CELEBRATING OUR 5TH YEAR OF PUMANEWS™ |
|
As I See It!
For Years to Come
AUGUST 2023
|
|
Welcome to the A-Day issue of PumaNews™ magazine.
On September 5, known in our company as A-Day, Insulectro will begin selling laminates and prepreg from EMC and Arlon. This is a major opportunity for us and for our customers.
Long known for their superior performance, products from Arlon and EMC are well suited for the constantly changing demands in PCB manufacture.
For example, EMC laminates are used in over 85% of all 5G cell phones worldwide. That's a staggering amount of market share. Their laminates are also featured in over 65% of all smart phones, in addition to over 50% market dominance in LEO 5G systems, and AI servers. Again, that's worldwide.
EMC, which bought Arlon three years ago to establish a base in North America, is firmly committed to a rigorous research and development initiative and to the expansion of manufacturing locations. Insulectro couldn't ask for a better partner not only for today but for years to come.
Celebrate with us as we begin our New Era on September 5.
|
|
INSULECTRO ANNOUNCES NEW LAMINATE SUPPLIERS ARLON & EMC |
|
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - LAKE FOREST, CA - JUNE 27, 2023
Insulectro, the largest distributor of materials for use in the manufacture of PCBs and printed electronics, has announced it will become the exclusive distributor for North America of Arlon copperclad laminates beginning September 4, 2023. Arlon is also the master distributor for Elite Materials Company (EMC) based in Taiwan bringing both product lines to Insulectro.
“Today, we welcome two new manufacturers to our World-class supplier/partner family,” announced Insulectro President and CEO Patrick Redfern, “Arlon and EMC offer a wide array of cutting-edge, high-performance laminates for mission critical printed circuit boards manufactured for high endurance and long-life programs. Plus, it allows us to offer California-sourced inventory for greater supply chain reliability.
“This is the beginning of a new era for Insulectro as new materials and relationships strengthen our presence in the PCB industry and prepare us for unprecedented growth. We continually monitor the marketplace to assess challenges and develop solutions - all to enable us to service our customers’ needs today and in the future,” Redfern added.
Arlon was founded in 1969 as Howe Industries and the company manufactured polyimide laminate and prepregs for the printed circuit board industry. Thermoset polyimide resin was the preferred high temperature laminate system known for its thermal stability, good chemical resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and exceptionally good heat resistance. The company evolved to become Arlon Electronic Materials Division after being purchased by Taiwan-based manufacturer EMC in 2020 to establish a base of operations in North America.
EMC was established in 1992 as a dedicated PCB base material manufacturer. Since 2013, EMC has become the largest worldwide manufacturer and supplier of Halogen-free and HDI materials. With a highly skilled Research and Development team, EMC has developed a number of high-speed and high-frequency products, from Mid Loss, Low Loss, Very Low Loss, Ultra Low Loss down to Extreme Low Loss categories. As a result, in 2022, EMC attained the number two worldwide market share position in the specialty laminate (high-speed, high-frequency, and IC substrate) space. These materials are designed for very complex PCBs, such as, for example, Any-layer build-up, mSAP, IC substrate, high layer count (HLC)/ high speed digital (HSD) and radio frequency (RF) products just to name a few.
Following EMC’s acquisition of Arlon, significant investments have been made in the Arlon business to date, with an eye on even greater investment towards continued improvement and expanding the operation in Southern California.
Speaking on behalf of EMC, Chairman Albert Tung commented, “We are pleased to achieve, across North America, logistic and support capability for our customers with this new opportunity with Insulectro. Insulectro has an outstanding reputation as the premier distributor of PCB materials throughout the U.S. and Canada. With this partnership, we have attained our goal of having a solid North America presence, and we aim to continue to expand our product portfolio in North America for years to come. We feel this is an extraordinary opportunity for all three companies.”
Ken Parent, Chief Operating Officer commented, “Arlon’s and EMC’s laminates and prepregs are top shelf materials for fabricators. They will be first-choice selections in such PCB markets as aerospace/defense, aircraft and avionics, automotive, and medical, as well as many industrial applications. We look forward to introducing these products to our customers and OEMs and expect an enthusiastic reception.
“Arlon/EMC’s polyimides, low-flow and epoxy prepregs expand our offerings in rigid, flex, and rigid/flex applications in addition to being compatible with DuPont’s Pyralux® flexible laminates. We expect to be more useful to our existing customers as well as to new customers,” Parent concluded.
Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by DuPont®, Isola, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech, JX Metals Corporation, TADCO, EMD Electronics (Ormet®), Shikoku, Denkai America, ETI, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kyocera SGS Precision Tools, InduBond®, Shur-loc and soon to be Arlon and EMC.
These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex, and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.
|
|
SALES & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT |
|
Ken Parent Speaks Out!
Our New Era Begins
September 5
AUGUST 2023
|
|
Insulectro has been preparing for A-Day, the day we begin to sell Arlon and EMC laminates replacing Isola materials. We expect a very active period of sales after September 5, 2023. For weeks, we have received positive insight on how to best support our customers.
Our Vision and Purpose have not waivered, “To be Vital in the Design and Manufacture of Future Circuits” and to make sure “We Enable Our Customers to Build Better Circuits, Faster."
We have received feedback that the Arlon/EMC Service Teams have supported our customers very well in the past. We are fortunate to have access and continued support of both the AMS Team lead by Sach Pasarnikar, and the Arlon/EMC Team lead by Albert Tung, Jason Maupin and Deanna Bustamante.
|
|
Sach and his team will be Insulectro’s trusted advisor and resource to our customers, we are fortunate to be able to utilize his years of experience in the industry and with Arlon/EMC. I am a firm believer that it is the people behind such monumental changes that make the difference. I am confident that the combination of these teams going forward will provide us with a distinctive competitive advantage.
We are less than 15 days away from being able to sell Arlon and EMC. The Insulectro Team understands the amount of work to build your trust in converting to Insulectro for your Arlon and EMC materials. We have organized our teams to support our existing business as we carve out the necessary time to prepare and train for the new laminates service model.
We are aware of the need to support our customers in the heart of the range Lead Free FR4, Halogen Free, High Speed / Low Loss, RF, Polyimide and High-Performance copper clad materials.
The success of both Arlon and EMC have been built on their current product technology, but we are already learning about the pipeline of new products as well as plant expansions they are developing around the world. Insulectro is excited to be partnering with Arlon / EMC for their ambitious goals in the worldwide copper clad laminates business. We have brought on additional staff with expereince in these areas as we continue to build our team to support our partners.
Initially, Insulectro is going to support this transition as close as possible to the model you have been accustomed to with AMS and Arlon/EMC as we continue to interact with our customers to build the optimized service model for you. Communications now and post A-Day will be vital to our success of building the strongest service structure, we are encouraging our team to over communicate and check in often with our customers' needs.
Our customers are the #1 reason why this change was considered. It is now a reality. Thank you for helping us make this transition a positive move for your business and ours.
|
|
Ken Parent
Chief Operating Officer
|
|
Turn the Page!
Partnering with the Best Global Suppliers
|
|
It’s time to turn the page, while Insulectro and Isola have been great partners for a long time, our contract term is coming to an end this September.
Evolving design and technological trends have guided us to search out the most advanced base material solutions. Our customers' ever increasing design demands require it. For proof, I urge you to read Insulectro’s Chris Hunrath’s article on “Building Stacked Microvias with low CTE Prepreg and Foil” later in this issue.
In addition to low CTE resins, the increased industry demand for Halogen Free resin systems and Ultra low insertion loss performance, could no longer be ignored. Arlon / EMC fills this demand.
Arlon has long been held as the leader in Polyimide laminates and prepregs as well as the low flow prepregs highly regarded by flex-rigid fabricators. Although it is tough to improve on the excellent 85N polyimide performance, the newest versions, 85HP and 86HP are advancements that have earned certification to IPC 4101/43.
This slash sheet, while maintaining the traditional attributes of slash 40 and 41, provides the improved CAF performance for today’s HDI designs.
EMC, having acquired a North American presence with the acquisition of Arlon three years ago, will continue their expansion with a new, advanced manufacturing site in Southern California. This site will be dedicated to the manufacture of their newest, low CTE and Halogen Free products and will fill the void of current and future design trends.
We pride ourselves for partnering with the strongest global technical leader bringing world class products, supplied and supported, by Insulectro’s dedicated team of professionals and the regional offices located close to our customers.
|
|
Norm Berry
Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
|
|
Livin' in a Material World!
Perfect Storm: Teamwork with Arlon, EMC, & Insulectro
AUGUST 2023
|
|
TEAMWORK in the workplace, by definition, is when groups of people from different functions, experiences, and skill sets work together toward a common goal in an efficient manner.
Teamwork involves communication, coordination, and cooperation between each team member. Insulectro Teammates working towards the Goal of a successful “A-DAY” is the poster child for TEAMWORK!
A-Day, September 5th 2023, is when we begin to support our valued customers with EMC and Arlon Copper Clad Laminate and Prepreg materials.
Leading up to this exciting day is a lot of behind the scenes work within each functional area- Operations, Inside and Outside Sales, Product Management, Pricing, Field Application Engineers, Leadership, Quality, Supply Planning, Accounting, IT, and Marketing Teammates, working together and directly with the Arlon and EMC Teams.
Observing the TEAMWORK within the Insulectro family is inspiring, an impressive collaboration, truly a Thing of Beauty. All the people on our TEAM have the common GOAL of being ready for A-Day so that we are ready to support our customers with a smooth transition!
In addition to the Insulectro Team, we are fortunate to have expanded our Team of resources by partnering with Sach Pasarnikar, President and Owner of AMS Products, Inc. the current distributor for Arlon and EMC materials. Not only is Sach directly supporting Insulectro in this transition, but he has recommended two of his key resources, who are now working directly for Insulectro.
We are excited to have welcomed both Mitchell Benson, Project Manager- Laminates, and Sandy Little, Inside Sales Manager to the Team this month, and are fortunate to have their additional legacy knowledge to support not only our team, but our customers as well. You can learn more about them further in this month’s edition of PumaNews™.
As you can see, we all have a lot to be excited about with this positive change in our business and our customer’s businesses.
Let’s Go! A- Day is coming Soon!
|
|
Michelle Walsh
Vice President of Product Management
|
|
Upgrade from what you're using Now!
Arlon & EMC Laminates Easily Drop-in
|
|
PumaNews™ provides a platform for thought leaders in our industry to voice their opinions. We look forward to presenting many diverse commentaries. |
|
Celanese:
Fired Up Over Ceramics
I-Connect007's Nolan Johnson interviews Daniel Barish,
Global Strategy & West Commerical Leader
Celanese
|
|
Reprinted with permission from I-Connect007. Originally published August 2, 2023. Daniel is interviewed by Nolan Johnson.
With the ever-increasing diversity of performance needs in printed circuits, substrates are an ongoing area of development and innovation. At IMS Microwave Week, we caught up with Daniel Barish, a global strategy and west commercial leader at Celanese, to discuss substrates, low temperature co-fired ceramics, in particular.
Nolan Johnson: Daniel, it’s great to talk to you. Would you please introduce the company and the products you manufacture?
Daniel Barish: Celanese is a large chemical manufacturing company based out of Dallas, Texas. Our specific business—Micromax—is a portfolio of conductive inks and paste dielectrics, and substrates like our low temperature co-fired ceramics. Our legacy business was with DuPont, and we were acquired in November 2022.
Johnson: So, these products have a DuPont history?
Barish: That's correct. We were a DuPont business for about 60 years.
Johnson: Walk me through what you're sharing with customers here at the IMS show.
Barish: We’re promoting our low-temperature co-fired ceramics. These products feature silver conductors, dielectric substrates, all ceramics—they’re good for high reliability, and have years of experience in military applications from radar, avionics, and telecommunications. As we move to higher frequencies, and higher performance requirements, these materials are much better suited.
Here in San Diego, we’re launching a new ceramic substrate. It's thinner and geared for those high frequency applications in 5G. You can stack up from six to 80 layers of this material, print all the circuitry at one time, and then fire them all together as opposed to traditional processes with multiple steps. We think there are some process and performance advantages of this material.
Johnson: What are some of the adjustments you make to the product in order to work in such challenging conditions?
Barish: Processing this material is pretty straightforward. With equipment, which a lot of the manufacturers already have on hand, you adjust temperatures and the process parameters, then use these materials in a very similar way to make the components and substrates for 5G or for high frequency telecommunications.
Johnson: From your perspective talking to your customers, what are their primary drivers? What are they most interested in right now?
Barish: Performance and innovation. We're just getting started in the realm of 5G mmWave, what that really means, and what that capabilities are. We hear so much about AI, and that will need a whole lot of computing power. We're moving a lot more data, a lot more energy through the circuits, and everybody wants to get smaller and more compact. The challenge is in getting that same performance in a smaller package which actually enables these newer technologies. I think those are the drivers right now.
From a supply chain standpoint, there has been uncertainty, but it’s smoothing out. Cost is always there, but as we move to cutting-edge technology, cost becomes less of a driver.
Johnson: What's the right place in the design cycle to specify the use of your materials?
Barish: We think there's a large application around the LEO user terminals and mmWave cells, especially band pass filters, repeaters, antenna in packages, power modules, anything that needs to control the bandwidth, low loss, with good thermal stability in high frequency, and so forth.
To read entire interview, click link below.
|
|
PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS & PASTES,
SUBSTRATES & FILMS
|
|
Kevin Miller Can See it!
Customer Events Dominate Busy Month of September
AUGUST 2023
|
|
Register Now!
"It's All About Flex! A Flex Circuit Showcase" in San Jose on September 19
|
|
Insulectro will be hosting a full day seminar in our San Jose CA facility. The event will take place of September 19th 2023 from 8:30am to 4:00pm and coincide with PCB West show September 20th & 21st.
The showcase is focused on new technologies in the Printed Electronics, Flex Rigid and Additive processing of Flexible Circuitry. We will have our suppliers supporting and presenting at this showcase by DuPont, Celanese, Arlon and Insulectro.
|
|
Register Now!
Printed Electronics Seminar
presented by Celanese Micromax™ September 12-13 Wilmington, DE
|
|
The Celanese Micromax® team which manufactures a portfolio of Conductive Inks announced the launch of nine new product grades for the printed electronics market. The new products Micromax® Conductive Inks developed included the PE800 series of products for consumer electronic applications such as touch sensors, busbars and EMI shielding. Additionally, the new HT series is formulated to meet customer needs for electronic inks in high temperature applications."
|
|
We look forward to supporting your future needs and material requirements. All customers have access to our custom converting services plus rapid delivery and as well as our in-house technical assistance.
Please call Insulectro at 1-855-955-0200 with any questions regarding these product offerings or visit our E-Commerce site at https://insulectro-pe.com/.
|
|
The People Behind the Puma
Peter Nguyen
Staff Accountant, Lake Forest CA
|
|
PERSONAL COMMENT:
I started at Insulectro three years ago this month. Like the rest of the world, the company was in lockdown during 2020, so my interview process began with Zoom calls. The next round of interviews took place outside Insulectro’s headquarters. If you have not been to the patio outside the building, just picture a cozy, idyllic setting with modern furniture surrounded by lush vegetation. However, this area wasn’t so charming before the recent makeover.
There was a set of blue, perforated picnic tables. The blue looked like it was fading, but that might have been the layer of dust altering the color. There were networks of cobwebs around the tables, creating a bridge between the seats. Piles of dead leaves had also congregated in the area. This place was devoid of human activity, which was logical given the pandemic.
On top of the usual anxiety felt during a job interview, I remember having difficulty speaking because of the facemask. I constantly to adjust the mask because it kept sliding down over my nose. I had to really control my breathing to prevent my glasses from fogging. But the biggest concern in the back of my mind was a spider possibly crawling on me during the interview. I honestly do not know what I would’ve done if that happened.
Three years later, I’m still here. This is my third job after graduation, and this is also the longest time I’ve stayed at a company. If you’re still reading this, I do accounting stuff.
|
|
When you meet Peter, wear a jersey. |
|
What do you do to occupy your free time? Hobbies? Books? Binge watching? I’m a sports nerd that obsessively follows football, basketball, and soccer. I think football is the best sport, and my team is the Green Bay Packers. Is it too much to ask for a third consecutive Hall of Fame quarterback?
Another hobby is PC gaming, but I don’t really play much in the summer because my house is hot enough without a PC heating it up. I binge watch shows all the time and prefer to watch multiple series at a time instead of focusing on just one. A few things that I’m watching now and would recommend are: Ted Lasso, Justified, The Bear, and Harley Quinn.
What is your favorite way to blow off steam after a busy week?
Watching my teams play, cheering the players on and occasionally yelling at the refs!
|
|
If you could travel anywhere, right now, where would you go?
Antarctica sounds nice right now. I would also like to be in London this month for the start of the new English Premier League season.
If a movie was made about you, what movie star would play Peter?
Steven Yeun. I would pick a Vietnamese actor, but I can’t name one, so I will go with one of the most exciting Asian actors working today.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?
Nothing comes to mind recently. I used to get motion sickness easily when I was a kid though, and I threw up during field trips in elementary school.
|
|
If you were a jungle animal, what would you be and why?
Depends on which continent this jungle is located. I will go with Africa for this question, and I would choose to be a leopard. They are at the top of the food chain, and they relax all day in a tree. Why would you choose to be anything else?
If you won the lottery, what would you do next? The usual stuff like a buy a house and a car. Buying a sports team would be incredible. I would also donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Finish the following sentences: When I was a kid, I would best be described as a nerd. Today, as an adult, I would be best be described as a nerd.
What was your childhood ambition for when you grew up? A doctor, like most Asian kids.
Did you have any nicknames as a child? Pete or Petey
Ten years ago, were you know as a scholar, a party animal, a lady’s man or what? Please describe yourself then. A scholar. Ten years ago was my first semester at Cal State Long Beach. I had something to prove to myself, so I set a goal of getting straight A’s in all my classes. I was able to do it during my years there, except for the last semester where I got one B.
Three words that describe you at Insulectro?
Dependable, accountable, patient
Name three self-indulgences you’re susceptible to:
Sweet tea, fruit snacks, pickles
|
|
Name your most embarrassing car and favorite car you’ve ever had, plus the car you wish you had? Most embarrassing car was probably a Toyota Avalon. The car itself was nice, but it was an ugly copper color. My current car, Audi A4, is my favorite because it’s the first car I acquired with my own money. My dream car is a Ferrari 458.
What book or movie has made the greatest impact on your life?
I can’t think of anything that influential to me. I’ll say Jurassic Park since dinosaurs are cool and my interest in them started with that movie.
Tell me something you’ve never told anyone (I promise not to repeat it)? I look down on people that don’t pronounce GIF correctly. Fortunately, I don’t think I’ve met a person that says it the wrong way.
A great weekend for you is: sleeping, clearing something from the TV/game backlog, and having one of my teams win their game .
What was your first week at Insulectro like? A bunch of meetings in Teams while sitting in a room with no air conditioning. That was rough.
|
|
What’s the worst Halloween costume you’ve ever worn?
The next one.
If you could have any job, anywhere, what would you chose?
I want to own a soccer team in a small English town that plays in the lower divisions (not the English Premier League or the Championship).
Anything you recklessly eat or drink that you’re not proud of?
Burgers. If you know, you know.
|
|
Any wardrobe miscalculations looking back?
Nothing major. I’ve worn shirts inside out and shirts with holes in them.
How would you like to be remembered after you leave Insulectro?
As a reliable team player.
What is it about you that would most surprise your teammates?
I don’t like seafood.
Name three things you’d have to have if marooned on a desert island?
Knife, flashlight, and insect repellent.
What would be the first sentence of your autobiography?
I have no idea. If you gave me a year to think about it, I still wouldn’t know. The first sentence would probably be the very last thing I decide on before the book gets printed.
|
|
Mitchell Benson
Project Manager of Laminates
Southern California
|
|
Meet Mitchell Benson who joins the Insulectro team with an in-depth knowledge of EMC and Arlon laminates and prepregs.
Mitchell came from AMS products as a technical sales representative to the west coast for the last 3 years. His most recent project at AMS was the implementation of the EMC product line into the AMS portfolio. Mitchell worked hand in hand with EMC Arlon to maintain and develop new business.
As Mitchell puts it, "Looking ahead, I am eagerly anticipating the prospect of joining Insulectro, where I will further elevate my skill set and contribute to expanding the EMC Arlon product line. The opportunity to learn, grow, and collaborate in an environment of innovation aligns seamlessly with my aspirations and goals."
Mitchell is based in Southern California.
|
|
Sandra Little
Inside Sales Manager
Southern California
As Insulectro prepares to roll out EMC and Arlon laminates on A-DAY September 5, another expert joins our team - Sandra Little.
Sandra's background includes working for both AMS Products as a Customer Service Specialist where she supported customers with order entry, complaint resolution, price quotations, maintained min/max levels and purchased replenishment stock for 2 warehouse locations.
While working with Arlon as their Sales & Marketing Coordinator, Sandra prepared various customer related analysis projects, assisted developing and co-branding new product launches, and coordinated both foreign and domestic trade shows.
"I’m very excited to join the Insulectro team. The welcoming has been wonderful, and I do feel that my knowledge of both the Arlon (laminate and prepreg) and EMC (laminate and prepreg) product lines will directly help to assist with a smooth transition from AMS to Insulectro."
|
|
OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN
WORLD-CLASS MANUFACTURING
|
|
WCM: Employee Involvement
Reaching Safety Milestones & Engaging Problem Solvers
AUGUST 2023
|
|
DATELINE: Lake Forest, CA |
|
The foundational tenet of World Class Manufacturing is Employee Involvement. People are ALWAYS the most valuable resource we have.
At Insulectro, our Core Beliefs have always been centered around people. Among our “people-centered” corporate beliefs are Putting Safety First & Building Trust in our Teammates to “GSD” (Getting ‘Stuff’ Done).
We’ve worked hard the last two years to instill the “3As” of Safety into our culture:
Accountability for my own, personal safety,
Approaching others who are working un-safely, and
Accepting Feedback when approached.
This simplicity of this safety message keeps our focus where it should be: on sending our Teammates home each day to their families the same way they entered our facilities.
In July, we celebrated two fantastic safety milestones in our businesses.
First, our Insulectro Lake Forest Operations team reached two years without a reportable injury. Jaygee Gozum, Site Operations Manager said, “The 3As and consistent daily focus has continued to keep our team safe. We talk about safety and housekeeping throughout our workday, and it’s always the first topic at our morning huddles."
What’s most impressive is that the Lake Forest team has also improved YOY in its quality and cost performance, while not compromising safety. This supports the reality that a clean, safe work environment truly does promote enhanced productivity and quality.
The Lake Forest Team Insulectro had a luncheon last month to celebrate this fantastic result:
|
|
Similarly, the Lake Forest CAC Operations team also reached two years without a reportable injury! This coincides with their lowest waste month of the year!
Felix Martinez, Director of Operations remarked “We’ve put a lot of focus on reducing our scrap and improving productivity this year in CAC Operations, but we’ve continued to stress that no production or waste reduction goal is more important than each Teammates’ individual safety. The Team has done a great job living out our corporate value of “Putting Safety First” while setting waste and efficiency records all year long."
|
|
In addition to staying safe, our teams continue to embrace the LEAN practice of EVERYONE working together to solve problems, using simple methods. We just completed a “train-the-trainer” course with our site Operational leaders in late July, to review the 4-Step Problem Solving Method, and to provide simple tools and templates to ensure all are equipped to attack those nagging daily issues head-on to take us to the next level.
Some highlights of key problems identified and solved recently include:
- Implementing a pallet recycling program to avoid waste and control costs at our Bloomingdale, IL facility.
- Changing our shipping paperwork to show tolerances in quantity vs. percentages, to make order fulfillment easier and to reduce errors – our Lake Forest Operations team initiated this problem-solving event.
- Relocating the shrink wrap equipment to better control cold room temperature during the summer months at our Londonderry, New Hampshire facility.
Examples of our Improvement Event summary “Before and After” documents below help our teams celebrate success and share key wins that can be leveraged at other sites.
|
|
I couldn’t be prouder of our Teammates who continue to GSD by identifying and solving problems using simple methods, while working safe every day!
|
|
Thanks for all you do! Stay safe and stay engaged! And thanks to everyone for another remarkable month.
Jason Shuppert
Vice President of Operations
|
|
INSULECTRO'S COPPER & COPPER FOIL OFFERINGS |
|
Out with the Old, and In with the New!!
Mitsui MicroThin Foils: MT18Ex & MT18Fl
|
|
Copper Foil is a Technology Enabler. . .
Carrier foil for tighter Lines & Spaces!
|
|
As the applications for Antenna’s, and High-Density Interconnects advance so must your material selection.
Sub 2mil Lines and Space are supported by utilizing carrier foils, Mitsui Mining & Smelting leads the global market and offers several options down to 1.5µm in thickness.
|
|
The need for incremental changes in material such as selecting a thinner copper will enable improvements in performance and design especially trace line creation and side wall formation.
|
|
Carrier foils are not a new option and are necessary for mSAP design principles.
These Grade 1 ED foils are deposited onto a H oz carrier with an organic release layer supporting mid-high temperature lamination cycles 380 – 400 °F.
Once the cycle completes the carrier can be detached OR remain to protect the surface during the routing and drilling process.
|
|
These carrier foils support the additive mSAP (Modified Semi Additive Process) which utilizes Dupont Riston® films and electrolytic copper to build up the traces using LDI process.
Several carrier foil options are available. Contact me or your TAM for additional information.
|
|
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foil, CAC® & Pacothane®
|
|
Hot of the Press!
From American Standard Circuits & I-Connect007
|
|
Get your free download by clicking below. |
|
Get to Know
FOCUSTECH™
Introducing the New FOCUSTECH™ Brand
|
|
FOCUSTECH™ is a world-class chemical manufacturer that also happens to manufacture the industry-leading line of process control systems.
History
FOCUSTECH™ was founded in the 1999 in Tempe, AZ. Since then they have grown, along with partnerships or other suppliers to service the globe with all its manufacturing needs.
Blending Systems
With state of the art blending systems and high quality process controls, FOCUSTECH™ ensures the best, repeatable product every time.
New Facility
In 2022, the company moved into a nearly 50,000 square foot facility to be able to grow to continue to meet the rising demand for its products.
R&D Capablity
With the new facility comes a full-service, R&D lab for new formulation development and the ability to help customers troubleshoot their existing processes.
Process Control
FOCUSTECH™ goes above and beyond by not only selling the highest quality chemistries on the market but also having the ability to supply the process control equipment for each process. The controllers are made in-house specifically designed for each process.
All FOCUSTECH™ controllers are connected factory or IIoT ready allowing engineers and plant personnel to view the status of its processes from anywhere they have connectivity.
Custom Formulations
The company creates custom formulations to meet customer or supplier requirements. Primarily servicing the PCB, GMF, and Chem Milling industries.
Beyond their well-established stable of existing products, FOCUSTECH™ reacts quickly and effectively to formulate custom products for customer-specific applications.
Product Lines include:
- Anti-Foam
- Anti-Tarnish
- Copper Cleaners
- Copper Thinning/Etch
- Cupric and Ferric Chloride Etch
- Dry Film Adhesion Promoters
- Dry Film/Soldermask Developer
- Dry Film Resist Stripper
- Equipment Cleaner
- General Metal Finishing
- Hot Air Solder Level & Hot Oil Reflow
- Micro Etch
- Oxide Alternative
- Pumice
- Screening Products
- Tin/Solder Stripper
- Waste Treatment
Please contact an Insulectro representative to learn how we can help you improve your process or reduce your operating costs. You can also reach us at our website.
|
|
Series 430 Hybrid Drill Line
High-Strength, Precise Hole Location, & Superior Hole Wall Quality
Use a Tool Designed for Your Success!
|
|
Insulectro announced previously our joint R&D Lab with Kyocera and LCOA located in Lake Forest, CA.
Insulectro along with our supply partners Kyocera and LCOA™ can offer support in many areas, below are some options available to our customers:
- Support New Product Design and Custom Tool requirements.
- Troubleshoot Field Challenges
- Develop process for our customer facing new technologies
- Develop Feed & Speed Charts
- Develop Processes for New Materials (PCB Laminates)
With the equipment resources we have available, we can provide significant support to our customer base in the drill and routing areas. Significant investment has been made into the following equipment set.
|
|
Schmoll MX-1 Single Station Drilling/Routing System
- High speed capability (160,000 RPM) and a stable drilling platform support both ultra micro diameters. Allows continual pursuant of designs dedicated to the Semiconductor industry (diameter <0.10mm/0.0039”).
|
|
Haas CM-1 Compact CNC Vertical Machining Center
- Customers are seeing a variety of materials come through their facilities and the Haas is another tool at our disposal to offer solutions.
|
|
In the short time the R&D Lab has been open we have been gaining tremendous traction from customers needing a special tool design, process development, cross-section support, or used tool analysis, just to name a few.
Your Insulectro representative is always available to work with your team on how best we can support your needs in the drilling and routing processes.
|
|
Along with our industry leading backer and entry products from LCOA™, Insulectro has what you need to build better boards faster.
Please contact me for additional information, technical support, or process related questions. Our Insulectro team looks forward to assisting in you!
|
|
Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - Kyocera Precision Cutting Tools
|
|
Chris Hunrath on Future Tech
Building Stacked Microvias with Low CTE Prepreg and Foil
AUGUST 2023
|
|
In the ever-increasing need for circuit density, using fine pitch and small stacked plated microvias provide a design solution. Although fitting in these circuit elements from a design standpoint is possible, building it with high yields and high reliability is another matter.
The strength (reliability) of stacked microvias is the result of a combination of many things, aspect ratio, drilling, cleaning (desmear), plating, and naturally the dielectric material.
|
|
Aspect ratio is important because design (circuit density) and reliability are competing elements. The difference in CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) between the copper metal and the surrounding dielectric put pressure on the bond between the plated copper and the copper pad. A larger via will help as there is more surface area to hold things together, but this is not always an option.
Before microvias were common, the move to high Tg (glass transition temperature) materials greatly improved through hole reliability. This is because the CTE in most materials greatly increases above the Tg.
Let’s look at the difference this can make going from a 125°C Tg to a 170°C Tg material over a temperature change to 260°C. That’s an increase of 235° from 25°C with some of the material experiencing that change both above and below the CTE.
Many epoxy-based PCB laminates have a CTE of 50 ppm/°C below the Tg and 230 ppm/°C above. For the 125°C Tg material, it will expand at 50 ppm for the first 100 degrees, then 230 ppm for another 135 degrees. Obviously, this is different for the 170°C material at 50 ppm for the first 145 degrees and 230 ppm for the last 90 degrees.
While this might not seem like much, the higher Tg material sees the much larger expansion for 45 degrees less over the temperature rise. For a 100 mil thick PCB, that’s 3.61 mils of z-axis expansion vs 1.76 mils for the 170 Tg material, a little less than half the amount.
An important consideration is that multilayer PCB’s will have areas with higher resin content, and thus even more expansion and the difference becomes even greater. Most PCB material data sheets rate z-axis expansion in percent in total thickness up to 260°C with actual multilayers being higher still.
|
|
Now let’s extend this to a resin system with a much lower CTE than standard high Tg epoxy. Legacy systems will typically have a 2.8% z-axis expansion to 260°C. Newer systems can be as low as 1.4%.
This will be a major reduction on interconnect stress and improve reliability on stacked microvias with high resin constructions. With half the expansion, via structures that would not pass thermals before now become feasible.This will impact everything from design to PCB fabricator yields and profitability.
Using one or two plies of thin, high resin prepreg with copper foil is an established method of build-up for “any layer” HDI PCB’s. It allows unrestricted via placement for high circuit density. Thin is important to keep the via aspect ration as low as possible, but there is also a need to fill the underlying circuitry without voids. This drives the resin content up and increases the need for low CTE systems.
Along with our suppliers, we will bring new, low CTE systems to our customers. Let us know if you have a challenging design and we can work together to make it not only buildable, but a high yield success.
|
|
Chris Hunrath
Vice President of Technology
|
|
Glibrite (GB4300):
Copper Surface Treatment
|
|
ELIMINATE PUMICE SCRUB! It’s time to stop mechanically scrubbing circuit boards and start etching them. With Shikoku’s Glibrite system you can achieve better and more uniform soldermask adhesion.
With just 15uin of etch you can get more micro topography resulting in more surface area for soldermak to stick to. This process also works great for dryfilm adhesion on plated subs and shinny foil inner layers. With only 15uin of etch there is minimal degradation of signal integrity.
If you are ready for your next big step in process improvement, contact us to let us show you how we can help.
|
|
Jeff Johnson,
Product Manager
|
|
Let us assist in organizing and boosting the efficency and performance of your lamination room while also reducing the energy costs in this area as well! |
|
Press Release!
Equipment Technologies LLC Launches New Website for New Equipment Sales & Maintenance Services
|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 7, 2023 - LONDONDERRY, NH
Equipment Technologies LLC (ETI) has launched a redesigned “from the bottom up” website as it continues its rapid growth. ETI specializes in selling and installing new manufacturing and automation equipment as well as offering maintenance and repair services to the circuit board industry. ETI product and service offerings are supported by Insulectro, the largest distributor of materials and services for PCB manufacturers in North America. ETI is owned by the Redfern Companies in Southern California.
|
|
“I am thrilled to invite you to visit our new website at www.equiptech.com. It’s a complete re-design with all new visuals that show, first-hand, ETI specialists at work,” commented Jon Pelletier, ETI President. “It’s a fresh, sleek new look that truly reflects our company and its prominence within the industry. We are continuously searching out new opportunities for growth and expansion.
|
|
“The new website offers an array of pertinent information readily available in a simple to navigate design. Menu tabs include a “Featured Suppliers” section where visitors can learn about ETI’s two major equipment lines: Universal Circuit Board Equipment Co., Ltd. (UCE) and InduBond® Technologies.
UCE is a well-respected manufacturer of DES (Develop Etch Strip) Lines, SES (Strip Etch Strip) Lines, and VCP (Vertical Continuous Plating) Lines.
InduBond® Technologies manufactures a state-of-the art induction press and many automation add-ons that are revolutionizing fabrication shops. InduBond® X-PRESS lamination presses utilize a different way of producing the heat required for lamination using standard pressing methods. The innovation of this technology is that it produces heat on the laminated material, and only the laminated material, of each layer of the press pack at the same time, at the same temperature level, without any thermal conduction.
|
|
Other sections of the site include service & installation videos, company history, an enhanced contact form, and a news and career section.
Patrick Redfern, President & CEO of the Redfern Companies commented, “Through its equipment offerings, ETI supports our customers as they automate their manufacturing process. The equipment and service they offer is unmatched in our industry and it’s a perfect complement to the best-in-class PCB materials and chemistry we offer through other channels.
|
|
“I am excited as well to invite you to discover the capabilities of ETI by surveying the enhanced layout of our new website. The look and feel of the site are remarkable. You will find it an indispensable tool for learning about our premiere offerings.”
Redfern concluded, “Another step to enable our customers to build better boards, faster.”
|
|
With the Indubond double opening XPress, you have the capability to run two different materials that have two different heat cycles in one press load.
Run your Arlon polyimide in one opening while running your EMC materials in the other!
Reach out to us for a presentation and see how we can optimize your process and save on energy costs by up to 70%!
|
|
Universal PCB EQUIPMENT CO, LTD |
|
The UCE quality of their Develop-Etcher-Strip line with vacuum etch is accelerating with multiple installations happening along with customer purchases in place thus far in Q1 of 2023.
Be very careful when chosing your next Asian built line, THEY ARE NOT ALL BUILT WITH THE QUALITY, LEADERSHIP AND INTERNAL QUALIFICATION MEASURES THAT UCE PRIVIDES.
We have the machine to fit your needs with a proven track record of quality, performance and durability!
|
|
We have the machine to fit your needs with a proven track record of quality, performance and durability!
Lines include:
- Plating lines
- DES – With Hyper Etch Technology
- SES – With Hyper Etch Technology
- Immersion Silver/Tin
- OSP
- Desmear/PTH
- Scrubbing lines – Debur/Pumice/Jet
- Handling equipment
|
|
We will also work with your current chemistry supplier and set up any UCE line to their specification! |
|
We have over 40 installations completed in the United States and Canada alone. Our service team is at your disposal, used and new equipment!
An example of equipment manufacturers we service:
WISE / CHEMCUT / SCHMID / I.S. / IPS / DYNACHEM / DUPONT Laminator Retro-fits / TMP Presses / HAKUTO / PLASMA ETCH / INDUBOND® / UCE
- Emergency Service
- Preventative Maintenance
- Installations
- Rebuilds
- Retro-fits
- Troubleshooting
- Training
- Spare parts
- Brushes
Please reach out should you like to discuss our equipment offerings further. Thank you.
|
|
Jon Pelletier
President, Equipment Technologies
|
|
Kevin Barrett,
Product Manager - Equipment
|
|
Elmhurst, Illinois
Alpha Takes the Greenfield Route
|
|
Reprinted with permission from I-Connect007 and Prashant Patel, President & CEO of Alpha Circuit. Originally published in February issue of SMT007 Magazine. Interviewer is Nolan Johnson.
Alpha Circuit is a PCB fabricator located in Elmhurst, Illinois. Given that the launch of a new PCB fab is a rare occasion these days, we caught up with the senior team—Prashant Patel, president and CEO; Steve Smith, general manager; Steve Ryan, sales and direct support—guiding the buildout of Alpha Circuit’s brand new 44,000 square foot facility. They discuss what goes into equipment selection and line design, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
Throughout the conversation, the Alpha team shared its methods for designing the facility, the parts of the fabrication process that are critical to get exactly right, and where the surprises were in the process.
Nolan Johnson: Gentlemen, welcome, and congratulations on your new facility. Let’s start with a little background about the company.
Steve Ryan: Alpha Circuit started in 1981, as a single- and double-sided board shop. Zenith was one of our big customers early on. We did a lot of punching and crunching back then and it is what really catapulted the revenue stream for us. When I joined the company in 2009, we were comfortably an eight to 12-layer multilayer and double-sided manufacturer. In 2013, we started doing flex and rigid-flex, increased our multilayers up to 28 layers, and started manufacturing copper-based pedestal-type design work.
|
|
Prashant Patel: When I acquired the company in 2020, my vision was to continue Alpha Circuit the way it was, while building a new facility to meet the higher technology demands. We purchased and renovated a 44,000 square foot facility, then ordered the equipment. It takes a long time to source equipment—you get the quotes, have it installed, and then get it running up to speed. That process has taken us over three years.
Steve Smith: I joined the company approximately two months ago. My background is HDI: stacked microvias, staggered microvias, along with high-speed digital materials, low-loss materials. I was hired to put the technology part of it together, getting the proper people and processes in place, so we can handle microelectronics down to 25-micron line and space and down to 3-mil pads.
Johnson: Great, thank you for that. Now, I want to talk today about your recent equipment purchases.
Smith: We have purchased a laser drill, and we have brand-new 200,000 RPM drill machines in place to do high aspect ratio holes. We also have a brand-new plating line with state-of-the-art chemistries to be able to do copper fill and through-hole plating in the same process along with being able to manufacture stacked vias starting with a 2-mil core substrate and stacking up to seven or eight lamination cycles.
To read entire interview, click link below:
|
|
Ed Kneller
Technical Account Manager - Midwest
|
|
Dain's Got It: "Get Hot for HT!"
DuPont™ Pyralux® HT: High Temperature, Low Loss Flex Material
|
|
Pyralux® HT bonding film is a flexible all polyimide sheet adhesive, and coverlay.
Designed for high temperature performance, HT has a service temperature of 225°C (437°F) the highest service temperature of any flexible material available today.
This makes it a great replacement for high temperature cabling. It also provides excellent low loss characteristics with a Df value of .0015 making it great for high speed applications. Space, flight and medical devices are great uses for this extremely low outgassing material.
HT film is available in a variety of thicknesses at 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 mils. However, not only is the service temperature high but so is the lamination temperature. With a required lamination temperature of 315°C (600°F) and pressures from 350-600 PSI you will get this material flowing to provide full encapsulation of circuitry.
Fabricators can rest at ease though knowing that after lamination the processing of this material is similar to that of Pyralux® AP while being more plated through hole friendly than most flexible adhesives.
So this summer, get hot with HT and stay cool with a new InduBond® induction press that will heat your books, not your lamination room.
|
|
Dain Hertsgaard
Product Manager, DuPont Flex Laminates
|
|
@Mike Creeden
The Unseen Contribution to OEM Product Success
|
|
Most of circuit electricity is unseen within the circuit laminate.
Circuit product performance success does not occur in the schematic, the traces, or the fabrication process, rather it occurs in the dielectric laminates between any voltage and ground. It is at the sub/atomic level traveling at light speed and below. It is protons, neutrons, and electrons that have interacted to create electrical energy. Thunderstorms are perfect examples of this process. We harness and control it in our circuits. Lightning occurs at the speed of light within the dielectric constant of air at 1.0 Dk, while it occurs within our circuits at a sub-set of the speed of light within the dielectric constant of laminate material at 3.0 Dk.
In the US electronics’ market, we all build in different volumes. Smaller volume runs are the most common so cost vs. performance is often inconsequential, performance should win this decision. With circuit performance levels achieving new heights every year the idea of using the more inexpensive types of laminates is extremely self-defeating and it goes unnoticed in the unseen world of electricity.
When someone is making a cost saving decision about laminate material to be used on a circuit board that does not understand the circuit performance requirements of this particular circuit, they are making the self-defeating decision mentioned earlier. This decision will not be clearly identifiable as the source for poor circuit performance, lower producibility, low reliability, or worst case, product failure can occur.
I recently had the opportunity to teach a seminar on material selection at a leading OEM of advanced products used in several industry sectors. I will not name this OEM because others sometimes make inaccurate judgements based on incomplete information.
This company is to be applauded because they were doing what is a recipe for success, they’re always learning! They questioned the selections and practices that they have been using for a long time. After all, “If it’s not broken don’t fix it,” right? No, wrong! It becomes defective because yesterday’s solutions often don’t work with ever advancing electronics. We looked at using spread-weave high-speed and RF rigid laminates with low profile copper, Ormet® sintering via paste for advanced drilling requirements, and adhesiveless flex solution to replace wire harnesses. These discussions produced significant upgrades to their hardware development.
To the OEM, I encourage you to investigate data sheets or talk to material suppliers to comprehend the best material choices, make the correct performance material selections, prepare to pay the slight cost adder that will be required and lastly work with your fabricator early in the development cycle to insure they have these materials in stock and are tooled to process it correctly.
To the fabricator, I understand you’re in a very competitive situation and material cost are a factor in your approach to offer a competitive quote. However, if you sacrifice the performance perspective you are not best serving the OEM’s long term needs. I encourage you to partner in their success! The best customer is a repeat customer. As I wrote in my June article, when you see an IPC-4101 slash sheet listed on the print, I encourage you to have the OEM take a closer look because the most cost effective slash sheet is probably the worst performing for their circuit. Again, partner in their success!
With so many of the experienced layout staff retiring from the industry, the responsibility of performing the layout and creating circuit board tooling is transitioning to EEs who have very little layout knowledge and experience. The method used to select laminate materials is often neglected, glossed over, or rubber stamped when layout documentation is generated. It is neglected and added at the very end of the development cycle because of the demands of late schedules. It may be glossed over when someone does not understand the significance the laminate material plays in both the manufacturability and the performance of the circuit. The rubber stamping phenomena occurs when someone just accepts the materials used on a past build of another circuit.
Often when a designer makes a correct material decision, and the circuit works well, they will continue to make similar selections in the future, and it will keep showing up on the print. Let’s all strive to be a part of their continued success!
As we present our products and services to you and your company, we want you to know Insulectro’s Design Education Program is eager to freely support signal-integrity reviews of design circuits prior to fabrication. Also, 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 Training Session soon.
|
|
Reminding you to make technically appropriate material decisions and to get the best use of the best material.
Mike Creeden CID+ MIT
Technical Director, Insulectro Design & Education
|
|
Welcome to the August Edition of
Insulectro PumaNews™ Magazine - East Coast Edition
What's Around the Corner?
|
|
Ready to LEAP?
"Jump or spring a long way to a great height or with great force…"
This is the perfect definition for what’s around the corner. But LEAP also means: "Laminates from EMC plus Arlon Polyimides.
After nearly 50 years in the PWB business, our newly formed partnership with EMC and Arlon is undeniably the biggest GAME CHANGER opportunity I’ve ever been a part of.
|
|
“Insulectro-EMC-Arlon” will be the best representation of a TRIDENT, a 3-pronged spear, and unmistakable in its strength and superiority.
Out with the old and in with the New…Era!
Thanks for reading.
|
|
Ron Murdock
Director of Sales - Eastern Region/ Canada
|
|
Optimize Your Chemical Processes
Remember the Equipment
|
|
No matter what chemistry and process you are using, all the factors matter. Ph, Temperature, Concentration and Dwell time are the most important factors when trying to maintain a bath to perform day in and day out.
Often missed in most conversations, however, is the equipment. If there is inadequate flow, DI water supply for rinses, or poor agitation, many chemical processes will run far below optimal. Insulectro offers UCE equipment with DuPont chemistry to help solve those problems to guarantee quality product and process output.
For long term insurance, our equipment team can maintain and repair most equipment sets used by the industry today. Having a bad pump, temperature sensor or flow meter shouldn’t be a single point of failure to shut down a process or shop.
Reach out today to see how our chemistry and equipment combinations can provide the full package to solve any modern PCB fabrication problem. See related articles on equipment throughout this issue.
|
|
At-A-Glance
The DuPont Chemistry Line
|
|
With the acquisition of East Coast Electronic Material Supply (ECEMS) in late March, Insulectro has brought another best-in-class product line to our customers. The addition of the DuPont Electronics Imaging & Interconnect Solutions (ICS) chemistry line, which was legacy Dow Chemicals before the Dow-DuPont merger, adds a complimentary piece to an already robust Insulectro product offering.
DuPont ICS is innovating new metallization technologies across many platforms:
Electroplating Applications
HDI
-
Microfill™ EVF-III for advanced via filling and through-hole plating
-
Microfill™ LVF-IV for next generation SLP applications
MLB
-
Copper Gleam™ PPR-II for high aspect ratio pulse plating
-
Electroposit™ EP-1600 for high aspect ratio DC plating
-
Copper Gleam™ HS-200 for horizontal DC plating in FPC applications
-
Copper Gleam™ ST-920 for DC vertical continuous plating (VCP)
IC Package Substrate
-
Microfill™ SFP-II & Microfill™ LVF-IV for advanced SAP applications
Making Holes Conductive
Electroless Copper Solutions:
-
Circuposit™ 3350-1 Vertical Electroless Copper
-
Circuposit™ 4000 Horizontal electroless copper for FPC/RFPC
-
Circuposit™ 6700 Horizontal Ionic Catalyst for Advanced HDI applications
Direct Metallization Solutions:
-
Next Generation Crimson™ & Conductron™ palladium-based systems
-
Next Generation Graphite 2000™ carbon-based system
ENIG:
Duraposit™ SMT-88 & Aurolectroless™ SMT 520
Process Chemistries:
DuPont offers a full line of cleaners, developers, strippers and other ancillary products to support printed circuit applications.
General Metal Finishing:
Full line engineering, decorative and precious metal offerings
As you can see, through this addition of the DuPont ICS chemistry line, Insulectro is now providing chemistry and technical support to the general metal finishing, plating-on-plastics, and wire plating industries, which we see as an area of growth.
|
|
Ed Kneller
Product Manager, DuPont Chemistry
|
|
Join our
Puma Team!
Help us define the future of Printed Circuit Boards and Printed Electronics!
Join our Puma team and be a part of our growth.
Business Development
Operations
Pricing
Production
Warehouse
Others
Click on the ad (left) to see various positions we are recruiting.
As advertised in i-connect007's PCB Magazine
|
|
Click-Out our
Pyralux® Flexible Laminates Selector Guide. . .
(click on product name)
The standard copper clad laminate systems for any flex or rigid flex designs.
The standard copper clad laminate systems for any flex or rigid flex designs.
Single sided flex copper clad substrate
Standard acrylic adhesives for building multi-layer flex designs. Offered as coverlay, sheet adhesives and bondplys.
Standard acrylic adhesives for building multi-layer flex designs. Offered as coverlay, sheet adhesives and bondplys.
An epoxy-based adhesive system demonstrating both low loss and high reliability, specifically designed for OEMs and PCB design manufacturers. Offered as coverlay and sheet adhesive.
High temperature flexible adhesive system with an MOT of 225C.
Featuring a unique Kapton Polyimide and Fluoropolymer film base double-sided dielectric offered as a clad laminate or bondply. Ideal for RF designs.
Embedded resistance double sided laminate
|
|
Dain Hertsgaard
Flex Product Manager
|
|
For Cap Construction
PACO-CLUTCH™ Two-side Releasable Film
|
|
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES is the world's leading manufacturer of products to enhance and assist the production and quality assurance process for the lamination and manufacture of printed circuit boards [PCB].
PACO-CLUTCH™. Two-side releasable film for cap construction decouples the O/L etched core from the separator. Improving I/L registration, reducing scrap cost, and improving yields. Rated for 425°F @120min.
|
|
Rather than using expired prepreg sheets which potentially have different glass structures and resin percentages along with additional release film sheets increasing layup time select Paco-Clutch™.
Furthermore, prepreg builds impact scaling along with introducing F.O.D potentially causing opens and shorts.
ADVANTAGES:
- Inner-layer registration is improved and more consistent.
- Predictably and low X & Y axis shrinkage, improving scaling.
- Ease of handling single component @ .011" (279µ) thick.
- Reduced contamination and debris in lamination area.
- Easy clean-up and tear down during breakdown.
- No embedded impurities: no outgassing, nor plate residues & no vacuum system contamination.
- Environmentally friendly: no ozone depleting chemicals or fluorine.
|
|
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES®
Proudly Produced in the USA
with American Labor and American Materials!
For more information on Pacothane and their products please reach out to me. For any additional information on DuPont™ laminates, please connect with Dain Hertsgaard, Product Manager for DuPont Flex Laminates dhertsgaard@insulectro.com, and Ed Kneller, Product Manager for DuPont Chemistry ekneller@insulectro.com.
|
|
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager - Pacothane® Products & Copper Foil
|
|
Just revised! Ask me for Pacothane® Product Sample Guide. |
|
Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - LCOA®
|
|
Design Education - An Insulectro Priority
Insulectro Sponsors New Design Trade Association
|
|
Printed Circuit Engineering Association™ (PCEA) is an international network of engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers, and anyone related to printed circuit development.
Our mission is to promote printed circuit engineering as a profession by encouraging and facilitating the exchange of information and the integration of new design concepts through communications, seminars, and workshops.
|
|
If you are a professional serving in the printed circuit industry from any associated discipline, you are encouraged to join. Membership is free and you’re encouraged to be involved as we all seek to collaborate, educate and inspire one another. Visit the web-site at: www.pce-a.org
|
|
As advertised in i-Connect 007's PCB Magazine.
|
|
Shur-loc, IBC Brush and Equipment Service are being recognized by customers as key contributing factors in Insulectro helping them to increase their departments efficiencies in areas of their facility.
|
|
Is trying to “stretch” the most out of your consumables hurting you?
Are you still passing by your screening department watching them waste valuable time assembling draw bar frames when they could be already screening the product?
Now, check out David Larson from Shurloc stretching a large format frame commonly used on the Circuit Automation DP1000, 1500, 2500 and 3500 series auto screen printers and see the difference! Frames also available for flatbed printers and hand tables. We can customize as well!
|
|
Using the Shurloc system helps in reducing these types of issues through consistent tension from the beginning to the end of the mesh life. Also knowing that each mesh panel will be at the 22.5 degree angle every time for screening LPI.
If you’re not yet using Shurloc…..you should be!
|
|
The startup is easy, and the ROI begins immediately though reduced labor and performance at the machine. We can get you set up whether you have a DP1000,1500, 2500 or 3500. We can provide frames for flatbed printers and hand tables as well. |
|
Is your brush (pumice or debur) footprints even across the panel?
Do they vary in width top to bottom and/or side to side?
|
|
There are many variables that could lead to this such as:
- The conveyor portion of the machine may be worn and no longer aligned to the brush drive system.
- The brushes themselves are not running true as they should giving a larger or smaller footprint side to side.
- Regarding pumice coils, they could be installed incorrectly onto the brush shafts.
·
- The end of a silicon carbide grit brush bristle are cut at a specific angle and need to be installed for the correct rotation. The bristles are also cut at a specific length as well. These bristles have a certain amount of flex to them. The shorter they get, the more aggressive they can become on the surface of the copper.
- If it is a manual machine, the pressures must be monitor consistently to get the best results and must also be monitored on when a brush change is needed.
- If it is a fully automatic machine, then the combination of thickness reader, rpm compensation from brush wear and width reader will assist in the brush performance and then automatically tell you when you’ve met the life of the brush, not the maximum adjustment!
|
|
In many cases, I’ve seen where customers will keep the brushes in the machine until there is no further adjustment left in the mechanical adjustment system.
At this point, the operator usually goes to maintenance at lets them know its time to change brushes, is this what you are experiencing?
The illustration below shows how running your brushes too long could influence the topography results on the surface of the panel.
As the bristles of the brush become shorter and shorter, they lose the ability to flex and drag the pumice particles across the surface of the copper giving optimal surface topography for proper soldermask or dryfilm adhesion.
Instead, the bristles could act as a broom when they become too short and sweep the pumice particles away!
|
|
“Customers are beginning to see the difference in having us assist their maintenance staff in the ever-important preventative maintenance programs needed to uphold an equipment’s performance.” |
|
- Are you getting the best performance out of your equipment?
- Is your equipment DOWN more than it is UP?
- Let us lend a hand by assisting your maintenance team.
Remember that we can assist in your equipment needs through the following:
- Emergency Service
- Preventative Maintenance
- Installations
- Rebuilds
- Retro-fits
- Troubleshooting
- Training
- Spare parts
- Brushes
The calls for Preventative Maintenance Programs are increasing as customers understand the benefits this brings to their equipment’s overall performance and up time.
|
|
Also, do you have a used piece of equipment you’re looking to get installed? We may be able to assist here as well!
Ruben Zambrano
Field Application Engineer
Cell: 847-345-3759
Mike Engle
Field Application Engineer
Cell: 360-749-1756
|
|
Please reach out should you like to discuss any of these topics further.
Thank you.
Kevin Barrett,
Product Manager - Equipment
|
|
Today's Copper Foils
for Tomorrow’s Applications!
|
|
Tailored to meet market trends such as compartment miniaturization, vehicle electrification and increased connectivity demands require improved characteristics of both wrought and ED foils.
Focus on wrought solutions such as:
- Low profile height (Rz) for signal integrity, as low as 0.4µm
- Consistent profile height across the web which does not change when ordering thicker foils
- Alloy foil with Increased tensile strengths which can exceed 700Mpa
- Grain structure in terms of large crystals and uniform orientation improves fatigue resistance and provides excellent vibration resistance.
- Thermal resistance to withstand hostile environments for automotive applications.
Wrought foils released to IPC 4562A in grade 5, grade 7 and grade 8.
Call us to find out more – we love to talk about this stuff!
|
|
Give us a call to discuss how CAC can help you
make better circuits faster.
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Copper Foils
|
|
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 insulectro.com/puma-fast/, you can see what PumaFast™ and standard materials we stock to get you up and running.
|
|
|
|
Stronger than ever!
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
|
|
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.
|
|
Best-in-Class Materials
from our Premier Suppliers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
