December 31, 2020
Smart manufacturing, generally defined as the use of fully integrated, collaborative manufacturing systems that respond in real time to meet changing demands and conditions in the smart factory, in the supply network, and in customer needs, is quickly becoming reality. Is the US ready, or has it already been beaten by offshore companies? Mike Buetow considers the possibilities.
December 28, 2020
On this last episode of 2020 there are no guests, no experts, no best-practice advice. Just a short recap of 2020.
We just reached more than 10,000 downloads of the podcast! A HUGE thank you to my audience and my guests for making this podcast possible! On this episode I'll announce the first few guests of the 2021 season of Reliability Matters. This is looking like a terrific season!
We are now producing an audio-only format and a video format. The video format may be viewed on our new YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC43S4--AIuSqlXvxmdsA7AQ
Please keep your questions and topic suggestions coming! Email me at:
mike@mikekonrad.com
Thanks everyone for making this podcast successful!
Mike Konrad
December 27, 2020
Kent Balius has been at the forefront of front-end engineering for 30 years at some of the world's largest PCB fabricators.
He spent the past 20 years at TTM / Viasystems, where he managed software applications and automation solutions for North America and Asia-Pacific operations.
He just launched EPIC Front-End Engineering, which provides consultation, project management, software applications and development support to the PCB manufacturers, with the objectives of driving advanced automation to achieve productivity, improved quality, reduced labor costs.
He speaks about how the automation of design-to-fabrication the affects Industry 4.0 implementation with PCB Chat's Mike Buetow.
December 11, 2020
Conductive anodic filament (CAF) is a form of electrochemical migration (ECM). Unlike surface-level ECM, CAF exists beneath the surface of the circuit assembly. Graham and Mike Konrad discuss the causes of CAF and methods to test for and mitigate CAF.
Graham has an extensive history working in the electrical and electronic manufacturing industry. Graham was the IEC 1906 Lord Kelvin Award Winner. IEC TC91 WG2, 3 and 10 Maintenance Leader of 4 Standards. He is vice chair of the IPC 5-30 Cleaning and Coating Sub-Committee overseeing 15 IPC Standards Development Committees. He has received 14 IPC Standards Awards and is a BSI British Standards Institution (EPL501) Member.
Graham is a Specialist in Insulation Resistance Testing, Ionic Contamination Control, Solderability, Conformal Coating materials and application systems, including Cleaning, Inspection and Test.
December 2, 2020
EMA Design Automation has recently added the Mentor ECAD sales staff from Trilogic EDA. Manny Marcano, president and founder of EMA, explains what this means for the PCB CAD marketplace, and how the mainstream CAD market is shaping up.