Episode 113: A Conversation about Counterfeit Component Detection with Dr. Eyal Weiss We are all aware of the “oldest profession in the world”. Perhaps the second oldest profession is counterfeiting. Whenever a product is introduced, a counterfeit version soon follows. While the electronics industry has experienced counterfeit components from its inception, recent events such as the pandemic and supply chain shortages have fueled the counterfeit industry. Statistics by the Semiconductor Industry...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 15 min
David Raby is President of Madison Alabama-based STI Electronics, a contract manufacturer for the EMS industry. David worked at the family business since he was a child and eventually took over the family business when his father (and company founder) Jim Raby retired. The electronics industry moves at the speed of light and any business within the EMS industry must learn to stay ahead of technology and trends. David shares some of his experiences in taking over the family business and some of t...
Feb 01, 2023•28 min
Electricity is the life blood for all circuit assemblies. It can also afflict significant damage via electrostatic discharge. My guest, Christopher Almeras of Raytheon reviews the various ESD mitigation strategies as well as some ESD horror stories! Christopher Almeras began his career in process engineering for a small electronics manufacturer in the late 1990s. There he became responsible for the sites ESD compliance verification. His next career move took him to a high-volume manufacturer whe...
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Historically, circuit assemblies are rigid devices. IoT (Internet of Things) has opened up the opportunity to embed electronics into a near limitless array of form factors. Some of these form factors require the electronic assembly to be flexible such as in wearable and medical applications. To complicate matters, The metal conductors on the assembly are rigid, and not flexible or malleable. That may change with the adoption of liquid metals. We were all exposed to the concept of liquid metal in...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 15 min
On this episode, there are no guests, and no specific topics. I would like to use this opportunity to thank my guests, our syndication partners, and, of course, my audience for making this podcast so successful. We have a full season ahead in 2023 and I'm excited to share those episodes with you. Please keep your questions and topics suggestions coming. Send them to mike@mikekonrad.com. A huge shout-out to my 2022 guests: Joel Scutchfield Brian O'Leary Tony Lentz Mike Adamson Greg Papandrew Kevi...
Dec 20, 2022•9 min
Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution. Beyond the buzzwords, what does this mean? My guest today is David Graham, Chief Technology Officer of 4IR.UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Internet of Things focused, British Systems. 4IR.UK specializes in creating Monitoring, Control and Automation solutions, often based on the MultiPlug Edge Computing Platform, for manufacturing environments. They also provide consultancy and development for other Industry 4.0 platforms. I was intrigued by a web...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Welcome back to another episode of the reliability matters podcast. For those who are counting, this is episode number 108. SMTA is well known for producing high-quality relevant technical conferences and symposiums. This includes, among others, the technical conference held at SMTAI, the High reliability cleaning and coating conference, the symposium on counterfeit parts and materials, the Advanced Electronics Assembly Conference, the Wafer-Level Packaging Symposium, the Electronics in harsh en...
Nov 22, 2022•49 min
Like most manufacturers, the electronic manufacturing industry relies on countless suppliers to fulfill its manufacturing needs. I'm quite certain there is no one within the EMS space who fabricates their own boards using materials produced in house, operates their own semiconductor foundries, designs and manufacturers their own components, and produces soldering materials for their reflow process. Our industry relies on a vast network of manufacturers throughout the world to build even the simp...
Nov 08, 2022•55 min
It's been said, on this show, that one key factor to international competitiveness is automation. While labor rates vary widely across the world, automation helps to level the field. My guest today is Michael Mchale, CEO of Production Systems Automation, otherwise known as PSA. Michael graduated from Drexel University with a BS degree in mechanical engineering. Just to put our upcoming conversation into context, it's helpful to know that PSA is a privately owned engineering and custom manufactur...
Oct 25, 2022•53 min
A new episode of the Reliability Matters Podcast is now available. Episode 105: Conformal Coating Material Selection Best Practices Today, we’re diving into conformal coating best practices. With the explosion of IOT, the electrification of vehicles, and the miniaturization of circuit assemblies and associated components, many of which are operating in harsh environments, the need for conformal coating has never been greater. Coating your assemblies? Where does one start? What material should on...
Oct 12, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Surface Mount Technology International 2022 is quickly approaching. My guests today are SMTA President Dr. Martin Anselm, a Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Technical Committee members Julie Silk of Keysight Technologies and Raiyo Aspandiar of Intel. Together, my guests review the technical conference tracks as well as special events taking place at the Expo. Surface Mount Technology International Conference: October 31st- November 3rd Exposition: November 2nd-3rd Minneap...
Sep 29, 2022•41 min
Modern electronics assembly has seen so many changes over the years. In today’s era of IOT, the electrification of vehicles, the explosion in the use of bottom terminated components, the increasing implementation of electronics into harsh environments have all contributed to the increasing complexity and difficulty of building electronics. While so much has changed, there are some things that have remained the same. One such thing is the need for ESD control. There always was and continues to be...
Sep 20, 2022•57 min
Today, we're going to talk about low-volume electronic assembly. We all know who the “big players” are when it comes to solder paste printers, pick and place machines, reflow ovens and other assembly equipment. But what choices does one have if they need to produce low-volumes of electronic assemblies such as prototypes and other low volume applications? Let’s face it, most assemblers can’t justify a multi-million-dollar production line for low volume production. One solution may be to outsource...
Sep 13, 2022•55 min
Today, we're going to talk about contract manufacturing. Do you have a circuit assembly that needs to be built? Don’t have the equipment in-house or enough bandwidth or specialized expertise to build it? You may be best served by utilizing the services of a contract manufacturer. Contract manufacturers come in all shapes, sizes and capabilities. Should I seek out a Tier 1 manufacturer? How about Tier 2, 3, 4? What does tier stand for anyway? should I have my assemblies built overseas or in-count...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 12 min
It seems today, the entire world is experiencing supply chain challenges in nearly all product categories. In the electronic assembly industry, the focus has been within the semiconductor market, especially in North America. Why is this? How did the US allow this to occur? Was it short sightedness, greed, an over-reliance on foreign suppliers, other factors, or a combination of all these factors? What would it take to finally address this issue and are we doing anything about it? My guest today ...
Aug 09, 2022•1 hr
Episode 100: A 100th Episode Special (Recorded Live) This is the 100th episode of the Reliability Matters podcast! Hear clips from past episodes and messages from past guests on their views about reliability. A special thanks to the 117 guests I have had the privilege to learn from. Also, thank you to my listeners and viewers of this podcast. I sincerely appreciate all of you. As we pass more than 20,000 episode downloads, I feel grateful to host a show that provides so much valuable information...
Jul 27, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Today, we're going to talk about cleanliness testing of post-reflowed circuit assemblies. In late 2018, IPC shocked the electronic assembly community by introducing an amendment to section 8 of the J-STD-001G. This amendment radically changed the way industry determines cleanliness. Now, assemblers must prove their assemblies are clean enough not to experience electro-chemical migration events which would cause the assembly to fail. This new process of obtaining objective evidence has been met w...
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Jen Fijalkowski works for Aim Solder. Jen obtained her B.S. from the University of Rhode Island in Chemical Engineering and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Prior to her role as a Technical Marketing Engineer, she interned as a SMT Process Engineer, where she analyzed various reports regarding solder paste printing and co-authored "Comparison of Aperture Designs, Solder Pastes, Nanocoatings and Print/Inspection Systems", published in Circuits Assembly Magazine. Jen also produces a video...
Jun 28, 2022•48 min
In this episode I speak with four experts about best practices for purchasing X ray equipment. There are numerous manufacturers of X ray equipment each with multiple models with varying capabilities. Which type of X ray equipment is right for your application? What are the price ranges? What are the specific capabilities? What questions should I ask when speaking with manufacturers of X ray equipment? How do I define my needs? These and other questions will are answered by our expert panel. Our ...
Jun 13, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Episode 96: A Conversation with Industry Gurus Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall about their New Book A couple of episodes ago, I talked to Dr. and Professor Ron Lasky about a couple of books he wrote. He also recommended a book he didn't write. That book is titled Troubleshooting Electronic Assembly: Wisdom from the BoardTalk Crypt by industry gurus Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall available on Amazon (both were prior guests on this show). Well today, we’ll have a conversation with Phil and Jim about their book...
May 24, 2022•1 hr 4 min
I spoke with Dr. Ron Lasky and Jim Hall, authors of the SMTA SMT Certification Courses (along with Phil Zarrow) about the content of these courses. I also spoke with two course students, Claire Hotvedt of Indium Corporation and Tom Watson of Kimball Electronics about their experience taking the courses and the value they received. SMTA offers two certification courses: • SMT Processes • Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Each SMTA Certification program is a three-day offering consisting of a 1.5-day work...
May 09, 2022•47 min
Dr. Ron Lasky talks about the many books he has authored on SMT processes and production efficiencies. Dr. Ron Lasky is a Senior Technologist at Indium Corporation, as well as a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where I have twice had the privilege of speaking on the Dartmouth campus to his students. If you're like some people who view the next generation of young adults skeptically and pessimistically, I can assure you your view would quickly change after spending time with his stu...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 21 min
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, 98053 https://www.lilotree.com contact.us@lilotree.com Phone: +1-425-780-2732...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 9 min
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.com Colin Harper of BPM talks about automatic device programming. colin_harper@bpmmicro.com...
Mar 22, 2022•26 min
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...
Mar 08, 2022•41 min
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 Adams...
Feb 23, 2022•47 min
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 enginee...
Feb 08, 2022•52 min
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 ...
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 5 min
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...
Jan 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min
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 Ca...
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 9 min
