Circuits Assembly - December 2008

Analyzing Pb-Free Wave Soldering Defects, pg.
34
DECEMBER 2008 circuitsassembly.com
Plexus
on the Move
A Look Inside Our
EMS Company of the Year
Flux’s Role in HIP Defects
Pb-Free Wetting Tests
Predicting Lean Outcomes
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CA-0812.indb 2 11/19/08
03363_source_circuits.indd 1 10/13/08 4:31:10
3:59:07 PM
PM
Photo courtesy of Plexus Corp.
Analyzing Pb-Free Wave Soldering Defects, pg. 34
DECEMBER 2008 circuitsassembly.com
Plexus
on the Move
A Look Inside Our
EMS Company of the Year
DECEMBER 2008 – Vol. 19 No. 12
Flux’s Role in HIP Defects
Pb-Free Wetting Tests
FIRST PERSON Predicting Lean Outcomes
ON THE COVER: Plexus has

6 Caveat Lector perfected the art of the workcell.
Foxconn goes south of the border.
Mike Buetow FEATURES
COVER STORY
MONEY MATTERS
20 The Plexus Rx
17 Global Sourcing The best-performing publicly held EMS company is not Jabil, Benchmark nor Flextronics, but a
Relationship ruiners. quiet Midwestern entity with a primarily North American footprint and “too many” engineers.
Jennifer Read Why Plexus is our 2008 EMS Company of the Year.
By Mike Buetow
TECH TALK Retrospective

18 Screen Printing 26 In Memoriam
Post-print inspection. CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY recalls friends and industry colleagues who won’t see 2009.
Clive Ashmore
Solder Joint Reliability
19 Better Manufacturing 28 HIP Defects in BGAs
What I don’t like about you.
Solder joints afflicted with head-in-pillow lack strength, and the components may fail under
Dr. H.J. Zapfardt III
minimal mechanical or thermal stress. HIP is now known to be caused by certain process
32 Tech Tips variables, including the BGA ball alloy, reflow process type, reflow profile and solder paste
chemistry. The role each of these variables plays, and certain mitigation techniques, are
Solder wetting tests.
identified in this study.
American Competitiveness Institute
By Karl Seelig
33 Test and Inspection
In support of DfT.
Stacy Kalisz Johnson This month at PCDandF.com
34 Wave Soldering Electronic System Design
Drop-ins are out. ECAD-MCAD collaboration supports bidirectional communication that can shorten design times,
Ursula Marquez de Tino reduce errors and bring products to market faster.
By John Isaac
36 Process Doctor
Analyzing SEM and EDX.
Terry Munson PCB Dielectric Materials for High-Speed
37 Pb-Free Lessons Learned Applications
The HIP epidemic proliferates. The glass weave in a laminate can affect the propagation velocity and loss profile, leading to
Chrys Shea signal loss and skew in differential pairs.
By Ravindra Gali
39 The Defects Database
Paste residue and solvent incompatibilities.
Dr. Davide Di Maio
PCB Designers Take on Technology
Challenges in 2008
40 Standards Decisions made in the design seat determine not only the size and shape of the PCB, but also
All marked up. the technology type and materials used to build the board.
John Perry By Kathy Nargi-Toth
42 Getting Lean
Predicting outcomes.
Robert Hemmant
DEPARTMENTS
43 Eastern Advances
Soldering terminations, part 2. 8 Industry News 46 Ad Index
Sanqiang Cai 16 Market Watch 47 Assembly Insider
48 Technical Abstracts 44 Product Spotlight
003_CA-0812.indd 3 11/18/08 4:54:28 PM

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Caveat
Lector Crapshoot in Juárez
T
he city of Juárez, Mexico, sits to the south and
west of the US, sharing a jagged border – other-
wise known as the Rio Grande – with the state of
The Foxconn site sits in San Jerónimo, on the
relatively undeveloped western edge of Juárez. For its
first phase, Foxconn is expected to hire 9,300 workers,
T
Texas. The Juárez Mountains rise to the west, abutting Pacheco says.
the sprawling home of some 1.3 million residents. And while dorms are the norm at Foxconn “cities”
It’s also the home to an estimated 300 maquiladoras, in China, in Mexico the company will have to bus in
or assembly plants, and that’s where our story really employees. Yet Pacheco believes the area can absorb
begins. Foxconn’s projected needs, as Juárez grows by several
For those feeling the pinch – or is that thousand people each year. “All the maquilas compete
squeeze? – of the financial markets, the against each other, but Juárez is such a big city,” he says.
news Foxconn is investing a reported $185 “There are times when the labor gets tight.” But this
million in a massive electronics manufac- isn’t one of them, he adds.
turing campus on the Mexico-US border Foxconn plans to have the first phase completed
must come with mixed blessings. in February and production launched during the first
As we reported in July, the new site will quarter. The current softening hasn’t impacted its
eventually house more than 3 million sq. ft. plans, Pacheco says. The main products will be laptops,
of industrial space in 12 buildings spread desktops and printers, and the top customers, if this
across some 440 acres. The Foxconn cam- reporter were to guess, would be H-P and Dell.
pus will include cafeterias, a nursery and a Violence is always a concern south of the border.
mall, and once finished, will dwarf those The notorious Juárez Cartel is brutal and murder-
of other nearby electronics manufactur- ous, and just last month, the bodies of two men were
ers. Flextronics’ site in Ciudad Juárez, for found, executed and decomposing, just outside one of
example, which opened in 2006, will top Electrolux’s plants.
out at 1.9 million sq. ft. and will employ roughly 4,000 While it’s nothing like a Latin America drug cartel,
workers at peak, according to company statements. the Foxconn name sends shudders down many com-
Swedish white goods manufacturer Electrolux has petitors’ spines as well. Like a black hole, the company
two factories totaling more than 2 million sq. ft. and tends to gobble up everything around it. Even in a
employing 4,000 workers. down economy, the impact will be felt broadly on
Other well-known EMS companies and ODMs everything from human capital to sales. And this page
dot the Juárez landscape. They include Acer, Asus, has been directly critical of Foxconn’s approach to
Bizlink, ECS, Elite, Enlight, EPIC Technologies, Inven- business and its treatment of workers.
tec, Keytronic EMS, Mack Technologies, Tatung and But is there a silver lining? I think so. Foxconn’s
Plexus (see this month’s cover story). Some have left, investment can – and should – be seen as a concrete
only to return. Elcoteq, for instance, shut down its set- affirmation of the potential of the North American
top production site in 2007, purchased from Thomson market, both as a purchasing power and as a manufac-
in 2004, then bought Philips’ flat-screen TV opera- turing center. This bodes well for suppliers, especially
tions this fall. Even Foxconn is already there: In 2005 it given the less-than-pretty forecast for 2009. It bodes
opened a 2,000-employee plant on a 43-acre site. well for those concerned with workers’ rights; while
Taiwanese-owned companies employed an esti- Mexico isn’t perfect, it is easier for committed OEMs
mated 8,000 workers in the area as of last year, the El to keep an eye on their contractors in Juárez than, say,
Paso Times reports. Still, what Foxconn now proposes Shenzhen. And it bodes well for the American psyche
is on an altogether different scale: 20,000 workers or as proof we can profitably build something more than
more at full capacity. weapon systems and high-IP medical devices.
Across the border in Santa Teresa, Jerry Pacheco It’s something of a crapshoot, but I think this will
is executive director of the New Mexico International turn up a winner.
Business Accelerator, a state administered group that Happy holidays. All our best for a healthy and happy
aids local companies looking to expand globally. He 2009!
says the labor market has loosened because of the soft-
ness in the economy. Still, skilled labor is at a premium,
he asserts. In today’s market, line workers make close
to $3 an hour fully loaded. For more skilled labor, the Mike Buetow, Editor-in-Chief
rate is close to $5. mbuetow@upmediagroup.com
INDI-2
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CA-0812.indb 7 11/19/08 1:46:21
4:31:21 PM
PM
cooks
Industry
NEWS Edited by Chelsey Drysdale
In Brief Recession Spells End of Foxconn Effect, Analyst Says

SAN JOSE – The top 10 EMS firms showed collective first-half growth of 4.3%, down from 20% last year, and the
Digi-Key Corp. (digikey.com) has
forecast, if not dire, is dimmer than before.
expanded its line of Tyco Electronics Ray-
In an economic wrap-up of the electronics industry, iSuppli Corp. in October said EMS/ODM firms have been
chem Circuit Protection Products to include
hit hard by macroeconomic concerns and drops in demand. The environment has led the firm to lower its growth
PolyZen Zener diodes.
outlook for the sector to 8.2% CAGR.
The subprime mortage resets peak during the second quarter, coupled with problems at Fannie Mae and
SMTC (smtc.com) cut 276 full-time staff
and approximately 100 temporary staff, Freddie Mac, loom large over economy, iSuppli noted. Said Adam Pick, principal analyst, EMS/ODM services, “In a
mainly in Mexico, as it moved production to recession, the Dow [Jones] drops 48 to 49%, so it could still get worse.”
the company’s facility in China. There’s no question the broader economic situation is being felt at the EMS/ODM level. ODM shipments are
dropping tremendously this year. The No. 1 company, Compal Communications, a supplier to Motorola, Nokia
A-Laser (a-laser.com), a provider of and LG, has seen shipments drop 33.3% from last year. No. 2 Quanta has dropped 7.5%, while Qisda is down a
laser-cutting services, has expanded its whopping 50%. TPV has dipped 14.3%, and Asus is down 6.1%.
hours of operations to meet demands of “ODMs are definitely getting hit,” Pick said. “Revenues are down; shipments are down; forecasts are
just-in-time manufacturers. The firm is now down.”
running three shifts to enable 24-hr. capac- The big question now is, Which of the EMS companies and ODMs will survive? Are there any likely bankrupt-
ity. A-Laser is a division of FCT Assembly. cies? According to a new report by iSuppli, most firms are OK. However, without naming names, Pick suggested
some firms could be in trouble during a recession. (The report, “Recession Hits EMS/ODMs,” was due out Nov.
Sunburst Electronics (sunburstelec- 7.)
tronics.com) is in the final stages of gaining On the flip side, some CEOs are saying a recession is good for contract manufacturers because OEMs are
ISO 13485 certification, a quality manage- rethinking their strategies, and Flextronics is positioned to be a prime beneficiary of a new wave of outsourcing.
ment standard for medical device manu- iSuppli thinks otherwise. “Is the rubber-band effect fact or fiction?” asked Pick. “The rubber-band effect was mate-
facturing. The company plans to extend its rial during the last recession. But today is not 2001.”
medical device industry reach as a result. Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst, EMS/ODM services, pointed to the recent postponement of a major joint EMS/ODM
investment in Russia. That deal, between Foxconn and HP, would have invested $50 million in a new 400,000 sq.
Indium Corp. (indium.com) named ft. site in St. Petersburg, capable of producing 40,000 PCs per month. The opening was scheduled for early 2009,
EMC3 Group (emc3group.com) its sales
and its postponement shows even the largest EMS provider is now “feeling the hurt.” Said Pick, “Weaker demand
channel partner in Florida.
is having impact on OEMs and EMS providers alike.”
iSuppli predicts one of two scenarios: Electronics will either grow at a slower rate or contract altogether. Pick
Ellsworth Corp. (ellsworth.com)
advises OEMs to reduce outsourced production and prepare for supplier consolidation. OEMs also need to ask
opened a wholly owned subsidiary, Ells-
how they can best reduce capacity. “This is reminiscent of post 2001,” he said.
worth Latin America Adesivos LTDA,
in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to provide adhesives, For EMS firms, he mentioned the seasonality of the first half of the year as a problem. “It’s time for EMS to
sealants, coatings, encapsulants, tapes, and back off.” While margins are actually stabilizing and restructurings are slowing, according to Pick, “consolidation
dispensing and curing equipment to Latin is a definite need to know.”
America. “The Foxconn effect is pretty much over,” he added. Its revenues at the beginning of the decade were $3
billion and grew to $50 billion last year, but “Foxconn has hit some hiccups. Their stock was down 63% in the
Manufactured Assemblies Corp. last 18 months.”
(mac-cable.com), a provider of EMS and Feeling the biggest hiccup, however, has been Benchmark, whose sales are down 10% sequentially. Sanmina-
other products and services, will build a SCI’s sales have beat expectations, and Celestica is seeing a turnaround in Europe and Mexico, while its “ROI
40,000 sq. ft. office and production facility continues to go up and up,” said Pick.
in Vandalia, OH, with the planned opening For ODMs, the global trend toward mobile computing has been good for growth. The top 10 firms were
early next year. MAC, which has operations up 21.3% last quarter, said Pick. Inventec, for instance, has seen a 28% spike in revenue on higher HP and
in Dayton, OH, and suburban Atlanta, has Toshiba orders. Nevertheless, Quanta has had issues with R&D, labor and material, while Compal has struggled
55 employees. The company plans to hire with contraction. – Chelsey Drysdale
up to 25 more over the next three years,
according to reports.
New IIT Factory Could
Cobar Europe (cobar.com) appointed Double Capabilities
Prosem Technology India (prosemtech- POST FALLS, ID – Integrated Ideas & Technologies
nology.com) its representative in India. Inc. (integratedideas.com) recently completed
construction and moved into a 23,000 sq. ft.
ACD (acd.biz) has selected Optimal Elec-
manufacturing facility. The new facility is expect-
tronics’ (optelco.com) Optel MES software.
ed to help the SMT stencil and metal fabrication Integrated Ideas, all in one place.
CA-0812.indb 8 11/19/08 4:31:24 PM

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Industry
NEWS
provider achieve a 50% increase in production capabilities over the next two years.
In Brief “We were at maximum capacity in our previous facility and did not have the space for the new
FCT Solder, a division of FCT Assem- equipment required for advancement of our SMT stencil and metal fabrication divisions,” said Michael
bly, named Ally Jakusovas its represen- Ray, president and owner of IIT.
tative in California, Oregon, Washington, The new plant is located eight miles west of the company’s previous facility in Coeur D’Alene. –
Colorado and Utah. Mike Buetow
EMS firm Enics (enics.com) could lay off IPC Criticizes TBBPA Inclusion in RoHS Draft
more than 185 workers in Varkuas, Finland, BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC (ipc.org) is taking issue with the inclusion of the flame retardant chemical
as it moves operations to other company known as Tetrabromobisphenol A on a draft list of substances that could be added to the EU RoHS
factories. The company is engaged in nego- Directive, firing off a letter requesting the EU commissioners “reconsider” its potential ban.
tiations with workers over the layoffs. It
The trade group had previously made its case to the Öko-Institut (oeko.de), which was charged
currently employs 500 in Finland and 2,700
with drafting the list.
worldwide.
TBBPA, a reactive flame retardant used in most printed circuit board laminates, has been reported
to be included among five substances for priority assessment and potential inclusion in RoHS by media
Adeptron Technologies (adeptron.
who claimed to have seen the proposal. It is reportedly used in more than two-thirds of electrical and
com) will provide $15 million a year in
electronics appliances.
electronics manufacturing services to an
Citing the strong body of technical evidence, IPC claims TBBPA is not a risk and should not be
undisclosed Canada-based OEM. The deal
included in future RoHS documents. “TBBPA has already undergone a comprehensive EU Risk Assess-
also has “the potential to increase signifi-
ment and, therefore, is not expected to be subject to authorization under REACH,” IPC said in the
cantly.” Full ramp is expected to take place
during the first quarter 2009. letter. “The recommendation for priority review of TBBPA under RoHS seemingly undermines the EU’s
emerging chemicals policy and law under REACH. We urge the commission to reconsider the inclusion
BPM Microsystems (bpmmicro.com) of TBBPA in its list of ‘priority review’ substances under RoHS.”
named Lynxtron Inc. its representative in Following interagency review of the proposal, the EU Commission will present the proposed RoHS
southern Wisconsin, Indiana and northern Revision to the European Parliament. – Mike Buetow
Illinois.
H.I.G. Chemicals Holdings Acquires Petroferm
Vicor Corp. (vicr.com) recently added GURNEE IL – H.I.G. Chemicals Holdings Corp. (higcapital.com) has acquired Petroferm Inc. Terms of the
Koh Young Technology benchtop and transaction were not disclosed.
inline solder paste inspection capability. Petroferm (petroferm.com), a specialty SMT In PICTurES
chemical manufacturer and formulator,
EMS provider Scanfil (scanfil.com) has had been privately held.
begun a 70,000 sq. ft. expansion to its The acquisition by the private equity
Hangzhou, China, production facilities. The
firm includes Petroferm’s operations in
company’s China subsidiaries account for
Gurnee, IL and Fernandina Beach, FL. The
36% of its overall sales.
Joseph Storey (UK) division will be spun
off to Petroferm shareholders.
PartnerTech’s (partnertech.fi) Norfolk,
H.I.G. acquired the North American
England, manufacturing facility has received
oleochemical business Uniqema Americas
ISO 13485:2003 medical certification. The
earlier this year. The firm plans to maintain
firm, the largest EMS company in Scandina-
the two as distinct operating subsidiaries.
via, also reduced headcount by 65 during
The two businesses will have combined
the September quarter.
sales in excess of $300 million, the firm
Flex Interconnect Technologies (fit- says. – Chelsey Drysdale
4flex.com) has received International Traffic
in Arms Regulations (ITAR) registration from Newview EMS Has
the US Department of State.
Shades of Past
The Eagle Group named Bliss Indus- WOBURN, MA – From the ashes of
tries (blissindustries.com) to represent its MassTech EMS and Neo Nano Electronics
has come a new electronics manufacturing Ovation Product’s Grid-Lok substrate sup-
line of wire carts for ESD electronics and port, shown on an Assembléon MX placement
general material handling. company, Newview EMS Corp.
machine.
Paul Walker, former founder and CEO
CA-0812.indb 10 11/19/08 4:31:28 PM

CA-0812.indb 11 11/19/08 4:31:29 PM
Industry
NEWS
of SMTC (smtc.com), is involved with the new company, as is Jerry Panos, the former CEO of MassTech
People and Neo Nano. The new company (newviewems.com) is located at the former Nexus Electronics site
EFD International named Philippe on New Boston St. in Woburn, MA.
Mysson business development manager, This development marks an end to the various incarnations of Neo Nano. Last November, Titan
solder paste Europe. He holds a master’s in Global Holdings purchased the assets of Nexus Nano, including the former Nexus Electronics site in
chemistry from Dijon (France) University and Woburn and the Nexus operations in Brandon, VT. The division was renamed Neo EMS shortly there-
has 24 years in solder manufacturing with after.
Thomson Passive Components. However, Titan quickly decided to sell the division. The Neo EMS facility in Vermont was closed
Aug. 13. The site’s answering service references callers to Titan Global Holdings’s corporate headquar-
roger Taylor has been named senior ters in Richardson, TX. Calls to Titan’s headquarters were not returned.
vice president Group Operations of Elcoteq. Nexus had revenues of $12 million in the period ended June 30, 2007. Titan has not reported the
He has held senior operational management group’s revenues for fiscal 2008. – Mike Buetow
positions within Nokia and Motorola.
Industrial Electronics Services Expands in TN
Indium Corp. promoted GRAY, TN – EMS provider Industrial Electronics Services Inc. (iesgray.com) will break ground this month
David McKee to key and on a 40,000 sq. ft. building, the company’s fourth building.
direct accounts manager The firm employs 67 workers and projects 2008 sales of $6.5 million, up 44%. It expects to hire
in Europe, responsible for up to 100 more workers over the next three years. The company, which performs smaller runs of SMT
Europe, the Middle East products and various box-build and other services, recently was named a certified supplier by Siemens
and Africa, with a focus on Medical Solutions. – Mike Buetow
solder products.
Mydata named Pelle

Wennerlund managing
Fine Line Stencil Opens Memphis Plant
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Fine Line Stencil (finelinestencil.com), a leading manufacturer of stencil
director in the China region.
products, has opened a stencil manufacturing facility in Memphis, the company said today.
He has China experience
The site will meet demand for quickturn stencils, and gives the company the ability to ship stencils
with a trading company
up to midnight Central time.
and with plastics machinery
“The quickturn demands on the contract manufacturing industry are increasing rapidly and our
manufacturer Krauss Maf-
Memphis facility gives us the ability to accept and ship stencil orders much later in the day,” said
fei, where he focused on EMS/electronics
Robert Dervaes, vice president of technology and engineering, in a press release.
and automotive.
Fine Line Stencil is a division of FCT Assembly. – Mike Buetow
Axiom Electronics named Keya Bhat-
tacharyya Six Sigma Manager. Dr. Bhat-
tacharyya previously worked as a quality/ MPC Files for Bankruptcy
reliability contractor for Celerity, Planar, and NAMPA, ID – MPC Corp. (mpccorp.com), one of the world's largest PC makers, has filed for Chapter
Flextronics. 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has been delisted from the NYSE and says it doesn't expect
equity holders to receive any distributions in conjunction with the bankruptcy cases.
Datron Dynamics named William “Bill” MPC has played in the corporate and government PC space for 17 years. In October 2007, it pur-
King president. He has been with the com- chased the professional business unit of Gateway. That acquisition may have been the root of MPC's
pany since 1996 and in manufacturing for downfall, however.
25 years. In a statement, chief executive John Yeros blamed "unforeseen issues surrounding the integration
of the Gateway Professional business unit, combined with adapting the operations of our manufac-
Kester promoted Ste- turing partner to additional customized requirements have proven more challenging than originally
phen Santangelo opera- anticipated, and have contributed to extensive losses. We evaluated all strategic alternatives, and
tions manager in North concluded the filing was necessary at this time."
America, responsible for MPC outsourced production to Flextronics (flextronics.com), but the latter terminated the deal in
production and quality of mid November, according to a report in the Sioux City Journal.
solder paste products. The The company has laid off more than 400 workers in the past month, including more than 300
30-year Kester veteran was in mid November and has "only a few employees left" at its Nampa site, according to published
most recently Asian Operations Manager for reports.
the solder paste business unit. However, Yeros added company's operations are expected to continue during reorganization
efforts. – Mike Buetow
CA-0812.indb 12 11/19/08 4:31:51 PM

12News.indd 13 11/20/08 10:31:15 AM
Industry
NEWS
People Cletronics to Expand Plant, Staff
MEDINA, OH – Cletronics Inc., a small EMS company and manufacturer of coils and inductors, will add
Salcomp named Jari Saarinen chief
12,000 sq. ft. to its factory here as part of a $960,000 expansion.
financial officer, effective Jan. 25, 2009. The
The company (cletronics.com) will hire three new full-time workers, bringing its total headcount to
company also promoted Pekka Kyyriäinen
16 (not including two part-timers).
to vice president, global operations, super-
The local county granted the company a 40% tax abatement for 10 years, under terms of the
seding Osmo Oja, who is retiring. He was
Community Reinvestment Act, according to reports. – Mike Buetow
general manager of Salcomp’s plant in
China since 2006.
Sunburst Electronics hired Ken Votruba Ayrshire Electronics Buys ACT Plant in Corinth
as manager of sales and service in Ohio. CORINTH, MI – Ayrshire Electronics (ayrshireusa.com) has acquired ACT Electronics' facility here for
an undisclosed amount.
Krayden appointed Eric Monson sales- In doing so, Ayrshire saved the largest EMS factory in the US – some 350,000 sq. ft. – and the jobs
man for Utah, Idaho and New Mexico, of about 200 full-time workers and 50 more part-timers.
and Ken Vitale as sales representative in In a statement, the office of Gov. Haley Barbour said, "Ayrshire Electronics ... is expected to keep
Richmond, VA. 200-plus workers on the job under the umbrella of a new corporate structure and new management
effective as early as (today)."
J. Mike Sapienti joined Sanmina-SCI ACT put the plant, formerly owned by ITT, up for sale in September. It also closed a site in Hudson,
as PCB senior business development man- MA. The phone at its San Jose site, the former GSS Array, has been disconnected. Calls to the com-
ager for defense and aerospace. He has 25 pany's Hudson site were not returned.
years’ experience in manufacturing, defense Ayrshire operates five plants in the Midwest and Mexico. – Mike Buetow
and aerospace to Sanmina-SCI, including at
Intrinsix Corp., Zycon, Parlex and Teradyne. Orbotech Pulling Out of Assembly AOI Biz
YAVNE, ISRAEL – Beset by losses, Orbotech (orbotech.com) in mid November announced plans to drop
Axis Electronics promoted Paul Jackson out of the PCB AOI equipment business and reduce its workforce by 15%.
to manufacturing director and Chris nye to Starting in the third quarter, the company began scaling back its activities in the assembled PCB
materials director. business. By year-end, the company will no longer develop and market assembled PCB equipment, but
will continue to service its installed base of products.
AdoptSMT Group AOI for assemblies make up a small portion of Orbotech's revenues. Sales for the segment were
appointed Barry Clark $3.9 million during the September quarter, down 31.6%. Orbotech reported overall sales of $94.8
managing director for its million for the period.
London-based Alterna- Among the charges taken by the company were a one-time charge of $5.4 million to write off
tiveSMT group. He was remaining goodwill within its PCB assembly business, and $3.7 million in restructuring charges.
previously with Universal Orbotech also announced plans to cut about 15% of its worldwide workforce in the third and
Instruments Corp. fourth quarters, a 15% reduction in corporate management salaries, smaller reductions in other sala-
ries, and other cost-cutting measures. – Mike Buetow
Synchronized Manufacturing Technolo-
gies named Jolene Schofield program
manager and Steve Cahalane operations
Nanowires Ideal for EMS, Say Researchers
manager. Schofield has 20 years’ experi- YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY – IBM (ibm.com) and Purdue University (purdue.edu) researchers have
ence, including her tenure with Sanmina- discovered tiny silicon nanowires might be ideal for manufacturing in computers and consumer elec-
SCI. Cahalane has been an engineer, materi- tronics because the structures repeatedly form the same way.
als and operations manager at Wang and According to a Purdue spokesperson, the researchers used a transmission electron microscope to
Celestica. observe nanowires made of nucleate. Silicon nanowires form from gold nanoparticles ranging in size
from 10 to 40 nm.
Unisem promoted Mike Griffin to cor- This is the first time researchers have made such precise measurements of the nucleation process
porate vice president of marketing and in nanowires, a participating researcher said, according to published reports.
business development, Gil Chiu to vice The researchers studied silicon; however, the findings could be applied to manufacturing nano-
president and region head of business wires made from other semiconducting materials, published reports say.
development for North America, and S.C. Nanowires could aid the semiconductor industry’s ongoing need to place more transistors in
Lim to vice president and region head of smaller spaces. The challenge will be to replace gold with other metals used in electronics, according
business development for Asia. to the researchers.
The National Science Foundation is funding the program. – Chelsey Drysdale
CA-0812.indb 14 11/19/08 4:31:55 PM

CA-0812.indb 15 11/19/08 4:31:55 PM
Market
WATCH Edited by Chelsey Drysdale
More Storage in Store

Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). Gartner: 2009 Semi Growth Just 1%
------------- % Change -------------- STAMFORD, CT – The economic crisis is having a significant impact
July Augr Sept* YTD
on the semiconductor industry, as worldwide semiconductor rev-
Computers and electronics products 6.0 -5.6 -2.3 0.0
enue growth in 2009 is expected to be 1%, down approximately
Computers -2.5 -4.9 -2.2 -6.9
seven points from previous estimates, says Gartner Inc. (gartner.
Storage devices -1.6 -8.2 11.6 -2.8
Other peripheral equipment -11.2 1.5 1.9 0.2
com). The research firm lowered its previous 2009 estimate of
Nondefense communications equipment -3.0 -7.5 2.2 -1.3 $307.7 billion, up 7.8% from 2008, to $282 billion, up 1%.
Defense communications equipment 11.1 -14.2 6.8 24.6 Semiconductor revenues grew 5% quarter-over-quarter in the
A/V equipment -3.2 -7.7 2.6 -14.4 September period, but fourth-quarter guidance continues to drop.
Semiconductors 38.9 -18.6 -13.6 -8.4 Gartner estimates worldwide semiconductor revenue in 2008 will
Components1 -1.9 -0.9 -2.2 -2.6 total $279.4 billion, up 2%.
Nondefense search and navigation equipment -5.4 0.5 -1.3 0.3
Defense search and navigation equipment
Medical, measurement and control
-3.6
13.4
1.7
-1.2
0.8
-2.6
3.3
11.3
Report: Communications
rRevised.
*Preliminary. 1Includes semiconductors. Seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Department of
Commerce Census Bureau, November 4, 2008
Production Halved this Year
LOS ALTOS, CA – Although capital investment outlays will slow,
October Manufacturing Reaches New Low the communications equipment industry will survive the economic
TEMPE, AZ – The manufacturing sector in October failed to grow for the third con- downturn in reasonable shape, says Henderson Ventures (hender-
secutive month, says the Institute for Supply Management (ism.ws), while the overall sonventures.com). Worldwide equipment production will slow from
economy concluded 83 consecutive months of growth. The manufacturing PMI a 6.8% rate in 2007 to a 3.2% pace this year, according to the
dropped to 38.9%, a 26-year low. A reading above 50% indicates expansion. research firm. Growth will drop 2.7% next year before rebounding
It was the lowest level for the PMI since September 1982, when it registered to 9.6% in 2010.
38.8%. China is expected to achieve a solid 9.6% gain this year. Even
New orders fell 6.6 points to 32.2%, while production plummeted to 34.1%,
so, that pales before the 19.8% burst chalked up during 2007,
down 6.7 points. Export orders contracted for the first time in 71 months. Backlogs
says Henderson.
dropped to 29.5%, down 5.5 points.
The company says the diminishing unserved cellphone market
“The PMI indicates a significantly faster rate of decline in manufacturing when
coupled with the poor economic environment will likely result in
comparing October to September. It appears manufacturing is experiencing sig-
a drop in new subscribers. Unit growth is predicted to drop from
nificant demand destruction as a result of recent events, with members indicating
15.1% in 2007 to 7.8% in 2008 and 3.9% next year.
challenges associated with the financial crisis, interruptions from the Gulf hurricane,
and the lagging impact from higher oil prices,” says ISM spokesperson Norbert J. Ore.
“We see inflationary pressures dissolving as the prices index fell to 37%, the lowest Down Market Could Boost EMS
since December 2001 when it registered 33.2%.” EL SEGUNDO, CA – EMS and ODM firms will continue to grow,
albeit at a slower rate, during the current recession. In fact,
June July Aug. Sept. Oct.
research firm iSuppli (isuppli.com) believes a recession may offer
PMI 50.2 50.0 49.9 43.5 38.9
New orders 49.6 45.0 48.3 38.8 32.2
opportunities, pointing to the 2001-2003 recession, when a “rub-
Production 51.5 52.9 52.1 40.8 34.1 ber band effect” stimulated significant revenue growth for EMS/
Inventories 51.2 45.0 49.3 43.4 44.3 ODM firms emerging from the downturn. Top ODMs increased their
Customer inventories 55.0 47.0 54.5 53.5 55.0 annual sales from $12 billion to $37 billion during 2001-2004,
Backlogs 47.5 43.0 43.5 35.0 29.5 while EMS providers had a CAGR of 11% during the period.
Source: Institute for Supply Management, Nov. 3, 2008
Industry Market Snapshot Metals Index

Price Per Lb.
Book-to-bills of various components/equipment.
Date 11/12/07 8/4/08 9/8/08 10/6/08 11/3/08
May June July Aug. Sept.
LME Cash Seller and
$7.64 $9.84 $8.68 $7.69 $6.35
Semiconductor equipment1 0.78 0.81 0.83 0.81r 0.76p Settlement for Tin
Semiconductors2 4.18% 5.91% 7.11% 7.02%r 4.82%p LME Cash Seller and
$1.58 $0.98 $0.84 $0.76 $0.66
Settlement for Lead
Rigid PCBs3 (North America) 0.95 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.96
Handy and Harman
Flexible PCBs3 (North America) 1.01 1.02 1.01 0.90 0.94 $215.79 $253.83 $184.48 $160.20 $144.40
Silver (COMEX Silver)
Computers/electronic products4 5.07 5.21 5.08 5.27r 5.34p
LME Cash Seller and
$3.07 $3.67 $3.17 $2.70 $1.80
Sources: 1SEMI, 2SIA (3-month moving average growth), 3IPC , 4Census Bureau, ppreliminary, rrevised Settlement for Copper
CA-0812.indb 16 11/19/08 4:31:56 PM

Why Pride and Outsourcing Don’t Mix Global
Sourcing
Root problems tend to be everyday business issues. So why do some parties give up?
any of the less successful electronics manu-
M facturing outsourcing relationships at their

core have problem behaviors very similar to
the age-old character flaws known as the Seven Deadly
Table 1. ‘Sins’ and Virtues of Outsourcing
Deadly Sin
Superbia
(pride)
Outsourcing
Equivalent
Self-
righteousness
Holy Virtue
Humility
Outsourcing
Equivalent
Openness
Sins. In the old days, when good character was consid- Avaritia
Asymmetry Liberality Reciprocation
ered an essential part of civilized behavior (and was (greed)
that such a bad thing? Listen up, bankers!), a helpful Luxuria (lust) Lavishness Chastity Conservation
mnemonic device was designed to help us remember Invidia (envy) Imitation Kindness Innovation
what to avoid: SALIGIA. Gula (glut-

Gamesmanship Temperance Restraint
tony)
As explained in our October column, SALIGIA is Ira (wrath) Impatience Patience Resolution
derived from the first letters (in Latin) of the Seven Acedia (sloth) Apathy Diligence Consistency
Deadly Sins:
1. Superbia (pride).
2. Avaritia (greed). will complain the OEM is requesting continuous cost
3. Luxuria (lust). reductions when direct costs are increasing. More
4. Invidia (envy). often than not, the root problems tend to be everyday
5. Gula (gluttony). business issues that are the same for everyone, and pre-
6. Ira (wrath). sumably are solvable. Yet in the failed cases, the parties
7. Acedia (sloth). simply just give up.
It is our contention that each of these sins has an Sometimes the parties give up long before the rela-
analogous bad behavior in outsourcing that leads to tionship formally ends, because material liability or
failed cases, as outlined in Table 1. other contractual issues prevent them from walking
This month we are focusing on the first, and argu- away when things start to get rough. The failure (lack
ably most destructive, of the problem behaviors: pride/ of communication) gets more catastrophic – even
self-righteousness. Known in Greek drama as hubris, though in most cases it was entirely avoidable if less
it has led to many an heroic downfall. Our company ego (pride and self-righteousness) were the order of
tracks a wide spectrum of actual electronics manufac- the day.
turing programs of all sizes in a variety of end-markets. Case in point: In discussions with an OEM – a
The failures are most instructive. And we have found litany of complaints was unleashed about the EMS
the root cause of most failures is Superbia, or pride/ supplier’s incompetence regarding a particular issue
self-righteousness. or problem. One specific detail was in dispute, but the
Failed outsourcing programs are expensive. It can OEM thought the EMS should have known a key fact
cost millions to change EMS suppliers. When we inter- that would have made it clear what the OEM expected.
view management teams on both sides to determine When we asked the OEM if they had communicated
what went wrong, we often find that at some point in the expectations to the “clueless” EMS, the OEM said,
the relationship, the parties just stopped communicat- “Yes.” They distinctly remembered a time when the
ing. Typically, nothing else changed: the capabilities EMS firm had proposed a solution, the OEM had
and expertise of the EMS provider, the projected mar- “raised an eyebrow.” When asked why they hadn’t sim-
ket, the IP that drove the potential success of the prod- ply explained what they expected or wanted to solve the Jennifer Read is
uct – none of these basic elements changed. But com- problem, the OEM blustered something like the EMS cofounder of Charlie
munications simply broke down about the everyday “should have known,” and changed the topic. Barnhart and Associates
issues or practice of doing business because of pride/ It’s that kind of gamesmanship that arises from (charliebarnhart.com);
self-righteousness on the part of one or both parties. pride and self-righteousness. Behavior like that has a jennifer@charliebarn-
Since the two parties in an outsourcing relationship tendency to eat away at perfectly good business rela- hart.com
are business entities, presumably their primary reason tionships, and the result tends to be damaging and
for existence is to make money. If true openness and expensive. Transparency, openness and truthfulness,
humility were practiced, solutions could be worked arising out of humility, lead to much more profitable
out that would enable reasonable margins and profit- and successful outsourcing programs and relation-
ability on both sides. Yet that’s not what we hear from ships. Just think what a wonderful place the economy
our clients. Usually the OEM will say things like, “They would be in if we had seen a little of that in the finan-
have just nickled and dimed me to death.” Or the EMS cial industry. n
circuitsassembly.com Circuits Assembly DECEMBER 2008 17
CA-0812.indb 17 11/19/08 4:31:58 PM

Screen
Printing A Simple Economic Stimulus
Package
Inspection can reveal post-print problems or help analyze DoEs.
t’s as predictable as the sunrise. When the economy common function), or as a useful aide for Design of
I struggles, efforts to optimize line yields and reduce

manufacturing costs become, well, let’s just say
a bit more intense. I’ve been through many a slow
Experiment (DoE) exercises to optimize the process.
The DoE route is what we recently took with a manu-
facturing operation that was experiencing some issues.
cycle, and the cost-cutting pattern repeats with each A customer was manufacturing an assembly that had
economic swing. This behavior, while understandable a CSP placed right next to a large RF shield. As we’ve
and necessary, is also a little curious, as many of these discussed in this column (“Heterogeneous Assembly,”
measures should probably be employed as normal September 2007), optimizing heterogeneous assem-
practice regardless of the macro economy. Process opti- blies is essential in today’s miniaturized world. Because
mization tenets are something I shout about constantly of the large component, a goodly amount of sol-
and, apparently, sometimes my der paste had to be deposited
enthusiastic ramblings have fall- to ensure a robust solder joint.
en on deaf ears. But, these audi-
tory channels are now remarkably
Inspection sheds light But, when placed next to the
fine-pitch CSP, this customer’s
keen to hear what can be done to on print, cleaning, current process wasn’t cutting
maximize resources. In the case of the mustard, and the small CSP
screen-printing, that means get- speeds and pressure. deposits were struggling to release
ting the absolute most out of your from the stencil. The customer’s
machine. inspection equipment was indi-
For the past five or six years, electronics assem- cating major fails on the CSP. Using 2-D technology, we
blers have installed a plethora of new SMT lines to took the customer’s multi-board panel and created a
achieve required volumes. (Don’t get me wrong; I’m few different stencil/paste volume scenarios to analyze
not complaining, as we have all benefited.) What hap- which architecture yielded the better result. After about
pens, unfortunately, is that in an effort to reach certain an hour’s time running that board, we had enough data
volumes, sometimes quantity – not necessarily quality to predict which stencil design would produce the best
– becomes the driving force. It’s not to say manufac- results. By slightly enlarging the CSP apertures so as to
turers are putting out sub-par products. They’re not. take them to the aspect ratio limit, we were able to solve
But what has been happening is first-pass yields have the problem, and this customer’s process was suddenly
suffered, with some firms running at sub-80%. That’s running at much higher yields, and therefore much
a lot of money wasted and that’s where screen-print more cost-effectively.
optimization can pay dividends. If you consider the While inspection can output production data on
cost of an assembly increases logarithmically as the post-print problems or help analyze DoEs, it can also
board travels down the line, when you start putting on shed light on and accurately set other critical printing
Clive Ashmore chips, reflowing and testing, then printer investments inputs such as cleaning frequency, print speeds and
is global applied include the cost of the bare board, solder paste and pressures. If you’re cleaning too early, you’re wasting
process engineering stencil. Relatively speaking, the assembly value at the money. If you clean too late, you may potentially be
manager at DEK printing phase is at its lowest. If you can capture any sending defective boards down the line. 2-D inspection
(dek.com); problems coming in before or after the print, then it can indicate where certain areas of the print are out of
cashmore@dek.com. will save you a heap of money down the line where, at control, help determine inadequate or excessive tool-
His column appears best, any mistakes will be found by test and, at worst, ing, evaluate whether print pressures are too high or
bimonthly. discovered by a consumer. too low and so on.
Taking some time upfront to fully analyze a new Driving your printing equipment to reduce produc-
product run – or even an existing one that’s not up tion costs isn’t difficult. The tools are there and, if you
to par – can go a long way toward saving significant just use them, you’ll realize a very fast financial return
costs. It’s a fairly simple proposition when employ- on your investment of time. It’s a lesson particularly
ing productivity enhancing tools available with many relevant for today’s economic situation, but one that
screen printers. One such tool is 2-D inspection, which should be employed even when the economy is hum-
offers a two-fold solution: use as a production tool (its ming. n
CA-0812.indb 18 11/19/08 4:31:59 PM

A Few of My Least Favorite Things Better
Manufacturing
The industry’s leading curmudgeon is back and ornery as ever.

Ed: It’s December and the weather is turning cold in many parts of the You can keep the Coming Distractions, but get rid of those
land. Who better to warm things up than our favorite industry curmudgeon, damn commercials and bring back some good cartoons
Dr. Helmsley J. Zapfardt III? (showing my age here).
Bluetooth sanctimonia. You see these jerks everywhere:
ike a tented via with flux trapped inside, I have to downtown, airports, etc. Mostly male, they walk around
L vent. Hey, a little outgassing can be a good thing.

Here are a few things that really pull my rickshaw.1
Egomaniacs. We love going to conferences. But our
oblivious to the world with their Bluetooth devices in
their ears, talking loudly and looking sanctimonious
and important, like cyberheads with high-tech earrings.
craws stick thinking of audience members who ask Annoying!
questions just for the sake of asking questions. What are Cellphone distractia. Technology can be a wonderful
you, running for office? We’re not going to make the 11 thing and what our industry has accomplished in tele-
o’clock news. So can we just get on with the talks already? communications is nothing short of a marvel. Cellphones
(And no, I’m definitely not referring to the editor of this and PDAs are, for the most part, a wonderful techno-
esteemed publication. I need this job.) logical contribution (except for those aforementioned
Industry awards. Your product has won an “important Bluetooth dingdongs). But cellphone use and automobile
award.” Hoo-hah! But just how did you win this presti- driving is a bad combination. So is texting while driving a
gious prize? Was it through innovation, global recogni- car, truck or train. Hang up and drive!
tion or forward vision? Or was it – and this is a rhetorical Counterfeit components. You thought RoHS was a crisis. Dr. H.J. Zapfardt
question – that entry fee you paid? Whatever happened to Ha! Compared to the new plague upon our industry, is a member of the
the Malcolm Baldridge Award? That was a truly coveted Pb-free conversion is a minor annoyance. Welcome to National Academy of
award, one that spoke volumes about a company. Accord- the scary world of counterfeit components – already in a Arrogant Engineering
ingly, very few earned it. Our industry seems a little looser product near you. It has been estimated that 12 to 14% of and an inductee of
with the judging, if you ask me. Well, at least those tro- electronics products in the field contain counterfeit com- GIT’s International
phies look good in the lobby. I say save your money and ponents. And not just cellphones, PCs and TVs, but high- Hall of Fame. He is
put it toward something useful, like R&D. rel products, including automotive, avionics and medical a sought-after advi-
Unsupported equipment. Hey, that was one heckuva devices. According to the head of research for Naval Air sor to industry and
deal you got on that new wave solder machine. It was Systems Command’s Aging Aircraft Program, “up to 15% government, or basi-
made in China and bears a remarkable resemblance to of all spare and replacement components purchased by cally anyone who
a higher-cost Euro-American-Asian machine in features, the Pentagon are counterfeit.”3 In most cases they resem- will put up with him.
industrial design, even graphics. But from whom did you ble the “real” component in every detail, including logo A popular speaker
actually buy it? How long have they been “distributing” and serialization. But they are bogus and will not func- on the SMT “rubber
this brand of machine? Did you buy it from a catalog or tion as their real counterparts, assuming there is anything chicken circuit,” he
on the Internet? Are they specialists in wave soldering, or in them at all. They’re manufactured everywhere, from was recently cited
do they also sell microscopes or catapults? In fact, as you “real” factories with “fourth shifts” to back-alley hovels as “a personality to
read this, are they still distributing it? Further, where are with blacked-out windows. And they include everything avoid.” He has written
you going to get service and applications support? To be from expensive ICs and memory devices to passives. We more than 300 articles
honest, I’ve seen some pretty good knockoffs of wave- heard of one case where what the assembler thought and textbooks, includ-
solder machines and reflow ovens coming from China; were tantalum capacitors didn’t contain tantalum (which ing the acclaimed A
they’re relatively good at cloning these. But unless you’re became apparent during burn-in). Why, you ask, would Children’s Garden
incredibly self-sufficient, you need to depend on local anybody counterfeit a $3 component? It’s like counterfeit- of Flux. Dr. Zapfardt
applications, training and service support. Yet, once that ing $1 bills. Because it was an order for two million parts. holds a doctorate in
crate leaves the People’s Republic, you are often on your We’re talking about an industry worth $10 billion – and metaphysics from the
own. So much for that bargain. You wouldn’t buy a car growing. Gather all the information and learn what you University of Bonghit;
under these conditions, so why stake your production can. And be afraid, very afraid. n groucholives@aol.com.
line, your company and your reputation on a piece of
process equipment purchased that way? References
Advertising in movie theatres. Nothing to do with our
industry, but it jerks my chain that, after paying over $10 1. This is a common colloquial expression and not a socioeconomic statement
a ticket to see “Mama Mia”2 I have to sit through the same concerning our trading partners in Asia. (That will come later.)
stupid advertisements for cellphone service, cars, video 2. A funny movie, although no one admits to having liked ABBA.
games and other crap I can see for free at home on TV. 3. Brian Grow, et al, “Dangerous Fakes,” BusinessWeek, Oct. 2, 2008.
CA-0812.indb 19 11/19/08 4:32:00 PM

Cover
Story
The Plexus Rx
For its operational excellence and financial performance, Plexus is our first EMS Company of the Year.
By Mike Buetow
uick: Name the best-performing publicly held EMS com- manufacturing technology and quality Steve di Loreto says. “From
Q pany. Jabil? Not anymore. Benchmark. Wrong again. Flex-

tronics? Not even close.
That would be Plexus.
womb to tomb, plus after-market services and end-of-life. There
are a lot of aspects to it.”
Overseeing the vast terrain, customer manager (CMVP) runs
The 28-year-old EMS company has shown gross margins of teams made of not just program managers but supply chain man-
10.9% over the past three years and a compound annual growth agers and scheduling and production engineers, all of whom may
rate of 14.4%. This despite having what in some circles would directly interface with a customer. This alignment pushes execu-
be considered excessive overhead: too many engineers and a tion to the site level, Plexus believes. The CMVPs act as farmers,
footprint heavy on North American
operations.
Yet, in this era, where it seems
the only solution is a “China solu-
tion,” Plexus stands as one of the
few billion-dollar EMS players that
can afford such a setup. One reason
is the company’s heavy drive to sell
end-to-end services. “We focus on
broad service offerings and points
of engagement (with customers),”
explains Mike Buseman, senior vice
president of global manufacturing
operations. Figure 1a. Plexus Building 5 once had a traditional setup.
Engagement starts upfront (to
say the company emphasizes design
would be an understatement: Plex-
us’ Technology Group has some 350
design and test engineers) and con-
tinues through procurement, supply
chain management, assembly, test
and box build, with a hard push
ongoing in the backend and chas-
sis build, followed with direct ship
to OEM customers and follow-on
field services. “It’s more complex than
people appreciate,” vice president of Figure 1b. Today, the site emphasizes workcells and modularity.
CA-0812.indb 20 11/19/08 4:32:26 PM

Cover
Story
nurturing the accounts, while market sector VPs (MSVPs) are the and perhaps additional capacity in Mexico. Romania, Poland and
“hunters,” working closely with customer managers to refine ser- Slovakia are current contenders, while the Czech Republic has
vice and support needs and define market opportunities. been ruled out as “overbuilt.” Says di Loreto, “We’re walking the
Those hunters have been working overtime. For its fiscal year balance between where labor is low cost – but not the lowest – but
ended Sept. 27, Plexus’ revenue jumped 19% to $1.84 billion, focused on customer service.” The company estimates a worldwide
bringing its five-year organic revenue CAGR to 18%. The return footprint of 2.6 million sq. ft. by 2012, up about 44% over 2007.
on invested capital was 20.1%. Embedded in that estimate are 250,000 sq. ft. in Eastern Europe
Yet for a company whose revenue has grown $600 million and 1.4 million sq. ft. in Asia-Pacific.
over the past three years, the customer base is practically going South of the border, some longtime employment struggles have
the opposite direction. The big switch came in 2003, after Plexus been worked out. Turnover has dropped from 10% per month to
recorded a net loss of $68 million. The number of customers 1%. A decision will be made in the next six to 12 months whether
dropped from 238 in fiscal 2002 to 107 in fiscal 2006, when it to add capacity in Mexico, di Loreto says.
recorded sales of $884 million. The sales per customer, however, It very well may be that placed programs tend to stay in one
jumped almost fourfold to $13.3 million during that time. Today, spot. But at Plexus, designs fly around the globe. Over the course
Plexus is on track to generate an average $14.1 million per cus- of a day, the company has in-process coverage for about 20 hours,
tomer, based on about 131 accounts, primarily in the networking, six to seven days a week. ASIC designs have given way to FPGA,
wireless infrastructure, defense and security, aerospace, and of primarily Xtera and Xilinx. Libraries are designed to retain cus-
course, medical sectors. Growth has traditionally been organic, tomer “building blocks” to encourage design reuse. The smallest
not via acquisition. Stanford professor and business author Jim piece would be component footprints and geometries. On top of
Collins, who teaches focus and execution are keys to long-term that would be process and DfM guidelines. The next level of reuse
success, is a strong influence, company executives say. is more of a fine line. “We looked at it from a technical and legal
Like Jabil and Benchmark, and unlike most other large Tier standpoint to be able to reuse these [process technology] build-
EMS players, the majority of Plexus’ manufacturing space remains ing blocks without getting into confidentiality problems. We don’t
in North America, where it hosts seven of its 13 sites (not includ- cross-pollinate engineers,” says Van Dreel. Design teams are kept
ing the just-shuttered plant in Ayer, MA). About 56% of the com-
pany’s 2.1 million sq. ft. of plant space is in the US and another 5%
in Mexico, versus 35% in Asia and 4% in Europe. And most of the
Asia capacity is not in China but in Malaysia, where the firm has
696,087 sq. ft. across three sites. Plexus signed a lease in September
to bring a plant online in Hangzhou, its second in China; the addi-
tional 106,000 sq. ft. will bring its Asian footprint to 948,000 sq. ft.
Production is expected to begin late in January 2009.
Relative to other top-tier EMS companies, Plexus’ disinterest
in China is noteworthy. Why hasn’t Plexus followed the herd East?
Ultimately, the mix didn’t match the locale. While every Top Tier
EMS firm was under pressure from customers and Wall Street to
offer a China "solution," for a low-volume, high-mix company like
Plexus the math doesn't always work. Several competitors suffered
deeply trying to establish local supply chains in Southeast Asia.
Plexus navigated those obstacles with the skill of a brain surgeon,
focusing on more established, lower risk areas like Malaysia. As
logistics and other costs rose, the EMS firm looks more and more
prescient. Over time the trend for products where IP protections
are paramount or end-product weight is a factor – in short, Plexus’
main markets – has become to build product close to where it will
be consumed, putting Plexus in a great competitive position.
“We really need to think about the customer,” adds Kirk Van
Dreel, global process owner, PCBA. “You can sacrifice customer
service [when you move programs around] if not managed and
executed effectively. We utilize a dedicated transition team and
process to ensure we maintain customer service levels during these
types of transitions.”
Expansion is inevitable, although the locations being con-
sidered aren’t so easily predictable. Besides the new factory in
Hangzhou, Plexus is considering various sites in Eastern Europe
CA-0812.indb 21 11/19/08 4:32:28 PM

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Cover
Story
Figure 2. An SMT line at Plexus' Neenah campus. Figure 3. A subassembly line in Building 5.
separate to ensure the security of customer IP. “We pride ourselves and Agile ERP systems, coupled with homegrown MES tools,
on keeping that information separate.” round out the picture. The organic supply chain management
Reuse is important to the medical OEMs that make up more tools develop sourcing solutions based on such factors as compo-
than 20% of Plexus’ annual sales. (Plexus has a long history as an nent cost, variability and lead times.
EMS to medical OEMs, although Juniper Networks is the firm’s Equipment evaluations are performed all over the world. How-
largest customer, at 19% of sales.) These OEMs take the platform ever, there is limited variation from plant to plant. For example,
approach whereby a concept can be leveraged and reused across Plexus’ Buffalo Grove, IL, site uses Assembléon A5 placement
various products.
Test strategies are a collaborative effort between manufacturing
engineers and customers, as well as the test equipment OEMs.
The Plexus workcell approach is a sight to behold. Don’t expect
long, parallel SMT lines. In Building 5 at the company’s Neenah,
WI, headquarters, the layout is such that within the 100,000 sq. ft.
manufacturing plant are four distinct factories – each complete
with an SMT line (Figure 1). (Staff must swipe their employee
Mission Possible.
badges before passing ESD testing and entering the factory floor,
only the second time in 17 years I’ve seen that clever setup.) Versatility that beats complexity.
Inside, banners outline each “factory’s” borders. “We blended a It’s not just a promise, it’s a fact!
dedicated factory with a cellular model,” explains Kim Debenack, assembleon.com/facts
engineering manager. “This model makes us less rigid because we
can run product anywhere, on any line. What we are going for is
product velocity, not just velocity of placement.” Building 5 han-
dles 10,000 part numbers across five to six customers, at a rate of
15,000 assemblies per month. Nearly everything built is a system
with direct order fulfillment. Debenack says board build cycle time
has dropped to two days from 21 since this novel setup was imple-
mented several years ago. A separate focused factory is integrated
into Building 5 to handle repair services. Adds Buseman, “We’re
assembleon.com/facts
looking at what the next level of service would be.”
Process optimization across Plexus’ far-flung operations is
driven by Van Dreel. Twice a year, he organizes summits involving
representatives from engineering and quality. The group has two
goals: to prioritize needed activities and processes, then formalize
them into projects and execute them around the globe.
Flexibility is key. The number of engineering change orders in
Building 5 tops 100 per month. The Neenah site uses DEK print-
ers, Universal placement, Electrovert reflow, Vitronics Delta-Max
selective solder, Agilent 3070 and Teradyne test equipment. Oracle
CA-0812.indb 23 11/19/08 4:32:30 PM

14TH annual
2009 Pan Pacific

Microelectronics
Symposium and
Tabletop Exhibition
10 - 12 February 2009
Hapuna beach prince Hotel | The big Island of Hawaii
The Pan Pacific Symposium focuses on the critical business markets

and technologies of microelectronic packaging, interconnection,
microsystems technology and assembly.
The Pan Pacific Tabletop Exhibition puts you in contact with global
key decision makers and provides access and international visibility
for your company and products.
sponsored by
SMTA
Surface Mount Technology Association
www.smta.org | 952.920.7682 | smta@smta.org
CA-0812.indb 24 11/19/08 4:32:36 PM

Cover
Story
Figure 4. Vertical storage units adjacent to SMT lines support full line-
side stocking for Lean manufacturing.
machines. Assessments are conducted every three years on where

Plexus’ key markets are headed and the types of equipment needed
Figure 5. Workstations adhere to "5S" protocols and have online
to stay in step. Keeping with the site model, each factory develops documentation.
its own value stream fashioned by data from on-time deliveries,
labor contribution, cycle time, overall equipment effectiveness cially and operationally, and its forward-looking strategy, Plexus is
(OEE), and defects per million opportunities (DPMO). Circuits Assembly’s first EMS Company of the Year. n
Plexus manages its own raw material inventory, with each
factory determining what’s ideal for its flow. To shorten cycle Mike Buetow is editor in chief of Circuits Assembly; mbuetow@upmediagroup.com.
time, 85% of parts are kept line-side (Figure 4), with 80 to 90%
of all parts stocked dock-to-stock. Parts are bar coded and set up
offline. The factory averages five to six changeovers per line per
day, taking less than 60 minutes per line on average. “Nearly all
of what we build, we also configure and test before we ship,” says
Debenack. Building 5’s on-time delivery on several DOF product
lines: 99.8%.
Customer visibility into the factory is linked to demand and
flow. Customers can view inventories and processes, and can get
data, as desired.
Lean plays heavily into the Plexus model. According to Deben-
ack, Building 5 performs a minimum of 32 Kaizen events per year,
with teams crossing operational and functional lines. Bulletin
boards showing the status of active programs are placed on the
factory floor and in the corporate buildings. All associates are
trained in Lean techniques, and all salaried employees are Yellow
belts. “We want everyone to understand the tools,” says di Loreto.
“And we get everyone focused on the business, not just what they
are building that day.”
Failure analysis is conducted in two locales: Neenah and Pen-
ang, Malaysia, where the Plexus campus houses its largest building,
at some 400,000 sq. ft.
Future developments may include micro-engineering (“micro- Mission Possible.
E,” in Plexus parlance), or packaging. Says di Loreto: “We see some Versatility that beats complexity.
potential for micro-E. Bumped die is becoming more mainstream, It’s not just a promise, it’s a fact!
and I think engineers will glom onto that.” He says better under- assembleon.com/facts
standing of miniature solder structures of tiny chips, including

01005s, is needed to mainstream new micro technologies like
01005s and system-in-package solutions.
Over the past three years, Plexus has done a superb job at forg-
ing its own path for success. For its sustained performance, finan-
CA-0812.indb 25 11/19/08 4:32:41 PM

Retrospective
In Memoriam
Remembering friends and colleagues who passed away in 2008.
Les Hymes was one of the

pioneers of surface mount, and Sean McShefferty was a beloved
cowrote several industry stan- fixture around the industry for
dards. two decades.
e it in global matters like finance and politics, or in
B more regional events within our industry, 2008 will be

remembered as a year of transition.
CirCuits Assembly would like to reflect on some of our
friends and industry colleagues who helped get us where we are
today, but sadly won’t be with us to witness the next chapter in
Norb Socolowski (at left, shown receiving an award from the late IPC
our industry’s remarkable history. chairman Peter Sarmanian, and below) said he could distinguish sol-
Alden Johnson, 64, former chemical and metallurgical engi- ders by how the flux smelled. He was the first president of the SMTA,
neer, Speedline Technologies. and received that organization's Founder's Award in 1998.
Sean McShefferty, 48, national sales manager, Kyzen Corp.
Ed Turney, 79, cofounded Advanced Micro Devices.
Les Hymes, 77, SMT specialist with GE Medical Systems and
Plexus, and author.
Marty Heimer, 44, program manager, Benchmark Electron-
ics.
Norbert Socolowski, 85, longtime Alpha Metals chemist and
inventor.
Richard I. Hustvedt, 62, computer software engineer at Digital
Equipment Corp., original architect of the VAX/VMS operating
system.
CA-0812.indb 26 11/19/08 4:32:48 PM

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Anritsu 3D Laser Solder Paste Inspection Machine

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CA-0812.indb 27 11/19/08 4:32:48 PM

Solder Joint
Reliability
L
A
HIP Defects in BGAs

A study shows two significant factors are solder paste flux chemistry and BGA alloy ball wetting.
By Karl Seelig
ead-in-pillow (HIP), also known as head-on-pillow This unprotected solder sphere forms a new oxide layer. As
H or ball-in-socket, is a solder joint defect in which

the solder paste deposit wets the pad, but does not
fully wet the ball. This results in a solder joint with enough
further heating takes place, the package may flatten, again
making contact with the initial solder paste deposit. When
solder reaches the liquidus phase, there isn’t sufficient flux-
connection to have electrical integrity, but lacking suf- ing activity left to break down this new oxide layer, resulting
ficient mechanical strength. Because of the lack of solder in possible HIP defects. Since component warpage is unpre-
joint strength, these components may fail under minimal dictable and inconsistent, the focus must turn to the inter-
mechanical or thermal stress. This potentially costly defect is action of process variables and those that can be altered to
not usually detected in functional testing, but rather shows reduce the incidence of HIP defects. These variables include
up as a field failure after the assembly has been exposed to BGA ball alloy, reflow process type, reflow profile and solder
physical or thermal stress. paste chemistry. Each of these variables is studied and dis-
HIP defects have become more prevalent since BGA com- cussed below.
ponents have been converted to Pb-free alloys. The defect With the need for better drop resistance, many Pb-free
possibly can be attributed to a chain reaction of events that BGAs are being made in alloys other than SAC 305. Because
begins as the assembly reaches reflow temperatures. Com- SAC 305 has significantly lower drop resistance than SnPb37
ponents generally make contact with solder paste during (Figure 1), component manufacturers have been moving
initial placement, and start to flex or warp during heating, away from this type of alloy and toward alternatives such
which may cause some individual solder spheres to lift. as SAC 105 (composed of tin plus 1% silver and 0.5% cop-
Figure 1. SAC 305 with SnAg intermetallic

and coarse grain structure that leads to frac-
tures during drop. Figure 2. Further inspection shows grain
structure differences and chemical composi-
tion differences.
CA-0812.indb 28 11/19/08 4:32:51 PM

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CA-0812.indb 29 11/19/08 4:32:51 PM

Solder Joint
Reliability
Table 1. Relationship Between Certain Variables and HOP

Variable (s) Impact
Reflow profile 1
BGA ball alloy 4
Reflow profile plus BGA ball alloy 4
Solder paste chemistry 8
Solder paste chemistry plus reflow profile 8 Figure 4a. EDS spectrum no.1, shiny ball of BGA 1 (Sn and C).
BGA ball alloy plus solder paste chemistry 10
Figure 4b. EDS spectrum no. 8, matte ball of BGA 4 (Sn, Si and C).

Figure 3. BGA (top), b) matte BGA (middle) and c) spotted BGA (bottom). Figure 4c. Spotted with Sn, Ag and C.
per). Many varieties of SAC 105 include a fourth element, (Figure 3). (As a point of clarification, the large dimples on
often referred to as a dopant, such as antimony, magnesium, the ball surfaces are from test probes that easily penetrated
nickel, cobalt or indium. These additives create finer grain any of the surface irregularities or containments during
boundaries and reduce the intermetallic formations of the component testing by the manufacturer.)
tin with silver or copper, resulting in a more reproducible The spectrums of the BGA balls also are different (Fig-
grain, as well as a more uniform grain formation in the ure 4). On this single BGA there exist three different grain
Pb-free alloy. These also yield a different oxide and surface structures and surface elements. One theory explains this is
condition, depending on the element used and cooling rate caused by variations in cooling rates when the solder ball
during assembly. This different oxide and surface condition was initially formed.
can cause issues with the flux activity and impact solder wet- We developed a test procedure to understand the interac-
ting and complete joint formation of the BGA. tion of these elements with specific paste chemistries. This
Solder sphere (ball) issues. Figures 2 and 3 are analyses permitted a classification of reactivity levels of some of these
of BGAs known to have had HIP problems. Using SEM, dopants. It was discovered very low levels of magnesium
it was determined there are very distinct grain structure (in the 30 ppm level) directly affect standard solder paste
variations within the balls (Figure 2). Inspecting these flux chemistries, while indium affects them in the 500 ppm
components reveals three distinct classifications of balls on range, nickel and cobalt in the 400 ppm range, and antimony
the component; these were labeled shiny, matte and spotted in the 1000 ppm range. Although the grain structures all
CA-0812.indb 30 11/19/08 4:32:53 PM

Solder Joint
Reliability
Figure 6. A HOP defect formed using a low-

temperature activation system.
Figure 5b. Void-reducing profile for Pb-free pastes with BGAs and CSPs.
Figure
7. A joint formed with a high-temper-
Figure 5a. Ramp-soak-spike recommended profile. ature activation system; no evidence of HOP.
appeared similar, the flux interaction was different. This dif- random cases of HIP, depending on the component tested.
ference was determined by a viscosity test conducted while Solder paste chemistry was the next factor tested to
the paste medium was in contact with the solder alloy doped determine impact on HIP. During this experiment, it was
with the aforementioned elements. found solder paste chemistry appears to have the single
Other factors that appear to influence HIP include types greatest effect on the HIP defect. When changing from an
of reflow, reflow profiles and solder paste chemistry. 1,2 Some older Pb-free solder paste to a new higher-temperature acti-
data obtained suggest vapor phase reflow may result in more vation paste, the defect, in many cases, was eliminated. In
HIP defects than convection reflow. It is not clear whether other cases, it was more difficult to remove. However, in the
this is truly related, however, as it has only been seen as a experiment run, the solder paste chemistry appears to have
trend. the largest impact on HIP.
An experiment was performed to measure the impact of An experiment was conducted using various solder paste
reflow profile on HIP solder joint formation. The experi- chemistries to measure their effect on HIP incidents. It was
ment utilized two different reflow profiles. The first profile determined that, regardless of the reflow profile used, the novel
was a standard ramp-soak-spike (Figure 5a). The second solder paste eliminated HIP. Although this solder paste is halide-
profile (Figure 5b) included a hotter soak zone and longer free, a solder paste containing >0.5% halide also was used in
dwell time at liquidus. There was no perceived difference in this experiment, and the defect was once again eliminated.
the defect rate, depending on the profile; each resulted in
Continued on pg. 46
CA-0812.indb 31 11/19/08 4:32:55 PM

Tech
Tips Pb-Free Solder Wetting Tests
A novel test vehicle and methodology for solderability evaluations.
e recently performed an experiment for a cus- under different conditions – an increasing number of
W tomer interested in comparing Pb-free solder

wetting with varying temperature profiles
and atmospheric conditions. To deliver an objective
bridged patterns indicates increasing wetting. Figure
2 shows an example of a wetting pattern after reflow,
with four shorted patterns.
measurement of solder wetting (in addition to subjec- The second evaluation is a measurement of the gap
tive inspection analysis), a simple wetting indicator between the paste deposit pair that is spaced farthest
pattern was added to the solder stencil in an area with apart. This gap will decrease during reflow as the paste
exposed and unused copper on the test vehicle. wets to the underlying copper, and thus a smaller gap is
This pattern comprised two rows of 22 printed sol- an indication of greater solder wetting. Figure 3 shows
der deposits. Each individual deposit is 0.025" x 0.050". an example of a paste deposit gap measurement. (Note:
The deposits are paired in sets of two with decreasing The PCB test vehicle was finished with OSP over bare
gaps among each pair. The gap between each pair is copper, and the gaps were designed with that in mind.
constant (Figure 1). Two rows are included in the pat- Other surface finishes would require gaps of different
tern to give two replications of the measurement on sizes because of the expected wetting and spread of
each test vehicle. This pattern permits two different solder on the particular surface finish.)
measurements to be taken from the test vehicles after If all the deposits bridge, the count of bridged
processing has been completed. The first evaluation is deposit pairs is no longer valid as a measurement, and
a count of the number of wetting pattern pairs that there is no gap to measure between the last pair. For
shorted together during reflow. As each pair of depos- example, an ENIG finish permits solders to wet and
its is spaced farther apart than the last, the number of spread to a much higher degree than bare copper and
pairs that bridge can be used to compare solder wetting would require much larger gaps to produce useable
measurements. The solder alloy can also affect that
proper spacing of this type of pattern: SnPb solders are
generally expected to wet and spread to a greater degree
than their Pb-free counterparts.
However, when this type of pattern is properly
designed for a specific combination of materials and
Figure 1. Wetting test pattern (mm). processes, it can be a useful tool for testing the general
wetting properties under varying processing environ-
ments. This evaluation method can be used on both
purpose-built test vehicles and incorporated into an
unused area of a production assembly for an easy indi-
cator of the degree of wetting between the solder and
PCB surface. n
Figure 2. Post-assembly wetting pattern. Free ACI Workshops

ACI this month will sponsor a pair of free workshops. On
The American Com- Dec. 11, ACI will team with Aqueous Technologies, Kyzen
petitiveness Institute and Technical Devices to present the Low Stand-Off Clean-
(aciusa.org) is a ing Symposium. The one-day program includes training on
scientific research practical approaches in cleaning the z-axis using inline and
corporation dedicated batch processes. On Dec. 3, ACI will partner with Dage Pre-
to the advancement cision Industries for a special half-day workshop on x-ray
of electronics manu- inspection criteria and common defect analysis, covering
facturing processes solder-related defects such as head-on-pillow, BGA and
and materials for the substrate opens.
Department of Defense Both workshops are free and will be held at ACI in Phila-
and industry. This col- delphia, and lunch will be provided. RSVP to registrar@
umn appears monthly. aciusa.org or at aciusa.org/workshop.
Figure 3. Wetting pattern gap measurement.
CA-0812.indb 32 11/19/08 4:32:59 PM

Pushing Test and Testability Up Test and
Inspection
the Chain
How a grassroots organization can help get managers on board.
very company always looks to improve their bottom test – regardless of quality of the design. Understanding the
E line, but I would venture to say doing so becomes

even more important in times of economic tur-
moil. In the past few years, companies have embraced
initial investment will pay off and then some is the concept
every inspection and test supplier is trying to demonstrate
all the time.
defect detection; even prevention and process control have At this point, I suspect the test engineers are nodding
become givens. It is only lately, however, that design for and saying, “I know all this, but how do I convince man-
test (DfT) and design for testability are becoming preva- agement?" and in fact, that’s exactly what needs to be done
lent. Defective products not properly tested because they to make DfT a success. Management teams must embrace
lacked DfT can cut into revenue generation through slower the long-term gain (shorter time to market, less warranty
time-to-market, recalls, rework, extension of the warranty return, less rework, etc.). This is one of the main goals
period and premature product termination.1 of the Testability Management Action Group, or TMAG
As a concept, DfT is not new. I would argue, however, (tmag4dft.org). Its grassroots efforts are targeting man-
the financial upside of these implementations is only now agement on all levels to get the message out to positively
really being acknowledged. For example, we’ve given lip impact future products.
service over and again to reducing returns, yet new exam- From a practical perspective, what can the average test
ples of products coming out with huge warranty return engineer do? As with anything design-related, one of the
rates continue to surface. By embracing DfT and testability biggest drivers needs to be collaboration across organiza-
concepts, these situations would be avoided or, at the very tions. I can remember several examples from when I was
least, reduced. a process development engineer where a design came my
Let’s explore cost, as it is an interesting factor. Let’s say way for build/test and there were no fiducials on the board,
the designer is designing a microprocessor with >1000 thus eliminating any hope of a robust solder paste or opti-
pins and choosing not to use boundary scan. Then the cal inspection. Another example: If a product is designed
in-circuit test system will need a >1000 pin bed-of-nails such that it is to be tested by AXI only, and the designer
fixture. Let’s say the boundary scan microprocessor was throws it over the wall to the test group, which in turn
going to be $50 and the non-boundary scan was $30. The expected an ICT implementation, there will be issues that
cost savings is $20 per processor, but where does the added cost money and time.
complexity from using that >1000 pin fixture and the The SMTA (smta.org) has partnered with TMAG and
fixture cost break even? The added cost for the boundary is working on a refreshed Testability Guideline. Be sure
scan processor will pay off (and then some!), but decision- you and your design engineers have a working copy. This
makers tend to get caught up with initial pricing at the will prevent simple mistakes from entering in product
expense of big-picture items such as return over time and designs and will permit standardizations that will reduce
return on investment. In fact, this is an issue that faces all design time over time. Within these guidelines you’ll find
instructions for keep-outs, clearances, tolerances, carrier
Benefits of DfT2 recommendations, and so on.

In general, be proactive. Partner with your design coun-
• Reduces the time required to pass the design into terparts. Join TMAG and learn how to approach manage- Stacy Kalisz Johnson
manufacturing ment to sign on the dotted line. Incorporating design for is Americas marketing
• Lowers manufacturing cost test and testability will bring things further upstream and development manager
• Minimizes the design engineer’s involvement in produc- will standardize on many aspects, thus making the imple- at Agilent (agilent.
tion setup mentation phase easier and more robust. n com); stacy_johnson@
• Improves cross-functional communication and coopera- agilent.com.
tion between design, engineering and manufacturing References
• Lowers both initial and lifecycle costs
• Decreases test times and virtually eliminates harrowing 1. Louis Y. Ungar, “The Economics of Harm Prevention Through Design for
production delays Testability,” International Test Conference Proceedings, October 2008.
• Guarantees more efficient diagnosis and repair in the 2. Thomas J. Coughlin, “Designing for Testability… The Technology, the
field Technique, and the Economics,” July 30, 1996 Web posting, http://mem-
• Provides more accurate diagnostics to the part. bers.aol.com/prpca/designof.htm.
CA-0812.indb 33 11/19/08 4:33:00 PM

Wave
Soldering Analyzing Pb-Free Defects Using
Partial DoE
Optimal assemblies don’t come about from drop-in materials replacement.
n important step in reduc- For practical
A ing and preventing defects

during soldering is defin-
ing the correct process settings.
reasons, there
were no “noise”
elements in
Table 1. Factors and Levels for the Taguchi Experiment
Factors
Solder
Temperature (˚C)
Contact Time (s)
Level 1
250 (A1)
1.8 (B1)
Level 2
260 (A2)
3 (B2)
Level 3
275 (A3)
4.2 (B3)
It’s a good practice to design this experi-
proper experiments and analyze ment. The Preheat
90 (C1) 110 (C2) 130 (C3)
Temperature (˚C)
their results to help determine output char- Flux Amount
355 (D1) 474 (D2) 639 (D3)
these settings. When the num- acteristic was (mg/cm2)
ber of test boards and compo- the number of
nents for experimentation are pins without
limited, use of Partial Factorial, bridges (maxi-
Taguchi or Response Surface mum 200 pins/
Experiments makes for a good board) and
approach. These techniques through-hole
permit end-users to understand penetration
the process by minimizing time, (2 = 100%,
resources and cost. 1 = partially
The objective of these experi- wetted, 0 = Figure 1. Taguchi analysis for bridging. Higher scores are
ments is to determine the fac- not wetted). better.
tors and their levels that mini- This experi-
mize the variation of a product ment used an
around a target response. The L9 orthogonal
champion settings will result array design,
in robust products resistant which means
to change in operational and nine experi-
environmental conditions. mental runs
The experiment begins with a with four fac-
brainstorming session where tors and three
Figure 2.Taguchi analysis for through-hole penetration.
the problem is stated; the fac- levels investi-
Higher scores are better.
tors are selected; the measur- gated (Table
able output is chosen, and the 1).
experimental design is select- Ma te r i a l s used for are shown in Figures 1 and
ed. Then the experiment is run this ex p er i m en t were 2, respectively. In both analy-
and output measured. Data are SnAg3.8Cu0.7Sb0.25% alloy ses, higher scores meant bet-
Ursula Marquez de analyzed and the best settings with a VOC-free flux (<2% ter results. (Table 1 also shows
Tino is a process and are identified. It is important solids). The test board was codes used in the graphics.)
research engineer at to schedule confirmation runs double-sided (160 x 100 x 1.6 For bridging, contact time
Vitronics Soltec, based based on the champion settings; mm) with plated through-holes and preheat temperature were
in the Unovis SMT Lab if these results are good, the set- and Cu OSP Entek Plus surface more important, while for
(vitronics-soltec.com); tings can be implemented into finish. A Delta wave soldering through-hole penetration, pre-
umarquez@vsww.com. production. machine equipped with a spray heat temperature was the main
To illustrate the concept, a nozzle fluxer, three bottom side contributor. The optimal set-
Taguchi experiment was used to preheaters, and nitrogen was tings are not the same for bridg-
develop a robust process for Pb- used. ing and through-hole penetra-
free wave soldering. The control Eighteen boards were run tion. Therefore, some sacrifices
factors selected were solder tem- (nine runs with one repeti- must be made. For our analysis,
perature, contact time, preheat tion). The results for bridging through-hole penetration was
temperature and flux amount. and through-hole penetration more important.
CA-0812.indb 34 11/19/08 4:33:01 PM

The impact of solder tem-
perature was minor relative to
its effect on bridging, while
for through-hole penetration a
higher solder temperature was
preferred (275 oC). However, this
option could potentially damage
components during soldering.
Therefore, a solder pot tempera-
ture between 265 o and 270 oC
was chosen. In addition, short-
er contact time yielded better
results. This might be attribut-
able to the characteristics of the
flux, which were compromised
at the higher preheat and solder
pot settings. The champion set-
ting was 1.8 sec.
In terms of preheating, a set-
ting of 110 oC was the champion
for this process. Calrod IR ele-
ments were used in the first
heating zone, which provided
the adequate heat to start the
flux activity without forcing the
water to boil out. Forced con-
vection heaters were used in
the second and third zones to
eliminate excess water before
entering the solder wave and to
inhibit solder balling. Life can be tough.
For the flux, a wet flux amount
of 474 mg/dm 2 was the cham- Attending a trade show shouldn’t be.
pion setting. A continuous and
uniform spray across the board
is essential. Higher settings may
cause a droplet bouncing effect
rather than improved wetting of
the board surface. All these set-
tings were validated with confir-
mation runs. Reduced bridging
and good through-hole penetra-
tion were achieved.
Optimal Pb-free assemblies
are not a simple replacement
of fluxes and materials. This
review can be done in a prop-
er and fast way by conducting
Partial Factorial, Taguchi or
Response Surface experiments.
The outcome of the experimen-
tation will provide a practi-
February 24-25, 2009
cal understanding of important The first and only truly interactive,
web-based event for designers,
factors and settings by using
fabricators and assemblers
just a small number of test
boards, reducing cost and min- Network – learn – participate – from
imizing resource use. n
the comfort of your home or office! www.virtual-pcb.com
CA-0812.indb 35 11/19/08 4:33:02 PM

Process
Doctor Electronics Residues Testing
Methods, Part 2
This month’s analysis: SEM and EDX.
Ed.: This continues a four-part series on typical analysis techniques and ficult. Because EDX uses a single electron beam to
their pros and cons in regard to understanding electronics residues. release the elemental shell and bounces this shell to the
detector, it will burn through a thin film of organic and
nergy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (also known ionic residues on the surface of whatever is cut up and
E as EDS or EDX) is an analytical technique used

for elemental analysis or chemical characteriza-
tion. The elemental matter is hit with charged particles,
placed into the vacuum chamber. Because SEM/EDX
is a destructive test – requiring either cutting, coating
or scraping – it must be the last test run on the area of
and EDX analyzes the x-rays emitted. There are four investigation. Thin-film materials, such as chloride and
primary components of the EDX setup: beam source, sulfate, can be volatilized under sublimation where the
x-ray detector, pulse processor and analyzer. Most thin materials will be carried away in the vacuum and
often, EDS is part of scanning electron microscope or not detected. n
electron microprobe (Figure 1). A SEM comes with
cathode and magnetic lenses to create and focus a References
beam of electrons. (It also has elemental analysis capa-
bilities.) A detector converts x-ray energy into voltage 1. Wikipedia.
signals; this information is sent to a pulse
processor, which measures the signals and
passes them on to an analyzer for data dis-
play and analysis.1
Applications and limitations. The use of
SEM identification of metal elements
with only gross high levels of ionic ele-
ments. The EDX scan of this contact
brush on a motor (Figure 2) shows car-
bon, oxygen, copper, silver, aluminum
(part of the detector), silica, gold (sputter
coating to protect and test sample), but it
does not show the chloride and succinic
acid from a water-soluble flux used to
solder wires on the motor and let it flow
into the motor.
The SEM/EDX analysis shows elemen-
tal information, but quantification is dif- Figure 1. EDS is typically part of a SEM.
Terry Munson is
with Foresite Inc.
(residues.com);
tm_foresite@
residues.com. This
column appears
monthly.
Figure 2. This EDX scan fails to show chloride and succinic acid, which would limit
its usefulness as an analytical tool for
process-related residues.
CA-0812.indb 36 11/19/08 4:33:05 PM

Pb-Free
Head-In-Pillow and Hybrid

Lessons
Learned
Solder Pastes
The HIP epidemic proliferates, but the cure must not create new problems.
arlier this year I reported on the head-in- are sufficiently thermally robust to perform in the
E pillow epidemic affecting many assembly lines

running Pb-free reflow processes (“HOP-ping
Mad,” July 2008). I postulated that a combination of
top quartile of the SnPb peak temperature range
typically associated with mixed metals assembly.
Henkel was one of the first to introduce this hybrid
circumstances was occurring simultaneously to create solder paste, and according to Dr. Brian Toleno,
this plague: The higher surface-area-to-volume ratios global director of technical services, the blends were
of progressively smaller paste deposits and BGA balls devised specifically to provide increased activity
create a higher proportion of exposed (readily oxidiz- over a larger thermal window. He explains that “the
able) exterior solder to (protected) interior solder, increased activity over a wider profile range per-
which accelerates flux consumption; reflow processes mits assemblers to push SnPb’s traditional top-end
with extended pre-liquidus thermal exposures that temperature and time above liquidus limitations,
also help to exhaust the flux; and Pb-free oxide films thereby extending the conventional process of solder
that are more difficult for fluxes to break through joint formation to accommodate the differences in
than SnPb ones. Since those initial observations, the alloys.”
reports of HIP defects continue to increase, and not Since those first few formulations hit the market
just in Pb-free soldering. My completely unscientific, early last year, many suppliers have followed suit.
statistically insignificant polls indicate the incidence Nearly every major player now offers a paste that
of HIP in SnPb processes is also rising. blends SnPb solder powder with a flux designed for
When we remove Pb-free alloy from the HIP Pb-free. Although the original intent of these prod-
equation, we’re basically left with flux exhaustion as ucts was to facilitate mixed metals soldering, they
the root cause. No-clean fluxes are designed to acti- do provide a seemingly handy solution for problems
vate and deactivate under certain time-temperature related to flux exhaustion. Toleno adds, “In the case
conditions. If their thermal exposure limits are of head-in-pillow, the increased activity is more
exceeded, their effectiveness wanes. Whether it’s effective at penetrating the oxide films, and can sub-
from running too hot in the soak zone, taking too stantially increase the probability of forming good,
long to reach liquidus temperatures, or exposing reliable solder joints.” With many of last year’s mixed
too much surface area to heat and airflow – either metals dilemmas now resolved, some suppliers are
from package warpage or questionable stencil design specifically marketing hybrid pastes as tools to help
– spent flux is spent flux, and there’s no reviving mitigate HIP defects.
it. The first line of defense in SnPb HIP should be When the solder paste supply base introduced
profile adjustment to limit the thermal energy input, these products, I cautioned the higher temperature
and in the majority of cases, it works. But what if it flux might not be a foolproof drop-in lower tem-
doesn’t? perature SnPb flux. Three performance attributes
Luckily, solder paste manufacturers have a solu- concerned me, and since then a fourth point of
tion at the ready – what I like to refer to as hybrid interest has emerged. The initial concerns centered Chrys Shea has 20
solder pastes. These products are a blend of flux on electrochemical reliability, voiding and intrusive years’ experience in
designed for Pb-free solder paste combined with reflow. The latest concern is the inclusion of haloge- electronics manufac-
SnPb solder powder. When we bring together the nated materials in flux products. turing and is founder
more thermally tolerant (Pb-free) flux with the SnPb As I described in June 2007, the two most notable of Shea Engineering;
powder, voilà! A SnPb solder paste that really can risks of hybrid pastes include lower electrical reli- chrys@sheaengineer-
take the heat, so to speak. ability and increased voiding rates (“Lead Spread,” ing.com.
These hybrid pastes were introduced in 2007 to June 2007). A Pb-free flux designed to run in a hotter
address mixed metals soldering, primarily for SAC reflow process may not provide the desired electrical
305/405 BGA balls on SnPb assemblies. The logic reliability when run in a SnPb process. Recall no-
behind the blend is straightforward and with obvi- clean pastes are designed to activate and deactivate
ous advantages: Fluxes devised for Pb-free soldering under certain ranges of thermal energy. Running a
would better facilitate wetting to Pb-free surfaces higher temperature paste may prevent it from burn-
than those designed for SnPb alone, and these fluxes ing out prematurely in a hot process, but if it runs
CA-0812.indb 37 11/19/08 4:33:06 PM

Pb-Free
Lessons
Learned on the cool side, it may not be fully deactivated in
the reflow cycle, thereby posing a potential reliabil-
ity threat in service. In the context of mixed-metals
systems, the paste flux is exposed to peak tempera-
tures above 220°C for at least 30 sec., relatively close
to its design specification. If broadly deployed as
a SnPb alternative, however, the probability it is
exposed to smaller amounts of thermal energy in the
reflow process is much higher. To err on the side of
safety, I would suggest subjecting the product to SIR
or electrochemical migration tests when processed
under the coolest anticipated SnPb profile – with an
adequate safety margin – before it is introduced into
production.
Voiding concerns remain relatively the same mal stresses. They can be found in both SnPb and
whether the paste is used as a vehicle to solder mixed Pb-free fluxes, but they are not necessarily required
metals systems or to address HIP. For the most part, for successful soldering. Some fluxes have them;
voids are created when the volatile materials in the some don’t. Some have such a small amount that
flux portion of the paste cannot outgas before the they squeak under the 1500 ppm threshold and are
metal melts. A flux designed for Pb-free processing therefore considered halogen-free. Given the ther-
can volatilize and vent until 217°C when used with mal sustainability demands put on Pb-free fluxes,
SAC alloys, but its outgassing paths will close off they are slightly more likely to contain halogens
at 183°C if used with SnPb solders. A faster/cooler than their SnPb counterparts. If the assembler has
profile may permit more gasses to be trapped than no concerns about halogenated materials, this point
a slower/hotter profile, but a paste’s behavior with is entirely moot. But looking down the road at green
respect to voiding can be formulation-dependent initiatives and potential environmental legislation
and difficult to predict. The best thing an assembler surrounding halogenated compounds, qualifying a
can do is run the paste candidate at the fastest/cool- new process chemistry that contains these materi-
est thermal profile they expect to use in production, als may be a decision that could backfire in a few
measure the voiding rates and decide if they are years’ time. And let’s not overlook the public rela-
acceptable. tions implications: Who wants to be the target of a
The third concern was pin-in-paste processing. If one-sided Internet video that opines a product is not
using intrusive reflow processes, examine the ability “green enough,” but neglects to mention the often
of the paste overprints to pull back to the PTHs. We irreplaceable safety factor the halogens provide?
know different pastes have different sweet spots in The lesson to be learned with hybrid solder pastes
the reflow window with respect to pull back, and is to ask a few key questions prior to making the
users should make sure the candidate hybrid paste switch:
will support pin-in-paste without leaving random • Can the Pb-free flux provide the necessary elec-
solder balls on the board. And again, we’re not just trochemical reliability when processed on the
looking at the high end of the SnPb window like we relatively faster, cooler profiles associated with
were with mixed metals; we’re looking at the whole SnPb reflow?
window if we want to qualify these products for gen- • Will the new SnPb paste create more voids than
eral production use. the incumbent one?
Finally, the newest worry: halogenated materials • Will the solder coalesce properly in the intrusive
in the flux. When I mention halogenated materials, reflow process?
I mean non-ionic halogenated compounds, not the • Does the product contain any materials that are
ionic halides we are accustomed to in the world of politically controversial or under consideration
flux. (Halides make great flux activators because they for near-term elimination?
are keen at reducing metal oxides, and our industry Hybrid pastes now appear to address two wide-
has long-established methods of identifying and spread issues for assemblers: improving BGA sol-
communicating their presence in soldering fluxes.) dering in both mixed metals and SnPb systems.
Here, I’m referring to those compounds often used They show promise for improving yield and reli-
as flame-retardants in all types of electronics com- ability, but should not be implemented without due
ponents, most notably printed circuit boards, mold- consideration and appropriate testing. As engineers,
ing compounds and connectors. They are sometimes we must make sure that when we fix one problem,
used in small quantities in soldering chemistries to we don’t create another. In other words, look before
improve a flux’s survivability under extended ther- we leap. n
CA-0812.indb 38 11/19/08 4:33:07 PM

White Residue Rings The Defects
Database
What happens when paste residues and cleaning solvents are incompatible?
s debuted in these pages last month, the National also been through a standard immersion cleanliness
A Physical Laboratory’s new interactive assembly

and soldering defects data-
base lists problems and solutions.
testing process for ionic residues. Some combinations
of paste residue and cleaning sol-
vents are not compatible and leave
The database permits searching and a white- or brown-like dust on the
viewing of countless defects and board surface. In this case, the com- Dr. Davide Di Maio
solutions. Users also can submit bination of 75% IPA and 25% water is with the National
defects online for recommendations has failed to dissolve or displace the Physical Laboratory
at http://defectsdatabase.npl.co.uk/. residues from around the base of Industry and Innova-
This month we feature one the ball and pad interface and cre- tion division (npl.
recent submission: white residue ates a most interesting image. co.uk); defectsdata-
rings on BGA joints. All BGA solder This issue was only seen on a base@npl.co.uk.
joints featured a white ring around Figure 1. Following Pb-free reflow, few boards intended for a consumer
each ball termination. The ring was solder paste residues can form white application, and as such, there was
perfectly formed and not like nor- residue rings on BGA joints. no specific corrective action. The
mal white residue often seen from a paste was a no-clean material; the
standard cleaning operation (Figure 1). cleanliness testing was just part of a process evaluation
In fact, the ring consisted of solder paste residues and created these unique rings that did not prove to be
found after Pb-free reflow. The sample in this case had harmful to the application. n
Charlie Barnhart & Associates

Leading Indicators Monthly Report
The Industry’s Only Source for the Data that “Charlie Barnhart
Matters Most to Global Electronics Manufacturing continues to provide
the best data of its
kind available to the
» Overhead rates
industry. Anyone
» Mark-up rates
involved in the off-
» Global Labor Rates
shoring of electron-
» Global Risk Constants ics manufacturing would benefit from the
data and insights the Leading Indicators
Subscribe now at www.charliebarnhart.com to Monthly Report contains. Charlie began his
get on the distribution list of this valuable and work in this area while working with me at
cost-effective research. Technology Forecasters, where it quickly
became the most pertinent and valuable
data we had to offer customers. I am glad to
see him continuing and extending his work
now that he is independent. It is current,
» www.charliebarnhart.com insightful, and well organized which makes it
very easy to access and utilize.”
Eric Miscoll, Vice President & General
Manager, TXP Corporation
CA-0812.indb 39 11/19/08 4:33:09 PM

Standards
The Legend of the New Marking
Inks Standard
Released in May, IPC-4781 resolves longstanding test issues.
egend and marking inks, marking pens, and ink Type 2: Permanent legend and marking ink without
L stamp products are integral parts of PCB fabrica-

tion, yet industry has lacked a standard for the
manufacture and testing of these products, some of which
direct metal contact (e.g., ink over solder mask).
Type 3: Semi-permanent legend and marking ink.
Type 4: Temporary legend and marking ink.
are known to cause long-term reliability issues. Recognizing the types of inks covered is significant
For years, the need for such a specification was raised in because there is a tendency to mark printed boards
Solder Mask Performance Task Group meetings. Although with whatever marking tool is readily available, thereby
solder masks and legend inks are typically intended for raising failure rates. For example, certain color mark-
different purposes, some board fabricators use legend ink ers, such as yellow, have high ionic content, creating
in place of solder mask. These inks are not subjected to the electromigration and, potentially, field failures. Other
rigorous testing conducted on solder masks, which must chemicals cause corrosion and low insulation resis-
have specific electrical properties because they bridge elec- tance.
trical conductors. In addition, solder masks are qualified As with most standards, the key concerns were the
for flammability performance as a permanent coating with properties to specify for testing and the requisite param-
Underwriters Laboratory, while legend inks typically are eters. The standard had to balance what would be con-
not. However, the breadth of any such standard for legend sidered a fair amount of testing to levy against the mate-
and marking ink qualification was beyond the scope of rial manufacturer with the kinds of tests that should be
the task group, which was chartered to maintain the IPC- performed by the material user. Material compatibility
SM-840 solder mask qualification specification. was another item. The specification was intended to
The urgency for a standard intensified as printed board cover all products used for permanent, semi-permanent
geometries changed and continued to shrink. When spaces and temporary applications, not just legend ink prod-
between conductive patterns were large, there weren’t ucts. As new technology developed, such as inkjet legend
many problems caused by ink coming in contact with the inks, the text was modified to include the latest available
circuits. With smaller spaces, the ink could easily encroach information, right up to the standard’s adoption.
on the electrical connections, causing failures. In 2004, One of the key aspects of IPC-4781 is that it is perfor-
these issues came to a head and the IPC Legend Inks Task mance-based. Performance criteria are spelled out, as are
Group was formed. And in May, IPC-4781, Qualification the different types of legend inks, which heretofore was
and Performance Specification of Permanent, Semi-Per- lacking. It gives some definition to terms loosely used in
manent and Temporary
Legend and/or Marking
Table 1. IPC-4781, Table 3-1, Requirements of Qualification
Inks, became a reality.
Requirement for Marking Type Testing and Inspection
IPC-4781 defines
Type 1 Permanent
the criteria for, and Permanent No Type 3 IPC-
Type 4 Other Test
method of, obtaining Requirement Direct Electrical Semi- Paragraph TM-650
Temporary Methods
Metal Metal Permanent Method
the maximum infor- Contact Contact
mation about and con- Physical
fidence in legend and ASTM
D3363,
John Perry is techni- marking ink material Hardness Yes Yes Yes No 3.5.1 None Scratch
cal projects manager under evaluation. This Hardness
Test
at IPC (ipc.org); john- specification covers the
Adhesion to
perry@ipc.org. four ink types (appli- Solder Mask Yes Yes Yes AABUS* 3.5.2.1 2.4.28.1 –
Materials
cations):
Conformal
Type 1: Permanent Coating AABUS AABUS AABUS No – None AABUS
legend and marking Adhesion
ink with some areas Flammability Yes Yes Yes No 3.6.3 None UL94
of direct metal con- FTIR Yes Yes Yes Yes 3.2.3.1 None –
Environmental
tact between electrical Compliance
AABUS AABUS AABUS AABUS 3.12 None –
nodes. *AABUS: As agreed between user and supplier.
CA-0812.indb 40 11/19/08 4:33:10 PM

Table 2. IPC-4781, Table 3.3 Test Responsibility for Qualification Standards
Column A Column B defines the requirement and the right side speci-
Column C
Requirement Material Supplier Fabricator End User fies the materials and the tests to be performed.
Physical Other aspects found in the complete version of
Hardness X X N/R the chart include chemical resistance, electrical
Adhesion to requirements, environmental requirements and
Solder Mask X X N/R
Materials materials. Table 2 features the top of Table 3-2,
Conformal depicting who is responsible for each test and
Coating N/R AABUS* X qualification.
Adhesion
Flammability X N/R N/R
Military adoption? The significant issue to be
*AABUS: As agreed between user and supplier.
decided is whether the US military will adopt
the new specification. Three government speci-
fications (MIL-I-43553, A-A-56032 and MIS-
regard to legend inks. These definitions
Project2:Layout 1 4/14/08 11:42 AM Page 1 are important, as 37271) predate IPC-4781, but in our opinion do not meet
much confusion has arisen over language issues. industry needs.
The heart of IPC-4781 is Table 3-1. IPC-TM-650, Test IPC-4781 will be useful for the commercial sector, but
Methods Manual, is referenced for testing and measur- for companies that fabricate boards for the DoD, military
ing performance in a broad range of characteristics. No requirements dominate legend and marking ink selection.
specific chemistry or application method is called out or It is hoped the Defense Department will adopt IPC-4781.
excluded; any that meet the requirements are approved for IPC-4781 mirrors other IPC specifications in terms
use. Material compatibility of all inks is documented. Of of material qualification and conformance, such as IPC-
major significance is assignment of responsibility between SM-840 and IPC-CC-830 for conformal coatings, so com-
vendor and user for each specified formulation or varia- pliance should be user friendly. n
tion of legend or marking ink material. In some cases, a
designation of AABUS (as agreed between user and sup- Acknowledgments
plier) is given, ensuring these issues are defined in the user/
supplier contract. A sample of the top of the chart, physical Doug Pauls of Rockwell Collins, Henry Sanftleben of Delphi Electronics &
aspects, can be seen in Table 1. In this table, the left side Safety and Dave Vaughan of Taiyo America contributed to this column.
CA-0812.indb 41 11/19/08 4:33:11 PM

Processes and Outcomes
Getting
Lean
If a task is performed different ways, the process – and therefore the result –
is unpredictable.
hy should people follow a process? So they Kaizen, the “change for the better.”
W can deliver a predictable outcome. And if the

outcome is not adequate, we improve it. The
right process will deliver the right results. And the right
Diffusion of standards. In an organization, the great-
est challenge is to sustain the standard; the second is
to diffuse the standard, so the same lesson isn’t learned
result is a predicable outcome. over and over again. The larger the company, the more
But can you create a standard work procedure (for difficult it is to diffuse standards. Even within Toyota,
more on this, see “Standard Work Procedures,” May from which many Lean principles are derived, there’s a
2008) without first examining the current process? constant puzzle of how to take the standard work they
In other words, can you start with invention? If it’s diffuse in Japan and translate that process to other fac-
conceptual, you don’t really know until you try it. And tories without having to relearn the standard. The dif-
once you try, you are creating a process by which the ficulty is, How do different workers learn the same les-
outcome can be examined. sons? Classically, as we age, we learn by failure. One way
A principle of Lean is anything can be improved. to overcome this is to raise awareness of the best ways
The standard is a tool we use to make problems visible. to do things, to help others on the work level to learn
To understand how to improve, something must be the best ways of doing things and take that knowledge
measured. This is done by exploring the weaknesses of back to their teams, where they could possibly improve
the current process to understand the data and the facts. the standard.
The current process is baselined to understand where it These “people systems” require maintenance. Tak-
is, where the weaknesses are and if the changes lead to ing a message and translating it down to the floor – to
better results. ensure it was adopted per its intent – requires checking.
Precisely what to do depends on the scope of the That process is called the management standard work.
change. If an operator or office worker can exam- Determining whether the standards are being imple-
ine their current work and see one piece that can be mented and upheld is a component of the management
improved, they can change. That’s a process known as standard work. All other tools we use in Lean – making
self-evaluation, and it underscores that anyone can par- the process visual so you can see the problems; making
ticipate in continuous improvement. An operator, for the process flow in a straight line with known customer-
example, could make a change to their standard work by supplier relationships – make it possible to see when
repositioning material so it’s easier to reach. It’s a new there is a problem, so the management system can
standard and it’s something they can do themselves. It’s see the problems at a glance and determine whether a
a small, incremental change. They would evaluate how standard exists, if it is being followed, and whether it is
they do things today, and maybe conclude that moving a adequate. Management needs to be able to do that as
bin reduces their reach and shaves off a second of time. quickly as possible because they have a lot of processes
For a process with many pieces, however, such as to maintain.
many individuals or an entire value stream, change Similarly, this process is followed when diffusing a
begins with a cross-functional team that examines the new strategy. One must look at the process by which
current state. As opposed to a transactional process, for the strategy is diffused throughout the organization.
example, the approval process may go through many As changes are made to the strategy, there needs to be
Robert Hemmant is levels of approvals, and the team may decide there are a check that the action is delivering the desired results.
global Lean architect too many. This all ties into the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” methodol-
at Celestica (celes- Then there’s the issue of whether to use a Design of ogy of quality. It’s all interwoven to help management
tica.com). His column Experiments. The purpose of a DoE is to confirm the get results.
appears bimonthly. understanding of the problem, to pinpoint the problem At its core, Lean is a management system to help
that must be resolved. A DoE allows understanding of problem-solve in a sustainable way. It is very manage-
the part of the process or variable that is having the ment – or leadership – intensive. It’s actually respectful
greatest impact on the outcome. Once this is known, to check. Standards aren’t used to be punitive, as in “you
those attempting to solve the problem could focus on must do it this way.” In fact, they are team-based: Follow
that particular variable. In short, the DoE helps focus the standard as it is today because we want to know if it
on where the biggest opportunity is, but it doesn’t play works. And if you have ideas to improve it, diffuse those
a role in making the actual change. The latter is the ideas because the goal is to always do it better. n
CA-0812.indb 42 11/19/08 4:33:11 PM

论SMT生产中的细节问题
——焊盘与孔
Eastern
Advances
这篇文章从10月2008日问题继续。的最小化
当设计失误时，防堵的临时对策大至有以下几出于rework后可靠性方面的考虑，PTH不宜作为零
种：件孔。但当晶振（金属外壳卧式）、中周、微动开
从焊接面以高温胶纸封住PAD。关、直插的PLCC插座等用于波峰焊工艺，并且助焊
从元件面插入护孔工装（如高温塑料排针、塗硅剂涂覆方式是发泡时，NPTH当是唯一选择。从生产
胶的镙钉）。实践及客户反馈可看到，焊接终止面的助焊剂残余
单面板时，可在元件面用透明胶带封孔。不会像焊接初始面的助焊剂那样，在经过250℃4秒
从焊接面点阻焊胶封住PAD及孔。的加热后,其中的助焊物质已基本挥发。它会在环
从焊接面印蓝胶封住PAD及孔。境（湿度、盐雾、高温、尘土…）的作用下，影响
做PCB托盘工装过波峰焊。电路绝缘阻抗或使触点不可靠。此时的临时对策首
以上方法中生产成本自低到高大至是选是在元件面预涂助焊剂阻断剂，此方法在实用上
C、E、B、A、D、F，值得一提的是印蓝胶工艺。由效果极佳，且费用低、省工时，缺点是此法对PTH无
于是采用印刷方式涂覆，预留孔越多，性价比越效。当助焊剂的涂覆形式是喷雾时，助焊剂量虽可
高。当使用点胶机完成红胶工艺或PCB印胶面与印焊控制，但如卧式晶振插入PCB后，当引脚PAD元件面
膏面不是同一平面时，蓝胶固化与红胶固化或焊膏环宽偏大，且孔径与引脚的⊿T也大时，引脚PAD会
回流可同时完成，使采用蓝胶保护PAD的成本相对较与外壳短路，此种不良设计对于EMS厂来说，并不少
低。见。即使短路未发生，由于PAD与外壳的间隙偏小，
二、可靠性方面的考虑助焊剂残余也容易导致功能性缺陷。当一定要使用
1、PTH的焊锡垂直填充率 PTH时，解决方案是使元件面PAD环宽为零，就是用
a)隔热设计是保证垂直填充率最重要条件，除PCB 阻焊或白油墨覆盖PAD。图Figure 16是一款电器产
的表面线路外与PTH相连的各层铜箔线路，都要以“ 品的 PCB，采用了焊接起始面与焊接终止面PAD环
花PAD”的形式与PTH相连，以提高热阻。需关注的宽差异设计，尤其是X301位置,元件面环宽为零。还
是相当多的设计者对此领悟有误，其细节是，焊有一种常见的设计失误是LED紧贴板面插装，且采用
接起始面的PAD不可作隔热设计，且PAD环宽尽可能 PTH。一般LED要求焊点距本体应≥2mm，常见的LED
大，以利于热量吸收，同时焊接终止面的PAD应尽可亮度不稳定或不亮时重焊后就可改善，多数是没有
能小，且是“花PAD”。这对质量大、热容量大的器遵守上述要求，当采用NPTH时，PCB厚度可起到防呆
件是成功焊接的关键，参考一失败的案例，如图Fig- 型的焊接安全距离的作用。无铅化后，PAD环宽最小
ure 14。此款产品的设计上，在焊接起始面错用“ 化及NPTH的额外好处是极大地减少Lift-off发生的可
花PAD”，使热量吸收受阻，如图Figure 15。焊热终能。
止面的“花PAD”形成的热阻又不足够大。元件是卧 b) 零件孔（焊点）尽可能少地承受元件的重量
式电解，其负极铝外壳有良好的散热性，且跨距设以往我们的工艺审查项有一条是当元件重量大于9
计过短（应加10mm）、使引线热阻过小，导致外壳克时，其重量不能仅由焊点承受。在实际工作中，
的散热性被强化，结果此类PTH的填充率都较差。数次见过典型的失效案例，外因多与震动相关，内
b) 无铅工艺导入后的填充率，当PCB厚度>1.6mm 因多为元件过重，且除焊接点外无其他对元件的支
时，按IPC-A-610D的II、III级的要求，焊接时的撑。当产品与手持或车载相关时，这一点尤为重
填充率应≥75%，在某些情况下是很难实现的，一要。
些大品牌公司，从分析填充率与可靠性的关系入 c) 双径孔形状如图Figure 17，多为PTH，除保证
手制定了具有可操作性的企业标准，实验结果是焊点的可靠外，还可使焊点不高于PCB表面，在电源
可靠性仅与焊锡垂直填充高度密切相关，当其达到模块或手持产品中多有采用。孔径大的一面一般为
1.6mm*75%=1.2mm时，对厚度是2.5或3.3mm的PCB，焊焊接起始面，基于这个特点，孔径大的一面设为元
点强度没有问题，这对引入无铅工艺后的EMS厂是个件面时，若用在手工插件的通孔回流焊工艺中，可
利好消息。提高焊膏量并使手插易于操作。
c)孔径对填充率的影响也是要关注的，我们定 3、导通孔无铅化后的设计理念
义孔径与插件引脚的尺寸差为⊿T。一般有铅工艺在无铅波峰焊接中铜蚀现象是个比较严重的问
时，⊿T一般取0.2~0.3mm，当用冲孔工艺满足插件题。波峰焊接用PCB应把所有导通孔以阻焊覆盖，杜
机时，孔应是锥型。若NC钻孔时应取略大些。无铅绝铜蚀产生。图Figure 18是一种无铅化的汽车的电
工艺导入后，⊿T还应稍大，板厚增加时，⊿T也子产品用PCB，其导通孔直径选得较大，这样可降低 Sanqiang Cai is an
应加大，以保证填充率。一般取0.25~0.4mm。无铅对PCB材料的过高要求，如Z向的CTE。对PCB制造厂 engineer with Beijing
时，较大的⊿T使空洞减少，较小的⊿T可使缩痕减而言，厚板的小孔电镀一直是个质量难题，在可能 Brio (brio-tech.com/
弱，当然把锡银铜焊料换成锡铜，也可使缩痕改情况下，导通孔径的变大是保证可靠性最经济的解 egsjg.htm). Contact:
善。决方案。 Amy Dai; amydai@
2、零件孔： brio-tech.ca.
a) NPTH的优先采用原则与PTH焊接终止面PAD环宽 Continued on pg. 47
CA-0812.indb 43 11/19/08 4:33:12 PM

Product
SPOTLIGHT
High-Power Soldering and Rework
System Automated Moisture
Metcal MX-5000 Series is coupled with 80W of power Analyzer
for quick response to load conditions with high levels of PMD300 moisture analyzer uses micro-
control. Is microprocessor-controlled; incorporates a built-in wave resonance technology. Analyzes core
digital power indication display. Hand-piece choices include and surface moisture content; data can be
Advanced Soldering and Rework hand-piece, UltraFine sol- obtained automatically or manually. Tem-
dering hand-piece for micro-soldering applications, MX-PTZ perature in the oven, air supply and conveyor
precision tweezers hand-piece for SMD rework, and MX-DS1 belt speed can be automatically adjusted to
through-hole desoldering hand-piece. Includes TipSaver Work- the current moisture content of the product.
stand with auto-sleep function. Measurable range lies between 0.1 and 60%
OK International, okinternational.com moisture content.
Sartorius Mechatronics, sartorius.com
IDF Plug-In for PCB123 v. 3.1

Free intermediate data format plug-in is the
Self-Cleaning Squeegee first module for PCB123 based on Software
Permalex Paste Manager runs on microprocessor-controlled Developer’s Kit v. 3.1. Enables import of PCB
torque actuators and reportedly resolves solder paste sticking designs for use in mechanical and electrical
to squeegees inside printers. Is said to achieve 90% cleaning CAD systems in a bidirectional, neutral for-
action in 3.9 sec. for a 14” long squeegee. Runs on a variety mat within the ECOsystem Design Environ-
of SMT printing platforms. ment. Imports outline definitions of the PCB
Transition Automation, permalex.com as specified by the mechanical CAD tool,
synchronizing the mechanical design work
with the PCB development work.
Sunstone Circuits, sunstone.com/
products-services/cad-software.aspx
‘All Axes’ Vision Sensor
Checker 252 vision sensor includes all inspection capabilities 200+ I/O LGA Connector
of the Checker vision sensor family, plus additional software W-Series Matrix Connector is for intercon-
sensors that verify height, width, and diameter and deliver necting LGAs with 200 or more board I/
pass/fail results on high-speed production lines. Has one-click Os. Reportedly eliminates need to solder
setup; clicking on the center of the part feature to be inspect- or rework components. Is embedded with
ed, an image of a familiar caliper appears and locks on the 300 to 2,000 gold-plated wires per cm2 and
edges of the part feature, sets the min. and max. thresholds, provides a carrying capacity of 500 mA/mm2.
and learns edge polarity automatically. Comes in sizes up to 50 x 50 mm and thick-
Cognex Corp., cognex.com nesses of 0.50 or 1.0 mm.
Fujipoly America, fujipoly.com
2D Inspection for Printers

2D Inspection (2Di) V9 software tool moni-
Selective Soldering with Wave tors the print process. Is said to inspect
Height Measurement boards or stencils to determine print quality.
mySelective 6748 selective soldering system now features a Identifies when stencil cleaning or paste dis-
wave height measurement system. Ensures a specific predeter- pensing is required, and prevents bridging,
mined wave height for every PCB by automatically adjusting misalignment, stencil smear, stencil block-
the solder pump RPMs. Uses a laser-based sensor to detect, age and reduced paste volume. Includes
measure, and monitor SelectWave height. Is said to prevent simple setup, on-board guidance, enhanced
loss of cycle time. Stores individual PCB settings in the man- operator prompts and automated post-print
agement info database. Combines SelectWave and MultiWave inspection feedback highlighting sites requir-
soldering technology; has on-the-fly reconfigurability, inline ing attention.
fluxing and preheating. DEK, dek.com
Vitronics Soltec, vitronics-soltec.com
CA-0812.indb 44 11/19/08 4:33:16 PM

Product
SPOTLIGHT
‘Constant Vacuum’ Pickup Tip
Ergonomic Workbench Stealth-Vac operates directly on 30 to 70 psi compressed air
Easy Lift has 20” of adjustable work sur- or nitrogen. The normally open vacuum pen contains a venturi
face. Serves as a workbench, assembly sta- vacuum generator. With compressed air supplied at the rear
tion and adjustable desk. Table moves verti- of the tool, the pickup tip is said to have constant vacuum
cally and has a 250 lb. load capacity. Comes available. Includes 6’ of 1/16” coiled vacuum hose, 1/8” NPT to
standard with a 24 x 30” static dissipative 1/16” barb adapter for the supply line, and vacuum-generating
powder-coated steel tabletop with ESD-safe handle.
Blue Softsurface matting material. Has foot Virtual Industries, virtual-ii.com
pedal and adjusts from 19” to 39”.
Bliss Industries, blissindustries.com
Boundary Scan I/O

Digital Module Pb-free Wave Solder Machine
CION Module/DIMM240 enables test-
C250 is 50” x 30” and handles boards up to 10” wide in
ing of all signal and voltage supply pins
its adjustable corrosion-resistant finger conveyor. Is equipped
of Jedec-compliant DIMM240 sockets for with automatic defluxing, IR preheating, air-knife cooling and
DDR2 SDRAM. Several boards of the same a low-volume solder pot. Is available in single or dual wave
or different types can be cascaded in a configurations for through-hole and surface mount assemblies.
daisy chain configuration. All channels Includes built-in solder pot loading, a maintenance platform
can be independently switched as Input/ with locking support mechanism and dial-adjustable wave
Output/Tristate. Provides special safety height control.
mechanisms. Manncorp, manncorp.com/wave-solder/c250/
Goepel electronic, goepel.com
400-lb. Loader/Unloader
BlissLift now has a wider base for
assembly applications. Reportedly doubles
the speed of repetitive load/unload tasks. Fast-Setup Selective Soldering
Permits loading of 19” rackmount chassis Rhythm EX offers a selective soldering range of 24 x 24”; no
into a 19” rack on a shipping pallet; legs manual rotation or adjustment is required. Offers closed-loop
straddle the pallet. Is said to be ideal for servo-driven X, Y, and Z-axis motion that articulates the solder
loading chassis onto storage carts and wave and flux beneath the PCB. Designed for high-mix or high-
racks. Lifts loads up to 400 lb. volume production. Reportedly programs in minutes. Includes
Bliss Industries, blissindustries.com independently heated and programmable nitrogen inertion
and quick-change solder nozzles for keep-away (less than
FPD, CRY Display Tester 1.5 mm) and lead protrusion clearance (6 mm). Wave height
U8101A display tester is for custom management, system standby and startup, conveyor width and
setups for visual testing of up to five major vision are automated.
display formats. For testing FPD and CRT rPS Automation LLC, rpsautomation.com
displays, and LCD panels in PC and TV
manufacturing. Is said to support all major
analog and digital interfaces and permits
future upgrades. Has multiple plug-in card
slots to customize instrument configura- Rework, Re-solder Unit
tion. Uses a 5.7” color LCD display and PC-controlled Martin “Expert” Pb-free rework station ver-
Windows-based GUI. Can select different sion 9.6 is said to automatically accomplish any stage of SMT
display formats, test configurations and repair, from removal to replacement, as well as the re-solder
other frequently used functions on front of BGAs, CSPs, µBGAs and other SMDs. A high-res camera
panel. Has capability to recall up to 16 test combined with auto-vision placement controls component
sequences and patterns. positioning in full and continuous view of the operator. IR
Agilent Technologies, agilent.com underheating unit adjusts to exact board size.
Manncorp, manncorp.com
CA-0812.indb 45 11/19/08 4:33:20 PM

Ad Index Solder Joint
ADVERTISER INFO: To learn about the advertisers in
this issue, go to circuitsassembly.com and select Reliability
“Advertiser Index” in the gray horizontal menu bar at
the top of the page. This will provide you with direct Continued from pg. 31
links to the home or product pages of each advertiser
in this index.
Company Page No. This indicates solder pastes with an activation system able to provide sustainable high-temperature
Assembléon, www.assembleon.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 23, 25
fluxing activity are capable of creating a homogenous connection beyond the ball and the paste
alloy interface. Figure 6 shows a HIP formed using a lower-temperature activation system. Figure
Bare Board Group, www.bareboard.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 7 is a joint formed with a high-temperature activation system; no evidence of HIP is seen.
Based on these experiments, Table 1 was generated to show the relative impact of variable(s)
BEST, Inc., www.solder.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 that contribute to HIP, rated on a scale of one to 10, with 10 as the most likely to eliminate the
issue.
Charlie Barnhart & Associates, www.charliebarnhart.com . . . . . 39
Cookson Electronic Assembly Materials, Conclusions

www.cooksonelectronics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Based on this preliminary study, it appears the two significant factors are solder paste flux chem-
istry and BGA alloy ball wetting. Frosty, non-uniform structures appear to perform the worst for
CyberOptics, www.cyberoptics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3
BGA HIP. This is logical, as these are intermetallic regions on the surface of the solder ball. The
Digi-Key, www.digikey.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 intermetallic connection of AgSn and CuSn possesses much higher melting temperatures than the
alloy themselves. They are also crystalline in structure and can repel wetting. Although additional
Electronics West Show, www.electronicswestshow.com . . . . . . . . 22 studies are necessary to corroborate these results, there is a strong indication this surface structure
is one of the leading causes of the HIP defect. n
Green Rules!, www.envisionrules.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Grid-Lok, www.grid-lok.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4
References
Imagineering, Inc., www.pcbnet.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1. Chrys Shea, “HOP-ping Mad,” CirCuits Assembly, July 2008.
2. American Competitiveness Institute, “Stop the HOP,” CirCuits Assembly, August 2008.
Indium Corporation of America, www.indium.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Karl Seelig is vice president of technology at AIM (aimsolder.com); kseelig@aimsolder.com.

JETPCB Inc., www.jetpcb.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Juki Automation Systems, www.jas-smt.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

United States Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation
MIRTEC Corp., www.mirtecusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 1. Publication Title: CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales
2. Publication No.: 1054-0407 Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter
Sales and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS: 24,638;
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Eastern Special Advertising Section
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CA-0812.indb 47 11/19/08 4:33:29 PM

Technical
Abstracts In Case You Missed It
Cleaning assembly of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) into
“Cleaning Qualification Methodology for Inline Aqueous porous alumina nanotemplates on silicon substrates
Assembly Process” by means of electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis at
Author: Steven Perng; sperng@cisco.com. ambient temperatures. Assembled SWNT provided an
Abstract: This assessment of the cleanliness of the interconnection between the surface and base of the
area beneath a component uses an 8"×9"×0.093" test nanotemplate. I–V measurements clearly show that the
vehicle with FR-4 laminate, OSP surface finish, and 21 connection between silicon and SWNT is established
package types. The TVs underwent assembly and inline inside the templates. This technique is particularly useful
aqueous cleaning. The two test methodologies used were for large-scale, rapid, 3-D assembly of SWNT over centi-
ion chromatography and electromigration. Based on the meter square areas under mild conditions for nanoscale
test results, most of components pass the criteria, except electronics applications. (Nanotechnology, Oct. 8, 2008)
three high-pin-count LBGAs, which showed high levels
of bromide using a certain paste. No significant differ- Solder Joint Reliability
ences were found between the low standoff components “1st Order Failure Model for Area Array CSP Devices with
group and other groups. Among the four low standoff Pb-Free Solder”
components, LGA133, which has the lowest standoff, Authors: Nathan Blattau, Joelle Arnold, Gerd Fischer,
shows a higher total anion level. Test results also verified Craig Hillman; nblattau@dfrsolutions.com.
that, within the similar package types, the ionic level is Abstract: The thermomechanical reliability of solders
likely proportional to the stencil paste volume. There with little or no silver is not well known because the
were no statistical differences among the three time-to- main focus has been on improving the solder intercon-
wash cases: If the board is washed within 72 hrs., there nects’ mechanical shock/drop performance. This study
is no significant difference on ionic level. (IPC Midwest, presents preliminary thermal cycling data for a SnNiCu-
September 2008) soldered area array CSP. These data are then used to
develop a first-order analytical model to make thermal
Environmental Compliance mechanical fatigue life predictions. The model uses
“REACH for Electronics Manufacturers” basic distance to neutral point and continuous attach
Author: John Fox; jfox@synapsistech.com. type equations to predict the strain energy dissipated by
Abstract: REACH presents a new set of direct and the solder joint. The energy dissipation is used to make
indirect risks for article manufacturers. Direct risks fatigue predictions. (IPC Midwest, September 2008)
arise from obligations explicitly outlined in the REACH
regulation itself: article 7 and article 13. Indirect risks Wave Soldering
arise from upstream and downstream supply chain “Design for Manufacturability in Lead-Free Wave Solder
ripple effects caused by REACH. These ripple effects will Process”
impact article manufacturers, including those who do Author: Ramon Mendez; rmendez@celestica.com.
not import directly into the EU. Article manufacturers Abstract: The effect of pin-to-hole ratio, quantity of
– particularly those with complex products and supply large copper planes connected to a pin through-hole
chains – are adopting data-driven risk management barrel, connection types for PTH and land patterns for
approaches to help ensure the future viability and prof- glue and wave chip components are some of the main
itability of their products. This presentation presents a features that require further investigation for design
framework to identify and mitigate REACH risks, both optimization. It is also important to determine if a set
direct and indirect. It outlines a fact-based and system- of DfM guidelines result in similar results among the
CirCuits Assembly atic approach, describing what product and supply chain various Pb-free alloys. This paper discusses the outcome
provides abstracts of data are needed and how to make decisions based on of a study of several DfM features incorporated on
papers from recent these data. This paper is based in part on the REACH an internally designed test vehicle created to evaluate
industry conferences initiatives underway at several large MNCs. (IPC Mid- alternative Pb-free alloys. DfM features included land
and company white west, September 2008) pattern design and varying component spacing for chip
papers. With the components, pin-to-hole ratio and its interaction with
amount of information Nanotechnology the quantity of large copper planes connected to a PTH,
increasing, our goal is “Large Scale 3-D Vertical Assembly of Single-Wall Carbon quantity of large copper planes connected to a PTH and
to provide an added Nanotubes at Ambient Temperatures” its interaction with the type of connection either solid
opportunity for read- Authors: Evin Gultepe, Dattatri Nagesha, Bernard or four spokes. The TV was assembled with four Pb-free
ers to keep abreast of Didier Frederic Casse, Selvapraba Selvarasah, Ahmed alloys (SnCuNi, SnAgCuBi, SnCuX and SAC 405) and
technology and busi- Busnaina and Srinivas Sridhar; s.sridhar@neu.edu. SnPb37 alloy as a baseline. (IPC Midwest, September
ness trends. Abstract: The authors demonstrate 3-D directed 2008)
CA-0812.indb 48 11/19/08 4:33:29 PM


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Analyzing Pb-Free Wave Soldering Defects, pg.

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