Pcb Chat

Larry Welk is co-owner of Smart Splice. Larry is a business owner with a history of working in the electrical and electronic manufacturing industry. Skilled in sales, business management, business development, business process improvement, and sales management, Larry says he obtained a Master's degree from the school of hard knocks. After getting knocked down, he says he always focused on learning and getting back up again, a valuable lesson we can all learn from! Mike Konrad talks to Larry about his “up and down” journey and learn what knocked him down and, more importantly, what his inspiration and techniques were to get back up again.  

Miles Moreau, KIC’s general manager, has been with KIC for nearly three decades. He draws his deep and rich expertise from managing multiple business units across four continents spanning operations, field service, and sales and marketing channels. His expertise is in thermal management and that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today. We’ve discussed how to profile a board on this show. Today, we’re going to talk about profiling an oven and a wave soldering machine, and how, when done correctly, may reduce the number of times one has to attach thermocouples to a circuit board and run it through an oven or wave soldering machine.  

Jorge Cardona is CEO of Invertronica Group, the parent company of a trio of firms in Colombia. Those companies include Tecrea, an electronics design and engineering unit; LosComponentes.com.co, a parts distributor, and Colcircuitos, the largest EMS company in Colombia.  He speaks with Mike Buetow on markets and manufacturing in Central America, and why Colombia is a nearshore possibility for US OEMs and EMS companies looking for low-cost partners.

Paul Salerno holds an MBA with specialization in finance and marketing from Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is global portfolio manager at MacDermid Alpha Electronic Solutions with expertise in product lifecycle management and development of strategic technology roadmaps for the global surface mount technology business.   Paul works with customers in both Europe and Asia with customers in automotive, computing, communications and consumer electronic markets. Paul and Mike Konrad discuss soldering materials including "high reliability" solder paste, low and ultra-low solder pastes, and design-for-use solder paste selection processes.   Paul may be reached here: Paul Salerno Portfolio Manager, SMT Assembly Solutions Paul.Salerno@MacDermidAlpha.com  

The second quarter was "dynamite" for PCB design software sales, explains Wally Rhines, referring to the 16% year-over-year increase in ECAD sales. Rhines, the longtime Mentor CEO and spokesperson for the ESD Alliance, joins market research guru Merlyn Brunken of Siemens to review the latest market data and discuss the history of semiconductor trade wars and relationships between PCB and IC design starts with PCB Chat host Mike Buetow.  

Episode 80: Cheryl Tulkoff & Greg Caswell's Book “Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing”.   My guests Cheryl Tulkoff and Greg Caswell discuss their new book "Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing" (published by Wiley and available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Wiley). An authoritative guide to optimizing design for manufacturability and reliability from a team of experts Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art book that covers design and reliability of electronics. The authors—noted experts on the topic—explain how using the DfX concepts of design for reliability, design for manufacturability, design for environment, design for testability, and more, reduce research and development costs and decrease time to market and allow companies to confidently issue warranty coverage. By employing the concepts outlined in Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing, engineers and managers can increase customer satisfaction, market

Mike Konrad speaks with Dave Trail from Arch Systems about Industry 4.0.   Dave may be reached at dtrail@archsys.io 808-868-8298

Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) have been touted for decades as a potential replacement for solder. Technology roadmaps by organizations ranging from IPC to the Surface Mount Council often listed ECAs as a “coming” technology, and scores of papers have been presented highlighting possible uses and likely end-products. The international research firm IDTechEx released in early October a new study called “Electrically Conductive Adhesives 2022-2032: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts.” Matthew Dyson, Ph.D., a senior technology analyst at IDTechEx specializing in printed, organic and flexible electronics, spoke with Mike Buetow about the study’s findings and the future of ECAs, including in-mold and flexible electronics and their potential applications.

Christine Davies is founder and CEO of Poligage. Poligage is an online marketplace for public policy insights and government affairs services, providing efficient virtual connection with a carefully vetted network of world class experts who are available for flexible pay-as-you-go consultations, content, and projects. Founded in May of 2020, Poligage is still in its infancy. Mike Konrad spoke with Christine about the her journey operating a business startup, why she choose to start a company, her vision, and strategies for growth.   Christine may be contacted here: cdavies@poligage.com https://www.poligage.com

Our guest has been quoted saying his personal mission is to make industry a profitable place; where individuals and manufacturers possess the resources, knowledge, and courage to sustainably lower their operating costs. Mike Konrad speaks with James Kovacevic about his maintenance philosophies and his work teaching maintenance best practices.  

A conversation with media personalities Mike Buetow (Circuits Assembly Magazine), Trevor Galbraith (Global SMT & Packaging), Phil Stoten (Scoop TV), and Eric Miscoll (EMS Now). During our conversation we covered various topics including post pandemic production, innovations within our industry, supply chain and labor shortages, and more.

EMS provider Matric Group's Patrick Stimpert incorporated the Toyota Production System’s Lean principles into his contract manufacturing business. “Results are important. How do I get my results?," he states. "With the use of the Toyota Production System’s Lean principles and my simple rule 'Don’t waste time rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, go fix the problem.' I believe in the "LEAN-IN" processes and gain improvements through RIPs (Rapid Improvement Projects) These projects are based on a standard of identifying problems, brainstorming solutions, attempting those solutions, and adjusting from there. If we are going to fail, we are going to fail fast and cheap.”  

Dr. Harald (Harry) Wack earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in 2002. He began his career at Zestron’s American headquarters, reporting to his father in Germany, Dr. Oskar Wack. This was the beginning of Harry's long journey with Zestron culminating in his ascension to President of Zestron’s parent company, Dr.O.K. Wack Chemie GmbH. Mike Konrad spoke with Harry from his headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany.

No matter how fast product developers move, there is pressure to pick up the pace. Gowtham Ramachandran, founder of Trace, a three-year old startup company based in Toronto, has a vision for just how the industry might speed the product development cycle: a desktop "microfactory" that automates much of the development workflow. He talks with Mike Buetow about how the new concept completely reimagines the entire product development workflow, and hints at how augmented reality might impact the future of electronics manufacturing. Trace's website is trace.so.   This podcast is brought to you by Turnkey PRO from Sierra Circuits. What if you could source your components, upload your specs and receive an instant quote in less than 15 minutes? What if your designs could be fabricated, assembled and delivered to your door in five days with a guarantee of zero defects? Then try Turnkey PRO by Sierra Circuits for your next design, and use promo code PCBCHAT to receive $200 off your next order.

Terry Munson is the founder and president of Foresite, Inc. He founded Foresite in 1992, then known as CSL (Contamination Studies Laboratories, Inc.). Terry has extensive experience with how cleanliness issues are affecting product reliability for electronic hardware. He is the primary developer of ion chromatography analysis for use in the electronics manufacturing industry and is an active member of IPC. Terry’s insights have been seen in various industry trade publications, as well as at technical conferences. It can be said, Terry marches at the front of the band, using his unique experience and cleanliness testing methods, many of which have made their way to internationally recognized standards. Terry has been quoted saying “Everything is fixable, you just have to understand what’s causing problem.” Today, we’ll attempt to understand Terry Munson as he joins Mike Konrad on this episode of the Concept to Creation Podcast.   Terry's Contact Info: Terry Munson Foresite, Inc. 1982 S. Elizabeth Street Kokomo

Worthington Assembly's Chris Denney speaks about the electronic contract manufacturing business. • How to select an appropriate contract manufacturer • Evaluating a contract manufacturer's capabilities • Mistakes made when selecting a contract manufacturer • Advantages and disadvantages of selecting a US-based contract manufacturer Chris may be contacted here: cdenney@worthingtonassembly.com Worthington Assembly's website: https://www.worthingtonassembly.com

Tim Jensen talks about: Solder paste selection best practices Low temperature solder Common mistakes made when using solder paste Solder paste jetting / micro-dispensing And much more   Tim Jensen may be reached here: tjensen@indium.com

Vincent Bedat is a mechanical engineer and recent MBA graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management, and founder of Volthub, one the finalists for the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. Bedat is from Zurich, Switzerland, where he graduated with a master’s in mechanical engineering from ETH Zurich. He worked at the robotics startup Synapticon in Stuttgart, Germany, as a mechanical engineer and eventually project manager. There, he recognized inefficiencies in the ways data are shared and managed in hardware development, and conceived a platform to accelerate the rate of innovation by streamlining the procurement process. His startup is called Volthub, and upon graduating from MIT in June, he has relocated to San Francisco to further develop the company. He can be reached at vbedat@volthub.io.   This podcast is brought to you by Turnkey PRO from Sierra Circuits. What if you could source your components, upload your specs and receive an instant quote in less than 15 minutes? What if your designs could be f

STI Electronics (formally Soldering Technology International) was founded by the late Industry icon Jim Raby. Soldering Technology International became STI Electronics and was operated by Jim, David, and Ellen Raby. Jim and Dave Raby both were awarded the prestigious IPC President‘s award. This is the first and only time a father and son have won this award. David recounts the founding of STI and the challenges along the way. David also provides valuable advice for new entrepreneurs. David may be reached here: draby@stiusa.com STI Electronics website: https://stiusa.com

ECD's Mark Waterman discusses thermal profiling best practices. • Common mistakes made when using profilers • In-use best practices • Common applications Mark may be reached here: mailto:mwaterman@ecd.com ECD's Website: https://www.ecd.com