Oct 31, 2009
Under the guidance of Branch President Dr. S. Manian Ramkumar, the Empire Chapter of the SMTA held an extremely successful “Lunch and Learn” event focused on “Solder Process Failure Analysis” at the Rochester Institute of Technology where Dr. Ramkumar is Director - Center for Electronics Manufacturing and Assembly, Professor - Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology/Packaging Science, and Program Chair - MS Degree in Manufacturing and Mechanical Systems Integration.
The program was developed by IPC Hall of Fame member Gene Weiner, a P.D. Circuits, Inc. Senior Vice President, and Joe DePeter of Yankeetronics. Weiner had served as moderator for a similar event earlier in the year for the Space Coast Chapter of the SMTA. He also served as the forum moderator.
A diverse panel consisting of Ed Briggs, Technical Support Engineer with Indium Corporation; Martin K. Anselm, Manager, Failure Analysis Services, Universal Instruments Advanced Process Laboratory; John Swanson, Director of Final Finish and Interconnect Technologies of MacDermid Inc,; Dr. Alan Rae, Founder TPF; and Mike Tucker, Technical Service Engineer at P.D. Circuits, Inc. Their collective experience included final finishes and soldering with leaded as well as lead-free solders, nano-solders, pastes, and process equipment. The topics ranged from substrates, to final finishes, to bridging, to tests in order to determine the root cause of some of the more advanced defect types.
After a buffet lunch, the five panelists each provided an opening statement regarding soldering issues, materials, quality, and technology, then engaged the attendees in lively discussions responding to questions from the full lecture hall. The open forum was so interesting that the meeting went on until 4 p.m., well beyond the expected 3 p.m. meeting close.
After the close of the formal meeting, P.D. Circuit’s Tucker engaged a number of forum participants in an active discussion on robust design matrices and IPC-A-600G. He concluded with an offer to help attendees certify their employees to the standard.
About P. D. Circuits Inc.
P. D. Circuits is the leading printed circuit supply chain management company. From material selection and up-front engineering to manufacturing, logistics and inventory management, PDC provides the full spectrum of PCB supply chain management services. The experienced circuit board professionals of P. D. Circuits match customer needs to the core competence of its fabrication partners in North America and Asia. The company's Asian Operations Center, located in Shenzhen, China ensures the continued success of over 16 years of offshore sourcing. On-Site inspection at the fabricating facilities is conducted by the IPC600 Certified PDC China QC team in conjunction with its in-house cross section lab. The company is ISO 9001:2008 certified and ITAR registered, with headquarters located in New Hampshire. For more information visit us at http://www.pdcircuits.com.
