CELEBRATING OUR 5TH YEAR OF PUMANEWS™ |
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As I See It!
Focus on Results Not Activities
MAY 2023
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Throughout this issue PumaNews™ and in many previous editions you've seen us refer to the term "GSD" and its expanded meaning "Getting Stuff Done." This is an important part of our core culture but it came about after we took a hard look at ourselves and made a change.
Insulectro, since its inception, has always been focused on growth and still is. Our long history demonstrates our ability to adapt to technology and market changes.
However, a few years back we realized we were distracted - focused on activities and not results. We were acting like a big company with different sorts of inefficiencies impeding our overall progress.
We forgot we were a small company. One that was agile and decisive. And we knew we needed to act like it.
GSD became a rallying cry. We learned to put our focus on "getting stuff done" by eliminating roadblacks, procrastination, and bureaucracy.
We empowered our teams by communicating clearly our goals and objectives and encouraging them to GSD.
It was the right call. Our business processes have improved in all departments and we have gained more time to focus on our customers and help them succeed with their businesses.
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PCBAA LEADERSHIP SPEAKS OUT |
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PumaNews™ provides a platform for thought leaders in our industry to voice their opinions. We look forward to presenting many diverse commentaries. |
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Frank Harrill and Jessi Hall
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Essential Onboarding, and Quickly
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Reprinted by Permission by PCB Magazine - An iConnect007 Publication. Interviewer: Nolan Johnson
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories understands the value of a strong onboarding program. Frank Harrill, Vice President of Security, and Jessi Hall, Senior Director - Vertical Integration explain the reasons behind the company’s intent to internalize new staff as quickly as possible. When it comes to onboarding, time is of the essence.
Nolan: You’re investing in equipment and facilities. That means you need to be investing in staff, operators, and engineers. How extensive or formalized have you made the onboarding and skill-building processes at Schweitzer for the manufacturing floor staff?
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Frank Harrill: We’re a 100% employee-owned company driven by innovation and digital technology. Lifelong learning and training is an essential component of SEL and always has been.
We use a blend of informal and formal training, formal educational opportunities and benefits, and a culture of learning. It’s incredibly important. We empower our manufacturing floor staff to make constant improvements and innovate in the spirit of world class manufacturing, which requires education throughout the arc of their employment at SEL.
Nolan: Is there a formalized training department?
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Jessi Hall: Yes, we do have one. We have training throughout the company with a corporate-wide learning and development team; they focus on onboarding topics and helping our staff understand our culture.
Additionally, we have some training in manufacturing that’s developed by our training team, but we also rely on our supervisors and leaders to act as mentors, to teach new people. Most folks who come into the manufacturing environment have never been in one before, so we focus on creating good processes.
We have found that’s the best way to ensure quality: have robust processes in place and give people the opportunity to learn and grow.
One of my favorite programs is our apprenticeship program. This allows our assemblers to have a six-month internship where they learn about a new skill. They might be working in our process engineering team and learning about soldering, or they might be learning to be a machinist, or maybe they’re learning about becoming an accountant.
This is a formal program that is consistently in process and is a great benefit not just for our employees, but for our company overall—most employees that participate in an apprenticeship are hired into the groups that they apprentice with.
Nolan: You’re committed to investing in the people just as much as the equipment.
Hall: That’s the most important part, the people
EDITOR'S NOTE: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. designs, manufactures, and supports products and services ranging from generator and transmission protection to distribution automation and control systems. SEL is headquartered in Pullman, WA.
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SALES & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT |
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Ken Parent Speaks Out!
Opportunity: Confronting the Forces that will Impact our Lives
MAY 2023
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Embrace change or avoid change, we live it everyday. Acknowledging the forces that will impact our lives is our opportunity. Many of these forces are out of our control. Investing in the changes we believe in and create will lead to our new PCB economy. As Steve Jobs said “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
Changes that I believe will impact Insulectro and how I plan to navigate them are as follows:
People in our PCB world are changing. These people changes are driven by retirements, new talent straight out of school or from adjacent industries, changing from one company to another. These changes require adopting and supporting. As one example of how Insulectro is embracing the winds of change, we hired three new engineering talents in Lake Forest, CA and one in New Hampshire in the last few months to support the changes we are facing. The people I deal with everyday are the favorite part of my job, the changing environment is exciting. I plan to always embrace new relationships.
New Factories and Expansions being built and brought on-line are creating exciting new opportunities. Staffing for this growth is proving to be difficult but is progressing. I continue to meet new talent in my travels constantly. Will this new capacity out pace the closures we are also witnessing here in North America? I plan to support these new factories as they will allow in our new partnerships.
Consolidation from acquisition to plant closures is creating many challenges for us today. We are navigating the new landscape and watching where the workload is shifting to. These changes are creating the OEMs to look for a secure supply chain. We will continue to ACT! to Accomplish Change Together as we have in the past. I plan to look forward and support the demands of these changes to the best of our ability while being responsible to Insulectro, protect our team and achieve our goals.
PCB Technology is amazing. Ultra-high Density PCBs and new materials available to achieve the next generation tools we use everyday are progressing. Insulectro, our suppliers and customers contribute to both medical technology that saves lives and for weapons that protect our nation. This is a purpose I find drives me everyday. I plan to continue our investment in the next generation technology at Insulectro.
Market Conditions are beyond our control. We are educated by market reports and talented people predicting the future more now than we ever have been. We are serious about “Protecting the PumaPride” at Insulectro so we will be here for you for years to come. I plan to communicate with our partners often to sharpen our visibility together.
Automation is progressing nicely in our business. We are investing in several areas to bring Automation to help drive cost down at Insulectro and at our customers. Our investments are with students graduating from school this spring as well as new equipment being developed by our suppliers like InduBond® and FocusTech™. Just this week Geoffrey Leeds witnessed four students he sponsored from California State University Chico present a project to help automate the drill room process. We are going to continue to take cost out of building PCBs through automation. I plan to support our automation initiatives and bring them to our customers to drive cost out of building PCBs.
The Unknown and Unpredictable may drive the biggest opportunity or the biggest challenge in 2023. Whatever it is, I am confident the TEAM at Insulectro will take these changes seriously with the intent to stay strong and support our customers and suppliers that embrace our partnership. I plan to react quickly when change is forced upon us.
To close, I share two of my favorite quotes about change…
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” - Dolly Parton and “Change before you have to.” - Jack Welch.
Thank you for embracing change that drive our mutual success.
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Ken Parent
Chief Operating Officer
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Livin' in a Material World!
Bring Us Your Challenges
MAY 2023
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You may be wondering, how is Insulectro able to do so much for our customers?
From the vast product line to the range of services we provide is all to support our customers to build better circuits faster.
The secret sauce is truly our people, and how we live our mantra, GSD (Get Stuff Done), established long ago is core to Insulectro culture.
Part of our new employee Onboarding Experience, the GSD mentality is laid as a foundation in everything we do:
- GSD- Quick turn delivery.
- GSD- Identify and secure available material options.
- GSD- Troubleshooting response to customer process challenges and yield improvement solutions.
- GSD- Quality Corrective actions.
- GSD- Project management process to transition new Suppliers, new Product lines.
- GSD- Customer Training and Education sessions.
- GSD- Equipment service PMs
- GSD- Resolve internal Operational challenges.
- GSD- Prepare customer price proposals.
- GSD- Cross Functional Team consults.
The list goes on. We love to support our customers, so bring on the challenge- we’re ready to GSD!
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Michelle Walsh
Vice President of Product Management
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Legislation Introduced to Restore America’s Printed Circuit Board Industry after Two Decades of Decline
May 11, 2023
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The bipartisan Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act of 2023 introduced by Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT-1) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA-16) finishes the job the CHIPS Act began by incentivizing investment in the domestic printed circuit board (PCB) industry.
This bill is a necessary follow-on to the CHIPS Act: without a trusted, reliable domestic source of PCBs and substrates, computer chips don’t connect to end use electronic devices.
Domestic PCB production shrunk over the past 20 years, falling from 30% to barely 4% of the world’s supply. Ninety percent of the world’s supply now comes from Asia…56% in China alone.
Major provisions of the bill:
- $3 billion to fund factory construction, workforce development and R&D
- 25% tax credit for purchasers of American-made PCBs and substrates
“Now is the moment for Congress to take decisive action by furthering robust legislation to reshore our manufacturing, strengthen our supply chains, and prioritize national security,” said Congressman Blake Moore. “The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act provides a tried and true approach to incentivizing American companies to produce printed circuit boards here at home, which will maintain the integrity of military and national security commercial materials, boost our economy and workforce, and usher in a new era of American manufacturing.
"The progress we have made on semiconductors is a significant step in the right direction, but congressional support for the entire microelectronics ecosystem is needed to reduce reliance on China. I am grateful to reintroduce this bill with Congresswoman Eshoo and am hopeful this bipartisan effort will successfully move through the legislative process.”
"Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are critical components of almost every piece of electronics used today. However, over the past two decades, a vast majority of PCB manufacturing has moved offshore, making PCBs vulnerable to tampering by foreign adversaries, and only 4% of PCBs are manufactured in the United States. If we want to ensure technological superiority across the global stage and strengthen national security, we need to bring PCB production back to America, which is exactly what my bipartisan bill does," said Rep. Eshoo.
“Remember, chips don’t float. They need PCBs to connect to any electronic device. With production of American-made semiconductors ramping up, PCBs are a key ingredient in revitalizing the nation’s microelectronics ecosystem. Without a robust domestic supply chain, we have become almost entirely reliant on foreign suppliers for the PCBs we need,” said Travis Kelly, Chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America.
PCBAA President Will Marsh said, “Our industry is grateful for this bipartisan support for American-made microelectronics. This is the right response to years of offshoring and a dangerous dependence on foreign sourcing."
PCBAA Executive Director David Schild said, “From F-35s to F-150s, the modern world is built on printed circuit boards, and we need to make more of them in America. This bill will lead to new factories, high paying jobs and an ecosystem to support the work being done by our colleagues in the semiconductor industry."
For interviews or more information, visit www.pcbaa.org or contact Mike Doble at (703) 579-7963, email: mikedoble@pcbaa.org.
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PCBAA, the Printed Circuit Board Association of America, members include: AGY, American Standard Circuits, Amphenol, Aurora Circuits, Bowman, Calumet, Chemcut, Denkai America, DuPont, FTG, Harbor Electronics, Insulectro, Isola, JPS Composite Materials, MacDermid Alpha, Nano-Dimension, Pacothane Technologies, Pro-Tech, Rogers Corporation, Sanmina, Summit Interconnect, Technica USA, TTM Technologies, and Uyemura USA.
The Printed Circuit Board Association of America is a consortium of companies, representatives, and enthusiasts who are advocating for U.S. manufacture of printed circuit boards.
Insulectro is proud to support PCBAA's effort as a founding member.
We encourage you to not stand on the sidelines but get involved to support PCBAA's three main objectives:
- Support the Domestic Production of PCBs
- Enhance Domestic Supply Chain Security
- Advocate for Initiatives that Create Fair Market Conditions
This organization is your voice in Washington.
Visit PCBAA.org today to learn more about membership. See below for more information and a link to inquire about membership.
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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS & PASTES,
SUBSTRATES & FILMS
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Kevin Miller Can See it!
DuPont™ Kapton®: A Perfect Choice for Wire Wrap
MAY 2023
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Insuectro has a strong partnership with DuPont and is a certified distributor and converter of Kapton® films. We are currently serving many industries with this unique and thermal robust substrate but one market that is a large portion is the wire and cable market. This market is expected to grow at double digit rates in the next couple of years and Insulectro is investing in the resources and equipment to support these expanding markets.
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DuPont™ Kapton® is a high-performance polyimide film that is commonly used for wire wrapping in electronics. This material offers numerous benefits over traditional wire wrap materials, making it an ideal choice for applications that require high-temperature stability, chemical resistance, and durability.
High-performance insulated wiring is critical to success in practically every field of study and each manufacturing process involving high vacuum and ultra-high vacuum (HV/UHV) settings. These environments are associated with demanding working conditions that render standard, commercially available plastic insulated wiring unsuitable. UHV pressures, for instance, can extend below 10-9 millibar (mbar), while process temperatures may routinely drop as low as -196°C (liquid nitrogen temperature) – down to just a few millikelvin (mK) in some cryogenics applications.
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Flexible Kapton® wire harnesses generally comprise silver plated copper wiring encapsulated in a polyimide polymer wrapping, though various configurations are available to satisfy distinct performance parameters. Coaxial cables wrapped with Kapton® are readily used as universal, shielded connectors. Twisted pair wires are ideal for in-vacuum motors. Specialized Kapton®-insulated Manganin® & wires, meanwhile, are often diagnosed for cryogenic applications.
Each of these market segments benefits from the high dimensional stability and thermoelectric performance of Kapton, but the inherent flexibility of the polymer is often a unique selling point, too. High-flexibility Kapton® wires are offered with both single, plain copper strands and multi-stranded silver-plated copper conductors. These are perfect as cost-effective general-purpose wiring for signaling and sensing in UHV applications with low to medium current requirements. Some highly flexible Kapton® wires offer higher current performance (<20A) for short periods.
Polyimide insulated wires that are built to the MIL-DTL-81381 style (the most common polyimide construction) share a common construction. These wires have two layers of polyimide, with an adhesive between the tape wrap layers to provide a seal. These two wraps of polyimide typically yield four layers of insulation. On top of this is a lacquer layer. The primary purpose of this opaque lacquer layer is to provide a surface for printing and wire identification. From an electrical and mechanical perspective, the lacquer layer does not add value to the wire.
Overall, the use of DuPont Kapton for wire wrapping offers numerous benefits, including high-temperature stability, chemical resistance, electrical insulation, and durability. These properties make it an ideal choice for a wide range of applications in the electronics industry.
We look forward to supporting your future needs and material requirements. We currently stock Kapton® HN, FN, FPC AND HPP-ST products, all our customers have access to our custom converting services plus rapid delivery and as well as our in-house technical assistance.
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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."
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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/.
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DUPONT™ KAPTON®
Protecting the WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE
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This image of the dusty debris disk surrounding the young star Fomalhaut is from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). (NASA / ESA / CSA / András Gáspár (University of Arizona) / Alyssa Pagan (STScI)) |
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Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to image the warm dust around a nearby young star, Fomalhaut, in order to study the first asteroid belt ever seen outside of our solar system in infrared light. But to their surprise, the dusty structures are much more complex than the asteroid and Kuiper dust belts of our solar system.
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The Webb telescope is protected by a tennis-court sized sunshield made of five thin layers of Kapton® E with aluminum and doped-silicon coatings to reflect the sun's heat back into space. Kapton® is a commercially available polyimide film from DuPont, while the coatings were applied to a specialized Webb specification.
Overall, there are three nested belts extending out to 14 billion miles (23 billion kilometers) from the star; that’s 150 times the distance of Earth from the Sun. The scale of the outermost belt is roughly twice the scale of our solar system’s Kuiper Belt of small bodies and cold dust beyond Neptune. The inner belts – which had never been seen before – were revealed by Webb for the first time.
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The belts encircle the young hot star, which can be seen with the naked eye as the brightest star in the southern constellation Piscis Austrinus. The dusty belts are the debris from collisions of larger bodies, analogous to asteroids and comets, and are frequently described as ‘debris disks.’
“I would describe Fomalhaut as the archetype of debris disks found elsewhere in our galaxy, because it has components similar to those we have in our own planetary system,” said András Gáspár of the University of Arizona in Tucson and lead author of a new paper describing these results. “By looking at the patterns in these rings, we can actually start to make a little sketch of what a planetary system ought to look like – If we could actually take a deep enough picture to see the suspected planets.”
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With IPC's Chris Mitchell & Nolan Johnson
Deciphering the Presidential Determination
Reprinted with permission from April 2023 issue of PCB Magazine. Interviewer is Nolan Johnson, i-Connect007
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On March 27, 2023, U.S. President Biden issued a presidential determination that, IPC states, “prioritizes the domestic development of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and advanced packaging, including IC substrates, under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA)."
IPC welcomes this action, but what does this really mean? IPC vice president of global government relations, Chris Mitchell, joins Nolan Johnson to clarify what a presidential determination is, what it means to both the industry and individual companies.
IPC’s Chris Mitchell, vice president of global government relations, explains the March 27 Presidential Determination for Printed Circuit Boards and Advanced Packaging.
Nolan Johnson: Hi, Nolan Johnson here for Real Time with… I-Connect007, and I have the pleasure of speaking with Chris Mitchell. He is the vice president of global government relations for IPC. Chris, welcome.
Chris Mitchell: Thanks, Nolan. It's always great to be with you.
Johnson: On Monday this week, March 27, IPC put out a press release welcoming the U.S. presidential determination prioritizing domestic development of printed circuit boards and IC substrates. That's pretty newsy.
Mitchell: Yes, it was. A big development and one that's been—quite frankly—a long time in coming. We're exuberant that it was issued on Monday and it's notable that it came out, really, on the heels of an announcement on Friday, while the president was in Canada that the U.S. would be committing, through the Defense Production Act, $50 million for the strengthening of the U.S. PCB and advanced packaging industries.
Johnson: How is a determination different from an executive order?
Mitchell: First, the Defense Production Act, over its 70-plus year history, has evolved in order to allow the president and the U.S. government to more broadly address any number of Industrial Base issues. In this case, the president issued a presidential determination. This comes through in the form of a memorandum to the secretary of defense.
And it is the president's mechanism for, one, identifying an Industrial Base need as a strategic national priority in the interests of our nation's defense. And in addition, providing exemptions to certain requirements that many industries under the Defense Production Act program would normally need to meet in order to secure the kind of benefits and opportunities that that the program can afford.
I think what we see in this presidential determination is, at the very highest levels of the U.S. government for the first time—at least in recent history—an affirmation that the printed circuit board industry is of significant strategic importance to the nation. By designating the industry as having that strategic national importance, it then gives the industry the ability to leverage the Defense Production Act to ramp up production and innovation.
Johnson: Now, this is the first time that's coming from the president himself. However, there has been quite a bit of activity in the past few months that have telegraphed this.
Mitchell: Yes. But clearly the government's been preparing for this. The Defense Department is not alone, but certainly taking the lead in helping to provide a greater level of support for the industry given the significant vulnerabilities that exist.
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The People Behind the Puma
Pedro Rosales
Field Application Engineer
Silicon Valley
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BIO: I have been with the company for about 2 ½ years now and I can say it’s been a great ride.
I have learned a lot from my peers and joining Insulectro has been an illustrious career move for me. I service customers here in the bay area which is where I have lived my whole life.
I have 3 siblings, 1 brother and 2 sisters. My parents have given me this opportunity to thrive in life, which has motivated me to be the best version of myself that I can be.
I just got married last year to the woman of my dreams (I had to say that in case my wife reads this). I have 3 beautiful nieces as well Mia, Hope, and Adeline. I like to watch sports on my free time, and I am a big-time 49ers and Philadelphia 76ers fan.
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Meet Pedro! He says, "Get it done." |
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What do you do to occupy your free time? Hobbies? Books? Binge watching? I like to watch TV shows like Game of Thrones or The Boys. I also watch a lot of sports, Go sixers!!!
What is your favorite way to blow off steam after a busy week? I like to spend time with my Family on the weekends or travel somewhere with my wife.
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If you could travel anywhere, right now, where would you go? I have always wanted to attend Oktoberfest in Germany
If a movie was made about you, what movie star would play Pedro? I would like to say Pedro Pascal, we do not look alike but he is extremely popular right now. It is a Bonus that we have the same name.
If you won the lottery, what would you next? I would buy a lot of land somewhere and build a compound for all my family to live in.
What do you like the most about your customers? They can be demanding at times but once you have helped them, they tend to appreciate your work.
At work, what makes a day a great day for you? Hanging out with my coworkers and talking is always entertaining . I like to say we have a fun office in San Jose.
What was your childhood ambition for when you grew up? I always wanted to do better in life to help my family the best I can. I am the oldest of my siblings, so my parents are my priority according to them.
Did you have any nicknames as a child? They used to call me Peyoyo, I do not know what that means but it’s what they used to call my dad as well.
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Ten years ago, were you known as a scholar, a party animal, a lady’s man or what? Please describe yourself then. I would say a party animal, you must enjoy your life while you are young.
Three words that describe you at Insulectro? Busy, ambitious, and reliable.
You’ve been noted as a great presenter of technical information. Where did you develop your communication skills? I have always been intrigued by technology since I was young. It is always easier when you are passionate about something to speak about it.
Name three self-indulgences you are susceptible to: My Xbox, Gummy Bears and a good taco.
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Name your most embarrassing car and favorite car you’ve ever had; plus, the car you wish you had? I used to own a 1993 Toyota Corolla with a bad paint job and missing 1 hubcap. The car I wish I had, has always been a 1969 Camaro ZL1.
A great weekend for you is: Relaxing, Family, and Watching movies.
What was your first week at Insulectro like? It was hectic, a lot of information to learn and it’s a much faster pace company than my last one.
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What’s the worst Halloween costume you’ve ever worn? I dressed as Lieutenant Dangle from Reno 911 once.
If you could have any job, anywhere, what would you chose? I would choose doing the job I do now but in Hawaii. We need more PCB shops in Hawaii to support, I would volunteer to fly there.
How would you like to be remembered after you leave Insulectro? As someone who was dependable and reliable. Someone who brought a lot to the table and with a lot of ambition.
Based on your first week with the company, how would you coach a new hire? Just be patient and don’t be scared to use your resources. Insulectro is filled with knowledge, learn as much as you can.
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What is it about you that would most surprise your teammates? That I played amateur soccer and that there is a book about my time in amateur soccer called the Midnight Game on Amazon. Get your copy now.
Name three things you’d have to have if marooned on a desert island? An IPA, some crocs, and a scooter.
What book or movie has made the greatest impact on your life? I would say Tropic Thunder because I always wanted to be the dude playing the dude, disguised as the other dude. (Kirk Lazarus).
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Fewer Clicks, More Information
FocusTech™ Breaks Out with Fresh Website
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Tempe, Arizona based FocusTech™ announces a new website that focuses on its offering in specialty chemical and process control system manufacturing for the printed circuit board and general metal finishing industries.
FocusTech™ is the only supplier to the PCB industry that designs and manufactures both process chemicals and control systems.
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“FocusTech™ is proud to roll-out a new company website,” commented Scott Campbell, FocusTech™ founder and President. “The site features over 50 product pages for a variety of chemicals we manufacture for a variety of applications. In two clicks, viewers will find technical information on what we offer. We designed it from the ground up to make it easy to access and navigate all our information.”
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FocusTech™ product lines include anti-foam, anti-tarnish, copper cleaners, etch chemicals, developers, strippers, as well as others commonly used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards and general metal finishing. FocusTech™ also manufactures process control equipment and offers a variety of services to PCB fabricators.
FocusTech™ is known for responding quickly to customer needs and evolving technology by providing custom chemical formulations and controller designs tailored to the specific requirements of a given process.
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Campbell added, “Last year, we moved to a new 47,000 square-foot facility with significant capital investment to improve and streamline all operational, research & development, and manufacturing processes. This has allowed FocusTech™ to expand its capabilities particularly in toll blending capabilities. One click on the website will take viewers to a robust overview of what we can do in chemical blendings, custom process controls, and services.
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“Our new R&D laboratory allows various types of testing including wet titration, atomic absorption and UV/VIS spectroscopy, and cross sections. Our access to a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray analysis equipment round out our test services.”
A part of The Redfern Companies, FocusTech™ products, equipment, and services are distributed by Insulectro leveraging the distributor’s sales team and 11 stocking locations in North America.
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OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN
WORLD-CLASS MANUFACTURING
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WCM: Customer Focus
GSD (Getting Stuff Done)
MAY 2023
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DATELINE: Shout Out to Our “Satellite” Sites
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One of our core Corporate Values at Insulectro is “Getting Stuff Done” or “GSD."
As you’d imagine, this value gets carried out daily in all our operating centers across North America. Our Teammates safely deliver a high-quality product to our customers “PumaFast™”, every day (and quite often, the same day!).
We often spotlight efforts at our “Big Five” large-format distribution and fabrication hubs across our network. These centers (Lake Forest, CA; San Jose, CA; Londonderry, NH; Eden Prairie, MN; and Bloomingdale, IL) are vital to the high-level of service our key customers in these metro markets have come to expect.
Insulectro’s network, however, extends far beyond these mega-sites to several other points of distribution across North America. Daily operations are overseen by key leaders at each of these locations, making us an indispensable resource to our local customers.
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I’d like to call-out some key contributions from each of these “satellite” sites, and introduce you to the fine folks that GSD everyday for our customers there: |
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Thanks David, Sherri, Miguel, and Rudy for taking on full ownership of customer delivery for these vital points of distribution for our company!
Only through your daily focus and GSD attitude do we help live out our corporate purpose of “Enabling Our Customers To Build Better Circuits, Faster."
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And thanks to everyone for another remarkable month.
Jason Shuppert
Vice President of Operations
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INSULECTRO'S COPPER & COPPER FOIL OFFERINGS |
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Copper Complexity & Clarification.
Not All Copper Foils Are Created Equal
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Copper Foil is a Technology Enabler. . .
Copper foil is finally being given the attention it deserves due to design trends moving towards narrower lines and spaces or smoother profiles.
Carrier foils support the mSAP (Modified Semi Additive Process) process which utilizes Dupont Riston® films are one direction, another utilizes smoother profiles below the traditional RTF threshold of Rz 3µm for RF and HSD (Radio Frequency and High-Speed Digital) materials.
These Very Low Profile (VLP2) foils with an Rz under 2µm require special call out on the Purchase Order and care when processing.
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Processing of high performance VLP2 copper foils requires attention to ensure the integrity of the smoother treated profile and those treated dendrites are not over etched leading to impacts on peels and chemical undercut.
While these low roughness foils work to acceptable levels on core materials as they are encapsulated into a multi-layer stack, they also work within sub lamination assembly too.
Care should be taken when specified for outer layers and combined with a high or normal flow resin due to the smoother surface with its lower mechanical anchor points.
This is due to the loss of adhesion that is inherent with a reduction in the mechanical bonds (profile) compared to more conventional foils with Rz profiles in the 5µm and greater. The chemical anchor points in combination with the mechanical anchor support acceptable peels on FR4 resins.
Remember only pass VLP2 foils through alternative oxide ONCE, removing 50-60 µin at most.
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A high performance VLP2 copper is produced by JX Nippon Mining & Metals called JX-EFL. With its profile features at Rz 1.9 µm and chemical treatments it drastically outperforms standard ED foils with Rz in the 5 µm greater range. Can be used in PI & MPI applications.
Together we can achieve more, through education and advanced material support!
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Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foil, CAC® & Pacothane®
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Get to Know
JX Nippon Mining & Metals
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Insulectro distributes JX Nippon's electrodeposited copper foils with their low profile to support fine line application.
These foils can support various surface treatment options with fine nodulations and low surface roughness. Designed for high peel strength and excellent thermal resistance to support various dielectric materials.
JX Nippon Mining & Metals is carrying out global business operations that cover the full range from resources development, smelting and refining to manufacture and sales of electronic materials, and recycling of end-of-life equipment.
The recent changes in industrial structures and global-scale problems noted above are bringing about major changes in the business climate on the Company.
The use of AI and IoT is becoming essential to the information society, and the rapid progress towards a high information society boosts strong demands for higher quality and advanced functionality of the copper and minor metal products used in electronic devices for processing the increasing quantity of data.
Besides doing everything possible for environmental protection, JX Nippon is required to further improve production efficiency and promote recycling for effective use of resources and raw materials.
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PCB Materials Are Unique
End Mills for Your Flex Milling
Use a Tool Designed for Your Success!
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Last PumaNews™ we covered Kyocera’s Flex Drill line series 240. This issue we will cover the end mills that will give additional support in your flex milling.
While the series 1500/1600 single and two flute end mills are excellent tools for general purposes, the 1560 and 1660 have been specifically designed to meet the challenges experienced in the flex/rigid flex manufacturing process.
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Series 1500 & 1560
- Series 1500 – Standard Single Flute
- Single Flute / Single Cutting Edge
- Small Core – Expanded Flute Volume
- Series 1560 – Single Flute Flex EM
- Sharp Cutting Rake Angle
- Modified Helix Angle
- High Cutting Efficiency
- Low Stress
- Superior Milled Surface Finish
- Highly Effective for Debris Removal
- Ideal For Milling Adhesive Layers
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Series 1600 & 1660
- Series 1600 – Standard 2-Flute End Mill
- Two Flute / Two Cutting Edges
- Rigid Core - Robust
- Series 1660 – Two Flute Flex End Mill
- Sharp Cutting Rake Angle
- Modified Helix Angle
- High Cutting Efficiency
- Reduced Stress On Flex Layer
- Superior Milled Surface Finish
- Clean Edges – Elimination of Flex Deformation
- Higher Productivity – Elevated Feed Rates
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Insulectro in conjunction with Kyocera has the tools and technical know how to support we are your team with any pain points you may be experiencing or can support if you are just starting out in the Flex and Rigid Flex world. We have collateral with more details on the drill and end mill offerings. Your Insulectro representative will be happy to provide for your review and samples are available.
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Contact your Insulectro representative for more information details! |
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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!
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Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - Kyocera Precision Cutting Tools
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Critical Index: Time to Market
Keeping Our Shelves Full of What You Need
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Our customers know Insulectro stocks materials in our branches. The folks that work in purchasing, create stack-up that use our portal, and even some PCB salespeople have a better idea of what’s on our shelves. For others in the industry, I thought I would share some data.
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Quick access to materials is a large part of our business. Above is a chart of the San Jose’s branch April 2023 shipments by lines. Some of these lines are hundreds and even thousands of sheets. In San Jose, the team may cut sixteen thousand sheets of prepreg in a day. That doesn’t even include the precuts. We supply a lot of items beyond laminate and prepreg. - foils, drill products and chemistry to name a few.
In San Jose, we stock nearly 1,500 unique part numbers, with quantities sometimes in the thousands. This includes 8 different resin systems and between 100 and 200 rolls of prepreg.
What this means for our customers and OEM’s, we are a critical part of the time to market equation. That said, we are always looking for ways to increase our service. One of the best ways to do this is to hear from our customers and stay in communication with their needs.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and let us know what we can do to add to your success.
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Chris Hunrath
Vice President of Technology
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For immediate release
DuPont Publishes 2023 Sustainability Report
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WILMINGTON, Del., May 1, 2023 – DuPont (NYSE: DD) today published its 2023 Sustainability Report detailing the progress made toward achieving its 2030 Sustainability Goals.
“We’re pleased to issue this year’s report that demonstrates how our teams are making meaningful progress to achieve our sustainability commitments and make a positive impact for our customers, employees, shareholders and communities," said Ed Breen, DuPont Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“In 2022, we continued to accelerate our strategic transformation to a premier multi-industrial company, aligning our portfolio to key growth areas and driving innovation and operational excellence to create significant value.
Our performance, notably on climate and renewable energy goals outlined in this report, shows we are acting with urgency and are well-positioned to deliver the sustainable solutions needed today and in the future.”
Notable accomplishments highlighted in this year’s report include the following:
- Achieved 35% reduction of Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) from 2019 baseline – surpassing the 2030 goal eight years ahead of schedule.
- Reduced Scope 3 GHG emissions by over 1MM MT CO2 e in 2022 – 10% reduction from 2021.
- Sourced 57% of electricity from renewable sources, when including Renewable Energy Credits in 2022 – a 200% increase over the previous year.
- Initiated delivery of renewable wind power to the North American grid through our first operational virtual power purchase agreement.
- Expanded and strengthened our innovative product portfolio by introducing new solutions to enable customers to achieve progress on climate, circular economy and water stewardship goals.
- Received nine R&D100 and Edison Awards featuring products enabling customers to achieve progress on their sustainability goals.
- Conducted over 1,000 product stewardship reviews and identified opportunities to enhance the sustainability of many existing products.
- Delivered innovative technology, engaging in over 7,000 customer water projects in industrial and municipal settings, helping customers solve complex water purification challenges, including the reuse of water and other valuable raw materials.
- Ranked in the top 10% among industry peers for Safety Performance for employee health and safety.
- Strengthened talent attraction approach resulting in 55% of new professional hires in EMEA region being female, up from 27% in 2019.
- Engaged in over 500 community projects with over 300 non-profit partners across 31 countries focused on STEM education and delivering innovations for good to help solve global challenges.
“At DuPont, we believe the most significant impact we can deliver is innovation across the value chain and recognizing our responsibility to reduce our own footprint,” said Alexa Dembek, DuPont Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer. “Illustrated throughout this report are the advancements and impacts we’ve made working with our customers to create sustainable solutions that have the potential to change the world.
Sustainability is firmly embedded into our business strategy to drive long-term growth and to bring value to our stakeholders – and the results show that our strategy of innovating for good, protecting people and the planet and empowering people to thrive is working.”
The report was developed with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards, and the recommendations outlined by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
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Chris Hunrath on Future Tech
Is it Dry Film, or Prepreg Dust?
Value of Surface Analysis in PCB Manufacturing & Troubleshooting
MAY 2023
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All too often we see stuff on the copper surface, pad or surface finish that doesn’t belong. We then ask ourselves “What the heck is it?"
Whether it’s a core, sub, outerlayer, or worse, an ENIG plated pad, sometimes we find things stuck on the surface. This is not just a cosmetic issue, but can interfere with imaging, plating, or assembly.
In-shop investigation might include a visual examination or solubility test. These can also help guide rework, but an additional goal is to identify and prevent reoccurrence.
A surface analysis can be very useful to identify the material so the cause can be addressed. Few PCB shops have this equipment in-house. Below are two types of instruments used and what they can do.
EDX/EDS refers to X-Ray spectroscopy (spectrometry) and is additional equipment added to an electron microscope. Many PCB material suppliers, independent labs and even a few PCB shops have this instrument. This system is good for elements, especially elements heavier than carbon.
It will not tell you compounds. It’s useful for looking at interconnects when resin smear is suspected if the laminate system contains Bromine. It’s also good for identifying Soldermask residues as they will contain Barium. Other organic residues will just show up as carbon.
This can be useful on surfaces that should be metallic only, but the challenge is in identifying the source. Dry film, adhesives and other organics will all just come up with high carbon unless they also contain other elements that are useful as a “Tag” and only come from one source in the shop as the case with Barium in Soldermask.
Another example where the source is not so easily determined is elemental Silicon, which could be from fiberglass, a mineral filler, or a release agent. This is better analyzed by a different instrument. That said, the accessibility of EDX makes it a very useful tool for surface analysis of PCB’s. Other uses include high resolution high magnification imaging and metallurgic analysis, i.e., percent phosphorus in electroless nickel.
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Example of EDS spectra of a copper surface, note the elemental silicon. |
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FTIR, short for Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy is better for compounds. It will give a spectrum that can be compared to a “library” of known compounds. This can help distinguish between clothing fibers and human hair for example. This instrument is not as commonly used but can be essential in finding the source of surface contamination.
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In the scan above, we wanted to determine if the surface contamination was dry film or prepreg. Instead of just seeing elemental carbon, as in the case of EDS, we get a “fingerprint” that clearly matches prepreg resin. This allows us to focus on the surface cleaning in the lay-up process. Because this was a cap construction, CAC bonded copper was not an option.
With our supply base along with independent labs, Insulectro can help with these types of investigations. I hope you found some of this explanation helpful.
As always, let us know if you would like to explore/discuss.
Chris Hunrath
Vice President of Technology
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Drop by & Check Us Out
Celanese Micromax® & Insulectro PE
Co-Exhibit During Microwave Show
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The IEEE IMS Microwave Show will be presented in-person, 11-16 June 2023 in San Diego, CA. The Celanese Micromax® team with join Insulectro Printed Electronics in the exhibit at the San Diego Convention Center. Find us at exhibit #2216.
IMS is the flagship event in a week dedicated to all things microwaves and RF. The week also includes the IEEE MTT-S Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC) and the Automatic Radio Frequency Techniques Group (ARFTG).
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This year is the first time since 1994 that IMS has been held in San Diego, and they aim to make IMS2023 a show to remember. IMS is planning a live, in-person conference with an exciting technical program, with the Coolest Ideas under the Sun, and great networking opportunities for attendees and exhibitors, to re-establish old connections and make new ones.
At IMS2023 there are several focus themes to highlight a number of areas of RF and microwave engineering that are of topical interest or impact.
These themes are:
Systems & Applications
The development of RF, microwave, mmWave, and THz systems continues to expand in several areas, with many application examples. This broad topic can encompass design from semiconductor through device/module to the overall system and applications.
We are giving particular focus to:
- Wireless Communications, including 6G developments, Wi-Fi, RF and microwave system-on-chip integration, massive MIMO systems and subsystems, and more;
- Wireless Power Transfer;
- Automotive Systems;
- Model-Based Systems Engineering, including Digital Twins
Space
In this area of Aerospace, we are specifically calling out 'Space' as a focus theme. This can include such topics as satellite communications, design for reliability, radiation hardness, internet of space systems, CubeSats.
Biomedical Applications
Illustrating the use of RF and microwave techniques and technology in biomedical applications.
These technical themes will be identified with different days of the conference, to form a 'Systems Forum', and will comprise special Focused Technical Paper Sessions, Panel Sessions, Invited Speakers, and Workshops. The Exhibition will feature a Systems Pavilion illustrating several practical examples of RF through THz systems and applications.
The exhibit runs from June 13 until the 15th. You can register for the show using the link below.
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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! |
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Let the performance and power savings begin!!
When it comes to high technology and the importance of controlling heat and pressure through the stack for resin flow, there is none other than the Indubond XPress Induction Press.
What can the press deliver you ask? Pictured below is a test that was run with a 21x24- 40 panel high stack up using the LCOA™ CSC (copper/steel/copper) instead of separator sheets and the Pacothane PACO•CLUTCH to achieve this higher panel stack. Both the registration and consistent heat transfer past the test.
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Universal PCB EQUIPMENT CO, LTD |
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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.
Equipment ordered in Q1 2023, getting prepped for shipping now!
I would say that is a short lead time on a DES line with all the options including a self-cleaning cycle on the complete line.
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 PROVIDES.
We have you covered in your wet process area!
We will also work with your current chemistry supplier and set up any UCE line to their specification!
TRIPLE FILTRATION
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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
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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.
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Jon Pelletier
President, Equipment Technologies
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Kevin Barrett,
Product Manager - Equipment
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Glibrite® GB-4300
Eliminate Pumice Scrub with
Chemical Roughening
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- More consistent surface than pumice scrub
- Achieve optimal surface for soldermask adhesion
- Improve dryfilm adhesion on RA foil such as flex and RF applications
- Eliminate pumice machine service and down time.
- Improve dryfilm adhesion on flash and panel plated products.
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Jeff Johnson
Product Manager - Dry Film/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
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Part Two:
"Are We Listening?"
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Last month I shared frustration over a lack of listening, including my own failures, and my desire to listen better.
We talked about evidence of this including interrupting, talking over others, and instead of listening, contemplating what we want to say next.
We talked about why listening is important. This includes making others feel they and their input is important, gaining input from all team members, and processing all ideas before we jump to our own conclusions.
I will add another reason. There is a Proverb that says: “Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent." Insert Ed Kneller self-reflect here.
So how do we listen better?
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Be quiet. Have a goal to learn something from every meeting. Again, we learn by listening.
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Take time to process what the speaker is attempting to share.
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Allow and be comfortable with moments of silence in meetings. Is it a bad thing if everyone is quiet at the same time? Why does that make us uncomfortable?
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In a TEAMs meeting use the “raise the hand” icon. If you are the leader of the meeting, watch for and recognize the “hand”.
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Make sure everyone has gotten to contribute in a meeting, before the conversation moves to a new topic.
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Slow down the conversation. It is not a race. Why do we talk so fast?
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Finally, listen by talking. How does that work? Listen by asking questions and then listen for the responses. This is the way to include everyone in a meeting and lets others know you care about what they are thinking.
If you made it through all this, you listened a lot and I spoke a lot. Please help me listen to you more!
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Ed Kneller
Technical Account Manager - Midwest
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Growth in Substrates
It’s a Great Day for Polycarbonate
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Insulectro is well known as the largest supplier of materials used to manufacture printed circuit boards. This includes our rapidly growing substrate division making Insulectro your one-stop shop for printed electronics.
Insulectro Clarity™ Polycarbonates
PC835/PC811/HC92S are in stock at ready to move pricing. These polycarbonates offer various levels of surface textures and hardness to suit your project needs. Call for quote and most items ship out next day!
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PC835
Standard graphic films produced under strict quality control standards to ensure surface consistency. These films are specifically designed to help reduce pinholes in demanding back-lit applications.
PC811
Highly polished film with low stress, excellent clarity, high temperature resistance and superior dimensional stability. This film grade offers excellent light transmission when used in LED/LCD windows.
HC92S
High performance coated printable graphic film with great chemical/abrasion resistance as well as good UV resistance. This film is the best choice for both indoor and outdoor applications where color stability is a priority.
Characteristics include:
- High impact strength
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High dimensional stability
- Excellent light transmission and clarity
- Good electrical insulation properties that are not influenced by water or temperature
- Can withstand repeated steam sterilizations (in medical applications)
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Jeff Crawford
Insulectro Printed Electronics - Advanced Substrate Specialist
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Geoff shouts: "The MIL-AERO Go To!"
DuPont™ Pyralux® AP:
Robustness Adds to Reliability
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Pyralux® AP has been the industry cornerstone for flexible laminates for several decades for a reason.
It’s over-engineered. The material meets the IPC 4204/11 specification which is no high bar. Pyralux® AP's peel strength is several times that of the basic specification.
For dynamic applications, the polyimide cores which comprise the dielectric for thicker constructions, are always built symmetrically unlike competitive products.
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Pyralux® AP is on the surface of mars, in orbit around our planet and trusted daily with major aerospace manufactures.
The robustness of this material is what adds to its reliability.
For deep space, aerospace, or down-well applications, the PCB must work. In the flexible space, often a bend-to-install application has no easy means of repair if failure occurs. Because Pyralux® AP has decades of flight time and a proven process of record, it is the easy button to solve any reliability or repair concerns.
This is especially the case for military grade applications. Mil-Aero OEMs have trusted Pyralux® AP since it was brought to the market more than two decades ago. It still is today the overwhelming market choice of material due to its superior material strength, numerous characterized application performance, and widest construction offerings of any flexible laminate available today.
Want to discuss how Pyralux® AP can solve your design problems? Feel free to reach out.
Check out all available constructions on the DuPont Product Selector here:
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Geoff Leeds
Product Manager, DuPont Flex Laminates
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Michael Fancher
Field Application Engineer
East & Canada
Please welcome Michael back to the Insulectro family.
As Michael puts it, "I return to Insulectro, as USA and Canada FAE, now with with over 40 years of experience in the PCB industry.
Starting my career as a plater / lab technician at Wang Laboratories, I have since worked in a variety of process and quality engineering and tech support roles in chemical and dry film resist operations at companies such as Hadco Corp, MacDermid, Insulectro, Automated Chemical Systems, Amphenol PCB and Integrated Process Systems, Inc., where I was the Eastern Region Sales Manager."
Michael's vast knowledge, expertise, and experience will help customers with their challenges.
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Insulectro Field Application Engineers
Our Strong Technical Front Line
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First off, we’re excited to announce another addition to our team – Dain Hertsgaard. Dain joins us in an FAE roll with 15+ years of PCB manufacturing experience. There’s not question in my mind that Insulectro has the best technical support team in the region and Dain only strengthens that conviction. Some customers use the resources on our team daily and some don’t. In a increasingly constrained engineering environment our team is busily out there supporting our customers.
Business in general has been slightly softer as of late, but signs of increased demand are out there. Lots of quoting activity we’re hearing about as well as an active equipment pipeline we’re working on, including wet process, presses and registration machines.
Something we’re getting more requests for are process audits and more generally support to help lower process costs. With our team and expertise we are going through processes identifying waste, yield improvement recommendations and alternative materials to build boards more cost effectively.
Now, this is something we do daily anyway, but when softer market conditions arise time frees up to focus more on these types of initiatives.
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Sean Redfern
Technical Account Manager
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@Mike Creeden
The Excitement and Opportunities
of Fast-Paced Changes
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Learning from the past and equipping ourselves for the future is a great mantra for success!
Today’s fast paced industry needs us to be quick on our feet and adaptive in our responses.
We need to be calculated risk takers to stay current with technology trends. The best way to avoid a problem is to preclude the problem.
Nobody wants to learn lessons the hard way. Although hard lessons can build great character, it still can leave us behind the curve of progress, and no one ever likes having egg on our face with a wrong decision.
I was once told that we should always learn from the experienced leaders who have gone before us by being humble and willing to take instructions. However, our own pride and hubris often can block our ability to remain teachable. Always have a professional servant leader’s attitude.
In my 47 years in the printed circuit industry, I have worked for one of the nation’s largest fabricators, an assembler, several top tier OEMs, most of the CAD EDA companies, and then eventually I formed my own company being a nationally recognized design center.
I’ve worked on about ten thousand different circuit board part numbers. Forgive my boasting, my intent is a lead-in to explain my last professional opportunity that Insulectro has graciously provided me, and that is to serve as a technical director of design education.
I’ve evolved into an educator striving to provide technological knowledge and skills for success in the industry.
I share all this to announce my retirement from the full-time active employment ranks.
Insulectro has graciously enabled me to continue on and contribute, in an emeritus fashion. That is a fancy way of saying they will let me hangout for a while as I attempt to improve my golf game.
This industry has an incredibly fast pace to it. Observation shows that it is moving faster as technology advances, automation improves, professional opportunities abound, and the ever changing corporate landscape adapts. The economy, the stock market, social and political changes are always changing.
We are situated in an industry that thrives on all of this roller-coaster action. Our industry sells and hires like crazy in the uptimes and in the downtimes, it will innovate, develop, and tighten its belt. Never lose sight that our industry goes through these cyclic patterns.
My message for those who look to Insulectro as a premier distributor and supplier in the fabrication world is, don’t let short term savings of tiny margins cause you to sacrifice providing excellent products to your customers. The rational is: “Price is what you pay up front and Cost is what you pay in the long run!”
At Insulectro, we go the extra mile in service to provide value added results along with best in class products. Our hope is that you build repeat business with your customers based on excellence, rather than providing the cheapest product at the lowest cost. Be a significant partner in your customers success story! Stay tuned to what Insulectro continues to bring to better serve your 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.
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Contact any of our Technical Account Managers or call any of our branch offices to schedule your Virtual Training Session soon.
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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
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Welcome to the May Edition of
Insulectro PumaNews™ Magazine - East Coast Edition
Get It Done…
My article this month is focused on how Insulectro gets stuff done!!
Our customers depend on the Insulectro team to deliver material success.
Today’s market is fast paced, and minutes can matter in reaching someone who can help get what’s needed…quickly.
We are fast because we are prepared to be fast and we are getting faster still with new system developments and software.
We have an extensive network of not only the best talented and experienced teammates, but our systems are designed to provide easy access to a wide range of information.
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But what really separates Insulectro from the rest of the field is our Inside Sales Managers (ISM).
Insulectro ISMs are truly unsung heroes. This team is the first point of contact, and they know how to get things done and are always happy to take your call.
We are always proud when one of our customers go out of their way to complement and thank their ISM that helped them with getting an order out and making sure it delivered as promised.
Our ISMs really make the difference in our business - there is no substitute for customer service at the highest level…and GSD is always the priority.
Thank you for reading!
Ron
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Ron Murdock
Director of Sales - Eastern Region/ Canada
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Halogen-free
Get to Know Isola's New RF/MW Laminates
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Isola Group designs and manufactures high-frequency RF/microwave and high-speed digital circuits in excess of 100 Gb/s using environmentally sound, halogen-free TerraGreen® series of circuit material solutions, including TerraGreen® 400G, TerraGreen® 400GE, and TerraGreen® 400G2 circuit materials.
The circuit materials represent low-loss advancements of the company’s popular TerraGreen® and high-frequency TerraGreen® (RF/MW) halogen-free materials.
All are RoHS-compliant for use with lead-free circuit manufacturing processes and compatible with FR-4 circuit material manufacturing processes for creation of cost-effective, hybrid, multilayer circuits. The three new materials are characterized by glass transition temperature (Tg) of +200°C and decomposition temperature (Td) of +380°C.
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Sean Mirshafiei, Isola Group’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, notes: “We are very excited to offer the PCB industry our three new products that were created with a unique halogen-free resin system that has outstanding CAF and bond line resistance.” He added: “TerraGreen® 400G2 is our most advanced High Speed Digital product. We use ultra smooth copper foil and ultra low Dk glass fabric that are combined with this novel resin system for optimal performance for the next generation of high-end network and communication systems.”
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The three halogen-free circuit materials feature permittivity (Dk) that is stable with temperature from -55 to +125°C and across wide frequency ranges with extremely low loss tangents (Df), enabling designers to produce halogen-free circuits with materials with even less loss than the company’s highly regarded Tachyon® 100G circuit materials at 28 GHz.
For example, TerraGreen® 400G exhibits typical Dk of 3.1 at 5, 10, and 20 GHz with typical loss tangent of 0.0018 at the same three evaluation frequencies. TerraGreen® 400GE halogen-free circuit laminates offer higher Dk of 3.4 at 10 and 20 GHz with slightly greater loss, with typical Df of 0.0026 at 10 and 20 GHz. The lowest-loss material of the halogen-free trio, TerraGreen® 400G2, features typical Dk of 3.1 at 5, 10, and 20 GHz with typical Df of 0.0015 at the same three evaluation frequencies.
The halogen-free laminates are available in standard thicknesses of 2 to 18 mil (0.05 to 0.46 mm) with ultra-smooth HVLP and HVLP3 copper foils and choice of 1/3, ½, 1 oz. copper weights (12, 18, and 35 μm). The laminates feature low moisture absorption and support manufacturing processes with multiple lamination cycles while meeting 94 V-0 requirements. The RoHS-compliant circuit materials are ideal for 5G infrastructure, high-speed data centers, and wired and wireless communications equipment. For more information about any of the TerraGreen® 400G, 400GE, or 400G2 circuit materials, please click link below.
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About Isola
Isola is a leading global material sciences company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets laminate materials used to fabricate advanced multilayer printed circuit boards, which provide the physical platforms for the semiconductors, passive components, and connection circuitry that power and control virtually all modern electronic products. Isola operates a network of factories worldwide.
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Norm Berry
Director, Laminates & OEM Marketing
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For Your Cutting Edge HDI Platform
Microvia Reliability & Your Chemistry
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Microvias are the cornerstone of any cutting edge HDI platform. To achieve sufficient yield through assembly and highly-reliable product, a well formed and plated micro-via is a must. DuPont’s current electroless copper Circuposit™ 3000 MVR series line offers the ability accomplish these goals.
With decades of experience, DuPont’s electroless copper line is well understood and documented in order to achieve reliable triple or 5-stack micro-vias.
To find our how, just reach out! Insulectro’s deep knowledge of laminates partnered with DuPont’s scientific prowess can help you put together the perfect process to nail Micro-via reliability. With low voiding potential and the perfect deposit for copper re-crystallization, the DuPont C3000 MVR chemistry is the best choice for next generation HDI.
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DuPont C3000 MVR electroless copper |
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At-A-Glance
The DuPont Chemistry Line
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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
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Microfill™ EVF-III for advanced via filling and through-hole plating
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Microfill™ LVF-IV for next generation SLP applications
MLB
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Copper Gleam™ PPR-II for high aspect ratio pulse plating
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Electroposit™ EP-1600 for high aspect ratio DC plating
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Copper Gleam™ HS-200 for horizontal DC plating in FPC applications
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Copper Gleam™ ST-920 for DC vertical continuous plating (VCP)
IC Package Substrate
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Microfill™ SFP-II & Microfill™ LVF-IV for advanced SAP applications
Making Holes Conductive
Electroless Copper Solutions:
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Circuposit™ 3350-1 Vertical Electroless Copper
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Circuposit™ 4000 Horizontal electroless copper for FPC/RFPC
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Circuposit™ 6700 Horizontal Ionic Catalyst for Advanced HDI applications
Direct Metallization Solutions:
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Next Generation Crimson™ & Conductron™ palladium-based systems
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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.
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Geoff Leeds
Product Manager, DuPont Chemistry
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Ormet® PCB-710
Eliminate Lamination and Plating Steps
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Ormet® PCB-710 is a lead-free, copper-based, paste formulated for creating microvias in printed circuit boards. This can be done to replace stacked via designs with multiple lamination steps, or to bond subs together without requiring a through-hole drill to electrically connect the subs.
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The Ormet® paste is processed at normal PCB lamination temperatures. The final product offers superior thermal and electrical performance.
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For more information on Ormet®, please contact me. |
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Jeff Johnson
Product Manager - Dry Film/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
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FocusTech™ CR-2180 (Half Etch)
Do You Micro-etch Copper Foil Down to Meet Wrap Plating Requirements?
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If so, you need a micro-etch that delivers superior etch control along with etch uniformity across the panel.
That’s where Focus Tech’s CR-2180 comes in. This is a proprietary hydrogen peroxide based micro etch that allows for maximum etch control along with high copper loading (up to 50g/L).
FocusTech™ CR-2180
Copper Reduction Process
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If you are ready for a better copper reduction process, please contact me.
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Jeff Johnson
Product Manager - Dry Film/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
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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
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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
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Geoffrey Leeds
Flex Product Manager
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Pressure Sensitive Film
PRESSPROBE™ to Check for Misalignment
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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].
PRESSPROBE™ test (pressure sensitive film)
In-House check for High and Low
Pressure for misalignment for reducing scrap.
ADVANTAGES:
- Can be used routinely to check press platens for parallelism.
- Provides an accurate way to pinpoint where and how pressure is distributed across the surface of the printed circuit board.
- Highlight possible surface patterning on inner-layers (due to glass style), such irregularities may impact the imaging of fine-line.
- Even show uneven pressure distribution across the nip rollers of a Dry Film laminator.
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HOW TO USE:
1. Select the suitable PRESSPROBE™ Pressure Testing Kit, based on press pressure range.
2. Each kit has two components an "A" (Black Package) and "B" (Blue Package), Cut two equal lengths of both PRESSPROBE™ A and B films to the exact size of the multilayer laminate.
Since each film component (A&B) is only 10.5" (267mm) wide, it may be necessary to butt two lengths together to cover the entire test area).
Each film should be handled with care and should be cut separately as the pressure Induced by cutting may initiate the development of color.
3. Mate the two films (A&B) dull side to dull side and lay them up directly against the circuit board (preferably adjacent to the cap layer of the center multilayer within a book).
To confirm that the films have been paired correctly apply enough pressure to a small non-critical section to assure proper color development.
4. Place the book into a cold press and raise the pressure as normally done during lamination and hold for two minutes.
The ideal temperature for testing is 74°F/23°C at 65% RH
5. Break down book and Inspect PRESSPROBE™ FILM B to view amount and distribution of pressure applied to surfaces of contact.
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RESULTS:
The varying degrees of pink intensity shows the impact of high- and low-pressure equalization because of the compression value of the presspad being used. The soft make-up (right) optimizes the inefficiencies of the lack of z-axis pressure distribution with 40% compression. The hard make-up (left) with less than 10% compression.
Press Pads should be used once in the book and can be used a second time against the caul plate along with a new Press Pad for heat lagging.
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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 Geoff Leeds, Product Manager for DuPont Flex Laminates and DuPont Chemistry gleeds@insulectro.com.
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Mark Satchwell
Product Manager - Pacothane® Products & Copper Foil
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Just revised! Ask me for Pacothane® Product Sample Guide. |
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Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - LCOA®
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Design Education - An Insulectro Priority
Insulectro Sponsors New Design Trade Association
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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.
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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
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As advertised in i-Connect 007's PCB Magazine.
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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.
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When it comes to screen tension…..too little is not good and too much is not good either!
- Too little of mesh tension will allow the mesh to move under the squeegee causing soldermask to flow into the holes. It will also cause the mesh to retract very slowly off the surface of the panel.
- Too much tension could cause the squeegee to flex during printing and leave a heavier deposit on the outside edges of the panel. Not to mention the extra mechanical stress needed from the machines mechanical system.
- Shurloc and experienced screening department supervisors have pinpointed the optimal tension so you get the best performance across the board, or should I say “panel”!
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"Is your brush (pumice or debur) footprints even across the panel?"
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Do they vary in width top to bottom and/or side to side?
There are many variables that could lead to this such as:
- Conveyor portion of the machine may be worn and no longer aligned to the brush drive system.
- 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.
Please reach out to us if your experiencing any of these and we’ll work with you in getting this resolved.
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“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.” |
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- 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.
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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.
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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
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Please reach out should you like to discuss any of these topics further.
Thank you.
Kevin Barrett,
Product Manager - Equipment
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Today's Copper Foils
for Tomorrow’s Applications!
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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!
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Give us a call to discuss how CAC can help you
make better circuits faster.
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Copper Foils
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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 insulectro.com/puma-fast/, you can see what PumaFast™ and standard materials we stock to get you up and running.
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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
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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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