Until now, Mitsubishi has provided insulated PCBs with high reliability by joining different materials such as metal and ceramic. Meanwhile, U-MAP has discovered adding Thermalnite can provide AlN ceramic substrates with high thermal conductivity and high mechanical characteristics.

By combining these technologies, the firms aim to develop an AlN ceramic PCB, offering higher heat dissipation performance and reliability than the Si3N4 ceramic PCB.

The PCB is expected to aid in a more compact and higher-power-density power module. In addition, improvement of heat dissipation will allow other components and materials used for power modules to be smaller. (CD)

Scope is adding production capacity through the building of a fourth plant in Perak. The RM16 million ($3.8 million) plant will add 154,000 sq. ft. of EMS production space, for a total of 299,000 sq. ft. The plant is expected to be operational in July 2022.

Scope has recently expanded into completed electrical and electronics product assembly for customers in the US, South Korea and India. Products include smart speakers, air purifiers and payment terminals at gas stations. The company plans to add temperature controllers to its product list.

• Two-thirds of manufacturers were forced to raise prices in 2021, and 71% expect to have to do so again in 2022. Shortages and supply chain and other issues have led manufacturers to increase costs by an average of 14.5% this year. Firms expect to raise prices another 7-8% next year. (IPC)
• North American EMS shipments in September were down 9.9% year-over-year and 0.8% sequentially. (IPC)
• Global shipments of traditional PCs (desktops, notebooks and workstations) reached 86.7 million units during the third quarter, up 3.9% year-over-year. (IDC)
• Contract prices of NAND flash products are expected to undergo a marginal drop of 0-5% sequentially in the fourth quarter as demand slows. (TrendForce)

As we look to 2022, we see some unusual and especially onerous hurdles: a more strained supply chain, deteriorating consumer sentiment, increasing inflation, and segments of the economy still reeling from the worst days of the pandemic. While no single hurdle can be compensated for, the combination of threats can tempt the planner to take a conservative approach and decide it’s time to hunker down.

If granted, the exemption will pertain – as it did before – only to 2- and 4-layer rigid PCBs made of epoxy-glass. The tariff will continue to apply to single-sided and higher-layer counts, flex circuits, and other substrates such as aluminum or ceramic.

While 2- and 4-layer boards represent only a narrow portion of the PCBs manufactured in China, an exemption continuance will provide some relief to many OEM and EMS companies struggling with supply chain challenges.

The tariff aims to encourage “reshoring” by making domestic PCB manufacturing more appealing.

I believe 2022 will be a pivotal year for most electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers. Material lead-time and availability issues are slightly improving, and supply-chain executives are cautiously optimistic about a return to normal in mid-year as demand levels out and additional chip manufacturing capacity comes online. That said, a return to normal brings its own set of challenges, if past cycles of this nature are considered. It is particularly important for EMS program managers to start considering the issues likely to come with a mid-year pivot:

• Forecasts on some products may drop substantially. While component manufacturers, distributors and EMS companies typically have checks and balances to identify situations where customers have increased forecasts as a hedge against allocation, uncharacteristic demand spikes make those controls iffy at best. Most EMS companies have orders into 2022 and exceptionally high levels of inventory in-house. Any downward trend in forecasts should trigger a forecast review meeting with the customer to determine how rapidly orders and inventory levels need to be adjusted.

A typical example is a board that starts with N number of layers in the initial pressing and has three additional lamination steps after that. Each additional pressing adds two layers: one above and one below the previous step. The shorthand for that type of construction is 3+N+3 or simply a 3N3 stack-up.

We could get more detailed and substitute the actual number of layers in the first pressing for the N and call it, for instance, a 3+4+3 board for an even 10 layers. The fact is the fabricator is more concerned about how many layers are added afterward than how many are used in the first step (FIGURE 1).

For the past year-plus, this column has been written by Kelly Dak, our erstwhile communications director, and Stephen Chavez, our chairman. In the next couple months, the PCEA is transitioning from an all-volunteer organization to one with a fulltime staff, which will allow the board of directors to focus on higher-level strategy. Steph’s role, then will no longer be tied to monthly communications but rather leading the board in charting the goals and direction of the association. And filling the gaps is where I come in.

VR is not new, of course. What’s happening is cases for using it in an ever-expanding variety of activities are becoming stronger as computing power and affordability increase. When a viable business case can be perceived, software application developers can get started, and a new market can begin – with all the new opportunities for technical and commercial development that come with it.

Many variables must be considered when picking a flexible circuit supplier. Do your homework and find a vendor that is a good fit for the project. It is advisable to also select a vendor that will support your program from prototype through production. Multiple vendors could build to the same Gerber files and overall specifications, but the end-product could have differences due to processing and material variations between suppliers. Switching fabricators midstream can introduce significant risk at a critical time between prototype and production. Following are the items I recommend learning about a vendor before making your sourcing decision:

Circuit application/performance class. This is more about the IPC performance class rather than specific application, but mil-aero, implantable medical devices, and so on generally are specified as IPC Class 3, while most everything else is Class 2. IPC Class 3 is the highest reliability and overall performance class and is usually specified when the product is used in a life-critical application. Class 3 product typically requires more stringent processing controls, QA, and documentation. Suppliers that primarily serve Class 3 users typically “stay in their lane” and build all products to Class 3 performance level regardless of the requirement.

Quality has become a key process indicator for manufacturing and service companies. Quality is a strategic priority for all modern businesses.¹ Improving and sustaining quality is a critical organizational strategy to retain customers in today’s globally competitive environment. Quality management is used to proactively find solutions to current and future cost and risk problems.

Your car keys wirelessly unlock your car when you get near it. Your phone connects to Air Pods while you listen to Spotify at the gym or stream the latest hit TV show. The smart home device in your living room streams podcasts, answers questions, and writes your shopping list on voice-activated command. All these daily activities have one thing in common: radio signals. Whether it be from device-to-device or through Wifi, the need for proper radio frequency (RF) sensitive circuits is ever-increasing.

Radio frequency design has a myriad of applications in the field. Some use cases are more critical, such as military or medical use, while others are for general public consumption. Regardless, in all cases it is imperative the design functions as promised without incident. Doing so will ensure a successful and reliable end-product that breeds a lasting impression with the consumer.

Invertronica was founded in early 2003 in Colombia and includes several companies involved in the design, prototyping and manufacturing of electronics products. Those companies include Tecrea, an electronics design and engineering unit; LosComponentes.com.co, a parts distributor, and Colcircuitos, the largest EMS company in Colombia. It can move fast: 24 hours from design to assembly.

Jorge Cardona, chief executive of Invertronica, describes the markets and manufacturing environment in Central America, and why Colombia is a nearshore possibility for US OEMs and EMS companies looking for low-cost partners.

Eduardo (Ed) Gabriel da Silva, 84, design engineer for the first business computers at Burroughs Counting Machines, and later manager of PCB design team at Xerox.

Ethel Lee Hall Doyle, 76, retired electronics assembly supervisor for Hughes Network Systems.

Cynthia Ann Edwards, 78, retired circuit board technician.

Kim Marie (Williamson) Emerson, 59, worker for several circuit board companies, most recently CE Precision.

Richard Flanders, Jr., 73, ex circuit board technician, GenRad.

Obviously, in order to print, material must be on the stencil in front of the blade. Currently, the predominant method for achieving this condition is manual application. A line operator physically scoops paste out of the jar and places material on the stencil. This seems like an appropriate use of operator resources, as they are positioned on the line anyway, but, in the “little and often” methodology for screen printing processing, this approach is counter to process stability, optimized throughput and cost-efficiency. Manual application of paste could be carried out more frequently to comply with “little and often,” although that would require a machine stop, which may impact throughput and, therefore, cost. Conversely, the operator can apply a large volume of paste on the stencil to accommodate more prints, which may alleviate some of the throughput concern, but could have an adverse effect on process stability.