Reliability Matters

Dr. Kunal Shah is the President and Chief Scientist at Lilotree, a manufacturer of novel surface finishes for circuit boards. Dr. Shah explains the advantages of surface finishes utilizing the thinnest thickness of gold as well as Ni-Less ENIG surface finishes.Lilotree:2904 266th Ave NE,Building B,Redmond, WA, 98053https://www.lilotree.comcontact.us@lilotree.comPhone: +1-425-780-2732

Thank you to my friend and colleague Trevor Galbraith of Global SMT for allowing me to broadcast from his studio at the IPC APEX Expo in San Diego. Today's episode features conversations with two guests:Marco Sanchez from SMT North America talks about thermal control of reflow ovens.marco.sanchez@smtna.comColin Harper of BPM talks about automatic device programming.colin_harper@bpmmicro.com

Thank you to my friend and colleague Trevor Galbraith of Global SMT for allowing me to broadcast from his studio at the IPC APEX Expo in San Diego. Today's episode features conversations with four guests:Jesper Lykke from Viscom talks about inspection systems.jesper.lykke@viscomusa.com Greg Papandrew from Direct PCB talks about PCB buying and his new book "PCB Basics for Buyers"greg@boardbuying.com Kevin Huo from EM Solutions talks about fast-turn contract assembly.kevinh@emsolutionstech.com And, our very own pirate, Michelle Ogihara from Saika USA talks about the advantages of joining trade associations. michelle@seikausa.com

While it may seem like an untimely topic given the current supply chain shortages, storage systems for electronic components are an important part of the electronic assembly industry. While we are still in the midst of a supply chain crisis, sooner or later this will be solved and the question of where to put all of our components will be waiting for us to answer. It's often said we don't have time to work on the important because we're so busy working on the urgent. My guest today is Mike Adamson, Product Manager for Inovaxe Corporation, a provider of material handling products and services for the electronic assembly industry. In today's hyper-competitive electronic assembly industry, efficiency and optimization are key to maintaining competitiveness. Mike received a BS in physics from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse as well as a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. In addition, Mike also earned an MBA in Marketing from Lynn University.Mike Adamson may be reached here:michael.adamson@inovaxe.comhttps://inovaxe.com

Tombstoning is a reflow issue causing components to stand up, creating opens. FCT Solder's Tony Lentz discusses the causes and mitigation techniques to illuminate tombstoning. Tony Lentz has worked in the electronics industry since 1994. He entered the industry as a process engineer at a circuit board manufacturer and worked there for 5 years. Since 1999, Tony has worked for FCT Companies as a chemical laboratory manager, production facility manager, and most recently a field application engineer. Since 2013, Tony has focused on field application and R&D for FCT Assembly solder and stencil products. Tony has extensive experience in research and development, quality control, and technical service with materials used to manufacture and assemble printed circuit boards. Tony has published and presented many papers at industry events. Tony is a speaker of distinction with SMTA, and participates in IPC J-STD-004 and J-STD-005 standards development task groups. Tony holds B.S. and M.B.S degree in Chemistry. Tony was my guess way back in episode 32 (56 episodes ago) where he talked about stencil design and void reduction. Tony produced a DOE on the subject of tombstoning. View his presentation here:https://fctsolder.comTony may be reached here:tlentz@fctassembly.comhttps://fctsolder.com

One of my favorite subjects is the electrification of automobiles, not just electric cars, which are with us now, but completely autonomous vehicles. When I was a kid in the 1960's, we were promised flying cars by the year 2000. While that goal was not met, the real prospect of autonomous vehicles in our lifetime is extremely exciting, terrifying, and realistic. Brian and I discuss the future of the automobile industry and what's required for the electronics industry and the world.Brian may be reached here:Brian O'LearyGlobal Accounts Manager, Global Head e-Mobility & InfrastructureIndiumEmail: boleary@indium.comWebsite: https://www.indium.com

My guest today is Joel Scutchfield. He’s with Koh Young and has 35 years in the Printed Circuit Board Assembly Industry, beginning on the manufacturing side in 1986, first with Texas Instruments, and then later with United Technologies Corporation. In the mid 90's he transitioned to the supply side of the industry where he used his process and manufacturing experience to help customers implement the best Tools, Materials, Systems, and Solutions, for their PCB Assembly and Test applications. Over his career he held positions in the areas of Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Process Engineering Management, Operations Management, Sales Engineering, Regional Sales Management, Sales Business Ownership, and company-wide Sales management. Joel guest graduated from Purdue University with a BS in engineering and industrial management. Joel began his career with Koy Young as the Americas Sales Manager, a position he held from Dec 2014 – Jan 2019. In January of 2019, he was promoted to Director of Sales for the Americas where he served in that capacity until October of 2021 when he was promoted to General Manager of SMT Business Operations and Director of Sales for the Americas. During our conversation, we discuss the benefits of solder paste inspection as well as automated optical inspection and how implementation of these technologies can provide higher degrees of assembly optimization, efficiency, and reliability.Joel Scutchfield may be reached here:joel.scutchfield@kohyoung.comhttps://kohyoungamerica.com

Today's episode is all about training. With more young people entering the EMS industry, the need for training is higher than ever before. In this episode we'll talk with IPC training expert Bob Doetzer about the benefits of training. Both training to IPC standards and practical training will be discussed. Bob Doetzer, President of Circuit Technology Training, Inc (or CTTI for short). CTTI offers training in all IPC assembly specifications as well as CTI, Weller, ESD, lean six sigma, SMT Boot Camp and custom courses tailored to their customers’ requirements. In addition to ongoing process and IPC support after training, they offer PCB assembly and process engineering support for Air Vac, Juki, Weller, YesTech, and Heller, among others.They have 6 state of the art, dedicated training centers:– Costa Rica– Melbourne, Florida– Baltimore, Maryland– Raleigh, North Carolina – Manassas, Virginia– Rock Hill, South CarolinaBob may be reached here:Bob DoetzerPresident Circuit Technology Training Inc.Phone: (844) 900-2884bob@circuittechnology.com

Welcome to this special edition of the reliability matters podcast. unlike other episodes, this episode has no guests. At the time of this recording, we have 85 published episodes with more than 16,000 downloads. The reliability matters podcast began as an experiment. I figured we would produce about 10 episodes on various subjects and then move on to something else. Well, I was wrong. I have received countless emails from listeners thanking me for the podcasts stating how much they enjoy listening. The thank you goes more appropriately to my guests. Without them, I would simply be another talking head. And who needs more of those? While my goal was to provide educational material for the electronics industry, perhaps it is me that has learned the most. I am so fortunate to be able to speak to and learn from so many subject matter experts. I would like to take a few moments to thank my guests on this final episode of the 2021 season of reliability matters.Bob Doetzer – IPC Training and certificationChristopher Frederickson – Solder Paste InspectionMiles Moreau _Thermal ProfilingPaul Salerno – Solder PasteMatt Kelly – IPC Technical ConferenceDr. Stan RakDr. Bev ChristianCheryl Tulkoff and Greg Caswell - Their new book: "DESIGN FOR EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING"Dave Trail – Industry 4.0Tanya Martin, Greg Vance, Dr. Rayio Aspandiar, and Richard Coyle – SMTAI Technical ConferenceJames Kovacevic - Maintenance Reliability TrainingMike Buetow , Trevor Galbraith, and Phil Stoten - Meet the PressPatrick Stimpert – Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Manufacturing PrincipalChris Denney and Melissa Hough - Contract ManufacturingTim Jensen – Solder PastesMark Waterman – Thermal ProfilingDavid Leventhal, Joan Carrol-Kennedy, and Murray Percival Jr. - Being a Manufacturers Rep During COVIDAmit Dror - 3D Printing of Complex Circuit BoardsNorman Mier - Rework and Repair of Circuit AssembliesDr. and Professor Ron Lasky - a profile of three of his college students:Annaka BalchRaaga KannanNadia ClementTim O'Neill and Fred Dimoc – Solder Voiding Mitigation Strategies and Vacuum ReflowDock Brown - ReliabilityFrançois Monette - Connectivity, Data Management, Material and Process Control, Traceability, and AnalyticsSal Sparacino – Cleaning ChemicalsElizabeth Kidd - Testing for Conformal Coat AdhesionTara Dunn - Fex Circuits and Additive ElectronicsDave Hillman - Causes and Possible Remedies for Solder VoidingDr. Eric Fossum - Inventor of the CMOS Image Sensor (who kicked off the 2021 season).I am extremely grateful for all of the listeners and subscribers of the reliability matters podcast. Obviously, without you, we would just be broadcasting into a huge void. Thank you for your support, comments and episode suggestions, and dedication to this podcast. We live at the moment in very strange times. many of us have been in an extended period of lockdown unable to attend technical conferences. I hope this podcast and it's content have helped to fill the educational void caused by this global pandemic.I would also like to think Mike Buetow of circuits assembly magazine for syndicating this show on his PCBchat.com podcast. I would also like to thank Fred Schenkelberg at Ascendo Reliability for syndicating this show on reliability.tv.In January of 2021, we introduced an additional platform for this podcast. In addition to our traditional audio podcasts, we launched the reliability matters YouTube channel. Now, you can listen to this podcast in your car or on the treadmill, or watch it on your laptop, phone, or tablet. Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to the audio podcasts on apple podcast, Google podcasts, Spotify, IHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch this podcast on the reliability matters YouTube channel. If you missed any of the episodes from the 2020 or 2021 season, they are available on your favorite podcast app or on our YouTube channelI wish all of you the happiest of holidays and a safe, prosperous, and healthy new year. I'll see you again in January for the premier off the 2022 season of the reliability matters podcast.

Episode 83: A Conversation about Solder Paste Inspection with Christopher FredericksonToday, we’ll be discussing Fit for Use solder paste inspection. As I’ve repeated several times on this show, it is said most reliability problems begin at the printer. Our industry utilizes a lot of materials in order to produce a circuit assembly. If the materials, specifically the solder paste is out of spec, that can effect reliability. Unfortunately, in most cases, one can not simply open a jar of solder paste and easily determine visually if the solder paste their applying to the stencil is fit for use, or if it has gone bad, or is out of spec. My guest today will discuss what solder paste fit for use means, and how we can provide methods for determining its fit for use right on the production floor. My guest also, on a completely unrelated topic, but maybe even more interesting, has experience in wearable electronics in temporary tattoos. You subject that’s the first question I’m going to ask him about!Contact Christopher:Christopher FredericksonChief Technology OfficerInsituware LLCEmail: chris@insituware.comWeb: insituware.com