Pick, Place, Podcast: Recent Episodes
CircuitHub and Worthington
The Pick, Place, Podcast is a show where we talk about electronics manufacturing and everything related to getting a circuit board into the world. Join hosts Chris Denney from Worthington and Melissa Hough from CircuitHub as they discuss the pcb assembly process, design tips that will make your manufacturer love you, and talk to industry guests.
In this episode of the PickPlace Podcast, Chris and Melissa discuss the challenges and intricacies of working with RGB LEDs, specifically the popular surface-mount DotStar LEDs from Adafruit. They dive into issues like handling cut strips versus continuous reels, the importance of sourcing directly from original manufacturers, and the need for moisture control when using these components in manufacturing. They also provide practical tips for engineers on cost-saving and quality assurance strategies when sourcing these parts for large-scale production.
Show Links:https://www.adafruit.com/product/2343
https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/RGB-LEDs-Built-in-IC_OPSCO-Optoelectronics-SK9822-A_C5378730.html
https://docs.circuithub.com/en/articles/3350195-consigning-cut-strips
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/adafruit-industries-llc/2343/5761204
http://www.normandled.com/product/view/id/876.html
pickplacepodcast.com
In this episode we delve into the topic of RF (Radio Frequency) shields. . Chris explains the different types of RF shields—open top, closed top, and clip-based—detailing their applications, advantages, and challenges. We also explore the processes involved in placing these shields on circuit boards, emphasizing the importance of inspection and the complexities of manual versus automated methods, and discuss how to choose the best type of shields for your project. More importantly, Chris shares a detailed story about a poorly designed bathroom he recently experienced and realizes that one of his big pet peeves is thoughtlessness.
Show Links:
Two Piece Shield
- Snap on, top piece: BMI-S-201-C https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/laird-technologies-emi/BMI-S-201-C/2175914
- Solder on, bottom piece: BMI-S-201-F https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/laird-technologies-emi/BMI-S-201-F/2175888?s=N4IgTCBcDaIEIFkCSBaAyisAGAjCgYiALoC%2BQA
One Piece Shield
- BMI-S-101 https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/laird-technologies-emi/BMI-S-101/2175907
Clip Style
- S1811-46R https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/harwin-inc/S1811-46R/19200427
pickplacepodcast.com
In this episode Chris and Melissa continue their deep dive into the critical role of stencils in electronics assembly, with expert insights from Brett Babilonia. We discuss advanced techniques for stencil design, including custom reductions, step stencils, and nano coatings to ensure optimal solder paste application. The episode also highlights the importance of thoughtful PCB design to manage costs and improve manufacturing efficiency.
pickplacepodcast.com
In this episode, we dive into the crucial role of stencils in electronics manufacturing. Joined by Brett Babilonia, we explore the complexities of stencil design, including handling missing data, determining foil thickness, and ensuring optimal solder paste application. We discuss common issues, such as SMT standoffs and hybrid components. Stay tuned for for more of an in-depth continuation in Part Two.
pickplacepodcast.com
In this slightly random catchup episode Chris and Melissa discuss Chris' recent trip to California where he attended IPC APEX EXPO and hosted out first Pick, Place, Podcast meetup! Huge thanks to everyone who was able to come say hi, the wonderful conversations and show suggestions!
pickplacepodcast.com
In this episode, we uncover the multifaceted persona of IPC President and CEO, Dr. John Mitchell, from his educational background to his Ironman pursuits. Learn about IPC alongside insights into John's acclaimed book, Fire Your Hiring Habits. John also talks about the history behind the IPC Apex Expo and what you can expect at the even if you participate.
Check out our other episode on IPC here.
Chris will be hosting a podcast meetup at IPC Apex Expo. We'd love it if you'd join him!
- Date: Tuesday, April 9th
- Time: 3:15 PM to 5:00 PM
- Location: Room 209A, Anaheim Convention Center, CA
You can register for the event here.
pickplacepodcast.com
In this episode we're happy to welcome back Brett Babilonia, who we spoke to way back in episode 3 and 4 on the show. In addition to purchasing, Brett also handles a lot of quoting at Worthington. We often get asked how we quote boards, is there a magical formula, and figured Brett is the perfect person to speak on this topic.
pickplacepodcast.com
Parts packaged in tubes are awful and Chris has had enough. He's starting a movement to end the use of tubes once and for all. Why do they still exist? If anybody has an answer PLEASE write in to let us know. Join us on this hour long rant as we discuss all the reasons why tubes suck including their effect on the environment and how inefficient they are for pcb assembly.
pickplacepodcast.com
Welcome to the first episode of 2024 (which was recorded in 2023)! In today's show we're joined by AIM Solder's Content Marketing Specialist, Gayle Towell.
AIM is a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry with manufacturing, distribution, and support facilities located throughout North and South America, EMEA, and Asia.
Gayle helps to walks us through topics like what exactly a soldering company like AIM does, how they make their products, who buys it, how they decide what product to design next, and more.
pickplacepodcast.com
We like to talk to interesting people on this show so when Praxie reached out to us wondering if their CEO, Michael Lynch could come on the show we knew it would be a fun conversation.
Michael is the former head of Internet of Things at SAP software and now CEO of Praxie (and believe it or not, former lead in Les Miserables on Broadway prior to that!).
We talk about how Michael went from the acting/performance world to the internet of things and eventually wound up founding Praxie.
Praxie provides a platform that allows organizations to transform their workflows with AI-powered processes, dashboards, and applications, without spending an arm and a leg and taking months to complete. This is especially relevant for manufacturing businesses who are stuck using Excel spreadsheets and software from the 80s.
pickplacepodcast.com
Why would we dedicate an entire episode to conveyers, you ask? Because it just so happens to be Chris' favorite topic! Chris has an addiction to progress and conveyers are one of the best ways in a factory setting to achieve that (both literally and figuratively). We get an overview of the different types of conveyers typically used in a factory setting and get into the technical aspects of how to set conveyers up before venting about the end of daylight saving time.
Transfer inspection conveyer - https://vanstron.us/collections/transfer-inspection-conveyors/products/copy-of-ptb-460l-5m-20-long-pcb-transfer-inspection-conveyor
pickplacepodcast.com
At the end of our episodes we've been asking you to send in any questions you had...and we're finally answering them. In this grab bag episode we discuss topics like what happens to excess parts, the ISO certification process, the shrinking size of resistors, and more! In honor of spooky season, we also share some scary stories from production.
pickplacepodcast.com
In this episode we welcome back NCAB Group Field Application Engineer Ryan Miller. The first time we had him on the show he gave us a lesson on what impedance control is, in what situations is it necessary, and more.
This time we recorded a video demo going through how he would create a stackup the requires controlled impedance.
In order for this episode to make sense watch the video version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwsyTUTN1z0
pickplacepodcast.com
What's been going on at the factory while we've been away? Chris catches up Melissa and all of you listeners on all of the new people, machines, and processes that have been introduced during our break.
pickplacepodcast.com
After a LONG hiatus, we're back! Our break was for a very good reason though. Listen to find out why!
In this episode, we welcome SelecTech CEO and co-founder Tom Ricciardelli. Tom is a technical flooring expert on static control or ESD flooring. He is also chairman of the committee formed by the ESD Association (www.esda.org). His company, SelecTech, is a leader in the manufacture of innovative flooring products and has a very interesting story on how it came to be.
Tom gives us a quick recap on what ESD is (we also have a full overview episode on ESD) and discusses the importance of having an ESD-protected floor. We also talk about what the ESDA is, LEED certification and sustainability, as well as a very meta pet peeve.
For more information on SelecTech's ESD flooring visit https://staticstop.com/
Side note: Worthington Assembly is currently selling their used MY100 pick and place machine. If interested contact Chris at cdenney@worthingtonassembly.com or visit https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/my100-sale for more information.
This week we're joined by fellow podcast host Aaron Moncur who runs the Being an Engineer Podcast and is also the founder of Pipeline Design and Engineering.
We had a fun discussion on the soft skills of engineering, including how to have systems in place that align with/support your goals, time management, and productivity hacks you might find useful for managing yourself and your team.
Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations, and more.
How do smaller manufacturers like Worthington and CircuitHub manage larger volume orders? Recently we've seen a big increase in these types of orders so it only seemed fitting to have a discussion abouut it. We briefly touch on the financial and negotiation side of things before getting to the logistics of how we handle large-volume orders. This includes how we decide if we're going to build and/or ship in batches, how large orders change how we buy parts, and why building this was can be a very successful way of producing boards.
We're back after a bit of a break! In this episode, we're excited to welcome David Shield from the Printed Circuit Board Associated of America (PCBAA) to talk about how their work is influencing the US Congress to bring electronics manufacturing back to America.
The Printed Circuit Board Association of America is the sole association of U.S. domestic printed circuit board manufacturers and suppliers. PCBAA was established in 2021 by PCB manufacturers and other industry stakeholders amid rising geopolitical challenges.
PCBAA seeks to promote an environment in which U.S.-based printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers can thrive.
The PCBAA was formed to respond to the misunderstandings in the Chips Act. David explains to us what exactly the CHIPS Act is, what sort of impact might the efforts of the PCBAA have on people within the United States hiring a company like Worthington to order their circuit boards, and more.
Links:
Learn more about PCBAA's core mission and activities in Washington
We're very excited to have Mike Konrad, founder of Aqueous Technologies as well as host of his own podcast, Reliability Matters, back on the show.
We first had Mike on the show to discuss the history of board cleaning, the electronics the industry's transition to primarily using no-clean flux, and why more and more companies are reintroducing board cleaning back into their assembly process.
Mike recently reached out to us and offered to talk about the 2018 changes to the IPC cleanliness standards and why adoption of the new standard has been slow at best due to the lack of understanding of the standard's details. We of course jumped at the opportunity...
We hope you enjoy this episode that is most definitely more entertaining than watching grass grow.
Listen to Chris on the Being and Engineer podcast
This week we are joined by Valentina Ratner and Kyle Dumont, co-founders of AllSpice.io. Valentina and Kyle met while doing an MBA program at Harvard and realized they both shared a common frustration - the lack of asynchronous design review tools available for electrical engineers despite such tools being readily available for other engineering fields like mechanical and software. Thus they joined forces to create AllSpice.
AllSpice is a git platform for hardware engineers that helps them to accelerate their time to market by enabling modern revision control and collaboration for native electronic designs.
We had a great time having them on the show to learn more about AllSpice as well as Valentina's hatred of sharp-edged rectangles
Show links:
- AllSpice website: allspice.io
- The Git for Hardware Guide: https://content.allspice.io/en-us/git-for-hardware-guide
- Questions / Demo: info@allspice.io
CircuitHub CAM engineer, Dave Wilcox is back on the show to teach us more about the PCB fabrication process. In our last episode with Dave, we went into the fine details of drilling a PCB. Today we move on to the next step Outer Layer Imaging.
We apologize for our extended break! Chris has been hard at work from morning til late at night every day setting up Worthington's two new Fuji pick and place machines. Now that some of the dust has settled we hope to get back on a more regular recording schedule.
We've had several requests from our listeners to have an episode on on impedance control, which is unfortunately a topic Chris and Melissa have little expertise on. Fortunately we were able to connect with Ryan Miller from NCAB group who specializes in the subject and kindly agreed to come on the show to give us a lesson on what impedance control is, in what situations is it necessary, and more.
In episode 19, we focused on the different types of depanelization methods that can be used during assembly. In this episode, we take a deeper dive into panelization, how we decide what panelization methods and sizes to use, and how this informs depanelization.
In this episode, which might just be our nerdiest one yet, we are joined by Sam Feller, aka The Awkward Engineer. First and foremost he would like everyone to know that he is the awkward one, the engineering is top notch.
Sam is a long time Worthington/CircuitHub customer, product manager at Tulip, former engineer at Amazon, and founder of the Awkward Engineer where he works on quirky hardware project and now does consulting!
It was a pleasure to have Sam on the show. Some of the topics we touch on include:
- Why having common stock parts set up on reels is not actually the simplest idea to execute.
- Interesting sourcing stories.
- Soldering techniques for building prototypes
- The importance of having structured processes in place for your hardware of software development team .
- Sam's vickrey auction for his Voltmeter Clocks
If you want to get in touch with Sam you can email him at questions@awkwardengineer.com
We're back! In this episode we talk about what we were busy doing on our "break", the different types and formats that solder comes in, and some unfortunate consequences that sometimes occur while eating chips.
Last week Chris was a guest on the Coriolis Effect, a podcast hosted by Bil Herd and Ben Jordan. Since we are still on hiatus (and because the episode was so great) we decided to repost the conversation.
Don't worry, we expect to be back next episode with some new, fun and content and plenty of pet peeves!
Sometimes things are difficult to build....enter the help of custom tooling! In this episode, we highlight some of the applications for which we might order custom tooling, how they can help us assemble boards more efficiently and accurately, and some things you might want to do if you'd like to avoid custom tooling becoming necesesary.
Show Links:Stentech products
Intrusive soldering, also known as pin-in-paste, is a method that uses solder paste to solder the thru-hole leads instead of hand soldering, wave soldering, or selective soldering. If designed properly, it's a great way to save time and money during pcb assembly. In this episode, we discuss how intrusive soldering is done, challenges associated with this process, and design recommendations.
Episode links:
Wurth USB-C Guide
Our favorite USB-C port
Flux is friend. Not foe.
To create a solder joint, you have a lot working against you. Boards, parts, the air...it’s all very cold compared to the melting point of solder. Those are easily overcome with a good heat source in the way of a soldering iron, wave solder, or selective solder. However, none of this will do you a lick of good without flux because metal oxide is the biggest challenge you have to combat.
In this episode, we go over flux's role in fighting the oxide layer that forms during PCB assembly, the basic chemistry of flux, what cold solder joints are, and more.
It's a fact of life that defects and failed boards will sometimes occur, which is why it's so important to have a debugging procedure prepared to help your CM know how to move forward. In this episode, we talk about best practices on how to work with your CM when these problems arise.
We've finally managed to convince CircuitHub CAM Engineer, Dave Wilcox, to come back on the show to continue our series about the intricacies of PCB fabrication. If you're just tuning in, we recommend you listen to our episodes about Inner Layer Production and PCB Drilling Basics before this one.
In this episode, we cover some of the finer details of PCB drilling including what the drilling setup physically looks like and tips you can implement to save your PCB fab time. We also learn that Melissa really needs to work on her email management setup.
Similar to our discussion on ESD a few episodes back, moisture is also a "silent killer" for many electronic components. In this episode, we talk about what kind of damage moisture can cause in components, what precautions we take in the factory when working with moisture-sensitive devices, the different levels of moisture sensitivity, and measures you should take at home to protect your MSDs. Chris also has an excellent pet peeve related to public bathroom doors.
Show links:
Complimentary digital download of the ANSI-S20.20-2014 spec
A Minute with Miranda
IPC Handling Moisture-Sensitive Devices
Non-reversible humidity indicator cards
IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020E Preview
IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033D Preview
Uline heat sealer
Moisture barrier bag selection chart
Silica gel packs on Amazon
IPC is a global trade organization whose goal is to help OEMs, EMS, PCB manufacturers, and suppliers build electronics better. They provide numerous standards covering the electronics manufacturing supply chain as well as engineering education and training. We're very grateful to have IPC employees Teresa Rowe, Sr. Director, Assembly & Standards Technology and Patrick Crawford, Manager of Design Standards and Related Industry Programs join us in this episode.
We discuss how the standards created by IPC provide value, the process that goes into creating and updating different standards, how members can take advantage of IPC's extensive offerings, and more.
This episode also features our best pet peeve yet!
If you'd like to submit a comment on one of the standards feel free to email answers@ipc.org.
For interest in the PCB design competition email patrickCrawford@ipc.org.
* Edit: At 1:06 Patrick wanted to note that he was referring to perpendicular routing, not parallel.
In today's episode, we are joined by Darren Beckwith, CTO of Barnacle Systems. Barnacle Systems is a startup based in Victoria, Canada which provides security and monitoring products for boats and yachts. We chat with Darren about his many years working at Carmanah Technologies where he worked as a firmware engineer along with a larger engineering team and some of the struggles he encountered after transitioning to a much small startup.
Show Links:
SNL: NPR's Delicious Dish
ESD (Electro Static Discharge) is an invisible, silent killer for PCBs. Protecting your boards from ESD damage while they're in the factory and being shipped to you is something we take very seriously. In today's episode we talk about what ESD is,how it damages your boards, and measures that should be taken to prevent this damage from occurring including what you can do at home.
Episode Links:
ESD Association
ESD Overview
The dangers of ESD
What is a Faraday cage?
Anti-static vs static shielding bags
Uline Anti-static bags
Visual of microcircuit ESD damage
The worm
ESD table mat
Mat grounder
Wrist strap grounders
Heel strap grounders
Smocks
ESD continuous monitor
Affordable ESD mat kit
ESD gas station fire
Consigned material is material purchased and sent to the CM by you, the customer. From your CMs point of view, managing consigned material can sometimes be tricky, especially if the material does not arrive how they were expecting it to. Here are our recommendations on how you can send your consigned material that will make the process go as smoothly as possible.
http://docs.circuithub.com/en/articles/62935-how-do-i-consign-parts-to-the-factory
In this episode, we are joined by Duncan Lowder and Joe Selvik, co-founders of FixturFab, to learn about how to develop a PCBA functional test system. FixturFab is a software design platform that uses generative Computer-Aided Design (CAD) technologies to automate the design process of PCBA Functional Test Fixtures. They can assist with Mechanical Fixture, the Test Instrumentation, and Test Software for both small prototype runs and mass production.
Show links:
FixturFab Blog
Flying Probe Testers
In-Circuit Tester
Wire Bonding Machine
Ingun Test Fixture
In today's episode, Chris teaches us about different categories of components that don't use a traditional surface mount or through-hole mounting methods. Think epoxy mounting, press-fit, mechanical assembly, swaging hardware, snap sockets, dome switches, hot bar soldering wires and cables, adhesive tape, and RTV.
Exciting news, Chris is a guest host on Hackaday Chat! Join him on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, 12:00 pm PST (3 PM eastern): https://hackaday.io/event/183578-pick-and-place-hack-chat
Episode links:
Epoxy capacitor mounting explained
TE whitepaper discussing the details of press-fit parts
Press-fit design and assembly considerations
How to determine a torque specification
Snap socket example
Dome switch example
Hot bar soldering machine
3M VHB Tape
MG Chemicals RTV
We talk a lot about equipment and techniques used to assembly PCBs, but wanted to dedicate an episode to focus on the people who are actually getting the work done. In this episode, we talk to Worthington employee, David Mulherin, about how to keep work output high in a high-stress manufacturing environment while also making sure factory workers feel like they are valued.
Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year or Spring Festival) is a welcome and well-deserved break for Chinese workers. However, it is also a notoriously stressful time for the global manufacturing industry. In today's episode, we give you a manufacturer's perspective of why it is usually such a disruptive period.
Links:
Some fun (non-manufacturing related) facts about Chinese New Year
Information on 2022 Chinese New Year closures
China post-Lunar New Year job exodus
We love it when PCB orders run through the assembly line smooth as butter. Inevitably, however, sometimes things do get delayed. On today's episode, we sat down with CircuitHub Production Manager, Rob OConnell, on the biggest showstoppers that cause orders to run late and some things customers can do to prevent this from happening.
Chris' KiCon 2019 Talk - Your Manufacturer is Stupid
The Perfect 0402 Footprint
First articles, also known as batch run or first-run amongst other terms, is when a customer requests the first several finished PCBAs from a production run be delivered for inspection before the entire quantity is built. In this episode we go over when it's appropriate to request first articles (and when it's not), the difference between first articles and prototypes, examples of how using first articles has benefitted our customers. Chris also introduces us to his fascinating new theory regarding the pen industry.
How to request first articles from CircuitHub
Worthington is in the process of upgrading its pick and place machinery. In order to do that requires a long process of evaluating potential new suppliers. Chris walks us through what that journey is like, why a contract manufacturer may need to upgrade its equipment, his recent in-person visit to one of the suppliers they've narrowed down to, and more!
This episode is dedicated to fiducials which, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, are the small copper dots you may have seen on your bare PCB. We get into the details of what they are, where and why are they are used, and how you can use them in your design.
https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/blog/2014/12/29/what-are-fiducials-and-why-are-they-useful
If you are already using fiducials in your designs tweet us a photo or screenshot of them with the hashtag #fiducialsFTW :)
To celebrate reaching 10,000 downloads of the podcast, Chris and Melissa mix things up and interview each other so that you can get to know your hosts better!
We talk about what we were doing before joining CircuitHub and Worthington, our journeys towards getting there, imposter syndrome, our love affair with Grape Nuts, and more!
We're very excited to be joined on this episode by Ben Jordan. Ben, who was previously at Altium for many years, now works at Autodesk as a Senior Product Manager for the Fusion 360 Electronics product.
We chat about:
- Why we call them DuPont headers
- Machine pin headers are awesome
- A brief history of Altium's founding in Australia as Protel Systems
- Chris' love for Australia
- Lots of Ben's dad jokes
- The Coriolis Effect, Ben's new show with Bil Herd
- Fusion 360 - the benefits of using a unified ECAD-MCAD-SIM software platform
- Chris has finally found a perforated cardboard tab that actually works: https://www.packworld.com/issues/sustainability/article/21136720/nespresso-coffee-capsule-made-from-80-recycled-content
- Ben's pet peeve - people who abuse nonstick pans
As a continuation of last week's episode with CircuitHub CAM Engineer, Dave Wilcox, we discuss the basics of what happens during the PCB drilling process. We also drill into some fun topics including the confusing inconsistencies regarding the recommended tolerance on JST connectors and why NC drill data is so difficult to interpret.
Listen to these other great episodes with Dave!
The PCB CAM Process
Bare PCB Materials
An Overview of Bare PCB Fabrication
Inner Layer Production
We're joined again by CircuitHub CAM Engineer Dave Wilcox to talk more about bare circuit board manufacturing. In this episode we Dave teaches us what happens during the inner layer production process.
Check out more episodes with Dave!
The PCB CAM Process
Bare PCB Materials
An Overview of Bare PCB Fabrication
In today's episode Chris, a self proclaimed novice engineer, touches on the layout process and how small decisions can have a significant impact on assembly. We provide some on advice on the best proximity of vias with adjacent pads and plated thru-holes, edge clearance, fiducials, and more.
Useful articles:
https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/blog/2014/12/29/what-are-fiducials-and-why-are-they-useful
https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/blog/2018/6/20/recessing-your-pcb-edge-for-perforated-tabs
Although we like to keep our episodes targeted towards anyone who is interested in PCB assembly as a whole, we know that many of our listeners are CircuitHub customers. In this episode we sat down with John Jacquinet, who is an Account Manager at CircuitHub.
We talk to John about how his work experience as en electrical engineer influenced his views when moving over to the assembly side, how to take advantage of the Account Manager team's help at CircuitHub, and customer best and worst practices.
P.S. If you're only interested in listening to Chris' 15 minute rant regarding poorly designed pull tabs, feel free to skip to 59:30.
Useful documentation:
http://docs.circuithub.com/en/articles/62935-how-do-i-consign-parts-to-the-factory
https://circuithub.com/pcb-stackups
When are through hole components recommended over surface mount components, and vice versa? The answer is not always straightforward. In this episode we break down the cost, reliability and application implications of using SMT vs through hole parts in your design.
Bare board destacker: https://youtu.be/b94-3rr_BHg
Test Point Part Numbers
- Harwin - S2761-46R - https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/harwin-inc/S2761-46R/5250500
- Keystone - 5019 - https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/keystone-electronics/5019/3907343
- KOA Speer - RCUCTE - https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/koa-speer-electronics-inc/RCUCTE/11476561
In this episode we continue our conversation with Mike Rankins and Gary Shanahan, supply chain specialists at Digi-Key. (If you haven't listened to the first half about the global electronics parts shortage, we definitely recommend it). In the second half we take a broader look at what electronics distributors like Digikey are, what role they play, and what value adds the provide in addition to selling components.
The current global electronics parts shortage is affecting all of us in this industry. We had the pleasure of chatting with Mike Rankins and Gary Shanahan, supply chain specialists at Digi-Key, to break down the details of the shortage from their perspective. We discuss how this parts shortage is different than those in the past, what is causing it, how Digi-Key is navigating it, and more.
In the second half of our conversation with Mike Konrad of Aqueous Technologies we talk all about how to implement a board cleaning process.
If you're just tuning in we recommend that you listen to the first half of our conversation with Mike where we learn about the history of board cleaning and why board cleaning is useful, before listening to this one.
In this episode we are joined by Mike Konrad to chat about board cleaning. Mike founded Aqueous Technologies in 1992 in response to the Montreal Protocol and the resulting international treaty banning most popular cleaning/defluxing solvents. Their board cleaning equipment assists manufacturers with increasing product reliability while saving both water and energy, reducing the industry's environmental impact.
In addition to being the president of Aqueous Tech, he is also a fellow podcaster and runs the Reliability Matters Podcast, which discusses reliability of circuit assemblies, reliability "best practices" and success stories.
In the first part of this conversation we delve into the history of board cleaning, the electronics the industry's transition to primarily using no-clean flux, and why more and more companies are reintroducing board cleaning back into their assembly process.
If you want to listen to us get into the nitty gritty details of how to implement a proper circuit board cleaning process, make sure to listen to the second half of this episode.
On this episode we are joined by Nicole Poirier who works in the receiving and shipping department at Worthington. She walks us through how we prepare the boards to leave our facility on their end journey to your doorstep. Although it might not seem like the most glamorous step of pcb assembly, we cover a lot of important topics including:
- Importance of using ESD packing materials.
- Different types of filler material
- Importance of packing slips
- Dealing with international shipments and customs
- Packing boards with weird board and/or part geometries
On this episode we have CircuitHub CAM engineer, Dave Wilcox, back on the show to walk us through the CAM process.
-What is the CAM process all about? What is its purpose?
-Dave briefly discusses how CAM used to be done "back in the day"
-We go through the main steps of the CAM process.
1. Silkscreen
2. Soldermask
3. Copper
4. Drill
6. Route
Have a pet peeve you'd like to get off your chest? We'd love to include it in the show!
Want to get in touch? Email us at contact@pickplacepodcast.com or tweet us @CircuitHub or @WAssembly.
What does a NASA JPL underwater vehicle that monitors methane bubbles in the arctic, robots that kill invasive species of starfish, and a robotics swan light show have in common? They are all examples that have used marine robotics components created by Blue Robotics.
We're so excited to have CircuitHub customer, Rusty Jehangir, on the show. He shares his story of how an idea to send a solar powered robotic surfboard from Los Angeles to Hawaii transformed into a company that provides the world's most affordable high-performance ROV and marine robotics components.
Learn more about Blue Robotics.
PCB Depaneling is the process of breaking the individual PCBs out of the panel that is used to assemble the boards and is typically one of the very last steps assembled circuit boards go through before they are shipped.
Show Notes:
First, what are panels and why do we use them?
What factors dictate which panelization and breakout method is used?
What types of depaneling methods can be used?
What else happens during this step?
Guide to V-Scoring
Recommendations
- Consider how your product fits into its final location . Are there areas that must be dimensionally accurate?
- Consider using recessed tabs (mouse-bites)
Everyone deserves to live in an environment free of pollutants. This is something that today's guest is especially passionate about.
On this episode we're joined by Jack McLeans to discuss sensors.AFRICA, a pan-African citizen science initiative that uses low-cost sensors to monitor air, water and sound pollution to give citizens actionable information about their cities.
sensors.AFRICA is a project under Code for Africa, which is Africa’s Largest Civic Technology + Open Data + Data Journalism Initiative. The initiative is open source; if you're interested in learning more or contributing check out their GitHub page.
In this episode Dave Wilcox, CAM engineer at CircuitHub, joins us again to educate us on bare printed circuit board materials....think prepreg, laminate etc.
Show Notes:
-FR4 is the most common, widely available PCB material. It is a woven glass cloth filled with epoxy resin the is bonded together to form sheets of prepreg and laminate
-If a circuit board were a sandwich, the laminate is the bread and the prepreg is the filling.
-We discuss differences in FR4 used for lead vs lead free process.
-What does high TG and the different TG ratings mean?
-We briefly touch on some more exotic materials.
-The laminate comes in different thicknesses laminated with different copper weights that are used to build different stackups.
-Copper foil is used on the outside and also come in different weights.
-What does is mean to be UL approved and how to PCB fabs get UL approval?
-Sometimes more sheets of prepreg are used to get greater resin content.
-How do the different materials arrive at the PCB fab?
-Pet peeves - the news and printers.
On today's episode we continue on with our technical subseries about the assembly process. We delve into selective soldering, which is used to solder through hold components onto boards.
Show notes:
-We answer a question from a listener about tomb stoning, why it is no longer as prevalent in pcb assembly today, and how to prevent it
-https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/perfect-0201-footprint
-https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/perfect-0402-footprint
-Worthington uses selective soldering machines made by RPS Automation which is now ---Hentec Industries - https://rpsautomation.com/vector460/
-Need to see it to understand it. https://youtu.be/p-VImd2yW5s
-Stages of selective soldering - we use 1. preheat 2. flux 3. solder
-Advantages vs disadvantages of selective soldering
-Design tips to make it go more smoothly
Welcome to the new year!
This episode is a continuation of our conversation with Eli Hughes of Tzero. If you haven't checked out the first part, we recommend you do so first before listening to this episode.
Show notes:
-Without first building relationships, trust can't be established.
-Even though engineers are dealing with highly technical problems, most have underpinning problems that aren't technical in nature.
-Eli's episode on the Amp Hour.
-Opinion: American chocolate is so much better than European/International chocolate.
-Pet peeve: Fans saying that "we won" the game.
-The importance of having diversity in gaining different perspectives.
-Are women better at assembling circuit boards?
-This is the best USB-C port.
-Eli's contact info: Twitter - @emh203 / Email: eli.hughes@tzerolabs.com
On this episode, we chat with a CircuitHub customer, Eli Hughes. He tells about how his work at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory and background in acoustics led to the founding of Tzero Labs.
We also have a great conversation with him about the importance of building strong relationships with both your teammates and suppliers. The trust that comes out of it will ultimately help everyone work through the mistakes that inevitably pop up during the manufacturing process.
Show notes:
-Chris discusses a unique, recent situation where Worthington was having difficulty placing a part even though the customer did everything correctly in designing their footprint.
-We're talking to Eli Hughes, co-founder of Tzero Labs, which makes a real time fermentation monitoring system.
-Eli talks about his perspective, as an engineer, of what happens when things in manufacturing go wrong and how he's tries to prevent those errors.
-Eli: "While technical skills are important, understanding how to interact with other humans to build truly great organizations is the #1 key to success. Communication, curiosity and culture are of upmost importance in today's organizations. Get those three things right and groups of ordinary people can do extraordinary things."
-When you build a relationship with people, the fact that you made a mistake isn't what you're worried about.
-Founders of Tzero Labs came out of the Pennsylvania State Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) which is a U.S. Navy University Affiliated Research Center.
-Eli discusses the story behind Tzero Labs was formed and what exactly their product does.
-We touch on the importance of building trust in your business relationships.
We had such a great time chatting with Eli that we ended up with nearly 3 hours of recording. The second half of our conversation will be coming out in the new year.
Thank you to each and every one of you who tune into our show. It truly puts a smile on our face when we hear you tell us you've been enjoying it. We have a ton of content to talk about in 2021 and we can't wait!
We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday season!
-Melissa and Chris
In this episode we delve into the process of Automated Optical Inspection (AOI). We cover what details of the circuit board AOI looks at, what kinds of defects can be checked during AOI, and the differences and benefits of 2D AOI vs 3D AOI. Chris also goes into some misconceptions regarding AOI and how you can design your CircuitHub to make it go through the AOI process more seamlessly.
Even though we talk a lot about PCB assembly on this show, one aspect of the process still remains a bit of a mystery to Chris and Melissa - the ins and out of the PCB fabrication process. On this episode are joined by Dave Wilcox, a CAM engineer at CircuitHub who has been working with PCBs for 32 years. Dave gives us a 10,000 ft level overview of the PCB fab process, using a simple, standard 1.6mm thick, 2-layer board as an example. He breaks it down into all the steps that have to take place in order to have a finished circuit board that is ready to be assembled:
- Engineering/CAM
- Drilling
- Print Outer layers
- Plating and Etching
- Solder Mask
- Surface finish - ENIG/HASL
- Silkscreen
- Routing
As always if you have any questions for us (or Dave), you can email us at contact@pickplacepodcast.com or tweet us @CircuitHub or @WAssembly.
Welcome to another week! This episode Chris and Melissa discuss reflow soldering - the high volume soldering method that melts all of the solder at the same time and sets it to the circuit board. Even though it's a relatively simple process, it's a step that is really important to get right.
We go over the following:
-What is reflow soldering?
-Why is it important and why are we dedicating an episode to talking about it?
-Types of reflow ovens:
- Vapor Phase
- IR
- Convection
-What is a Reflow Profile?
-Types of profiles:
- Ramp, soak, spike
- Ramp to spike
-What are the different stages of the profile?
-What aspects of the PCB design have an influence on how well an assembly will reflow?-----Why are the earlier process steps within surface mount assembly critical to an effective reflow soldering process?
-Any design tips to help ensure effect reflow solder?
A reminder that our giveaway for free assembly credit is still going on! For details on how you can claim $100 of CircuitHub assembly credit make sure to check out our last episode.
If you have any questions about the show, PCB assembly, or just want to say hi you can email us at contact@pickplacepodcast.com or tweet us @CircuitHub or @WAssembly. We'd love to hear from you!
Welcome to our 10th episode of the podcast! Not only is this our 10th full episode, but we also have recently surpassed 1,000 episode downloads.
As a thank you to all our listeners we're giving away $100 of credit to ten people that can be used on PCB assembly of any future CircuitHub order.
Rules:
- Send us a tweet (or a LinkedIn post if you don't have Twitter) letting us know something that you've enjoyed or learned from the show so far.
- Make sure to mention both @CircuitHub and @WAssembly.
- The credit will be rewarded to the first ten posts.
- Credit can only be used towards assembly (not parts or bare boards).
On this episode we talk to Joel Murphy, an electro-mechanical designer and fabricator with 15 years of hands-on experience in the design of products and small scale production tooling. He's also a huge advocate for the Open Source Hardware movement, founder of Flywheel Lab, OpenBCI and more!
We had an awesome time chatting to Joel about how his work as a visual artist has enabled him to find a creative approach to problem solving in the electronics engineers and programming space that most engineers typically wouldn't think of.
Show notes:
- Joel's background:
- He started out making jewelry and small metal objects and later moved into making kinetic sculptures.
- He started using different motivational forces for his sculptures including wind and gravity. Over time he started introducing more motorized things into his sculptures. His introduction into electronics began using relays to control different parts of the machine.
- He became a physical computing professor at Parson's School of Design in New York.
- We chat Joel's experience getting electronics made:
- Flywheel Labs
- Having the mindset of an artist rather than an engineer has helped him find workarounds to problems that people normally wouldn't even think of.
- World Famous Electronics - maker of the Pulse Sensor
- Joel's advocacy of the Open Source Hardware movement:
- Being able to learn from open source designs has helped him become a better engineer.
- Relationship between patents and oshw - how they work in cooperation or opposition
- Je credits OSHW to allowing him to get where he is in this field
- Open BCI - Open source brain computer interface, open source EEG machine
- Disadvantages of OSHW
- Joel also recently contributed to the MIT E-vent emergency ventilator project.
- Regulations around building life saving devices.
- We go into importance of communicating with your manufacturer special considerations and expectations you may have - real people who want to do a great job are behind building your stuff.
- If you have questions about components call the distributor or part manufacturer directly, they want
- Pet peeves:
- Bad letter kerning
- Footprints drawn in reverse on datasheets
If you'd like to get in contact with Joel or check out some of his work you can visit https://www.biomurph.com/
Want to get in touch with us? Email us at contact@pickplacepodcast.com or tweet us @CircuitHub or @WAssembly.
We think one of the best ways to understand what goes into PCB assembly is to speak to the experts themselves, those who spend day in and day out building your stuff!
On this week's episode we speak to Beata Laskowski, a quality control inspector at Worthington. Originally from Poland, Beata has been working in the electronics manufacturing industry for over thirteen years, seven and a half of which have been at Worthington. If you're a CircuitHub customer, it's possible you've had some back and forth communication with her answering questions on your order!
PCB assembly inspection is arguably one of the most important parts of assembly process as it ensures all components are placed and soldered correctly before your finished PCBs are shipped off to you.
We had a great time chatting with Beata about what her day looks like, the types of challenges she faces and how she makes sure that the boards we deliver are of top quality!
Show Notes:
What is the first article process like and why is it such a crucial step?
We touch on how using CircuitHub has improved Beata's daily workflow.
What is the inspection process like, what do we look for, and how to we make sure that the quality is there?
Beata also performs a lot of rework on components. She explains some of the challenges she's faced.
What are the advantages of 3D AOI inspection over 2D AOI inspection?
Design recommendations:
- If possible, use polarity markings on your boards that are still visible once parts have been placed.
- If you don't have a color preference, choose green soldermask since they are the easiest to process.
- If you have pictures of past pcbs you've had built elsewhere, include them with your order.
If you have any questions or feedback email us at contact@pickplacepodcast.com or tweet us @CircuitHub or @WAssembly!
What happens to your bag of trash after you throw it in the dumpster? Most of us probably don't want to think in depth about this, but it's a problem that is constantly on the mind of this week's guest.
We had the pleasure of chatting with Matthew Laderer, Director of Engineering and Product Development at Loci Controls. Loci Controls' automated landfill gas collection platform increases landfill gas collection by 20% or more, ensures less methane is being released into the atmosphere, and reduces environmental, health, and safety risks.
We discuss what exactly Loci Controls does and why it's mission is so important, Matt's involvement with the company, his experience going from mechanical engineer to sourcing circuit boards, and more
Show notes:
- Follow up question from previous episode: "You guys recommend to explicitly request filling those vias so the molten solder doesn't drain through it in the reflow stage. I was wondering why you don't do this by default for all vias with solder paste on them?"
- More pcb design tips - circuithub.com/post/how-to-save-money-on-your-bext-pcb-project-part-2
- Chris' pet peeve/design tip of the week: include the silkscreen outline of overhanging parts
- For more information on Loci Controls you can visit: https://www.locicontrols.com/
If you ever have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to email us at info@pickplacepodcast.com or tweet us @CircuitHub or @WAssembly :)
On this week's episode we talk about something that at first glance might seem mundane, but is actually one of the most important
steps and literally the foundation in pcb assembly: past printing. In fact, approximately 65% of all assembly defects come from this process. Chris breaks down all of the components that are a part of the often misunderstood process and provides some design tips on how to make it go smoother.
Show notes:
-Chris will be speaking at the upcoming virtual Altium Live conference. This year's event is free! https://www.altium.com/summit/
-We discuss what paste printing is and why it's so important.
Solder paste
-What is paste, what is it used for, and what are the different types of paste that can be used?
-Clean vs no clean paste
-Metal whiskering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)
Jet printing vs stencil printing
-What is the difference between jet printing and stencil printing and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
-https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/blog/2015/4/9/visit-to-mycronic-to-learn-about-the-my600-jet-printer
Process
-What does the stencil printing process look like?
Stencils
-How are stencils made and what are they made of?
-http://www.stentech.com/Products/stencils
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEcJvpinco
-https://nanoslic.com/nanoslic-coating-system/
Design tips:
-Use appropriately sized parts.
-Always avoid gang masking
-Tips to avoid via-in-pad issues
-Don't assume we'll use your data. Just leave it 1:1
-Be specific if you want paste on test points or battery contacts
-https://www.photostencil.com/technical-papers.php
This week we are joined by Dugan Karnazes, CEO of design firm Velocity Research and Nadim Conti, System & Electronic Designer at the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Collaboration Member at CERN to talk about about their involvement with the Open Source Ventilator (OSV) Project. We discuss how COVID-19 disrupted their normal work lives, how OSV evolved, the importance of the project being open source, and more.
Official website for the Open Source Ventilator project: https://opensourceventilator.ie/
Assembly of the Open Source Ventilator boards by Worthington and CircuitHub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pweALaGK-W0&t=3s
Nadim Conti:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadimconti/en
Website: www.nadimconti.com
Email : info@nadimconti.com
Dugan Karnazes:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dugan-karnazes/
Website: velocityresearch.co
email: info@velocityresearch.co
OSV Specific email: covid19@velocityresearch.co
Twitter: @Velocity_RD
Instagram: @velocity_research
Facebook: @VelocityResearchGR
On this week's episode we talk about the pick and place assembly process (which also served as the inspiration for our show name) - the process of placing parts onto circuit boards using automated machines.
We recap on how we've been adjusting in the factory amidst the continuing pandemic and how we're dealing with some of the growing pains as business starts to boom again.
We discuss the steps after the parts are kitted that have to be done to get the board ready to be assembled:
- The parts have to be loaded onto a feeder.
- Loading an 8mm MyData feeder https://youtu.be/HU88ym0sdEQ
- The feeders are placed in a magazine.
We briefly discuss the different types of feeders and magazines that are available. and the environmental impact of different types of equipment.
- MyData magazine advancement mechanism https://youtu.be/5ytCNuvdB2w
We talk about parts that don't come on tape and reel and how they are loaded differently.
Once the parts are all loaded on to the machine, we describe the steps that have to be done in order to get it ready to run. We discuss the ifferent types tools that are used to pick parts up and place them on the board and the technology that is used to make sure parts are being placed precisely and accurately.
- MyData machine in action https://youtu.be/B_bllEK55JU
- "Chip shooter" style pick and place machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nah4BQ9y8IY
- "Odd form" style pick and place machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUxBMUS45Kg
Chris gives some advice on things you can do (and things we would prefer you to avoid) in order to make the pick and place process run smoother.
On the next episode: We'll be speaking to Dugan and Nadim about their involvement with the Open Source Ventilator project.
In part 2 of our episode about parts purchasing with Brett and Magnus from Worthington, we talk about things we think customers should know about the process of purchasing parts and also the topic of parts consignments.
If you’re just tuning it, make sure to listen to part 1 first!
In part 1 we discussed what Magnus and Brett do for Worthington and CircuitHub, questions customers frequently ask us about parts and purchasing, and recommendations we have for customers.
This week we’re talking about things we think customers should know about the process of purchasing parts and also the topic of parts consignments.
Show notes
Attrition
-What is attrition and why is it required?
-Different reasons for attrition - reader attrition caused by loading the feeders vs attrition caused by the machine.
-How do we decide how much attrition to buy for each part?
Purchasing for production
-Purchasing parts for a prototype order vs production order?
-Parts discounts for multiple repeat production orders.
-What is the process of getting custom quotes for parts?
-How does quantity affect lead time?
-How are parts affected when scaling from prototype to production volume?
-What is involved from the part vendor’s perspective to get parts picked and delivered?
-Options for parts that are going out of stock that are critical components?
Consignments
-What scenarios do customers choose to have us consign parts rather than having us buy them?
-Best practices for sending parts to your manufacturer.
-Deadlines for sending consigned parts.
-Why don’t we like to accept fully consigned kits.
This week we are joined by Brett and Magnus from Worthington to talk about parts and parts purchasing. They answer frequent questions customers ask us about parts and provide a few part related recommendations.
Intro
- Brett and Magnus give us a brief overview of what they do at Worthington and what they did before joining Worthington.
- We reflect on a twelve pound circuit board we are making and some of the challenges that come along with building something so big!
- Brett and Magnus discuss the differences in the part buying process for Worthington vs CircuitHub.
- How has COVID-19 affect parts purchasing and shipping?
Questions from customers
- Why is this out of stock?
- Why is my order held up? (What causes delays in delivering a product to a customer?)
- Why are these parts more expensive than when we previously bought them?
- We talk about how tariffs on parts get handled and billed (it’s not as simple as you might think).
- What is markup and why does it exist?
Recommendations to customers
- Use parts that are widely available in the supply chain.
- Specify alternative parts that can be substituted whenever possible.
- Keep the lifecycle of the part in mind when designing your board - don’t use parts that are obsolete or nearing their EOL.
- Keep MOQs in mind.
- Small decisions early on can have a huge impact later on.
- Avoid using parts from hobbyist website - they are great for your personal projects but are not designed for professionally produced products.
- Be very careful (and sometimes suspicious) of buying parts from unauthorized distributors.
- Ask us if there’s anything different that they could do to improve the purchasing process?
Up nextWe’ll continue the second half of the conversation in the next episode to discuss this things we wish customers knew and the whole subject of consignment.
On episode 2 of the Pick, Place, Podcast, Chris Denney gives us an overview of the pcb assembly process - everything that happens after you place an order until when your boards are shipped.
Show outline:
- We discuss the difference between placing an order at Worthington vs CircuitHub.
- The three first steps happen in conjunction: Gerber data is submitted to begin board fab, the BOM is verified and purchased, the Gerber data and XY data is used to program the machines that will be assembling the boards.
- These first three steps typically begin within the first 24 hours of submitting an order.
- The board fab shop does a CAM process that verifies that your design is actually manufacturable.
- The fab shop will send us an array file, which has the individualized design panelized that allows us to assemble the design automatically via machines.
- The array data is used to program the stencil printer, pick and place machine, selective solder machine and AOI machine.
- The BOM is purchased only from authorized distributors and customers send us any consigned parts.
- After the parts come in they go through a kitting process.
- Once the parts, bare boards and stencil are kitted they are released to the floor to be assembled.
- The surface mount team loads the job onto the pick and place machine feeders.
- Wet, tacky solder paste is printed onto the boards using the stencil.
- The boards and parts are loaded onto the pick and place machine where the vacuum tools on the machine will suck up the parts and place them onto the machine.
- Solid solder joints are created by running the board panels through a reflow oven.
- The boards then go through AOI (automated optical inspection) which determines whether the parts are there and if they are placed correctly.
- If a board is double sided it repeats the whole process.
- Through hole parts gets inserted by hand and soldered using a selective solder machine or by hand.
- The boards are inspected by humans.
- The boards are de-panelized into individual boards.
- The boards are wrapped in ESD safe bubble wrap and ESD shielded bags and then shipped.
- We've shipped to every continent except Antarctica!
- You finally get your boards!
- What topics are listeners most interested in learning more about?
- On the next episode we'll be talking to Brett from Worthington to talk about part purchasing.
Join hosts Chris Denney and Melissa Hough as they discuss their involvement with CircuitHub and Worthington. Find out what you can expect to learn on the Pick, Place, Podcast.