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July 2016 • SMT Magazine 9 Stephen Las Marias is managing editor of SMT Magazine. He has been a technology editor for more than 12 years covering electronics, components, and industrial automation systems. tance test and IPC TM-650 2.3.25 in an attempt to investigate the correlation of ROSE (resistivity of solvent extract) test methods as predictors of electronic assembly electrical reliability. Next, I interviewed Keysight Technologies' NK Chari to learn more about the challenges in PCBA testing and inspection, technology and market trends that are driving these issues, and the latest innovations happening in the test and inspection industry to help customers address those challenges. He also discusses best practices that customers should consider to improve their PCBA testing and inspection process. We also have another technical paper writ - ten by Chris Hunt and Ling Zou of the National Physical Laboratory and Phil Kinner of Electro- lube. Their article talks about a new, repeatable and controllable approach to condensation test- ing of electronic assemblies. Jens Mille and Jens Kokott of Goepel Elec- tronic GmbH, meanwhile, focus on 3D measure- ment of connectors' swash circumference and embedment depth. W ei Keat Loh of Intel Malaysia and Haley Fu of the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) write about iNEMI's work on establishing package-on-package (PoP) warpage characteristics and understanding the effect of current measurement criteria that potentially ad - dress the component board assembly challenges. In his article, National Instruments' Matej Krajnc explains why electronics manufacturers are shifting from using turnkey ATE solutions to building their own cost-optimized testers based on off-the-shelf instrumentation. He also dis- cusses how modular instrumentation platforms like PXI, which offer the measurement accura- cy required for R&D and the speed required for manufacturing test, are helping manufacturers reduce the cost of test. We also have interesting article from Ahne Oosterhof of Eastwood Consulting, who current- ly consults for LPKF Laser & Electronics North America, about the challenges of using laser sys- tems for the depanelization of circuit boards. His article provides an in-depth analysis of the various laser system operating parameters to de- termine the resulting substrate material tempera- ture changes during depanelization. Carr ying forward last month's topic on sol- der paste printing, Watson Tseng of Shenmao America Inc. and Hsiang-Chuan Chen, Ya-Ching Chuang, Jen-Yio Shiu, and Chang-Meng Wang of Shenmao Technology Inc. spotlights a new solder paste alloy developed for automatic laser soldering processes. Carl Lincoln of EMS firm Integrated Technol- ogies Ltd has written about overcoming medical electronics manufacturing challenges, and lists the top 10 questions to ask that will help you make comparisons when looking to change your medical PCB manufacturer or are outsourcing for the first time. In her column SMT Prospects & Perspectives, Dr. Jennie Hwang of H-Technologies Group dis - cusses the fourth industrial revolution—Industry 4.0—and explains its impact on running busi- nesses, producing products, offering services, and living our lives. Still on the topic of Industr y 4.0, Michael Ford of Mentor Graphics takes a look at the most common approaches adopted so far—Industry 4.0, Internet of Manufacturing (IoM), or smart factory projects—and discusses how things are going, what can be learned from the experiences, and how things could be done better. For his column this month, Tom Borkes of The Jefferson Project dissects the STEM education and presents the real problem that's been going on in the STEM initiative for the past three decades. Last but not least, Robert Voigt of DDM Nov- astar continues his series on selecting a selective soldering system, focusing on the programming software needed to optimize production speed. I hope you enjoy this month's issue of SMT Magazine. Next month, we'll feature the "voices of the industry." Stay tuned! By the way, we are always looking for good, technical content that's relevant to the industry. If you would like to contribute, feel free to drop us a note. SMT IMPROVING TEST AND INSPECTION