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82 The PCB Magazine • March 2017 MACFEST: BENCHMARKING A NEW SOLDERABLE PCB FINISH the ability to wire bond to the surface finish, defining its bond strength and performance on differing pad sizes. To date, ionic liquids have performed well in their bespoke applications within PCB manufac- ture. The success to date of the MACFEST proj- ect and the potential for cost savings from the novel chemical formulation shows that their continued development and introduction into manufacturing is well worth pursuing. PCB References 1. Tm, Ultrasource, 2016. '09: ENEPIG—The "Universal Finish." Available here. 2. A.P. Abbot & K.J. Mckenzie, 2006. "Appli- cation of ionic liquids to the electrodeposition of metals." Royal Society of Chemistry, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys, 8, pp. 4265–4279. 3. A.D. Ballantyne, G.C.H. Forrest, G. Frisch, J.M. Hartley & K.S. Ryder, 2015. "Electrochem- istry and speciation of Au+ in a deep eutectic solvent: growth and morphology of galvanic immersion coatings." Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys.,, 17, pp. 30540 –30550. 4. IPC, 2013. "Specification for Electroless Nickel/Electroless Palladium/Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) Plating for Printed Circuit Boards." IPC-4556. 5. Systems, Gen 3 "MUST SYSTEM 3 Solder- ability Testing System." Solderability Testing System. 6. Wood, E.R., 1983. "Printed Circuit Board Reflow by Vapour Phase Heating." Emerald In- sight, Circuit World, 10, pp. 26–27. 7. IPC, 1995. "IPC-TM-650 Test Methods Manual." Available here. 8. R.J.K. Wassink, M.C. Seegers & M.M.F. Verguld, 1993. "Use of Nitrogen in Reflow Sol- dering." Emerald Insight, Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, 5, pp. 21–27. 9. L. Zhang, G. Sun, L. Li & J.K. Shang, 2007. "Effect of Copper Oxide Layer on Solder Wetting Temperature under a Reduced Atmosphere." 8th Internation Conference on Electronic Pack- aging Technology. Shanghai, China: IEEE. Thomas Jones is based at Heriot Watt University and is carrying out research at Merlin Circuit Technology as part of his Engineering Doctorate (EngD). The rapidly expanding robotics program in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University has spun off one of its first businesses, a company focused on legged locomotion that may revolutionize robot mobility and enable robots to go anywhere people can. The firm, Agility Robotics, based in Albany, Oregon, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, already has several of its first customers and will license some technologies first developed at OSU. A leading application for this type of mobility is package delivery, company officials say. In the long term, advanced mobility will enable shipping so automated and inexpensive that its cost becomes inconsequential, opening vast new possibilities in retail trade while lowering costs for manufacturing and production. "This technology will simply explode at some point, when we create vehicles so automated and robots so efficient that deliveries and shipments are almost free," said Jonathan Hurst, an associate professor of robotics in the OSU College of Engineering, and CTO at Agility Robotics. "Quite simply, robots with legs can go a lot of places that wheels cannot. This will be the key to deliveries that can be made 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by a fleet of autonomous vans that pull up to your curb, and an onboard robot that delivers to your doorstep." Agility Robotics Evolves from OSU Research, Aims to Revolutionize Robot Mobility