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(See Part 1) When discussing success in solder paste stencil printing for SMT assembly, one of the most important tools in an engineer‘s “belt” is his solder paste inspection (SPI)

During the summer months I'm a big fan of grilling. Up until veryrecently I've grilled everything from hot dogs to steaks using nothing but my propane grill and my natural instincts of how

Folks, let’s see how Patty is doing at Ivy U….. Patty had to admit that she really liked being a professor at Ivy University. No, that wasn’t strong enough; she was ecstatic. The

At APEX 2014, I presented a paper about the effect that reflow profiling has on the SIR (Surface Insulation Resistance) performance (electrical reliability) of no-clean solder paste flux

Let's talk viscosity. Most of us are experienced with paint. Paint is a thick liquid that is applied to a surface and then, for the most part, remains where it was

SMT Optimization for Success in Printing Ultrafine Solder Paste Deposits The SMT industry widely accepts that ~60% of solder defects occur at the stencil printer. Figure 1 (below) depicts a very busy

Folks, In the nearly ten years that I have been blogging, I am continually surprised by the interest in a spreadsheet I created that calculates alloy densities. I get about numerous inquiries a year

Overcoming the challenges we face in a production environment is accomplished in many ways. Ideas may be generated during a high-level brainstorming exercise or during a conversation while traveling

Folks, Let's look at Patty's last day of class…… As she was driving north to teach her statistics class, Patty was sad to see her stint at Ivy U come to a close. She was even more

Round solder wire, especially flux-cored, has been a mainstay of the electronics industry ever since electronics came into existence. Round solder wire is pretty much something that we take for

Folks, Let’s check in on how Patty is doing at Ivy U. Patty was nearing the end of her teaching stint at Ivy U. Only a few more classes remained. She had to admit that she was sad to see this

The telecom industry relies heavily on Telcordia (Bellcore) testing to determine the electrical reliability of no-clean solder flux residues. There are many aspects of Telcordia testing that mimic

Folks, An obvious disadvantage of lead-free assembly is that the oven must be hotter and therefore will use more electricity. But is the extra amount of electricity significant? Bill O’’Leary

Folks, It is hard to imagine, but it has been just a little short of 13 years ago that Jim Hall, Phil Zarrow and I approached SMTA’s JoAnn Stromberg with a proposal to develop a certification

Folks, Every year, the wonderful folks at PCM host a visit from my class on manufacturing processes and provide a real-world tour of an electronics assembly facility . Our relationship has resulted

A while ago, my colleague, Jim Hisert, interviewed me and wrote a Technical Support Spotlight piece on me. Now that I’ve been in the Technical Service department for a while, I’ve decided

Folks, Some time ago I posted on “The Curse of the Early First Fail” and “Interpreting Weibull Plots.” Both of these posts related to using Weibull analysis to make sound engineering

Most SMT fluxes and solder pastes are either classified as RO or OR. Every once in a while one will see an occasional RE flux. People typically recognize ROL0 and ROL1 classified fluxes and solder

I just can’t get enough of a good thing. My last post mentioned donuts – one of my favorite treats. Allow me to continue reveling in the chewy sweet delight. On Saturdays the kids like to be

The beginning of 2014 brought an interesting opportunity for me, the availability of a position as a Manufacturing Engineer at Indium Corporation (at our BPD facility in Utica NY). So far it has been

Folks, Let’s see how Patty is doing after teaching her first class at Ivy U… Patty arrived at home after teaching her first class at Ivy U and she couldn’t contain her