In tests, engineers found the tool accurately predicted methods to reduce and eliminate laminate crack initiation and propagation on a PCB.

The study, prepared for IPC Apex Expo 2022, was conducted by designing printed circuit boards, using different configurations and materials, and subjecting the boards to environmental stresses and other tests. Using principles of predictive design, engineers developed data sets to guide them. One data set included tests of the PCB materials for such attributes as fracture toughness and thermal conductivity. Another set included detailed design characteristics of the PCB itself.

“The need to control the supply chain has never been more important,” said Tom O’Brien, CEO of Axion BioSystems. “This vertical integration not only ensures our customers have the products they need to conduct critical biomedical research. It also allows us to advance assay plate technologies more rapidly to meet the increasingly complex scientific demands of our users.”

“The M-Solv manufacturing team is proud to have played a role supporting Axion’s growth over the last six years,” said Phil Rumsby, CEO, M-Solv Manufacturing. “Now, as part of the Axion Group, we are looking forward to working together even more closely to grow this part of our business, as we develop the next-generation of bioelectronic assay consumables. Alongside our biosensor business, we will continue to maintain and grow our strong position in touch-panel devices.”

No financial terms of the transaction were disclosed. (CD)

• Worldwide smartphone shipments were 362 million during the fourth quarter, down 3.2% year-over-year. On an annual basis, the market grew 5.7% in 2021, with 1.35 billion smartphones shipped. (IDC)
• Total semiconductor sales will rise 11% this year, following a 25% increase in 2021 and an 11% increase in 2020. (IC Insights)
• Worldwide tablet shipments amounted to 46 million units during the fourth quarter, down 11.9% year-over-year, posting a decline for the second time since the pandemic began in 2020. (IDC)
• Six million electric cars (battery electric and plug-in hybrid) will be shipped in 2022, up from four million in 2021. (Gartner)

Suddenly, work headed to Asia, and fabricators contracted at an unprecedented scale to fewer than 200 within a few short years. The collateral damage was a collapse of materials, supplies and capital equipment companies that supported the industry. Even worse was the exodus of skilled talent who sought careers in more promising industries and never looked back. The relatively few companies that survived did so by hunkering down, focusing on a niche, and investing in only the equipment they needed to support their business base, in some cases taking draconian steps that worked short term but eventually led to their demise. Over the first decade-plus of the new millennium, it was depressing to be a North American circuit board fabricator.

This is not necessarily the case.

An X-out occurs when a defective board in an array or manufacturing panel of like PCBs has been shipped. The board is literally marked with an X in permanent marker to signify it is flawed.

While a panel or array with zero X-outs is ideal, the board’s level of technology should dictate how often to expect this kind of perfection. If the board is a single-, double- or easy four-layer item, then a PCB buyer should expect – in fact, should demand – the manufacturer deliver panels free of defective boards.

On the other hand, lead is a dangerous metal that can cause birth defects and other health issues. The Europeans took the vanguard with the RoHS initiative. If you want to sell electronics products to consumers, the lead content must be the minimum possible – not eliminated entirely but found primarily as a trace element within chips.

As a concept, AR/VR is closely connected with another emerging phenomenon: the metaverse. The distinction between the two is quite blurred. The metaverse is perhaps best envisioned as an alternative reality whose scope extends throughout the entire internet and into the real world. Although there will be elements of virtual reality, and a VR headset will provide one means of entering the metaverse, the big tech giants are thinking much bigger. Facebook’s parent company has even changed its name to Meta, a clear expression of its ambitions.

Electrical designs must be verified against possible worst-case conditions. For power distribution networks (PDN digital chip supply rail), this is typically done by comparing their impedance profiles against a target impedance requirement. From recent research and publications, we know the target impedance method for analyzing PDN design does not always predict the worst-case noise voltage because different frequency components of the chip supply current load steps can superposition on top of each other. This is sometimes called rogue waves (RW).

In our recent book,¹ an image shows how heat from a relatively hot trace flows downward through the board (FIGURE 1). What is important to recognize here is how little horizontal heat dispersion there is. The heat seems to flow straight down. What thermal images like this obscure is the relative horizontal and vertical scales. The horizontal width in this image is 50mm, while the vertical height is less than 2mm. Not enough room is underneath the trace for much horizontal dispersion. Consequently, the temperature of the bottom layer of the board directly under the trace is only a few degrees cooler than the temperature of the top layer, regardless of what is beneath the top layer.

We discuss this and its implications in some detail in another recent article², but in this one, we want to suggest a different issue: whether this heat flow poses a potential signal integrity implication.

Several suppliers decided not to bring equipment. Some others cut back on the number of machines they brought. Many exhibitors reduced their employee headcount as well, leaving those East of the Mississippi at home and counting on their West Coast staff to carry the load.

Apex remains primarily an assembly equipment and materials trade show. The message from several SMT line vendors is Covid has led to diversification to North America from China, as companies can’t afford long lead times and face pressure to keep the IP of sensitive products in the West.

What we didn’t mention was RIT is launching another hands-on program. This one focuses on printed circuit board design. The first class started in January with 25 students. Chris Banton, director of marketing at EMA Design Automation, and Dr. James Lee, acting chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology department at RIT, explained what spurred the program and what it hopes to accomplish.

“Can I relocate your business to my own location?”

Prospective buyers want to increase their sales and bottom lines, so many, if not most, buyers are looking for new customers, not real estate or used equipment. If they can move your customer base into their own shop, they can make much of your labor force redundant and maximize their profit. So, depending on the buyer’s intent, this can be the question that makes or breaks the deal.

“What is your labor rate?”

This is extremely important if a prospective buyer wants to relocate the business. If your labor rate is lower, then your contract rate is probably lower too. As a result, if they move the business to their location and must pay a higher rate, either they have to raise prices and risk losing customers or take a hit on the bottom line. This can be a deal-killer.

The cost of solder, along with other material and production costs, is increasing globally. While these cost increases are unavoidable, implementing efficiency improvements can help balance these costs by reducing the amount of solder needed and eliminating solder dross.

Our discussions are more urgent now because the pandemic preempted our lunches for two years. We have a lot of pent-up opinions to catalogue and classify. Add to that winter’s natural chill, which enforces a certain introspection. Two years is a long time to accumulate vent-worthy prejudices. Like a trusted confidante, our resumed midday dialogue is most welcome – and good therapy.

These exchanges with my friend take place in a bullshit-free zone. No topic is sacred. No opinion is off-limits. Salesmanship and posturing are implicitly discouraged. Aside from the standard business-related talk, we risk diverting into politics, history, science, philosophy, religion, child-raising, youthful folly, renewed inflation, government, taxes, hiring difficulties – whatever suits us at that moment.