CELEBRATING OUR 4TH YEAR OF PUMANEWS™ |
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As I see it. . .
For many months, our industry has been challenged with supply chain issues with certain materials. Insulectro addresses these issues on multiple fronts every day.
First, we have a Supply Chain Team that literally maps our available materials daily. While solving global material shortages is outside of our control, we can maximize our efforts to locate and distribute materials based on predictable need. To do this, our sales team works with you to forecast your needs and maintain a steady flow of communication.
Our Product Management team is also very adept at finding innovative alternatives through product substitution and drop-in solutions.
In this issue of PumaNews™, our teammates will acquaint you with some out-of-the-box thinking. We challenge ourselves to continually overcome obstacles. Knowledge is key. It's part of our "Always Learning. Always Teaching" core value.
We are excited to engage with customers and share our knowledge. As subject matter experts in both product and processes, we offer critical training to ensure the fabrication of circuits flows smoothly and successfully.
Patrick Redfern
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LOOK FOR '1@5 FEATURED ARTICLE' FLAG ABOVE EACH OF THE BELOW STORIES.
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1@5 DuPont Buys Rogers Corporation
2@5 OEM FORUMS ARE BACK! December 9 is a 'must attend' event!
3@5 INSULECTRO.COM - Bursting with Technical Info
4@5 Isola Exhibits This Week in Munich - Products Galore!
5@5 DuPont Electrolytic Cu Plating of Blind Vias
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Growing to Support PCB Manufacturers
PCBAA Expands Its Member Base
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PCBAA has new members joining founding members - AGY, Calumet, Insulectro, Isola, Summit Interconnect, and TTM Technologies.
New members include Denkai America, MacDermid Alpha, Pacothane Technologies, and Rogers Corporation.
The Printed Circuit Board Association of America is a consortium of companies, representatives, and enthusiasts who are advocating 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 with PCBAA's three main mission objectives:
- Support the Domestic Production of PCBs
- Enhance Domestic Supply Chain Security
- Advocate for Initiatives that Create Fair Market Conditions
This organization will make a difference.
See below for more information and a link to inquire about membership.
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SALES & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT |
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Ken Parent Speaks Out!
Come to Work in the
PCB Business NOW!
NOVEMBER 2021
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Do you know anyone in the business of PCBs that would not hire another trained PCB talent today?
The trick is getting the talent to come join us in our world. To make matters more challenging we are living in the times of the “Great Resignation."
So how do we:
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ATTRACT people to the business
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EDUCATE people on how to be successful in the business
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RETAIN them for the rest of their career
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REWARD them so they are focused on building the Future Printed Circuits business.
This is going to be fun to watch and something I am personally living every day. After all think of how this period compares to 2001 when we were living in the “dot.com/bust” era.
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Attract the people by sharing what is possible. Circuits are at the heart of so much of what we live today … Industry 4.0, the future of America military protecting our families, the next medical breakthrough, and so much more. We will attract people from less impactful jobs!
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Education will drive profits. In the spirit of our vision of “Always be Learning, Always be Teaching”, I am shifting more of our time at Insulectro to attracting talent to the business - not just for Insulectro, but for you, too.
I heard a profound comment today from a customer I respect on so many levels. He said … "to be a great teacher you must really commit to learning and understanding the topic you are teaching."
That comment was great to hear from this gentleman as it sheds light on how I see the Insulectro team spending time. We are the “Jack of many Trades” at Insulectro and we are working to be masters of more processes and products as we continue teaching new and existing talent.
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Retaining people is about drive, purpose, and accomplishment at work and at home. I enjoy watching the team at Insulectro coming together to teach those willing to listen and learn from each other's experiences.
Although not expert at every phase of our industry, we have a wealth of knowledge that can help even expert PCB builders improve their businesses.
I believe we all understand when people collaborate for a purpose and enjoy their accomplishments, we will retain and promote more people.
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Rewards will increase as we all become more successful in driving good business through the hands and minds of the talented people we continue to educate.
Have you tapped into our resources recently?
Can we help you with the challenges that exist today in your business? The amount of time we are spending on training is not alarming, it is exciting.
People are the most important asset in our business, and they are embracing the learning.
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Help us help you and in turn we will both learn how to improve our businesses together.
Always be learning, always be teaching.
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Ken Parent
Chief Operating Officer
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DuPont Enters Agreement to
Buy Rogers Corporation
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WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire
DuPont today announced a series of actions advancing its strategy as a premier multi-industrial company focused on market-leading high-growth, high-margin businesses with complementary technology and financial characteristics.
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DuPont has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Rogers Corporation for $5.2 billion. Rogers is a global leader in engineered materials and components, with unmatched application engineering expertise and leading positions in markets where its advanced technology solutions offer competitive advantages.
Its value-added products include high-frequency circuit materials, ceramic substrates for power semiconductor devices, and high-performance foams which go into a variety of highly specialized end-markets where the company has strong, enduring customer relationships.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Rogers shareholders and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.
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DECEMBER 9 OEM FORUM
Forming Components with PCB Materials
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Using PCB traces to form everything from antennas to resistors has been done for decades. Material advancement has opened the possibility for creating even more types of components.
The push for greater speed and density, combined with shortages, it makes sense now more than ever to look at integrating devices into the PCB.
Join us on our next OEM Forum on December 9, 2021, 2:05 pm Eastern, 11:05 am Pacific.
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Our guest speaker is Bruce P. Mahler Vice President & General Manager at Ohmega & Ticer Technologies, LLC. He received his BS degree from California State University, Northridge. He has more than 40 years of experience in the electronic packaging industry. Mahler has five patents related to electronic packaging and interconnects and has published numerous articles and papers on a variety of subjects within the electronic packaging field.
With Bruce's help, Insulectro's Chris Hunrath, Mark Satchwell, and host Ron Murdock will dive into three technologies for forming resistors and capacitors. Our presentation will include both the mature methods/materials and some new ones.
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Our Team is Your Team!
We Want to Help with Your Challenges
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The problems that keep our customers up at night are the challenges our team loves to solve. In addition to our Product Management (PM) Team of subject matter experts, the Field Application Engineer (FAE) Team, and the Technical Account Managers (TAM) are all resources on the Insulectro team who thrive on Problem solving and Educating around WHY a proposed solution should be considered.
The issues we face every day include yield challenges, how to meet the demands of new technology advances, best choice of alternative materials based on stocked inventory, chip shortages driving redesigns needing stack reviews and alternate material options, hybrid build material considerations, how to achieve finer line resolution, what is the impact on copper type on design decisions, and the list goes on.
The labor challenges are also leading customers to seek solutions that will improve manufacturing efficiencies. In the lamination room we are offering material solutions with our CAC® Inc. bonded copper options like Copper-Aluminum-Copper (CAC) and Copper-Steel-Copper (CSC) along with Pacothane® Tripak that reduce material handling, simplify layup and improve yields.
Induction heating technology is another innovation from Indubond® that enables precise heating uniformity, lower energy consumption, and a smaller footprint than conventional press technology. Indubond® also offers many Automation solutions that support the manufacturing and labor challenges
In addition, this month’s newsletter highlights many examples of how our Supplier Partners have introduced Innovative materials to solve the types of challenges that are facing our industry today.
Don’t miss Jeff Johnson’s article on the use of Ormet® paste from EMD Performance Materials that enables HDI technology advances but also eliminates lamination and plating steps.
Geoffrey Leed’s article highlights the Advances in Adhesive Technology from DuPont™ that expand material options for lower loss designs, improved thermal performance or improved bendability in the growing flexible applications market. We also highlight an article where DuPont™ has innovated around organic carriers, brighteners, and levelers to develop Electrolytic plating bath chemistries to metallize blind vias.
Think of us as your Phone-a-Friend Lifeline, challenge us with your problems, use us for our Knowledge, and let us help solve your challenges together.
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Michelle Walsh
Vice President of Product Management
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Geoff Shouts: "Take it easyyyyyy."
Flexibility in Materials, Same Marketplace
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With packaging needs still driving the flexible PCB market place growth, there are multiple flex centric adhesive systems that go above and beyond the limitations that Pyralux® LF & FR offer. By utilizing Pyralux’s unique adhesive systems, designers can further expand the flexible marketplace by solving problems the wire harness industry cannot.
Pyralux® TK, an FEP coated onto Kapton® Film, has best in class loss performance for high bit rate applications. When DK of below 3 is needed, Pyralux® TK can meet those design requirements with Bondply and Clads to ensure signals have homogenous laminate loss factors for modeling.
Pyralux® HT adhesive system offers an improved thermal ceiling for parts operating in elevated temperature environments up to 225 C. This one film can work as Bondply/sheet adhesive or cover lays. Insulectro offers full lamination and stack up reviews to help ensure we can help make the first article a success.
Pyralux® HP is the newest adhesive system, also with a Dk below 3.0, which maintains world class bend-ability of Pyralux® LF and FR adhesives along with ease of processing. An easy button for applications that need something more capable than the standard Pyralux® LF and FR acrylic adhesive systems and won't require extensive process characterization periods.
Geoffrey Leeds
Flex Product Manager
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Breaking Ground! Making News!
InduBond® Expands Space; Will Exhibit This Week at Productronica in Munich
InduBond® is growing and just started the construction on the building expansion to increase engineering offices space and production space in Barcelona.
From 16 to 19 November 2021, InduBond® will exhibit at Productronica held in Munich, the reference fair for PCB manufacturers in Europe. They will present the InduBond® X-Press360 the revolutionary new way of laminating PCB, and new technologies for multilayer bonding registration.
Visit their booth B3.444.
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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS & PASTES,
SUBSTRATES & FILMS
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Rolling, Rolling, Rolling!
Our Substrate Line is Second to None
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As I look at the current world of printed electronics at Insulectro, it is amazing to look back at the birth of PE.
When I first began to work with PE business it was basically Chris Miller and myself. We had a few niche customers and were scrambling for any business and mainly focused on the Membrane Switch market. Insulectro's main business was the PCB market which is a subtractive process with PE being mainly an additive process.
Since then we have expanded out to being a distributor for DuPont inks and greatly increased our footprint in the substrate market through DuPont Teijin Films™, Kodak, Chemours, TCI and Coveme.
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With the addition of new state of the art converting equipment – Catbridge Slitter / Rewind machine, we are now able to offer many new services in product converting and paneling products to very specific customer needs. Our toll sheeting & tooling services have expanded and helps to fully fill the Londonderry, NH facility.
We are now bringing on FLEXcon Pressures Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs) as another line to distribute. This collaboration with FLEXcon could help us expand as they could provide coating services to go with our line of substrate products we sell.
This year our sales continue to climb and our "go-to" market strategy that includes local inventory, staff to technically support our product offering, and same day/next day shipments has proven to be a success.
Through the expansion of the business we now have a full staff of people dedicated to the Printed Electronics business full time. Insulectro's PE Team which consists of Tim Redfern, Kevin Miller, Bob Lee, Angel Cartagena and Jeff Crawford have brought a wealth of knowledge to the table and continue to help expand our reach through many industries.
Cheryl Woodbury as our DSM delivers excellent service to customers and our response time has become much quicker. I look forward to continued expansion in the PE product line and services going forward.
I am proud that the Printed Electronics team is committed to providing a high level of the customer service, quick response and technical help to support and service all your needs.
Please call Cheryl Woodbury at (855) 955-0200 or our E-Commerce site www:Insulectro-PE.com to test the commitment!
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Bruce Gassett
Insulectro Printed Electronics
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This month I would like to tell you about our Eden Prairie Branch on the Southwest side of Minneapolis.
In October I finally paid a visit to this area after much to long of a gap. It was great to spend a few days with customers and spend a night with most of the Insulectro team over dinner and catch up face to face.
I can’t tell you how many times I had to hear that every game the Vikings have lost this year was because of just one play or one call, whatever!
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Dino Lucchesi is the Operation Manager and has been running warehouses for over 40 years and knows all about our products and converting from rolls and sheets to panels. His military background means the branch is spotless and everything is in its proper place. Dino also recently took on extra duty to oversee operations in the Bloomingdale branch in Chicagoland.
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Linda Nelson has been supplying great customer service to PCB shops for many years covering accounts far beyond just The Cities. Linda also runs the Midwest Golf Event that has been going on for many years on the North side of the Cities.
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Deb Johnson worked in multiple PCB plants in the area and has been managing the Isola purchasing for our Central branches and beyond. Garret Shepard was an engineer out of ACI who we hired to support customers as an FAE throughout the region in the early days and as the need grew he has taken on managing Sales and Tech support locally for many years now.
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The newest member in the branch is Paul Welter that came into Insulectro with the acquisition of ECEMS earlier this year. Paul and I got to know each other as co-workers when he worked for LeaRonal and I was at Morton. We merged together into Rohm Haas when Shipley bought both of our companies and tied us into one package. Lots of experience and knowledge in this group so please reach out.
Take care and see you next month.
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Trey Adams
Regional Vice President, Sales
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Insulectro Top Educators
Norm Berry & Mike Creeden
Present at PCB Carolina 2021
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Last week at the PCB Carolina trade show, Michael Creeden CID+ MIT, Technical Director of Design Education, and Norm Berry, Director of OEM Laminates, presented to groups of enthusiastic attendees. Michael presented on "Smart Material Selection" and "Place and Rout for High Speed in HDI and RF Circuits", while Norm presented on "Skew Mitigation on Differential Pairs."
Norm commented, "The exhibits were sold out and the attendance was very good. The show was a first class event."
Isola's Matt Lake, Senior Director - Advanced Technology, and Ed Kelley, Chief Technology Officer & Senior Vice President, attended along with former Insulectro copper expert Joe Bevan.
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Chris Hunrath on Future Tech
Getting Technical Information on Electronic Materials
NOVEMBER 2021
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There are lots of creative folks constantly inventing new devices. From aerospace to telecom to energy to medical and beyond.
The people behind all this innovation are often not aware of what materials and resources are available to them. While they know what they want to accomplish, they may be challenged in finding a solution.
Last month, we launched a whole new Insulectro.com site, built from the ground up with an emphasis on technical information.
Our goal was to make specific electronic materials easier to find, even if you don’t know the product name. The convenience of the new Insulectro site is you can access rigid, flex, inks, substrates, copper foils, and chemistries all in one place.
When you hover over the Products Tab, you will see several categories including, “Technical Design Services”. Here you will find products and the corresponding technical information grouped by application. You can get to the same information other ways (for example, if you know the product name), but now you can find materials based on the technical requirements.
For example, in the Power Management section, not only is there information on dielectrics for these applications, but also the copper foils that come in the heavyweight thicknesses up to 6 oz.
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In addition to the wealth of new product information, we just launched EXCLUSIVE CONTENT IN OUR EDUCATION SECTION. You’ll find all our OEM Forum presentations, as well as whitepapers, a PCB glossary, and more.
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Our team will continuously be adding informative content to this section monthly, so come back often. We want this to be useful to the PCB industry. It’s a place to not only help solve design and engineering challenges but a way to find out about new products, spark ideas and enable technology.
We will be at IPC Apex in 2022. I hope to see you there.
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Chris Hunrath
Vice President of Technology
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Welcome to another edition of our monthly PumaNews™ magazine - East Coast Edition.
Our East Coast teammates have been very busy getting stuff done (GSD) and we have a rich and vibrant long history of doing so.
As I am celebrating 21 years at Insulectro, I took a moment to reflect on those 21 years and what I have experienced and why Insulectro is special to me.
I was here at Insulectro (Londonderry NH), back in 2000, when the first groundbreaking shovel of dirt, sand and granite pieces were strewn in the wind.
I remember Kevin Miller, VP East Coast Sales at that time, wearing his hard hat and casting a gleaming smile as the first Insulectro explorer coming East from the West Coast to ensure that the vision of our Founder, Don Redfern, became a reality…and it did.
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I remember the initial move into our new 50,000 SF building. It was a weekend that many of our teammates happily gave up to support the “BIG” move! The goal was simple, but it took a magnificent team to re-stage all the pallets, drums, boxes, crates, carts, onto their proper and accurately recorded rack positions-their new home.
I oversaw the barbecue as I was not trusted on a fork-lift. I can still smell the barbecued chicken and steaks searing on the grill that hot summer day and the teammates making fun of some of the (possibly charred) chicken. No one complained.
It was two long days of hard work and tedious computer time getting everything in its proper place.
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I must mention and recognize Dave Klebba. Dave came to NH from SoCal in a white Ford Bronco (which closely resembled the OJ Simpson Bronco). To this day, we all have a belly laugh about his exploits coming East. This move would not have been possible without Dave’s help. Dave exemplifies- team, teamwork, and teammates.
Dave is still a part of the Insulectro team (29 years) and continues to help and support our team as the Quality Director and Safety Coordinator.
I tell this history lesson to share with you how much Insulectro relies on and appreciates it’s team. We are the same team that all of you, our customers, rely on and trust to get you what you need when you need it!
From day one, Insulectro New Hampshire is a tenacious bunch of hard working, loyal and trusted team and we are here to GSD and exceed your expectations.
Thank you for your business!
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Ron Murdock
Director of Sales - Eastern Region
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Productronica 2021 - Munich
Isola Exhibits Myriad of Materials
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Isola Group, a global innovator in materials for printed-circuit boards (PCBs), will present a wide range of its wares at the Productronica 2021 exhibition. Held November 16-19, 2021, at the Messe München (Munich, Germany), Productronica is one of the world’s leading trade fairs for electronics and already offers more than 860 exhibitors for the 2021 event, which is co-located with SEMICON® Europa.
Isola is represented by its European division, Isola GmbH.
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Isola Group formulates a wide range of high-quality circuit materials including laminates and prepreg materials used to construct analog, high-speed digital, and high-frequency RF/microwave/millimeter-wave PCBs for some of the fastest emerging applications, such as battery-charging circuits, automotive electronic modules, and circuits for Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) cellular wireless communications networks.
As important as Isola’s creativity to finding practical circuit material solutions for modern electronic applications is the firm’s dedication to in-house testing of its materials to maintain excellent performance consistency and outstanding long-term reliability for circuits fabricated on those materials, from DC through light and single through multiple layers.
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At Productronica 2021, Isola will display examples of a wide range of its electronic material products for a wide range of markets. Visitors can discuss their requirements at all levels, with both technical and commercial booth personnel, and for applications from commercial through industrial and military circuits.
Products on display included low-loss I-TERA® MT40 laminates and prepreg materials for high-speed-digital circuit applications and I-TERA® MT40 (RF/MW) for high-frequency RF and microwave circuits.
Circuit designers, faced with many different requirements, will learn about halogen-free TERRAGREEN® laminates and prepregs as well as lead-free, process-compatible FR408HR laminates and prepregs. With dielectric constant (Dk) of 3.72 at 100 MHz and 3.68 at 2 GHz, FR408HR materials are also FR-4 process compatible. They feature excellent thermal properties for high-temperature applications, with a high dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) temperature of +230°C.
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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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Chemicals & Controllers
Focus Tech Chemicals
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Insulectro continues to offer Focus Tech processing chemistry for you PCB processing needs.
Products Offered
- Dryfilm Developing Chemistry
- Dryfilm Stripping Chemistry
- Tin Stripping
- Alternative Oxide
- Equipment Cleaners
- Waste Treatment Chemistry
- Plus, a variety of Process Chemistries
Control Equipment
Focus Tech offers chemistry control equipment to help manage the different chemical processes in the manufacturing process.
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Specific gravity controller
- Conductivity Controller
- Colorimeter controller
- Cupric Etch Controller
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Custom controllers with availability to connect to TrueChem software
Jeff Johnson
Product Manager - Dryfilm/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
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Our San Jose Branch supports the USA with a large variety of HSD, RF and Flex materials. Our focus continues to be quick turn and have sheeting capabilities for a variety of materials.
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This year we added a second saw, a third high speed prepreg sheeter and we just received a new automated ink stamp system.
We continue to look for ways to help our customers build better circuits faster. Our team is committed to delivery and service. If you are in the area, we would be happy to show you around.
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Chris Hunrath
Vice President of Technology
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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS & PASTES,
ADVANCED SUBSTRATES & FILMS
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Advanced Substrates
KODAK ESTAR™ HC Films
an Optical Grade Polyester Film
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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.
In addition to being a first-in-class supplier, product specialists at Insulectro have in-depth product knowledge offering process consultations and onsite training to ensure the very best products are selected for each critical need. Insulectro readily stocks an ever-growing assortment of substrates and this month we are highlighting KODAK ESTAR™ HC Films.
KODAK ESTAR™ Polyester (PET) HCF (Highly Conductive Films) offer very high clarity, optical-grade surface quality for use in a variety of industrial applications. Their unique manufacturing process produces an exceptionally uniform, flexible, optically clear dual-sided material as a cost-effective alternative to many other conductive transparent films, including indium tin oxide (ITO). These films can be processed uncoated or with coatings on one or both sides of the material.
Some of the characteristics that make KODAK ESTAR™ HC Films a great substrate for printed electronics include:
- Resistivity of 300 to 150 ohms per square
- Invisible (transparent) pattern if desired
- Single or dual sided
To learn more about this remarkable substrate, please feel free to contact me.
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Jeff Crawford
Advanced Substrate Specialist
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OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN |
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Operations is Mission Critical!
Growth & Momentum - Our San Jose Branch
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Our San Jose, California branch has experienced significant growth over the last 1-2 years, propelled by strong momentum across all product lines, especially HSD/RF laminate products.
The San Jose team is energized and in a great position to support this continued growth. We’ve continued to invest in people and equipment into the facility to ensure our customers’ “quick turn” needs and expectations are exceeded through these exciting times.
Last month, I was fortunate enough to spend some time in our San Jose branch, where I witnessed several examples of our World Class Manufacturing key priority areas beginning to take shape:
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Safety First, ALWAYS – Two and a half years without a reportable injury!
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Spotless Facilities (5S) – Marked emphasis on housekeeping and tour ready cleanliness. Place looked amazing!
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Uncompromised Quality – Focused in on root cause investigation/corrective action to reduce defects on an ongoing basis
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Customer Service Mindset – Going above and beyond to devise solutions to execute needs of a “quick-turn” customer base
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Teamwork & Communication – Daily morning cross-functional team huddle to align on key safety/quality/service needs
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Building Talent – On-boarding, cross-training, and developing several new teammates to build capability and versatility
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Continuous Improvement – New AWP auto-ink jet and Pasquato sheeting equipment, improving efficiency and consistency in quality, and logistics/travel automation by leveraging our new MIR robot.
Driving these values and supporting the growth and customer expectations requires leadership and focus from the entire team.
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The Operations group, led by Jaygee Gozum, Benito Gonzales, and Alberto Soto demonstrates a true commitment to GSD’ing which is truly inspiring.
Their team of Ronnie Aguilar, Luis Ceballos Lopez, Alex Chevarria, Joaquin Garcia, Francisco Gonzales, Rafael Gonzales, Victor Grijalva, Daniel Marroquin, Nick Miranda, Paul Robles, Cristian Rosales, Rex Smith, Michelle Sotelo, Chris Thomas, Ricardo Armendariz, and Serevi Wong, are top notch and focused in on our mission to continuously improve the experience of our customers.
In our fastest, “Quick Turn” market, with high expectations of same day delivery and execution, the San Jose branch truly demonstrates the Insulectro mission of enabling our customers to build better circuits, FASTER!
Thanks for all you do San Jose team! And thanks in advance for helping us implement and support the HSD growth and the continued expanded needs of our valued customer base!
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Jason Shuppert
Vice President of Operations
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Metallization
Electrolytic Copper Plating of Blind Vias
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by DuPont Electronic Solutions |
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The drive for ever higher component density in printed circuit board fabrication requires increased layer counts and commonly employ the use of blind microvias to make inner layer connections. Metallization of these blind vias by electrolytic copper plating is fundamentally challenging for two large reasons.
The first challenge is solution flow inside the blind via. Unlike through holes where there is an opening on the other side of the board, blind vias are plugged at one end. This prevents the free flow of solution in and out of the vias. Also, blind vias can have aspect ratios higher than one, with diameters as small as to 30 microns, which is smaller than the diameter of the average human hair!
To wet such tiny features, equipment providing a type of flow aimed directly at the surface is provided by jet impingement, or other types of sophisticated hardware. If the solution flow is not adequate, one runs the risk of generating voids due to poor wetting or trapped air bubbles.
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The second challenge is that the plating rate inside the blind via needs to be many times faster than the plating rate at the board surface. This is in direct contrast to the primary current density driven by the electric field that is applied to the board, which favors plating at the surface of the panel, rather than in the recesses. This is where the organic components of electrolytic plating baths come into play.
Typical viafilling plating baths will contain three organic components: carriers, brighteners, and levelers. The carrier provides wetting capability, slows down the plating rate, and acts as a grain refiner. In blind via plating baths, the brightener and leveler combination acts in concert to control plating at the surface, while supercharging the plating rate inside the via. The correct combination of organic additives will provide void free blind via plating, and good copper distribution in the circuit pattern on the surface.
DuPont has developed specialized organic packages optimized for various viafilling designs, including MICROFILL™ EVF, MICROFILL™ LVF, MICROFILL™ RPT, and MICROFILL™ SFP electrolytic copper plating baths. Please contact your local representative for further information.
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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS & PASTES,
SUBSTRATES & FILMS
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Printed Electronics Wearables
Technology that's Increasingly Integrating into Daily Lives
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Part Two - Wearables & Heat Applications |
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One of the most exciting technologies and benefits of this current era is the advancement in Wearables Technology. Within the Wearables Technology, you will find Printed Electronics Wearables. Insulectro is proud to offer the DuPont™ Intexar™ materials for printed, stretchable electronics, hence PE Wearables.
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HEAT APPLICATIONS
In addition to therapeutic heating, DuPont™ Intexar™ Heat advances wearable heat technology, enabling clothing to generate heat when powered, creating actively controlled on-body warming.
The DuPont™ Intexar™ wearable heat technology can be applied to various applications in extreme weather, such as with heating jackets from the outdoor enthusiast to industrial workers, conquering the elements in comfort and increasing their focus and improving their performance.
Thanks to the DuPont™ Intexar™ inks and film that integrates seamlessly into the fabric, the Intexar™ Heat eliminates bulky wires typically seen in heated jackets, thus providing a smooth fabric-like heater that allows for ease of movement with outdoor winter activities and sports.
Furthermore, besides having stretchability electrical performance for repeatable active movements, the DuPont™ Intexar™ materials are washable. Therefore, consumers can clean this smart clothing heated jacket just like any other garment.
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The following are activity examples of outdoor enthusiasts' that benefit from a wearable heating jacket: Skiing/Snowboarding, Hiking/ trekking, Snowmobiling, Mountain Climbing, Hunting, Sports Fans, Mountain Biking/ Cycling, Motorcyclist, etc. Nevertheless, industry professionals such as Utility Workers, Construction, Military, Delivery, Forestry, Mining, and Infrastructure workers can also enjoy the comforts of a wearable heated jacket.
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Next month, we look at Wearables and Fitness Applications!
Angel Cartagena, MBA
Printed Electronics - Product Specialist
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As I begin my second stint of working at Insulectro as FAE supporting our customers in the southern California region, I am reunited with engineers, managers, and operators I had developed relationships with from my past. Responses from everybody at Insulectro and in the field has been extraordinary and very gratifying.
But the faces do not match the companies I remember them at, and the companies are not the same names! Of course, I have adjusted to the “new” world of PCB manufacturing locally and have been hitting the ground running – quickly leaning and re-learning all the technologies necessary to be a trusted support and advisor to the industry.
I tend to focus on one company at-a-time for a while to see a project through to competition with visits for follow up. Being an engineer, I enjoy creating, facilitating, and implementing new products and processes into operations and developing strong comradery with customer team members. I enjoy working with people and can readily mentor young engineers or teach operators best practices.
I appreciate our management giving me an opportunity to allow me to be the best I can be for our customers! There is a great customer base here!
We thank you customers.
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Mike Carnarius
Field Application Engineer - Southern California
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A Super Matchup!
Make Your InduBond® Press
Sit Up & Take Notice
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Bacon and eggs. Black and tan. Mac and cheese. Bert and Ernie. InduBond® and Copper-Steel-Copper!
Bonded Copper foil including VLP profiles onto a Steel carrier ensures that not only the low-profile topography is protected but the surface is clean, free from causing signal integrity defects as all FOUR edges are sealed. It's a star performer in an InduBond® press!
Carrier foil is available from 1µm up to 5µm, now CSC bridges that gap offering foils from 6µm to 140µm.
CSC is available in 8 mil which has twice the image transfer resistance as 15 mil aluminum AND can replace up to SEVEN standard 62 mil steel separators. Those separators not only cause circuit surface imperfections impacting trace lines but reduce stack height allowing more panels per lamination cycle.
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I've got a lot to tell you about this matchup!
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foil & CAC®
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EMD Performance Materials
Ormet® Sintering Paste
Eliminate Lamination & 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® Sintering Paste, please contact me or your local Insulectro TAM. |
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Jeff Johnson
Product Manager - Dryfilm & Chemistry
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The People
Behind the Puma
Meet Paul St. John
LCOA® Director of Sales & Distribution
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BIO
In short, 40 years in the PCB industry 30 involving Application Engineering and Technical Sales and 19 years of this with LCOA and the Redfern Companies.
I started my career in the PCB industry at Circuit Wise in North Haven, CT as a drill operator on 3rd shift, drilling double-sided boards in 4-high stacks for Atari and Activision. When these companies pulled all that work and moved manufacturing of the game cartridges to China, I left Circuit Wise and started working for Tyco Engineered Systems in Manchester, CT as the Graphic Arts department manager.
Looking at film all day can be very tedious, but this company was at the front of the technology curve at that time and I wanted to learn as much as possible. While there, I stayed active in drill and rout departments, as they brought in the first Hitachi drill machine I had every worked with.
In 1991 I moved to California to start the Application Engineering department at Tulon, a drill and routing tool manufacturer specifically for the PCB industry. I started the technical support team at Tulon and we quickly realized this was an area that was not covered well by other suppliers.
I found myself enjoying the challenge of working with customers around the world, seeing different ways of accomplishing the same products in the drill and routing area of PCB manufacturing. There are many ways to accomplish the same results, and being flexible and understanding that each customer has different capabilities makes it a fun ride. In 1998, I moved to Tycom to run the sales team for Southern California, supporting customers from Los Angeles to San Diego, over to Phoenix, AZ.
In 2002 I started at TRISTAR (LCOA) for technical sales of drilling materials and have grown in this position to support LCOA, CAC and Tadco products. Still love coming in everyday, never knowing what may happen or who may need help.
PSJ. Our secret weapon in the drill room.
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Paul, you have been with the Redfern Companies a long time. Tell us about your first day.
Wow, 19 years ago would be difficult to give you any detail. I knew LCOA (Tristar at the time) and my initial project was to identify our product performance vs. competitive materials.
I worked for Sean Redfern (pictured RIGHT) and he was a great boss and turned into a great friend. Enjoyed coming to work from the first day. Everyone at the Redfern companies makes you feel part of a family and we all work together. This was my initial impression and remains so today
Who was the most helpful to you on your first day and why?
I worked directly with Sean Redfern for most of the day (outside of HR completing paperwork) going through the facility and explaining how we manufactured our products.
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When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
If we go back to elementary school, I wanted to ride on the back of the garbage truck, even told my teachers. Caused the school to have my parents come to let them know this. I just thought it was cool hanging off the back of the truck and all you needed to do was empty the trash can into the back.
Had planned to join the police academy and went through all the interview process before getting out of high school. The local police force decided they were looking for veteran officers, so I moved to engineering. I think it was the right choice.
Favorite subjects in school? Least favorite? Why?
Loved math and I didn’t love English or Spanish language classes. Math just makes sense, there is a true right/wrong answer.
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You’re know in our industry as a perfectionist. What do you encounter that really drives you crazy?
Both personally and professionally, what drives me crazy are temporary fixes to problems that we all agree are wrong but end up being the permanent fix.
Putting masking tape around a leaking vacuum line to the machine to “fix” the leak, when replacing the hose would take about as much time and be fixed correctly.
Both duct tape and masking tape are good for what they were designed for, but have become tools to fix problems quickly, then never get finished because it “works”.
Also, when somebody tells me “We have always done it that way, so that can’t be the problem” doesn’t mean it’s right, just easier than making the required changes.
When you were a high school senior, how did you buddies describe you?
I grew up in North Haven, CT, a small quiet town at that time.
I was the guy people would come to that would get things done, either arranging the group event to go to a theme park, skiing in Vermont, or just getting everyone to meet at the local bar in town. Always ready to try the next thing, very seldom saying no.
Today, how would your fellow teammates describe you?
I would hope dependable, reliable and team member. I love what I do and I’m very passionate about building a quality product and reliable process to support our customer’s needs.
When you find time to kick back, what do you do?
I enjoy working around the yard, taking care of the lawn, trees…..After everything is finished, reclining in my chair and watching good movie with my wife.
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Cocktail, beer, or wine?
Lets see, this is a difficult one. If it’s an early flight (or any long flight), Mr. and Mrs. T Bloody Mary Mix and Tito's Vodka. Two or three of these makes the rest of the flight better.
A normal night out, I would say beer to start the evening, either a Stella Artois or a Fat Tire, could also be a Sam Adams.
(LEFT: Paul working hard at Productronica in Munich)
A good Red during dinner is always nice to complement almost any food.
Grey Goose or Ketel One Vodka on the rocks would be a good way to end the evening. I almost never drink alcohol at home, so I try to enjoy it when I’m out.
Binge food?
Mixed nuts. They say 1 serving is around a handful, but I could go through the whole/bag. Really don’t have many foods that I would binge on.
Favorite food is a good quality steak, rare, cooked on a grille. That and a good bottle of red wine, nothing better!
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Favorite musical group, tv show, movie or book?
Favorite musical group is Guns N’ Roses and Bob Dylan, but best live experience is Jimmy Buffett (from tailgate to show).
Favorite movie is The Matrix. First one in the trilogy is the best, but would watch any of the three. Can’t wait for the new one later this year, Matrix Resurrections, due in December-2021. Not sure on the date due to world being upside down today, but should be out soon.
Growing up, my favorite Friday night was the midnight showing of the audience participation movie “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. I saw and participated in this picture show at least 23 times. Wish it was still playing today. Great team building exercise.
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Favorite car you’ve ever owned?
Favorite car was my Red 1988 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA 5.0 L V8 TPI 5-speed with a T-top. Just a lot of fun and was a fast car. Second day I owned it was stopped for doing 130mph on a newly opened 3 mile stretch of highway. The officer let me go with a warning, saying he probably would have done something similar.
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Most embarrassing car you’ve ever owned?
Most embarrassing (today, not then) was a 1968 Mercury Cougar. Bought when I was 15 (a little rough, but workable) and had it running and painted by 16, when I could legally drive it. It wasn’t pretty, but it had a 302 Ford Small Block V8 with an automatic transmission, so it was fast and fun to drive.
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What’s your dream vacation?
Sitting on the beach in Aruba with the beach bar close enough that they can bring me my drink if I raise my hand. The bar should serve breakfast (here comes that Bloody Mary), lunch and dinner so I don’t have to go far. I don’t like any schedules if I’m on vacation. No watch or phone….Beach and ocean
Finish this sentence: “Oh, I know Paul St. John, he’s . . .”
caring, thoughtful, fun and just a down to earth regular guy.
If you asked my wife, you would probably get something very different.
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What was the last thing you laughed at?
My dog (a full breed Husky) makes me laugh every night. The best was when he learned (we learned that night as well) he could get up on his hind legs and reach the kitchen counter and found two very nice frozen pork chops my wife had pulled out to defrost. You’ve never seen a dog eat so fast.
I laughed so hard it hurt.
Tell three things most of us would be surprised to learn about you?
Ran track (50 to 400 meters) when I was in high school, did pretty good.
Enjoy woodworking (no as much today), just a hobby. I made a complete chess set when I was younger (board and pieces), it’s very relaxing.
I am a news junky, love to watch and read the news, from all perspectives. I think its valuable to know what is going on in the world, especially today.
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What is the annual LCOA Holiday tradition?
We book a private Sprinter van for our annual “Pub Crawl”. We get picked-up around 8:00am and we visit only the finest drinking establishments that serve alcohol at 8:00am. A typical “Pub Crawl” would include:
- Mugs Away Saloon
- Turks Bar (Best Bloody Mary)
- The Sand Piper (Dirty Bird)
- Swallows Inn
- Cooks Corner.
Anyone visiting Southern California should make time to see these bars/restaurants. Each location is very different and has a unique atmosphere that always has customers, starting around 8am.
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Netflix has decided to do a miniseries on your life. What actor would play you?
They wouldn’t do a miniseries on me. I don’t think they allow that type of movie on Netflix. I don’t really like many actors and would not want them to play me. [PumaNews™ thinks Paul Newman RIGHT is a perfect pick]
What actor would play Patrick Redfern? I definitely don’t have any idea on someone to play Patrick.
What’s your take on the future of our industry?
I believe the future of the PCB market is promising, with growth opportunities in computers/peripherals, communications, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, and military/aerospace industries.
The increasing demand for PCB in the communication industry, growth in connected devices, and advancement in automotive electronics. Everything outside of food needs some type of circuit board, from a rigid PCB in a computer to something printed on clothing to your monitor vital signs.
Name three things you have done at LCOA you are extremely proud of.
- Developed Bullseye® entry material with the help of many people
- Improved our tooling systems with better equipment and programming
- Communication with our customers and working with them to help improve the quality and performance of the drill process. Drilling is the most controllable process in PCB manufacturing, and working with end users to reach this goal is rewarding.
What advice would give someone new coming into our companies?
We are a team here at the Redfern companies and if you are ready to be part of that team, it turns into family. It’s a great place to work, we all work hard to support our customers, but we also like to play…hard.
It’s a great ride if you are willing to become part of it.
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@Mike Creeden
The Battles to Reduce RF Loss
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Material Selection, Copper Tooth Profile, Feature Size, and Intelligent Stackups
Dielectric Loss (Df) is the absorption of electromagnetic energy by the board material in a varying electric field. This is critical for minimizing dB loss calculations and is of high value to RF circuits.
There are several other factors that should be considered for RF circuits, such as low copper tooth profile and RF low-loss design practices. Some chemistry processes may reduce copper tooth profile.
In a circuit board, a high capacitance and low inductance environment creates electric and magnetic energy fields. This energy exists and performs within the dielectric material with two references: a voltage and a return metal entity, such as copper traces or planes on our board. Energy fields exist between the trace and the plane (return path) within the dielectric material. Why this is important – you are not just connecting a route, rather you are managing an EM field.
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Material Selection -
Isola’s Astra® MT77 has already proven its position as an industry leader in the realm of lowest loss laminates for RF and Microwave circuits. Df 0.0017. It also is available with low profile CU VLP-2 (2 micron).
Copper Tooth Profile – (Smooth Side and Rough Side)
Tooth profiles vary and the roughness is denoted by a term called (Rz), also referred to as, “Ten-point height.” This is the average absolute value of the five highest peaks and the five lowest valleys, measured in microns. The smooth side can be less than a micron while the rough side can be anywhere from 2-10 microns.
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The smoothness of the copper profile helps signal propagation, while roughness helps adhesion, providing a peel strength. These two factors are in conflict and careful consideration of how decisions should be made are required. Peel strength is most needed on outer layers during bring-up efforts or rework. It may not be needed on production runs, or also on inner layers for proto-type or production.
Skin Effect –
The faster a signal’s frequency is, the shallower the amount of depth the current will travel into the conductor and its return path. This is referred to as, “Skin Depth.”
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On printed circuit boards, our traces are paired with an uninterrupted reference plane (preferably GND) adjacent to the trace. The presence of currents in the returning signal current distorts the flow of current in the conducting trace. Basically, it pulls more current onto the bottom side of the trace (the side nearest the reference plane). In a stripline configuration (reference planes above and below a trace) the current is going to be pulled over towards whichever reference plane is closest, or often GND (0.0V) as opposites attract. This effect is called the Proximity Effect.
The Proximity Effect is a simple manifestation of the general rule that high-speed current tends to concentrate near its return path. It is important to have a clearly defined return path to know exactly where the return current will flow.
The reference plane dissipation has the effect, in this case, of a 36% increase in the apparent resistance of the signal conductor. The copper tooth profile should be considered on the return path side, also. Are we considering both sides of our EM Field or just the trace side? Depending on how we make our stackups we may be mixing these two surfaces, as shown below.
The EM Field references both our traces and our return planes as it travels through the dielectric material. Smooth and rough copper foil sheets bonded to dielectric material. Capacitance increases in proportion to roughness profile Rz. When comparing a smooth vs. rough conductor and return plane, with same thickness of dielectrics: smooth surfaces, as shown on the left, the e-field strength is uniform, as expected.
The roughness profile, as shown on the middle, increases or decreases the e-field strength proportional to the peaks and valleys, respectively. Average capacitance also increases proportionally to the roughness profile. We often will mix the two making this all the more confusing, as shown on the far right. Know that copper profile has many options to choose from: reverse treated, low profile, and chemical methods to reduce surface roughness.
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Feature Size -
RF traces are often defined much wider than digital high-speed trace. This is referred to as a Non-Lossy Transmission Line. However, to still perform as a 50 ohm trace, they will often have a GND Well added by way of a keep-out on layer 2, now referencing layer 3 instead of layer 2.
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Consider all these options to get the best performance from the best materials.
At Insulectro, with our Design Education Program, we are 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.
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Stay safe, happy, and healthy!
Mike Creeden CID+ MIT
Technical Director, Insulectro Design & Education
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Insulectro Unleashes the
Incredible Power of 5
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Contact your Insulectro or Isola sales representative for more information.
Norm Berry
Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
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Become a Puma!
Help us map out the future of Printed Circuit Board 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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Insulectro Unleashes the
Incredible Power of 5
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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.
Teflon®/Laminate system 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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Insulectro Unleashes the
Incredible Power of 5
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It's Not Too Late!
Past OEM FORUMS Available for Viewing
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You probably know by now our one-hour OEM FORUMS have garnered rave reviews and great attendance. Have you missed one and want to catch up?
All OEM FORUMs from our library are available by clicking on the box to view our complete library on VIMEO.
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QUALITY CONCERNS
JUNE 24, 2021
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Undisputed Industry Leader
Pacothane's Lamination Assist Products
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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].
Pacothane services the worldwide PCB and Smart Card markets, which includes Rigid Multilayer, Rigid/Flex, Cover-layer Flex, Flexible Multilayer, Copper and Un-Clad Laminates. These circuit boards are integrated into a wide variety of applications and markets that include telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, smart cards, medical and effectively all electronic products.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE
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We develop and produce consistent, dependable, functional products that help to eliminate the hidden variables in PCB manufacture, reducing scrap rates and reworks
- We provide uncompromising support to our distributors and their customers, through training, sales and technical support
WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
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We help customers select the correct product for their specific application
- We continuously improve functionality to reduce customers' finished product costs
PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES® Proudly Produced in the USA with American Labor and American Materials!
For all your needs and challenges in lamination, give us a call! With our broad product offering we have the solutions you need. We like to make your life easier!
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Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - Pacothane® Products
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And, don't forget, recently published Pacothane® Product Sample Guide available. Contact me for details. |
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Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - LCOA®
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CAC® Inc
Superior surface quality,
supporting thinner foils
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Remove those hard to clean, defect causing and throughput limiting separator plates.
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Reduce stack height - More panels per book per opening, CSC 7.5x thinner than separators
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Eliminate surface defects as the factory finish copper surface and profile is protected
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Production Efficiency gains by reducing the overall mass to heat AND cool in a cycle
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Layup Efficiency – No separators to clean, resurface or polish - labor intensive & costly
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Consistency in press stack mass CTE to copper & prepreg with CSC
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Increase quality assurance as image impressions and FOD concerns are minimized
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For additional information, samples, or data sheet, please contact me.
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foil & CAC®
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Drills, Routers, Endmills!
Let Kemmer Improve Your Board Quality
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The PCB industry has seen a significant increase in the need for endmills. Insulectro’s Kemmer line has a complete product offering of single, two, three and four flute designs for various applications and material types. Currently stocking endmills from .50mm to 1/8”.
Kemmer Tech-Centers are continuously reviewing endmill designs and carbides, through a series of tests to ensure that we meet the increasing quality requirements of all material types and applications.
Please contact your local Insulectro branch for additional product information and availability.
Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - Drill & Business Development - Canada
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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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INSULECTRO'S COPPER & COPPER FOIL OFFERINGS |
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Copper Foil Layers
Each Has a Function to
Ensure a Solid Foundation
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Base copper:
This can be Electro-Deposited or Wrought copper with the minimum purities of 99.8% and 99.9% Cu respectively. (IPC 4562A-Rev WAM1 3.8.1.1)
Copper Dendrite layer: (Nodulation)
These plated nodules formed upon the surface of the base copper during the treatment cycle support mechanical adhesion to the substrate. Dendrites can be added to both sides to create double treated foil. These copper deposits along with the surface of the base copper will represent the overall surface profile of the foil.
Barrier layer: (Encapsulation)
This prevents the resin system from propagating and negatively impacting the dendrites topography. This chemical and thermal resistance layer supports bond strength too.
Anti-Tarnish layer: (Passivation)
This passivation layer can be metallic, organic or a mixture. Zinc and Arsenic or Copper oxide coatings are examples with a focus to prevent oxidation as this corrosion will cause undercut. Metallic’s coats include Zinc, Cobalt, Nickel, Chrome etc. with recipes being proprietary.
Stain Proofing layer:
This silane layer is designed to support chemical adhesion and is resin specific. This adhesion promotor is applied to support the highest peel strength based on the overall foils physical and chemical design.
Zinc and the copper base turn to brass after 250° C x 20 mins exposure.
If using an alkaline Etch monitor for undercut as it will remove the formed brass layer.
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For further assistance, connect with me by email, phone, or in person!
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foil & CAC®
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Fine-tuning Operations
Is Trying to “Stretch” the Most Out of Your Consumables Hurting You?
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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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With labor shortages the way they are and business up……..time is money!
If your looking would save time in your LPI department, then 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. Frames also available for flatbed printers and hand tables. We can customize as well!
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Are you running the correct pumice brush?
Consistent contact and pressure across the panel top and bottom gives you consistent adhesion.
Are 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.
Please reach out to us if you’re experiencing any of these and we’ll work with you to get this resolved.
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Please contact us for a brush quote and see how our Equipment Services can be tied in to optimize your machine’s performance! |
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The calls for Preventative Maintenance Programs and Equipment Rebuilds are increasing as customers understand the benefits this brings to their equipment’s overall performance and up time.
With 20 years of experience, we take machine rebuilds seriously!
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Remember that we can assist in your equipment needs through the following:
- Equipment Reviews and Audits
- Service and support
- Preventative Maintenance Programs
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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
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Please reach out should you like to discuss any of these topics further.
Thank you.
Kevin Barrett,
Product Manager & TAM
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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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Hard to Process Metals?
Our Beck's Light Gauge Process Is What You're Looking For
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We enjoy processing metals that most shy away from.
Our specialties include:
- 0 temper aluminum for deep drawing
- One Side Bright aluminum for the auto or name plate industry
- Clad Heat Treated Aluminum for the aerospace industry
- Litho Sheet for the printing industry
- Bright Annealed and Polished Stainless for the appliance industry
- Soft Copper
- Coated Products (aluminum or steel)
- Titanium
In other words “Jewelry”. We are a white glove, hand stacking operation giving us the ability to inspect each sheet or piece.
We have been qualified by many top Stainless and Aluminum producing mills as well as a long list of metal distributors. Many of our customers have their own cut to length equipment. Generally for a wide range of gauges.
Because our leveler was built for light gauge, we can correct flatness issues other larger roll levelers cannot. Quite often we get used to free up our customer’s line time by running the lighter gauges or more difficult time consuming jobs.
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Call Matt to find out more about our Beck's process and all that CAC® has to offer. |
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Matt Swanson
General Manager, Toll Processing
CAC®, Inc.
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Everyday Materials You Need, On Our Shelves Every Day
Insulectro recognizes the importance of maintaining adequate inventory to begin work. Designers know when you need it, you need it. Using the link getpumafast.com, you can see what PumaFast™ and standard materials we stock to get you up and running.
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Covid-19 has not stopped our ACT! initiatives!
We have successfully collaborated on many ACT! opportunities.
We are delivering on Technology, Design and Education while you can bank on the sales results!
We are virtually taking our ACT!
to another level!
Insulectro and our partners are moving the chains to help our customers exceed performance goals. Our team of professional and technical resources are now offering our customers access to design and education services.
This is a Game Changer!
Our ACT! Initiatives combined with our design and education services provide our customers a total solutions package with a one-stop-shop option.
Our customers now have total access to not only our Insulectro foot print, best in class products, materials on the shelf when you need them; but also the expertise to deliver solutions from design to delivery…FAST!
Call me and to set up a VIRTUAL ACT! with your customer.
There's a reason I'm smiling.
Ron Murdock
ACT! Manager & Technical Account Manager
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To be the easiest company to do business with. . .
Insulectro has a program for continual improvement, all designed to make ourselves as user-friendly as possible to our customers, their customers, and our suppliers. Speed Matters, so we focus a lot of attention on getting you the materials you need as quickly as possible.
Our PumaFast™ Program lists current inventory of everyday materials you need every day.
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Best-in-Class Materials
from our Premier Suppliers
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