Why are PCBs green? This is one of the questions I get asked when people ask me what I do for a living, especially after I explain that my company supplies the little green things that one will find in pretty much anything and everything you purchase today that you cannot eat or drink. PCB [...]
High density interconnect (HDI) is the process of leveraging manufacturing capabilities and materials to create very small interconnect solutions. Small interconnects are required for some of the new applications and dense components on the market. It is the next generation of etched circuitry. Benefits of HDI Higher density and smaller size Use of advanced [...]
Abstract Today's electronics industry is changing at a rapid pace. The root causes are manifold. The world population is growing toward eight billion, which gives rise to new challenges in terms of urbanization, mobility and connectivity. Consequently, numerous new business models for the electronic industry will develop. Connectivity will influence our lives more than ever. [...]
Latent short circuit failures have been observed during testing of PCBs for power distribution of spacecraft of the European Space Agency. Root cause analysis indicates that foreign fibers may have contaminated the PCB laminate. These fibers can provide a pathway for electromigration if they bridge the clearance between nets of different potential in the presence [...]
The August issue of The PCB Magazine is focused on the war on process failure. This subject of process failure turns out to be quite broad and affects essentially everyone in our industry, from the raw material suppliers to the circuit designer to the PCB processor to the assembly folks and on to the OEM. [...]
The shift away from vertical integration has pushed the topic of supply chain management to the forefront of strategic planning for many manufacturers. Having a supply chain that provides a competitive advantage will be the differentiator in today's business environment. What is a supply chain? Defining terms is always a good point to start, and [...]
Holders Technology plc has announced its unaudited half yearly results for the 6 month period ended 31 May 2015. Holders Technology plc supplies specialty laminates and materials for printed circuit board manufacturers (PCB), and operates as an LED solutions provider to the lighting and industrial markets. The first half of the year saw a strengthening [...]
American Standard Circuits has announced that their company’s Quality Manager Mohammed Khan has completed IPC’s 6012 Application Specialist Training. Commenting on this accomplishment, American Standard Circuits CEO Mr. Anaya Vardya said, “This is not only a great achievement for Mohammed but for the entire company as well. We feel that the time he spent during [...]
Designing a supply chain for the provision of laminates and pre-pregs to the PCB fabricator shouldn’t be that complicated, should it? The laminate is simply manufactured and then shipped...what could possibly go wrong? It turns out it is more complicated, partly because the supply chain is not fully owned by one supplier, and hence cannot [...]
The biggest problem with designing rigid-flex hybrid PCBs is making sure everything will fold in the right way, while maintaining good flex-circuit stability and lifespan. The next big problem to solve is the conveyance of the design to a fabricator who will clearly understand the design intent and therefore produce exactly what the designer/engineer intended. [...]