INSPECTION
What is FAI, and What is the Purpose?
While SAE AS9102 defines first article inspection and its purpose, there is often confusion regarding that definition and its importance to an OEM. These concerns cause havoc in both the design and production worlds. Here, a leading defense contractor clears up FAI.
by Karen Ebner, Charles A. Hill and G. Wilkish
PACKAGING
Characteristics of a Third-Level PCB Assembly
Under typical circumstances, engineers won’t know whether a design will work until the prototype is built. A package “implementation” approach, rather than package “installation” approach, can help EMS firms comply with OEM requirements.
by Mueed Khan
ROI
Service with a smile.
Peter Bigelow
FOCUS ON BUSINESS
Priced to win.
Joseph Fama
ON THE FOREFRONT
ECTC: a packaging heaven.
E. Jan Vardaman
DESIGNER’S NOTEBOOK
Moving targets.
Charles Pfeil
GETTING LEAN
Counting the data.
Ron Feyereisen
TECH TIPS
More whiskers.
Karl Seelig and Tim O’Neill
TEST AND INSPECTION
I’m your answer.
Robert Boguski
PCB DESIGN
Power Integrity and Power Distribution Design Tips
A power integrity problem can be difficult to detect and recreate, which can slow time to market. Take these steps to improve the power integrity of a system.
by Griff Derryberry
DFM
Design Practices for Panelization and Depanelization
Panelization keeps small boards attached to each other within a single, larger substrate. Using arrays benefits the fabricator and the assembler. Here’s how the designer can help.
by Phil Lerma
PCB HISTORY
A Trip through Time
From manual drilling and fry pans to the highly automated production machines today, PCB manufacturing has come a long way in a relatively short period, as a walk through Electropac’s PCB Museum reminds us.by Mike Buetow
EMS TOP 50
A Muddled Recovery
The EMS industry is recovering, but not broadly, with at least 22 of the top 50 companies experiencing lower sales last year, some by a billion or more.by Mike Buetow
ROI
Young and restless.
Peter Bigelow
FOCUS ON BUSINESS
Finding the source.
Susan Mucha
DESIGNER’S NOTEBOOK
Third-party libraries.
F. Scott Fillebrown
DEFECTS DATABASE
Sulphur corrosion.
Dr. Chris Hunt
COMPONENT PACKAGING
Power Electronics Packages with Embedded Components – Recent Trends and Developments
Power electronics packaging applications are in strong demand for their reliability and cost. Development work ranges from low-power converter modules, over single or multichip MOSFET or IGBT packages, to high-power applications. Recent developments toward module realization for high-power automotive applications include the screening and use of organic substrate materials for embedding and thermal management, as well as interconnection materials for die, module and heatsink assembly.
by Lars Boettcher, Stefan Karaszkiewicz, Dionysios Manessis and Andreas Ostmann
STENCIL DESIGN
Automating Stencil Design
Stencil design calculation capability is not new to electronics manufacturing, but evolving software tools have brought about much-needed sophistication to stencil design calculations and analyses, all while slicing the time it takes to perform the calculations.
by Chrys Shea
IPC APEX EXPO RECAP
Good Values in Vegas
LEDs and 03105 package styles were the main topics of conversation, but – surprisingly? – what really stood out at the annual IPC trade show was the exhibitors’ good vibes.
by Mike Buetow (photos by Rebekah Venturini)
ROI
Lessons from the past.
Peter Bigelow
FOCUS ON BUSINESS
Competition from unlikely places.
Joseph Fama
DESIGNER’S NOTEBOOK
Constraint management.
John McMillan
THE FLEXPERTS
Flex PCB routing.
Mark Finstad
TECH TIPS
Close shaves.
Karl Seelig and Tim O’Neill
MATERIAL PERFORMANCE
Free-Space Technique for Measurement of PCB Laminate Materials
PCB performance strongly depends on laminate dielectric constant and dissipation factor related to complex dielectric constant. Among the methods for measuring complex permittivity are waveguide, cavity resonator, open resonant cavities, split-post dielectric resonator and free-space techniques. The latter offers a simple, yet data rich, nondestructive characterization method.
by Mike Miller
DESIGN QUALIFICATION
Qualification vs. First Article Inspection
Military and commercial product suppliers often overlook what is being asked by their customer when they are asked to qualify a part. What’s more, there’s a disconnect between what FAI is and whether it is a sufficient technique for design qualification.
by Charles Hill and Karen Ebner
MURRIETTA CIRCUITS
The One-Stop SoCal Shop
For over 30 years, the family-run Southern California company has been adding services to its printed circuit roots.
by Chelsey Drysdale
ROI
No flex in circuits industry.
Peter Bigelow
FOCUS ON BUSINESS
Getting the deal on paper.
Susan Mucha
DESIGNER’S NOTEBOOK
Changing copper weight.
Noah Fenley
PROCUREMENT
What Goes in the PCB RFQ Checklist?
Want a quick response to the PCB assembly RFQ? Match the documentation that engineering has, plus the implementation that marketing envisions, plus the ramp time the boss has in mind.
by Robert Simon
DESIGN VALIDATION
Design for Reliability with Computer Modeling
The most comprehensive analysis can best be done virtually using computer modeling of the PCB in the intended environment, revealing weaknesses prior to fabrication.
by Dr. Randy Schueller and Cheryl Tulkoff
END-MARKETS
The Emerging Market for Intelligent Self-Service Kiosks
Originally electromechanical in design and largely electronic today, DIY machines will ring up big sales for some EMS/ODMs.
by Randall Sherman
ROI
The future in 3-D.
Peter Bigelow
ON THE FOREFRONT
Organic substrates.
E. Jan Vardaman
DESIGNER’S NOTEBOOK
SI with HDI.
Pi Zhang
THE FLEXPERTS
Designing for flex.
Mark Finstad
TECH TIPS
Flux standard in flux.
Karl Seelig and Tim O’Neill