PCB Chat
Episodes
PCB Chat 117: July 2023 EDA Software Market Update
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The PCB/MCM design software market grew in the first quarter 2023, the ninth straight quarter of growth, according to the latest data from the ESD All...
RM 122: The Integration of AI into Inspection Systems
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to circuit assemblies, defects result in one of two situations. The preferred result of a defect is to capture it on your factory floor ...
PCB Chat 116: John Watson on PCB Designer Training
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It goes without saying finding talent is a big deal in electronics design and manufacturing. John Watson is customer success manager at Altium, with m...
RM 120: Making Reliability Training Entertaining and Effective
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can reliability training be both entertaining and effective? The Manufacturing Game's Michelle Ledet Henley has a different approach to traditional tr...
RM 119: Quantum Mechanics Explained
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad's guest is Dr. James Whitfield. Dr. Whitfield is an associate professor of physics at Dartmouth. He earned a bachelor's of science and che...
PCB Chat 115: Wally Rhines on the Latest ECAD Market Data
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wally Rhines, the former chairman of Mentor Graphics and now spokesperson for the ESD Alliance, updates us on the latest PCB design software and semic...
PCB Chat 114: Matthias Wagner and Kerry Chayka of Flux
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Flux says every step of the electronic design process is slow, expensive, and error-prone. The startup company’s engineers think they have a solutio...
RM 118: Making ’Big Data’ Useful with Intraratio’s Ryan Gamble
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The subjects of Industry 4.0 and Big Data have been widely discussed on this podcast. What is Industry 4.0? What data is our industry collecting? And,...
RM 117: When Residues Cause Circuit Assemblies to Fail
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Camden (lead investigator with Foresite) and Mike Konrad discuss electrochemical migration (ECM) and other failure modes caused by residues on ci...
RM 116: Supply Chain Musings with Mark Godwin of Ventec
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Mike Konrad speaks with Mark Goodwin, COO of Ventec Europe, a supplier of copper-clad laminates and prepreg bonding materials for the...
PCB Chat 113: David Schild of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Printed Circuit Board Association of America, or PCBAA, was founded in 2021 to advance US domestic production of PCBs and base materials. The orga...
PCB Chat 112: Vivek Bansal on VVDN’s Vertical Integration Model
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
VVDN Technologies is perhaps best known as a provider of end-to-end engineering and manufacturing of hardware, mechanical and electronic assemblies, a...
PCB Chat 111: Metallic Resources on Reclaiming Electronics Solder
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Metallic Resources is a developer of high purity solder for electronics applications, making paste, bar, and cored wire products, among others. Metall...
RM 115: Making Sense of ’Big Data’
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You don't have to be in the tech industry you understand importance and value of data. Industries have always collected various sets of data, first ma...
PCB Chat 110: Steve Robinson of APCT
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
APCT in February completed the acquisition of Advanced Circuits, a printed circuit board fabricator located in Aurora, Colorado. The acquisition nearl...
RM 114: The Remarkable Return of the Post-Reflow Cleaning Process
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this show, we’ve discussed many aspects of the electronics assembly process. We talked about reflow, thermal management, printing, soldering mate...
RM 113: Counterfeit Component Detection with Dr. Eyal Weiss
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are all aware of the “oldest profession in the world.” Perhaps the second-oldest is counterfeiting. Whenever a product is introduced, a counter...
Business Challenges with STI Electronics’ President David Raby
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded live at the SMTA Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium in Hawaii. David Raby is president of Madison Alabama-based STI Elec...
PCB Chat 109: Wally Rhines on the PCB Design Software Market
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of PCB Chat we discuss the third quarter 2022 printed circuit design software market data from the ESD Alliance, which were released J...
PCB Chat 108: Travis Kelly on Government Support of the US PCB Industry
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Travis Kelly, president and chief executive of Isola and chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America, joins PCB Chat host Mike Buetow...
RM 112: ESD Mitigation with ESD Expert Christopher Almeras
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Electricity is the life blood for all circuit assemblies. It can also afflict significant damage via electrostatic discharge. Today, Christopher Almer...
RM 111: Liquid Metal’s Potential Future in Electronics
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Historically, circuit assemblies are rigid devices. IoT (Internet of Things) has opened up the opportunity to embed electronics into a near limitless ...
RM 109: A Decade of Industry 4.0 - What it Was - What it Wasn’t
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution. Beyond the buzzwords, what does this mean? David Graham is chief technology officer of 4IR.UK, a wholl...
PCB Chat 107: Valentina Ratner and Kyle Dumont of AllSpice
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Allspice has developed a software platform that supports users of CAD tools for collaboration, design and schematic reviews and commenting, and tracki...
PCB Chat 106: Madan Jagernauth on the Latest HDP Projects
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
HDP User Group is an industry consortium made up of more than 50 leading companies that collaborate on research in order to reduce cost and time to ma...
RM 108: SMTA Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium Preview
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
SMTA is well known for producing high-quality relevant technical conferences and symposiums. This includes, among others, the technical conference hel...
RM 107: IPC Validation Services & the Trusted Supplier Program
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Like most manufacturers, the electronics manufacturing industry relies on countless suppliers to fulfill its manufacturing needs. I'm quite certain th...
RM 106: A Conversation about Production Automation
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's been said on this show that one key factor to international competitiveness is automation. While labor rates vary widely across the world, automa...
PCB Chat 105: Low-Heat Solders with Ian Tevis of SAFI-Tech and Andy Mackie of Indium
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last July, Indium Corporation announced a partnership with SAFI-Tech, an Iowa-based startup that is creating no-heat and low-heat solder and metallic ...
RM 105: Conformal Coating Material Selection Best Practices
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re diving into conformal coating best practices. With the explosion of IoT, the electrification of vehicles, and the miniaturization of cir...
PCB Chat 104: Wang Lu of Jove Enterprises
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wang Lu is cofounder of Jove Enterprises, a China-based printed circuit fabricator with five facilities in mainland China and one pending in Thailand....
RM 104: Thomas Ricciardelli on ESD Flooring
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 us...
PCB Chat 103: Stephen Chavez on Design Automation
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen Chavez spent the past 12 years as a principal engineer and global subject matter expert of PCB design for Collins Aerospace and Raytheon. This...
RM 103: SMT Assembly Equipment for Low-Volume Applications
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Mike Konrad talks about low-volume electronic assembly. We all know who the “big players” are when it comes to solder paste printers, pick-...
RM 102: Contract Manufacturer Selection Process Best Practices
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
RM 101: The Future of US Manufacturing with IPC’s Matt Kelly
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It seems today, the entire world is experiencing supply chain challenges in nearly all product categories. In the electronics assembly industry, the f...
RM 100: A 100th Episode Special (Recorded Live)
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the 100th episode of the Reliability Matters podcast! Hear clips from past episodes and messages from past guests on their views about reliabi...
PCB Chat 102: Dr. Matthew Dyson on the Factory of the Future
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reshoring has been a buzzword for a few years now. But when supply chains are undergoing dramatic disruption and inflation is raging worldwide, what i...
PCB Chat 101: Brian Morrison on Smart Manufacturing
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a broad consensus on what "smart manufacturing" is, and more specifically, its application in electronics assembly? Brian Morrison, vice pres...
RM 99: Graham Naisbitt on IPC Cleanliness Standard Compliance
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In late 2018, IPC shocked the electronics assembly community by introducing an amendment to section 8 of the J-STD-001G. This amendment radically chan...
PCB Chat 100: John Burkhert Jr. on Engineering Soft Skills
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Burkhert Jr., senior PCB layout engineer and author of Designer’s Notebook, the monthly column on PCB design engineering, talks about the so-ca...
RM 98: Jen Fijalkowski on Advances in Solder Pastes
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 Si...
PCB Chat 99: RIT PCB Design Curriculum
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Rochester Institute of Technology in January launched its first course on printed circuit board design. Instruction was performed by Dr. Kirsch Ma...
RM 97: Best Practices for Purchasing X-Ray Equipment
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad speaks with four experts, not about brands or models of x-ray equipment, rather about best practices for purchasing x-ray equipment. Th...
RM 96: Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall on Their New Book
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A couple episodes ago, Reliability Matters host Mike Konrad spoke with Dr. Ron Lasky about a couple of books he wrote. He also recommended one he didn...
PCB Chat 98: The Cadence Allegro/ Dassault Systèmes 3DExperience Integration
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cadence and Dassault Systèmes in late February announced the combining of the former's Allegro platform with the latter's 3DExperience platform in ...
PCB Chat 97: Travis Kelly on the Printed Circuit Board Association of America
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In early May the Printed Circuit Board Association of America held its first annual meeting, at which they shared progress on their overarching goal, ...
RM 95: SMTA SMT Certification Course Authors Dr. Ron Lasky and Jim Hall
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad speaks with Dr. Ron Lasky and Jim Hall, authors of the SMTA SMT Certification Courses (along with Phil Zarrow) about the content of these ...
RM 94: Dr. Ron Lasky on His Many Books
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 In...
RM 93: Dr. Kunal Shah on Ni-Less ENIG
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kunal Shah, Ph.D., is president and chief scientist at Lilotree, a manufacturer of novel surface finishes for circuit boards. He explains the advantag...
PCB Chat 96: The Latest HDP Initiatives with Jack Fisher and Madan Jagernauth
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Fisher is project facilitator of the High Density Packaging User Group, also known as HDP, and Madan Jagernauth is marketing director and project...
PCB Chat 95: Latest PCB ECAD Market Data with Wally Rhines
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of PCB Chat we discuss the fourth quarter 2021 market numbers from the ESD Alliance, which were released the week of April 4, 2022. Ou...
RM 92: IPC Apex Expo Conversations: Reflow Thermal Control / Automated Device Programming
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded at IPC Apex Expo in San Diego, Mike Konrad has conversations with two guests. Marco Sanchez from SMT North America talks about thermal contro...
RM 91: Conversations from IPC APEX Expo - Inspection Systems - Contract Assembly - and Pirates!
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad talks with four guests: Jesper Lykke from Viscom talks about inspection systems. [email protected] Greg Papandrew from Direct ...
PCB Chat 94: Michael Kirschner on Sustainability Standards
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Kirschner is president of Design Chain Associates, where he helps manufacturers understand and ensure that their products comply with health a...
RM 90: Mike Adamson on Component Storage
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While it may seem like an untimely topic given the current supply chain shortages, storage systems for electronic components are an important part of ...
PCB Chat 93: Mack Technologies on EMS Manufacturing in Mexico
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mack Technologies is one of the largest privately held US-based EMS companies. It recently moved into a 164,000 sq. ft. facility in Juarez, effectivel...
RM 89: Tombstoning Mitigation with Tony Lentz
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tombstoning is a reflow issue causing components to stand up, creating opens. FCT Solder's Tony Lentz discusses the causes and mitigation techniques t...
PCB Chat 92: Dr. James Lee and Chris Banton on RIT’s PCB Design Curriculum
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In January Rochester Institute of Technology launched a hands-on program focused on printed circuit board design. The first offering is one the first ...
RM 88: Indium’s Brian O’Leary on Electric Vehicles
28 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of my favorite subjects is the electrification of automobiles, not just electric cars, which are with us now, but completely autonomous vehicles.,...
PCB Chat 91: Wally Rhines on the Latest ECAD Software Trends
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wally Rhines, ex chairman of Mentor and spokesperson for the ESD Alliance, joins PCB Chat host Mike Buetow to discuss the latest data for the printed ...
PCB Chat 90: Travis Kelly on the PCBAA
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In July 2021, in response to two decades of a declining US market, a group of printed circuit board fabricators and suppliers established the Printed ...
RM 84: Christopher Frederickson on Solder Paste Inspection
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we discuss Fit for Use solder paste inspection. As we've repeated several times on this show, it is said most reliability problems begin at the...
PCB Chat 89: College Training Programs for Electronics
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lorain County Community College, located in northeast Ohio, about 30 miles west of Cleveland, became in 2018 the first community college to offer an a...
PCB Chat 88: HDP Users Group Update
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Larry Marcanti, executive director of the High Density Packaging User Group (HDP), and Madan Jagernauth, marketing director and project facilitator, t...
C2C 12: Smart Splice Cofounder Larry Welk
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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. S...
RM 83: Thermal Management Expert Miles Moreau
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Miles Moreau, KIC’s general manager, has been with KIC for nearly three decades. He draws his deep and rich expertise from managing multiple busines...
PCB Chat 87: Jorge Cardona on EMS in Colombia
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jorge Cardona is CEO of Invertronica Group, the parent company of a trio of firms in Colombia. Those companies include Tecrea, an electronics design a...
RM 82: Paul Salerno on Soldering Materials and Selection
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Salerno holds an MBA with specialization in finance and marketing from Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is global portfolio manager at Mac...
PCB Chat 86: Wally Rhines on the ECAD Market Data
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The second quarter was "dynamite" for PCB design software sales, explains Wally Rhines, referring to the 16% year-over-year increase in ECAD sales. Rh...
RM 80: Cheryl Tulkoff and Greg Caswell on DfX
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 80: Cheryl Tulkoff & Greg Caswell's Book “Design for Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing”. My guests Cheryl Tulkoff and Greg Caswel...
RM 79: Arch Systems‘ Dave Trail about Industry 4.0
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad speaks with Dave Trail from Arch Systems about Industry 4.0. Dave may be reached at [email protected] 808-868-8298
PCB Chat 85: Matt Dyson on Electrically Conductive Adhesives
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) have been touted for decades as a potential replacement for solder. Technology roadmaps by organizations rang...
C2C 11: Poligage Founder and CEO Christine Davies
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Christine Davies is founder and CEO of Poligage. Poligage is an online marketplace for public policy insights and government affairs services, providi...
RM 77: James Kovacevic on Maintenance Reliability Training
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest has been quoted saying his personal mission is to make industry a profitable place; where individuals and manufacturers possess the resource...
RM 76 - Meet the Press
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with media personalities Mike Buetow (Circuits Assembly Magazine), Trevor Galbraith (Global SMT & Packaging), Phil Stoten (Scoop TV), a...
RM 75: Matric Group‘s Patrick Stimpert on Lean Manufacturing
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
EMS provider Matric Group's Patrick Stimpert incorporated the Toyota Production System’s Lean principles into his contract manufacturing business. “...
C2C 10: Zestron‘s Dr. Harald Wack
10 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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, r...
PCB Chat 84: Gowtham Ramachandran on the ‘Desktop Microfactory‘
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 co...
C2C 9: Foresite Founder Terry Munson
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Terry Munson is the founder and president of Foresite, Inc. He founded Foresite in 1992, then known as CSL (Contamination Studies Laboratories, Inc.)....
RM 74: Worthington Assembly's Chris Denney on Contract Manufacturing
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Worthington Assembly's Chris Denney speaks about the electronic contract manufacturing business. • How to select an appropriate contract manufact...
RM 73: Solder Paste Expert Tim Jensen of Indium
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Jensen talks about: Solder paste selection best practices Low temperature solder Common mistakes made when using solder paste Solder paste jetting...
PCB Chat 83: Vincent Bedat of Volthub on OEM-EMS Data Sharing
11 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
C2C 8: STI Electronics' David Raby
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
STI Electronics (formally Soldering Technology International) was founded by the late Industry icon Jim Raby. Soldering Technology International becam...
RM 72: Thermal Profiling with ECD's Mark Waterman
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
ECD's Mark Waterman discusses thermal profiling best practices. • Common mistakes made when using profilers • In-use best practices • Commo...
PCB Chat 82: The RIT CEMA Capstone Project Team
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Regular listeners know that PCB Chat us always eager to hear about what’s going on in the minds of the next-generation of engineers. A team of stude...
PCB Chat 81: Terry Jernberg of EMA on Power Integrity
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Those who read PCD&F magazine or see us online at pcdandf.com have probably come across Terry Jernberg, the face of a new column this year under the e...
C2C 7: A Conversation with Industry Icon Bob Black
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The guest today is Bob Black. Since the late 1980s, Bob was selling drag soldering machines made by Zeva. While Bob has been involved in several busin...
PCB Chat 80: Wally Rhines on the Latest EDA Sales Data
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The first quarter ESD Alliance design software tools sales figures are in and they are impressive! ESDA spokesperson Wally Rhines breaks down the numb...
RM 71: Manufacturer's Reps Talk Sales and Support Post Covid-19
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Four manufacturer's representatives share their experience in supporting their customer's needs. They share how sales and support has changed over the...
C2C 6: Dr. Mike Stull and Mike Konrad
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Concept to Creation host Mike Konrad says, while I am the host of this podcast, interviewing entrepreneurs within the electronics assembly industry, s...
RM 70: Nano Dimension Cofounder Amit Dror
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amit Dror is cofounder of Nano Dimension and customer success officer. Amit served as Nano Dimension’s chief executive from 2014 to 2019. Nano Dimen...
PCB Chat 79: Bruce Mahler on the Ohmega-Ticer Merger
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Merger and acquisition activity took a bit of a breather last summer as Covid protocols kicked in, but has really heated up since calendar flipped to ...
Concept to Creation 5: Datest's Robert Boguski and Regina Lathrop
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to episode number 5 of the Concept to Creation Podcast. I’m so glad you’re here. Today, my guests are Robert Boguski and Regina Lathrop...
PCB Chat 78: Peter Bigelow on 50 Years in PCB Fabrication
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
IMI Inc., a printed circuit board fabricator in Haverhill, MA, celebrated its 50th anniversary in May. CEO and president Peter Bigelow joins Mike Buet...
RM 69: Part 2 Mike Konrad, Chris Denney and Melissa Hough on the Pick-Place Podcast
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad a guest on the Pick-Place Podcast with Chris Denney (Worthington Assembly) and Melissa Hough (CircuitHub). This is the second of a two-par...
Concept to Creation 4: Kyzen's Dr. Mike Bixenman and Tom Forsythe
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Mike Bixenman and Tom Forsythe talk about the founding of Kyzen Corporation, a multinational chemical manufacturer for the electronics cleaning an...
PCB Chat 77: The Top 50 Electronics Manufacturing Services Companies
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Each year CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY publishes its rankings of the 50 largest EMS/ODM companies. Editor in chief Mike Buetow offers a recap of the Year of Covi...
RM 68: Chris Denney and Melissa Hough
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Konrad joins Chris Denney (Worthington Assembly) and Melissa Hough (CircuitHub) on the Pick-Place Podcast . This is the first of a two-part inter...
C2C 3: Mike Scimeca of FCT Assembly on Entrepreneurship
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode # 3 of the Concept to Creation Podcast is now available. My guest is Mike Scimeca of FCT Assembly. Mike founded his first business in 1991....