As I See It
Surviving to Thriving
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Last month, I talked about the opportunities that now exist because of the disruption caused by the pandemic. Over the past editions of PumaNews, you’ve seen our Insulectro teammates talk candidly about the challenges and successes they’ve experienced in their journey to adapt.
Similar journeys have been forged by our customers, suppliers, designers, and OEMs. For everyone, it’s been a mad scramble to find new ways to communicate with each other and keep business flowing by reinventing presence, productivity and collaboration. Fortunately, science and technology – specifically network connectivity - have been the ammo needed to target and knockdown some notable success.
Without the infrastructure that makes our phones, computers, tablets and smart TVs connect to Email, Messenger, Webex, Microsoft® Teams, Salesforce, Zoom, LinkedIn, Netflix, Hulu, Twitter, and a million other services and platforms, it would be very difficult to work from home in our day and age. It’s that connectivity that is taking us from surviving to thriving.
This month’s newsletter is studded with examples of how this has worked for us: Insulectro is launching its first virtual OEM Forum on August 20, and DuPont and Prismark are presenting a webinar on August 25. Add to that, Insulectro’s nearly two dozen Virtual PowerChats™ that can bring material science and design education into your company. It truly is a time of collaboration.
You’ll also see articles of how we are automating processes in our company to provide accurate inventory availability faster, and get a glimpse of our plan to upgrade equipment and capabilities throughout our distribution centers.
Last month, we welcomed Industrial Brush Corporation into the Insulectro family of best-in-class suppliers.
This month, as I hinted before, we welcome two more world-class suppliers Kemmer Praezision GmbH, manufacturer of drills, routers, and endmills; and Shur-Loc, manufacturer of frames and mesh panels used in the screening of soldermask inks. Two more vital product lines available to our customers.
And, a highlight of the month was participating in TTM Technologies’ Global Supplier Conference and being named as a Top 10 Global Supplier. We are grateful for the relationship Insulectro enjoys with TTM and thank them for this recognition.
Without technologies, we would be hard-pressed to have adapted so quickly - if at all - to such a sudden and drastic disruption to the way we live and work.
A vast ecosystem of technology solutions have made adapting to this crisis possible and opened up infinite new possibilities.
Patrick Redfern
President & CEO
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- Insulectro named Top 10 Global Supplier by TTM
- Two New Suppliers Expand our Line Card
- First OEM Forum on Material Science and Design Education 8/20
- What's where? Inventory Availability Gets Automated
- DuPont's Advanced Substrate Tedlar® positioned for big impact
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At TTM's recent Global Supplier Conference, Insulectro was acknowledged as a Top 10 Global Supplier. Insulectro material suppliers DuPont and Isola were also acknowledged for this distinction.
We thank our valued customer TTM Technologies for the recognition and the opportunity to partner with them over the years and also during these difficult times.
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Ken Parent Speaks Out!
Insulectro - Networking3
August 2020
The power of networking has always been interesting to me and held at high value. Today the value of a great network becomes even more apparent. Whether in my home life or work life, my network of family, friends, peers, co-workers or future additions to my network will always be held very near and dear to my heart. I have a great network of people today that help me navigate my world. I find great pleasure in helping one of mine to navigate their goals and challenges.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is the ability to always be building my network. Even in these socially distanced, challenged times, I find building a stronger network is so important and fun.
With new additions to our team, we embrace the power of these new Teammates into our network and us into their's. Because of this merging, Insulectro will be reaching out to a broader group of thought leaders and influencers of circuit technology using various means of communications and media.
We welcome you to join our network and engage with our Teammates in building those future circuits.
As you have read in PumaNews, our network is growing because of our customers collaborating with us in new ways, our already strong expanding supplier base, and new Insulectro Teammates bringing the power of their network to our business.
The purpose and benefit of the expanding network are multiple. Rewards are found in improving your business, driving profitable decisions, faster solutions to problems and greater ability to collaborate in the innovative future circuit technology. I have experienced all of these, but my favorite is the life-long friends I have made along the way.
We encourage you to engage with us using one-on-one opportunities, group learning webinars or working with you and your suppliers / customers to drive successful new designs and circuits. I have seen the collaborative power of great suppliers, fabricators, designers and OEMs drive success faster than when working opportunities and challenges alone.
Please join our network and let’s collaborate.
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Ken Parent
VP of Sales & Product Management
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ANNOUNCING OUR FIRST OEM FORUM
ON OPTIMIZING MATERIALS
11:05 AM PDT, Thursday, August 20
OEMs, Engineers & Designers,
Join this 45 minute (or so) session as we explore the need for technically correct materials selections. This is a game-changer. Learn how correct HSD and RF material selections also improve the manufacturability and reliability of your products.
Featuring, Insulectro's Mike Creeden CID+ MIT Technical Director and Vice President of Technology Chris Hunrath. Your host is everyone's favorite technical account manager Ron Murdock!
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Even in the current pandemic and economic climate, we see a great deal of activity among our customers and their customers with exciting new technologies and programs.
There is a good deal of interest in the high-performance materials and design solutions available through Insulectro. Based on this activity and some of the projections in certain sectors of electronics, we are looking forward to significant growth in the industry. That is why Insulectro is planning on how to stay prepared and to be the best at servicing our customers with what they need to successful.
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Always looking for ways to innovate, this past year we have added a new state of the art slitting and converting equipment for film substrates on the east coast (right).
Looking toward the future, Insulectro will be making significant investment by replacing most of the fabrication and material handling equipment in our facilities over the next 18 months. We will be upgrading equipment to improve efficiencies, capability, and automation in Laminate Panelization, PPG sheeting, Copper Foil Production, Film Panelization, and Material Handling.
We understand the pressures that our customers feel to turn orders more quickly and the need to have the materials they need throughout their processes and are preparing to meet those needs with substantial investments.
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Stay tuned for details on what new exciting improvements are happening at Insulectro in the coming months as we incorporate new technologies and upgrades.
Jeff Mason
Vice President of Operations
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Stop Bingeing on NETFLIX:
Feast on Our Virtual Power Chats, Training Sessions, & Product Education
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With in-person meetings nearly impossible, Insulectro has turned to virtual meetings, webinars, parking lot drop-offs to keep in touch. There's no doubt these are trying and uncertain times, but what we're finding is customers are welcoming the time to become more knowledgeable about products, their applications, and potential new markets.
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Here is a listing of Power Chat Seminars we can do for your team, all online. . .
Pyralux® Product Line Overview
Geoffrey Leeds, FLEX Product Manager
Laminate Manufacture and Selection
Norm Berry, Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
Copper Foil Overview
Copper Foil for High Speed Digital
Joe Bevan, Product Manager - CAC®
High Speed Flex Materials
Geoffrey Leeds, FLEX Product Manager
Consider The Composite: HSD Material Attributes to
Mitigate Insertion Loss
Norm Berry, Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
Design - Making Revision 1 Work
Michael Creeden, Technical Director, Insulectro Design Education
Material - the Science
Various Insulectro Subject Matter Experts
Material - the Process
Various Insulectro Subject Matter Experts
Material - Industry Application & Usage
Various Insulectro Subject Matter Experts
Design - Material Implementation (HDI, SI, High-Speed, RF)
Michael Creeden, Technical Director, Insulectro Design Education
Design - Advanced Placement and Routing
Michael Creeden, Technical Director, Insulectro Design Education
FocusTech Chemistry
Jeff Johnson, Product Manager - Dry Film/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
TADCO® Lamination Tooling
Joe Bevan, Product Manager - TADCO®
Drilling and Routing
Paul St. John, Director of National Sales LCOA
Geraldine Arseneau, Product Manager - Drill, Business Development - Canada
Getting Started with Flex PCBs
Chris Hunrath, VP of Technology
Get to Know SlickBack® and Bullseye®
Paul St. John, Director of National Sales LCOA
Geraldine Arseneau, Product Manager - Drill, Business Development - Canada
Pacothane® – Pad & Release Products
Pacothane® – Conformable Products
Pacothane® – High Temp Lamination Products
Joe Bevan, Product Manager - Pacothane®
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New Supplier!
Insulectro Distributes Kemmer Drills, Routers, & Endmills
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Insulectro announces it will distribute Kemmer Praezision GmbH drills, endmills, and routers to augment its drill room offerings.
“I’m excited to announce Insulectro’s newest supplier – Kemmer Praezision GmbH,” Insulectro Director of Product Management Michelle Walsh commented. “In addition to our backup and entry products from LCOA®, the addition of Kemmer Praezision GmbH drill and routing products will reaffirm our focus on helping customers attain peak drill and rout room efficiencies.”
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“As we broaden our product offerings to our PCB fabricators, we are proud to add Kemmer Praezision GmbH to our line card,” said Geraldine Arseneau, Insulectro Product Manager for the new line, “Kemmer Praezision GmbH is a leading producer of high performance carbide tools used in the manufacturing of printed circuit boards.”
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Kemmer Praezision GmbH designs and manufactures tight tolerance tools for printed circuit board applications in the diameter range 0.05 - 6.50mm. Kemmer Praezision GmbH is a world leader in the manufacture of PCB drills, routers and endmills. Their line of endmills are used in back drill, slots, and routing with superior edge finish. Their routers are used on routing large panels into individual boards as well as creating channels between boards.
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“On behalf of the Kemmer Praezision GmbH organization, we are thrilled to begin our alliance with Insulectro in North America. Insulectro for more than fifty years has become indispensable to fabricators who manufacture printed circuit boards,” commented Gregor Dutkiewicz, Director. “We look forward to sharing a mutual success in reducing our customers’ total drill and rout room costs.”
“We welcome Kemmer Praezision GmbH to our family of best-in-class suppliers,” Michelle Walsh concluded, “Expanding our world-class product line card is just another example of Insulectro’s pledge to enable its customers to build better circuits faster.”
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Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - Drill & Business Development Mgr - CAN
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Southern California Region
Sean Redfern - Technical Account Manager
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The word that comes to mind for me during these crazy times is grateful. There is so much negative stuff going on around the world that it could be easy to get consumed by it. I’m grateful that I have so many good things happening and good people around me to keep reminding me of how lucky I am.
It starts at home. Not just because I’ve been spending a lot of time there, but because that sets the tone for my days. If things are good there, it’s a great launch pad for all the other stuff. From early on, my wife and I accepted the terms of the new reality and adjusted our schedules, work, kid camps, and fun times accordingly. I think that acceptance and teamwork has helped us maintain calm and all around good vibes at home – very important with two little boys running around – 5 year old and 18 month.
Of course having the circuit board business remain strong has helped a lot with keeping a positive outlook. But I don’t take that for granted. Seeing how our teams around the country have stepped up is awesome. Having the industry perform well does not make it automatic that our business will follow suit. Lots needs to happen.
From even before the stay at home orders went into effect, my teammates set up their home offices and hit the ground running. From my point of view, being more customer facing, I can say nothing has skipped a beat after now five months of this. Remarkable.
It’s a beautiful thing to see how challenging times highlight the greatness of people. We’ve tried a lot of new ways of communicating and keeping each other in the loop on things. It’s never perfect but it’s working.
At the top of my gratitude list with the business is the operations team. These men and women have shown such commitment and work ethic that I can’t help but feel like they’ve saved the day for us over the past several months. I have huge appreciation for these teammates. But the list goes on with our inside sales team right there doing a million things at once everyday and making it look easy like they always do but from home now! I could go on and on with supply chain, IT, quality, maintenance, HR, accounting all showing up and doing their parts. These people are without a doubt the very best in the industry and we are lucky to have every single one of them.
What I’m working on now is how to better adapt as a salesman in this environment where I’m not inside the customer shops every day. I’m playing around with virtual meetings and trying to bring valuable content – new products and suppliers, training, process improvement ideas and trouble shooting. It’s hard to get people to take the time to sit down when you’re not there so having lunch brought in for them is the next idea we’re playing around with. Trying to be a consolidator of resources for customers who want to take advantage of the experts we have both internally and among our supplier base – we have lots of tools in our toolbox that we want to share. The market in Southern California is red hot. So if we want to keep growing with it need to keep trying new things to support our customers’ growth.
So as you can see there’s lots of reasons to be grateful and optimistic standing where I am with the people I have on my team. It’s an uncertain time but one with great opportunities at home and at work.
Sean Redfern, TAM
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INSULECTRO TO DISTRIBUTE SCREENING PRODUCTS FROM SHUR-LOC FABRIC SYSTEMS |
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“Today we are announcing Insulectro will begin distributing the Shur-loc screening printing product line in North America,” Insulectro Director of Product Management Michelle Walsh commented, “The addition of Shur-loc is a welcome complement to our best-in-class product portfolio.”
"It is our pleasure to announce that effective August 15, 2020, we will be welcoming Insulectro as our new exclusive North American Distributor for our PCB product lines, " commented Shur-loc VP David Larson, "We believe our customers will benefit from Insulectro’s expansive industry and technical knowledge as well as their supply and logistics expertise. In addition, they have will have multiple stocking locations for shur-loc products."
“We are excited to broaden our product offerings to our PCB fabricators,” said Kevin Barrett, Insulectro Technical Account Manager and Product Manager for the Shur-loc line.
“Shur-loc has been innovating screen printing products over the last 30 years and enhancing the performance in screen printing within the PCB market for the last 15 years," Barrett added. "At Shur-loc, their product line is not just another system. It is an art form that has been perfected over time by highly-skilled employees, some of whom have been with this family owned company since the beginning.”
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The Shur-loc patented frame and one-piece mesh stretching system makes, what is a labor intensive part of screen printing, a quick and easy way to build screen frames in just minutes and ready for production immediately! Their laser cut design ensures the precise mesh angle and optimal tension throughout the life of the mesh panel. Various size frames and mesh count sizes are available from hand tables to larger format automatic printers.
“Expect to hear more from us about Shur-loc and its high-quality line of screening products” Michelle Walsh concluded, “It's all about enabling customers to build better circuits faster.”
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Kevin Barrett, Shur-loc Product Manager & TAM
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Chandler, AZ
Isola Quick Turn Facility Meets Milestones
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Isola continues to hit construction milestones laid out for their new 118,000 manufacturing facility in Chandler, AZ. Last month we reported the progress and start up of the new Research and Development Lab. Now a month later the progress is impressive.
For the most part the fabrication and handling equipment has arrived for prepreg, copper foil, and finished laminates. The presses and transportation system are in place, but there is so much more being constructed to support lamination.
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Prepreg and copper foil fabrication and conveyors to feed the auto layup line are in place. Lamination plate cleaning, plate handling, conveyors, and material transport are delivered and being set in place. The raw materials and finished laminate manufactured in this facility will not be touched by human hands until shipment.
The investment in this new facility, to service our QTA market, has to be seen to be appreciated. Video updates and virtual tours are available.
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Please contact your local Insulectro Technical Account manager to schedule a showing with Isola.
Norm Berry
Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
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Recap!
2020 TTM Global Supplier Conference
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On July 30th, TTM held a Global Supplier Conference with 100+ key suppliers from around the world. It was an informative Thursday night (Friday morning in Asia) providing a detailed update to all of us since the merge of ViaSystems, Anaren, and i3 into TTM.
Phil Titterton started off the night with the organizational changes and regional structure now in place. It was interesting to hear solid plans on where the company is planning for growth with the changes after divesting the Mobility portion of the business. We got to hear from Business Unit Managers on specific future plans and how the company is dealing with the pandemic today and tomorrow. At the end, Insulectro was acknowledged as a Top 10 Global Supplier.
A big thanks to the entire TTM Team for putting together a well structured and informative event that offered key elements of where we fit into the business, areas we are working similarly, and ideas on how Insulectro and our Supplier Partners can change and grow along with the industry.
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Trey Adams
VP Regional Sales & Strategic Accounts
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Silicon Valley Region
Hilton Hoyt - Technical Account Manager
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Recent events have reminded me that some strange and amazing things have happened during the years that I have hit major age-related milestones in my life:
2000 – The Y2K threat was the big story heading into 2000, and I turned 40 that year. Neither event amounted to much of a big deal in the long run, but my beloved SF Giants opened Pac Bell Park that year – my personal “Field of Dreams” on the water.
2010 - Combat operations in Iraq ended and Obamacare started. I thought turning 50 was going to be a huge deal for me that year. Turns out it was, but in a good way! My Giants won the World Series for the first time in my lifetime.
2020 – The Covid-19 Pandemic hits hard and my 60th birthday came and went with little personal fanfare. Now, after a Covid-19 related hiatus, Baseball is finally back again……with empty stadiums and cardboard cutouts of fans in the stands. Strange, but I’ll take it.
How does this relate to Insulectro’s business and our customers?
As a “stay at home” TAM these days, I was starting to feel a bit like one of those “cardboard cutouts” at the baseball games. I couldn’t help but wonder “am I just a shell of my former self?” or “how do I stay relevant with my customers?” So how do I create that same customer connection without being in front of them physically?
Like others before me, I have figured out that the communication tools that we have at our fingertips are very useful, when properly and frequently used. Where we may have relied on face-to-face resolutions in the past, we are all finding effective ways to communicate and get the job done with minimal time in their shops.
The increased use of Virtual PowerChats™ (webinars) for training, and for the promotion of our materials and services at our customers, has been our most effective tool during these times. Customer response to our training seminars has been very positive, with many customers already planning for the next one.
Throughout the roller coaster ride that we have all been on with the Covid-19 Pandemic, our industry has played a vital role in keeping the country moving forward. Exciting, cutting-edge technology is rapidly developing in the consumer, industrial, medical or military markets, and those vital industries need our materials to manufacture their products.
This is where Insulectro comes in. We have a very strong supplier base, an excellent material distribution structure and we supply materials in a timely fashion. Whether I am representing Insulectro at a customer shop or working from home, I am proud to be part of the Puma Team and I know for sure that I am much more than just a cardboard cutout to my customers.
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Dial into the Upcoming
DuPont Webinar!
Boosting the Performance of Circuits in High Frequency Applications
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DuPont’s new webinar is coming soon!
Aug 25, 2020 10:00 AM PDT
Find out how we’re pushing the performance boundaries of circuit performance in high-frequency applications. Joining DuPont RF Engineer Jonathan Weldon (right) is our keynote speaker, Prismark Managing Partner Jeff Doubrava (below).
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Prismark is one of the most respected providers of research into new and developing electronics technologies. Don’t miss this opportunity to take a closer look at how DuPont is improving the design and performance of high-frequency circuits.
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To learn more, reach out!
Geoffrey Leeds
Flex Product Manager
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MANAGING THE SUPPLY CHAIN |
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Available to Promise (ATP)
Improving Speed
in the Supply Chain Through Automation
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Insulectro’s Available to Promise automation project, also known as ATP, has been a collaboration between IT, Supply Chain, Operations, and Sales for most of 2020 thus far. The goal of the project is to provide more accurate material availability information, faster, to our customers.
In our current business process, any product sold has one default supply path in our system. When we receive an order that cannot be immediately filled via that default path, our fullfilment resources are tasked with manually researching alternative ways of bringing supply to the customer.
Two major system improvements are going to drive speed improvements via automation:
- improved logic to identify all internal fabrication options from alternate materials within the customers’ home branch
- new logic to quickly utilize available stock at one of our 10+ North American warehouse locations
In addition, a key focus of this project has been to conduct a thorough review of our system master data (e.g., interbranch transfer schedules, supplier lead times, alternatives to sourcing options, etc.). Ensuring our master data is accurate and current enables more timely and trustworthy information for our customers.
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We are currently conducting system testing across our internal user base to ensure the enhancements we are making function properly, and that we have a smooth go-live early this Fall. You’ll be hearing more about the project as we get closer to full launch.
A big “shout out” to our core internal team that is making this automation a reality – Kathy Linares (VP, IT), Jason Shuppert (Director Supply Chain), Peter Belter (Systems Specialist), Rachel Moreno (Inside Sales Manager), Dan Diesel (VP Business Strategy), Debbie Johnson (Materials Planning Manager) and Rob Graham (Operations Specialist).
We look forward to making marked improvement to our customers’ order experience by demonstrating faster response times to material availability inquiries. This is in full alignment with our corporate purpose of “enabling our customers to build better circuits, faster."
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To learn more, reach out!
Dan Malko
Manager of Demand Planning, Analytics, and Master Data
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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS &
ADVANCED SUBSTRATES
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DuPont™ Tedlar® Announcement!
Partnership with INSULECTRO to Support Gas Bags Market
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Insulectro has partnered with DuPont, to serve as the leading supplier of DuPont Tedlar®. Made of 100% fluororesin PVF, Tedlar® has introduced new dimensions of surface protection, security and safety in a wide variety of applications.
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Some of the markets where Tedlar® is currently used are Aerospace, Building & Construction, Transportation, Signage & Graphics, Wallcoverings, Solar, and Healthcare, among others.
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Insulectro’s initial foray into the Tedlar® arena is with heat sealable film used in the manufacture of gas bags. Tedlar® release films offer gas permeation resistance into and out of the sample bags, assuring sample integrity. Because Tedlar® is chemically inert, it will not react with or alter the composition of the wide range of collected chemicals in your sample. Teldar® film has been the industry gold standard for years due to superior inertness, impermeability and abrasion resistance.
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Other applications for Tedlar® include Release Material for a variety of applications. Tedlar® release films provide outstanding release from acrylics, phenolics and epoxies. Tedlar® films have excellent balance, high temperature capability, conformability, toughness and release from bonding adhesives. Tedlar® contains no silicone thus alleviating industry concern for potential migration to other substrates that come in contact with the release film which could cause downstream processing and end use issues.
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Tedlar® release films help reduce manufacturing costs in multiple ways. With an excellent release from resin systems, the need for wet-applied release additional agents is eliminated. Also, with a matte finish and a high level of surface quality, manufacturing steps, such as sanding, are eliminated and rejection and re-work rates are greatly reduced.
The new clear DuPont™ Tedlar® film is the ideal surfacing material for graffiti resistance and protection against fading and corrosion, keeping outdoor signage looking newer longer. Where UV exposures are harsh and cause damage to the image, a layer of Tedlar® Graphic Protection film provides years of added protection.
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We encourage our customers to develop new ideas for Tedlar®, and to dream big. Please contact your Insulectro representative, to learn more about the many uses and benefits of Tedlar®. |
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Patrick Oram
Advanced Substrate Product Specialist
Insulectro Printed Electronics
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The People Behind the Puma
Meet Matthew Swanson
General Manager - Toll Pressing, CAC® Inc.
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BIO:
I grew up in Schaumburg,IL and moved to Elk Grove Village when I was 12 years of age. My brother and I are the sons of teachers who taught music to elementary and high school students.
I have been involved with music since an early age and settled on bagpipes as an adult. When we moved to Elk Grove Village, I met a neighbor who lived across the street, his name was Greg Beck.
After high school, I went to the University of Iowa obtaining my finance degree. Upon graduation, Greg asked me to come and work for him, as that was in 1999 and 21 years later I am still in the same industry.
When you first meet Matt, you notice he's personable, outgoing, and has a great sense of humor. That's what he will tell you.
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When you were child, what was the first job you wanted to have when you grew up?
Spent a lot of time in the woods when I was younger especially with my uncle, aunt and cousins. My uncle is a forester and that intrigued me.
Name a couple of childhood nicknames?
Great question! Swanson, Swannie, and Swansonegger!
You came to us from Beck’s Light Gauge Aluminum. What did you think when you became a part of the Insulectro family of businesses?
Well my first exposure with the Insulectro family was during the physical inventory and working with Mike Plouffe. I have never been through an acquisition and in my own mind if there was a text book version of a transition, Mike Plouffe wrote it! Thank you again Mike!
What are your three greatest strengths?
Personable, outgoing and a sense of humor. [See?]
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If your wife could change one thing about you, what would it be? Being divorced, that list I'm sure is very long! HaHa!
What’s the most rewarding DIY project you have done?
Framed up the interior around my sliding glass door and windows complete with a sill. Turned out really nice!
How would your teammates describe you?
I have been told I am fair, but firm. I think I agree!
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Are you more at home in jeans, a suit, or yoga pants, and why?
The only pants I wear are Duluth firehose flex pants. The most comfy pants on the planet!
Great weekend for you is?
Taking the kids hiking in the woods and when the kids are not with me, either reloading or competitive long-range shooting!
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Best car you had you miss?
After high school going into college, I had a 1990 Delta 88 Royale Oldsmobile from my grandmother, it was a boat!
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What’s your dream vehicle?
H1 Humvee, the off-road capability would be a ton of fun!
What’s biggest regret you ever had?
I try to not live with regrets, always looking toward the future while learning from mistakes!
If you could go anywhere in the universe where would you go first, and why?
The source of the universe to find out where we came from.
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What’s your beverage of choice?
Modelo, hands down
If a distant uncle left you $15 million what are the first three things you would do?
Make sure my kids are set for life, buy a house in the middle of no-where complete with a greenhouse and my very own long distance shooting range.
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If they were making a movie about you, what actor would be play you?
I have been told I look like Ricky Schroeder.
In the owner’s manual for Matt Swanson, what are the first three things on the CAUTION page?
WARNING !!!! DO NOT Deviate from the following:
- 100% Communication
- 100% Transparency
- Good work ethic
- Good Attitude
- Safety
How would you like to be remembered?
This question is slightly morbid and I feel like I am writing my obituary. I am going to think 100% positive and ignore this.
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Customers can incur significant handling, set up and rework times with panels experiencing excessive image transfer and burrs on exit side of panel. CONFORMAT™, part of the LCOA line of back up and entry materials, is an excellent product that will conform to low or thin areas on a panel, eliminating costly rework and possible scrap due to damage in the drilled hole. This conformal drill sheet can shape itself to various topographies that may be in present in a multilayer or rigid flex PCB.
These photographs show a flex panel with excessive image transfer that would require special handling in drill, taking approximately 20 minutes per panel to set up:
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All the low or thin areas on panel will have significant burring on the exit side, requiring time consuming rework and possible scrap due to damage in the drilled hole.
Examples of above panel drilled with CONFORMAT™ (left) and without (right).
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The panel without CONFORMAT™ will require sanding and hand rework. The panel drilled with CONFORMAT™ requires no rework and can move directly to the next process.
Build your boards one-time and on-time.
Geraldine Arseneau
Insulectro Product Manager - Drill
Paul St. John
LCOA Director of Sales
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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS &
ADVANCED SUBSTRATES
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DuPont’s Fired-On Inks Distributed by Insulectro
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Insulectro, a valued-added full line distributor, has partnered with DuPont to distribute key polymer thick film pastes to U.S. customers and has recently obtained approval to participate in the Fired-On Market.
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As the Printed Electronics Market continues to grow, Insulectro has positioned itself to quickly support customers in North America with DuPont’s line of high-temperature fired-on inks.
Some of the key markets include consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, military, biotechnology, telecommunications, information technology, energy, photovoltaics, and numerous other industries.
DuPont’s fired-on inks, distributed by Insulectro’s Printed Electronic Division, consist of a wide range of selections such as Gold, Silver, Coppers, Dielectrics, Resistors, Encapsulants, and the thinners for all inks. This new line of fired-on inks provides Insulectro the opportunity to serve customers in different circuitry areas that we have not participated in, such as with ceramic substrates applications.
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As the Printed Electronics Market continues to grow with rapid new technology developments and end applications, Insulectro has leveraged its ability to deliver materials quickly to customers and have the technical know-how to provide customers with quality service to support their needs. Moreover, Insulectro has a healthy relationship with DuPont, and we firmly believe in the value-added that comes from that relationship.
With the continuous efforts to better support our customers, Angel Cartagena, a previous DuPont employee, has now joined Insulectro’s Printed Electronics Division to support the fired-on market. Angel comes with 20+ years of experience with DuPont’s inks in R & D, Scale-up, Manufacturing, Testing, and Application Development. This provides Insulectro as a distributor of DuPont’s fired-on inks the ability to address customer’s needs more closely with a hands-on approach at the customer’s site as needed while working closely with DuPont’s Advanced Technology Group (ATG).
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Please visit our Printed Electronics LinkedIn page for updates (CLICK HERE) and our website (www.insulectro-pe.com) for more information on fired-on inks. We look forward to providing you with the best in class service and product selection for your application needs.
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Angel R. Cartagena
Product Specialist
Insulectro Printed Electronics
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In principle, the concept is simple, make z-axis electrical connections at the same time you laminate. This can be done through Ormet’s unique transient liquid phase sintering.
This allows you to melt a metal at a one time at low temperature. Then it forms a new alloy with a much higher melting point. Another benefit is that the paste incorporates some of the PCB core material copper foil into the alloy.
This connection has no electroless copper, tin/palladium or some other interface in the way.
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Interest in Ormet® continues to climb.
For example, I have been working with a fab and OEM on an HSD and RF hybrid stack-up composed of three subs. To make the via structures work, each sub would have its own plating and subsequent back-drilling (on each side). Then they would be laminated together, drilled and plated again, then back-drilled again for some of the though holes from each side. In all, 8 different back-drilling processes.
Adding two layers of Ormet® interconnects joining the three subs eliminated all the internal back-drilling and made the build much simpler. This is because the Ormet® connections eliminated many of the through holes needed to link subs together.
Back-drilling has become very commonplace because of the signal benefits it provides. However, it can be limiting for the OEM/designer and challenging for the fabricator. With increases in speed, density and RF, we will see more of this. Fortunately, there is a product and a technology to help.
Get to know Ormet® and see what it can do for HDI, high aspect ratios, RF applications, embedded components and more.
Chris Hunrath
VP of Technology
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Why pick CAC over the competition for protecting your critical surfaces?
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- CAC is sealed on all 4 edges not just 2 so critical surfaces stay clean, even during handling – no open ends
- CAC is made with North American sourced aluminum, steel and copper foil
- CAC cleans and tests each roll of aluminum and steel to make sure you get a premium product that will not stain the adjacent copper
- CAC checks each setup with a CMM to ensure tooling is accurate and pattern is centered on the part
- CAC copper is even with the edge on all 4 sides not hanging over – making thin copper handling much easier
- CAC has decades of experience in adding quality to our product
- CAC has tons of material on hand – need a special size quickly for a new Customer demand? Call CAC!
- CAC is an innovator – we want to make our product better to help you build better boards faster
Ask us how Steel middles offer better image transfer resistance than Aluminum allowing more boards per book!
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Give us a call to discuss how CAC can help you
make better circuits faster.
Joe Bevan
Product Manager, CAC
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Twin Cities Region
Debbie Johnson - Materials Planner
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I have worked in the PCB industry for several decades and became a part of the Insulectro team in 2014.
I’ve experienced many changes to our industry in innovation, complexity and customer requirements over the years and I’m always amazed at how fast some of these changes take place.
One thing that I truly love about the Insulectro team is how we face these challenges. We’re always looking for ways to improve areas that don’t seem as robust as they should be or looking for new ways to improve the flow of materials to our customers through internal changes or working with our suppliers to support these new requirements.
Our focus is always ‘How can we get this done?’ versus why this won’t work. 2020 has brought many challenges but our team has met them head-on and will continue to do so as we move forward.
Debbie Johnson
Materials Planner
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Pacothane - the Undisputed Industry Leader in Lamination Conformal Products |
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What is industry leadership?
Industry leaders are companies that have set themselves apart from the competition. They are innovative, adaptable and adept at providing high quality products and service to their Customers. Offering the best products producing the best results in their field of expertise.
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES believes that one size does not fit all – this is why we offer several conformal products custom tailored for special applications.
Are all of you boards 2 Oz copper? If not why would you use a conformal made for 2 Oz with your H Oz product? Save yourself some money $ use what meets your specific need.
Do you sometimes need a bit of extra “Z” axis drive to help encapsulate those tight lines and spaces? If so we have product designed for this specific application.
Does orange peel in your flexible circuits irritate your Customer? This is why we offer TriPak – made for micro and macro “Z” axis needs and a smooth surface finish due to the virgin cotton fiber makeup and durable release layer on both sides.
Do you have a Customer design that requires less flow around your coverlay? We’ve got you covered – we offer products that give a dam you can be proud of!
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES offers products that give our Customers the ability to produce PCB’s by using our high quality materials to obtain higher yields and enhance their bottom line! Less scrap means more profit for our Customers.
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES and their distribution arm Insulectro have hundreds of years of combined experience in the PCB market with Industry Leaders directing our production and technical efforts supporting our Customers. We offer our products produced with the input of our experts who come from within the PCB industry. When working with our Customers to support their production needs, increase Yields and Profits we use our experts with hands on experience in the production of Flexible, Rigid Flex and Rigid PCB’s.
Insulectro is an Industry Leader that offers world class logistics and support. For over fifty years, Insulectro has set the pace for the continually evolving high tech electronics business. We learned to stock critical PCB materials close to clients. To make selling a personal commitment. To deliver orders at the speed of light. And, to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our customers to ensure performance.
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES and INSULECTRO – don’t work with those who follow – join those who lead!
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES Proudly Produced in the USA with American Labor and American Materials!
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Give us a call! We like to make your life easier!
Joe Bevan
Product Manager, Pacothane
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Insulectro PumaNews will write, curate, and publish provocative articles on innovation, vision, and thought leadership in our industry spotlighting people who make the difference. We invite our viewers to participate - contact us to get involved. |
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Current & Challenged!
An Industry Veteran Takes A
Vital Trade Show Virtual
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Frances Stewart, VP of Sales and Marketing for UP MEDIA GROUP and friend to Insulectro, is a “fixture” on the media and trade show scene in the PCB market.
You may have seen her hustling on the floor at PCB WEST, SMTAI, PRODUCTRONICA or DESIGNCON, or gotten one of her all-too-frequent email reminders about a marketing opportunity or a deadline.
An industry veteran with close to 40 years’ experience, she began her career with a small startup in Georgia that would spawn such well-known titles/media products as PC FAB, CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY and PCB WEST.
“I joined the industry in 1981 with a B.A. in English, some prompting from a GA Tech EE graduate brother – and no knowledge of the PCB industry. Fortunately, I was able to see the industry first hand as the owner of the company that also ran a board shop,” Frances commented.
The rest is, as they say, history, spanning over three decades of working for small companies and media giants like Miller Freeman and CMP as ownership of this family of magazines changed hands through acquisitions and mergers.
Not content with just her “9 to 5” career, Stewart became very active with organizations such as SMTA, serving as both a Chapter officer and at the National level, as well as receiving the prestigious Founder’s Award in 2017, and was also active with the Atlanta Chapter of Women in Electronics.
She has been instrumental in growing the annual PCB WEST exhibition, and now faces the challenge of quickly turning this very popular trade show into a virtual event this September.
“Trade shows and face to face events are my passion, and I believe nothing can take the place of that experience; however, we’re quickly pivoting to virtual and working to replicate live as much as we can,” Frances stated. With her characteristic energy and optimism, she says, “We plan to be back live in September of next year.”
For Frances, the world of media has changed dramatically since 1981 with the advent of the Internet, handheld devices, digital publications and social media, but she believes basic fundamentals have not changed and should remain constant - delivering information in the format the customer prefers, and delivering the highest level of customer service possible.
“Our world – both from a business and a personal perspective – has been turned upside down by the pandemic,” she concluded, but Frances sees not only tremendous challenges but also opportunities: “My hope for 2021? To see my industry colleagues and friends face to face!”
Editor's Note: Frances has been a tireless supporter of Insulectro and the PCB industry as a whole. We thank her for her leadership efforts and are proud to profile her in our new column on individuals who make the difference.
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DuPont’s flexible Roll Clad offering, Pyralux® AG, continues to expand. We have a new, expanded list of constructions. The new constructions build out Pyralux® AG’s offerings in the thinner coppers and thinner dielectrics. We continue to build out our inventory of this material by recently adding more finished product in our San Jose warehouse.
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Pyralux® AG continues to perform in flexibility testing and is not only an economical option, but ideal for dynamic applications. Testing shows 2 to 3x the number of bend cycles over competitive materials.
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We are sampling and supplying so let us know if you would like to try DuPont™ Pyralux® AG.
Geoffrey Leeds
Flex Product Manager
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Insulectro PumaNews will write, curate, and publish current provocative articles on the phenomenon of 5G and the impact it is expected to bring to the way we live our lives.
Economist Magazine: Artificial Intelligence, Machines Making Smart Decisions
Economist magazine,in a recent article looked in to the crystal ball of Artificial Intelligence:
Billions of devices create enormous amounts of data, but that data is of no real use until it’s analyzed. Modern data analytics do that job, but AI will take the process to a whole new level.
Anywhere there’s a need for multiple devices to instantaneously communicate with each other and make decisions and learn from those decisions is where AI, 5G and IoT all tie together.
In the factory, AI powered robots will learn on the job and from each other, and will also monitor and manage their own health, ordering spare parts in advance when required, leading to higher productivity and less unscheduled system downtime.
At the University of Surrey, the potential for 5G and AI in home medical care is vividly demonstrated by a living lab for patients with dementia. A network of internet-enabled sensors, monitors and trackers can detect agitation and irritability, as well as changes in patients’ health and daily routines.
Here's what we think. . .
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The 5G World
by Mike Creeden CID+ MIT
Technical Director, Insulectro Design & Education
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Insulectro as the distributor of DuPont, Isola laminates and substrates, as well as other vital fabrication products CAC®, LCOA®, Pacothane®, Ormet® and Focus Tech Chemistry, is heavily involved in this electronics industry enabling 5G infrastructure.
The roll-out of 5G is occurring all around us. It will change everything. It will allow for massive amounts of data to be instantaneous. This will make for an audio/visual revolution that most of us have seen in sci-fi and now it will become a mainstay in our society.
5G is not just about our hand held communication devices. The communication facet of this technology will include base stations everywhere making this technology ubiquitous. With ultra-fast speeds, ultra-low latency and massive capacity, 5G is built with the power to change more than your phone.
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5G will revolutionize the way we interact with fellow humans in all aspects of our society including work and home life. We have all seen the upsurge in online AV meetings. This is just the beginning of what will transform into holographic projection and communication.
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5G will transform the way we commute as Electric Vehicles (EV) and autonomous vehicles will utilize the capabilities provided by 5G and are rapidly advancing and appear poised to trigger the transportation industry’s largest shakeup in over a century.
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5G will enable Augmented Reality as an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, olfactory, and haptic. This can become an important tool in the efforts of sales, development and education, turning conceptualization into realization.
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5G will enable Virtual Reality and although this phrase is an oxymoron, it will have a place in society as a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world.
Applications of virtual reality can include sales, entertainment and educational purposes.
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As you think about these potential technologies, consider that each one of these innovations will require circuit boards from all industry sectors and this is our collective business.
In future columns, we will look at 5G technical challenges, solutions and applications. We hope to hear from you on some of the issues you’ve faced and successes you’ve had as we build, “The 5G World”.
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Hard Pressed to Find Toll Processing?
Our Beck's Light Gauge Aluminum Process Really Cleans Up
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CAC® Chicago is a light gauge toll processor servicing industries such as appliance, aerospace, nameplate, medical and automotive. Our 6 Hi Herr-Voss leveler with 1.156” diameter rolls allows us to run critical surface applications, whether it is sheets or blanks. We can paper interleave, PVC cover or stencil up to 6 lines. Everything is hand stacked and all skids are made in house with the capability of custom packaging.
CAC Western Regional Operations Manager Felix Martinez commented, "The two most exciting opportunities from acquiring Beck’s into our umbrella of companies - first, it allows us to expand our sourcing of raw material and the ability to clean aluminum in house which is great.
"Second, it really lets us start venturing into new markets expanding both our knowledge base and the CAC® brand."
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Call Matt to find out more about our Beck's process and all that CAC® has to offer. |
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Matt Swanson
General Manager, Toll Processing
CAC®, Inc.
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Insulectro Printed Electronics |
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Insulectro Vice President of Technology Chris Hunrath frames up one of Insulectro's hottest endeavors - distributing Advanced Substrates and Conductive Inks. |
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TADCO
Your Lamination Tooling Solutions Provider
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Tired of beating up your plates and tooling with a punch and hammer?
Bushings and pins are precision made – don’t beat them up.
Solution to easy de-pinning is the TADCO Multilayer De-Pinner. All you need to add is shop air and 110V AC (no hammer needed). Used with TADCO spray mold release to coat bushings and pins - you can stop beating up your tooling!
Call us to learn more – Insulectro stocks a comprehensive line of TADCO accessories!
Joe Bevan
Product Manager, TADCO
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@Mike Creeden
Building the Perfect Stackup
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I have heard it said in this day and time, “We will all emerge from this period of “Covid Shut-In” as a Hunk, a Chunk or a Drunk."
At first when I heard this I laughed, after all I’ve performed stand-up comedy for twenty some years, so I warmly embraced the humor.
As I thought further about this, with some self-evaluation, I arrived at a few ideas. I stopped drinking about 17 years ago, so call me early-out at parties, I’m ok with that. But I noticed with not traveling I was not eating out and subject to my wife’s cooking, and yes, I’m losing weight.
Hopefully, I’ve not provided a second reason to dislike me. I share this anecdotal story to draw a comparison as a recipe for success.
My wife’s secret is to secure good ingredients and learn what works to satisfy her family food needs for taste and nutrition. Equating this to engineering and manufacturing efforts of creating a perfect stackup, this is an easy comparison. The secret of creating a perfect stackup is to secure good ingredients (the best materials), learn what works to satisfy the performance needs of your circuit for HSD, HDI, RF or Flex, then work with your fabricator early on in the design cycle, so that your high-performing, high yield circuit is prepared on-time and you produce the best reliable circuit at revision one.
We are working with our fabricators as they support their OEM design customer base looking into circuit solvability, performance, and encouraging early engagement with the fabricator’s engineering team during OEM design layout.
We are seeing the industry move rapidly to solve extremely challenging technology. Your fabricator’s goal is to build you the most reliable and cost effective board. What we are encouraging you to consider is resolving potential signal integrity issues before you build revision one. Contact your fabricator and ask how we can work with them to make revision one a success! Let’s create a Lean-Mean-Hunk of a board!
With our Design Education Program, we are ready and eager to create one or several training sessions for the OEM or your fabrication team. These will be tailored to meet the exact needs of the audience, brought by a technically appropriate presenter, with specific content to further your team’s success and provide that edge to meet the needs of advancing technology trends.
Contact any of our Technical Account Managers or call any of our branch offices to schedule your Virtual PowerChat™ Training Session soon.
Stay safe, happy and healthy!
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Mike Creeden CID+ MIT
Technical Director, Insulectro Design & Education
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Developer Controllers:
Improve Your Chemistry Process Control with a New Control System
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We currently offer 3 types of Developer controllers
Type I – Dosmatic System
This system utilizes a Dosmatic pump that mixes that water and chemistry in the pump and then delivers that mixture to the developer. Insulectro offers a free pump replacement program to make sure you always have a clean, problem free, pump.
Type II – Volumetric System
This system utilizes a volumetric container that premixes the chemistry and water and then delivers that mixture to the developer. This system is more consistent than the Dosmatic systems.
Type III – Conductivity System
This system utilizes a day tank that premixes the chemistry and water based on conductivity and then delivers that mixture to the developer. This is the most consistent process of any controller system.
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Maximize Cpk’s
- All controllers are activated by a pH probe in the main sump.
- All systems are professionally installed by our expert installation team.
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Give me a call to discuss!
Jeff Johnson
Product Manager - Dry Film/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
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Everyday Materials You Need, On Our Shelves Every Day
Insulectro recognizes the importance of maintaining adequate inventory to begin work. Designers know when you need it, you need it. Using the link getpumafast.com, you can see what PumaFast™ and standard materials we stock to get you up and running.
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Covid-19 has not stopped our ACT! initiatives!
We have successfully collaborated on many ACT! opportunities.
We are delivering on Technology, Design and Education while you can bank on the sales results!
We are virtually taking our ACT!
to another level!
Insulectro and our partners are moving the chains to help our customers exceed performance goals. Our team of professional and technical resources are now offering our customers access to design and education services.
This is a Game Changer!
Our ACT! Initiatives combined with our design and education services provide our customers a total solutions package with a one-stop-shop option.
Our customers now have total access to not only our Insulectro foot print, best in class products, materials on the shelf when you need them; but also the expertise to deliver solutions from design to delivery…FAST!
Call me and to set up a VIRTUAL ACT! with your customer.
There's a reason I'm smiling.
Ron Murdock
ACT! Manager & Technical Account Manager
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To be the easiest company to do business with. . .
Insulectro has a program for continual improvement, all designed to make ourselves as user-friendly as possible to our customers, their customers, and our suppliers. Speed Matters, so we focus a lot of attention on getting you the materials you need as quickly as possible.
Our PumaFast™ Program lists current inventory of everyday materials you need every day.
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Best-in-Class Materials
from our Premier Suppliers
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