of valuable tidbits. Summer is upon us and wouldn't it be nice to take a week or two and forget about the shop and all the myriad issues, problems, deadlines and such? Ha, not in the electronics industry! I suppose we all wonder what it would be like to work in a different industry at a slower pace. Uh, how about boring? Because with the hec- tic schedules and headaches comes the adren- alin rush to meet that deadline and the satis- faction of solving a production problem to ship on time, not to mention just having made the most complicated, intricate PC board ever and isn't it beautiful? Who doesn't love the excite- ment, often lying just below the surface (per- haps pushed down by those pesky crises), of be- ing in the fastest moving industry in the world, in fact the industry that is shaping and making the world we live in the most exciting ever. So there's a little bit of inspiration for you. Let everyone else think we're crazy. Next month will be another issue filled with the practical stuff you need to do your job. The topic is in- spection and test, and we'll try to bring you ev- erything you need to know on that subject. If you haven't already, subscribe now and be sure to make I-Connect007.com a "safe sender" so you will get it without delay. PCB Patricia Goldman is a 30+ year veteran of the PCB industry, with experience in a variety of areas, including R&D of imaging technologies, wet process engineering, and sales and marketing of PWB chemistry. Active with IPC since 1981, Goldman has chaired numerous committees and served as TAEC chairman, and is also the co-author of numerous technical papers. To contact Goldman, click here. this that I think I've become an IMPACT evan- gelist! To this end, we've created a special sec- tion in this month's magazine to help you learn more about IMPACT (which I don't believe is an acronym but just what you want to have— an impact). It mainly consists of a number of interviews I did with participants—possibly your customers, suppliers, and colleagues—plus an intro by me. Definitely worth a read. And I hope large numbers of you are inspired to do more than just read. Let me know! Besides the IMPACT section, we do have much more for you this month. Your and my favorite author, Happy Holden, is back at it and full of info as usual—and this time his subject is landless vias. What finer feature is there than… none? As in no land, no pad. Doesn't that open up a bit of space on the circuit board? And the technology is there—for quite some time. Per- haps a feature whose time has come? Next up is columnist Dave Becker of All Flex Flexible Circuits who gives us a short primer on laser direct imaging, especially as it applies to flex circuit processing. Direct imaging is pretty much a requirement for today's finest features. We have a wonderful technical paper from Tobias Sponholz, et al., of Atotech Deutschland, which was originally presented at IPC APEX EXPO in March. It is a highly detailed paper on high-throw electroless copper processes specifi- cally designed for very small holes and blind vias. Right smack in the middle of everything are the IMPACT interviews. We next have our troubleshooting colum- nist Mike Carano of RBP Chemical with a dis- course on the developing process, which is a great follow-up to the earlier column on imag- ing. As always, Mike gives us plenty of helpful info and advice along with a better understand- ing of the process. And now for an article that carries forward last month's topic of automation and reducing handling, and that is Alex Stepinski's detail on automating Whelen Engineering's new PCB fab operation. Alex gives plenty of detail and how- to in this paper that was originally presented at IPC APEX EXPO this year. It's a must-read for anyone thinking about handling and/or auto- mating a process. IMPACTING THE INDUSTRY—LITERALLY