THE THIRD EDITION OF PUMANEWS |
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As I see it. . .
In today’s world of unpredictable customer demand and endless supply-chain disruptions, both natural and otherwise, one thing is certain - decisions made by companies to merely survive during the height of the pandemic are now having consequences as pent-up demand by consumers far exceeds what's available. The results? Prices spike.
Although consumer prices are rising everywhere caused by product scarcity, our industry has been negatively impacted by a short supply of shipping containers and semiconductors. This will continue to cause problems. We will do our best to buffer our customers from the squeeze.
It's going to get bumpy for awhile as we go through this frontal system. But, once supply and demand are in alignment, the marketplace will flourish.
We are investing in our business to prepare for the boom. It's exciting to see our customers doing the same.
Patrick Redfern
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FIND THESE FAST! Look for FEATURED ARTICLE flag |
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- OEM FORUM THURSDAY! "Engage Your Fabricator First!"
- DuPont Adds New "Plating on Plastics" Products
- Meet the InduBond® X-Press 360 Lamination Press
- Isola's Quick Turn FAcility in Chandler AZ Now Online
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Get Flex-ABLE with Alternatives! Interra™ HK04M is in stock!
- BONUS! Pacothane Introduces PACOVIA 3500
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Reporting Period October 2020 - April 2021
Supplier Report Card - Assessment Threshholds
>93 GOLD 100. Very Good. Meets our expectation.
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SALES & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT |
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Ken Parent Speaks Out!
April Showered Us
with Challenges
MAY 2021
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What a month it has been since I last wrote about patience paying off.
Insulectro is integrating our teammates to be selling the DuPont Chemistry product line and the teams are figuring out how to work in the Insulectro systems. I am looking forward to the next 30 days to further integrate and bring new solutions to our customers as we learn more about their needs in the Specialty Process Chemical areas. We are finding technical, inventory stocking, and logistic opportunities for us to help DuPont and our customers to navigate the supply challenged marketplace.
Isola’s new plant in Chandler, AZ is starting to have a positive impact and our fastest growing HSD/RF Laminates business is supporting some very impressive OEM programs.
This month’s OEM Forum promises to be a great event with our special guest Gerry Partida, Director of Technology at Summit Interconnect. Please join us. In fact, there is a link in an article below on the OEM FORUM where you can directly register.
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We have seen continued pricing and supply challenges in the business. Insulectro is working to keep pace with the changing demands while keeping our cost under control. Our mission, “SPEED MATTERS” is to keep being the fastest supplier to get you material and that has not wavered. Our goal is to also automate in various processes, so we keep our overhead as low as possible and control cost within the Insulectro Distribution business. Insulectro is automating in the warehouses and in our sales order fulfillment process.
Customers who do not normally depend on us are calling due to supply challenges with their primary supplier. Our commitment is to our customers that depend on us day in and day out and our inventory investment is key to our success. Please keep us informed as to what you are seeing in your market.
We read about various supply challenges and shortages. We see continued spikes in various markets where we are expediting materials. We measure our teams forecasting accuracy because we know having the right material on our shelves for you is key to our success. Any insight to the shifting markets you can provide as early as possible is appreciated.
I commit to you we are doing our part in keeping cost controlled, inventory healthy and our processes capable of delivering materials to you FAST, PumaFAST!
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Ken Parent
VP of Sales & Product Management
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Next OEM Forum May 20
(FAB!)RICATOR - Engage Your Fabricator 1st! Plan to Make Rev One work!
Lower your costs, shorten lead time, increase yields. All the positive results that can happen when your fabricator is engaged early in the design process.
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With special guest, Gerry Partida, Director of Technology at Summit Interconnect, our "better together" team of Michael Creeden CID+ MIT (our Technical Director for Design Education) and Chris Hunrath provide with seven significant advantages of inviting your fabricator into the design and planning stages.
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POP Industry Continues Growth
DuPont Adds New
"Plating on Plastics" Products
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Eric Huenger
Plating on Plastics Technical Service Manager – America’s Region
Interconnect Solution
DuPont Electronic & Imaging
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The Plating on Plastics (POP) industry has continued to grow year after year, and it is estimated to surpass $960 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.9% from 2021 to 2027¹. However, there have been few new offerings by the POP industry to address some of the hazardous by-products associated with the etching and metal deposition steps. DuPont is now offering two new, more environmentally friendly POP products and has another in development that is expected to be available for purchase later this year.
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DuPont Ecoposit™ 800 CF is a chrome-free etch alternative designed to support etching of styrene-based plateable plastics which represents roughly 90% of the plastics processed in the POP industry today. This product represents years of development and is currently being integrated into several high volume manufacturing POP operations as a replacement etch supporting REACH regulation compliance in the European Union.
DuPont Ecoposit™ 95HT, is a high throw /low stress acid copper product. This product is expected to provide improved copper thickness distribution and reduced stress deposits for higher reliability and increased productivity. Use of the product may allow for copper thickness reductions and subsequent capex savings.
DuPont has a third product in the final stages of development, DuPont Ecoposit™ XF 1000, a formaldehyde-free electroless copper that addresses by-product mitigation for methanol, phosphates, ammonia and boric acid normally associated with conventional electroless copper, electroless nickel and certain electrolytic strike products respectively. The expected improvement in conductivity and stability control of this new product will eliminate the need for immersion and strike plating process steps, allowing for potential improved capacity and lower operating costs.
All the DuPont Ecoposit™ products are fully analyzable and designed to be sustained in high volume manufacturing operations.
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Industry Veteran Michelle Walsh Promoted to Vice President of Product Management |
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Insulectro has promoted Michelle Walsh to Vice President of Product Management.
“I am pleased to announce the promotion of Insulectro’s Michelle Walsh to the position of VP - Product Management,” commented Patrick Redfern, Insulectro President and CEO, “Michelle has had a long career of 22 years and counting at Insulectro. She has been extremely effective working with our supplier partners and managing our Product Management and Pricing teams. She has been a tireless “go-to” resource for customers and our sale team.”
Walsh joined Insulectro in 1998 and has held many roles including Technical Service Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Business Analyst Manager, Product Manager for multiple Chemistries and DuPont products, and most recently as Director of Product Management.
Ken Parent, Vice President of Sales, commented “Michelle has shown distinctive leadership with our internal teams and is well respected by our supplier partners. She is expert in understanding the properties of our ever-expanding product line and a key participant in the development of Insulectro’s corporate strategic plan."
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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.
Paul Welter
Director of Sales, DuPont Chemistry
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MANAGING THE SUPPLY CHAIN |
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Get Stuff Done!
Proud Moments in the Face of Adversity
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Ken Parent, Insulectro Vice Presdent of Sales, recently asked his team and the broader support organizations to reflect and share our proudest moments of 2021, as well as our biggest challenges.
For me, neither of these questions took more than a couple moments to answer.
As part of the Supply Chain team, my response to “biggest challenge” probably comes as no surprise to anyone. As I’ve shared in other recent monthly updates, the global logistics crisis we’ve all experienced in some way the last 6-12 months has certainly been one of the most difficult times of my 25-year career.
However, through this adversity, I’ve seen what can be achieved by dedicated teammates who persevere and live to “GSD” (Get Stuff Done) every day.
Which leads me to my proudest moments of 2021.
It’s simply how the Insulectro Supply Chain team (Debbie Johnson, Robert Ernst, Clarice Cordero, Dan Malko, Scott Klingbeil, Sharon Newman, Bruce Gassett) continues to rise to the occasion, always staying customer-focused, maintaining a high sense of urgency, and building strong, collaborative relationships with our internal teams, our customers, and our supply base to navigate through these tough times.
They are often the behind-the-scenes, unsung heroes making it happen.
Just a few examples of their contributions so far this year:
- Growing our Isola HSD stock levels on shelf to support next-generation programs
- Successfully integrating ACS/Focus Tech and ECEMS into the Insulectro family
- Maintaining adequate raw material inventories to avoid disruptions in our manufacturing companies (LCOA, CAC, ACS/FocusTech)
- Supporting significant growth in our Printed Electronics business (capacity management /online ordering/inventory investment)
- Driving improvements to our planning systems and forecasts for better visibility and execution
- Relentless, daily diligence in expediting deliveries, mitigating the impacts to our customers
For these reasons, and so many more, I’m extremely proud of what they achieve every day!
Nobody GSDs like the Supply Chain/Materials team! Hats off to all of you and THANK YOU!
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Jason Shuppert
Head of Supply Chain
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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 Contoller
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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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Chemplate Materials SL,
Producer of the InduBond® Systems, Distributed Puma style!
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We announced this exciting partnership in February as we continue to focus on providing our customers end to end solutions for the manufacture of PCBs.
Last month covered the RFX system, the next step is lamination using the X-Press 360.
Reduce cycle times, improve energy efficiency & small equipment footprint
The X-Press turns kinetic energy into thermal energy to homogeneously bond your stackup in the X – Y & Z axis.
This transfer of heat is immediate leading to a consistent heat rise throughout the entire stack height, reducing ramp up times.
A dummy separator panel with four to six thermocouples is place within the center of the stack to provide real-time heat rise data. This Closed Loop system uses that data to constantly update the temperature, vacuum and pressure for optimal performance.
It is important to follow the flow & gel times per the laminate resin recipe.
Looking for increased throughput by reducing your stack height, when using 0.062 separators? Try CSC, Copper Steel Copper uses 8 mill separators with bonded foils down to 6µm.
X-Press 360 benefits:
- Uniformed heat rate within the panel and throughout the stack.
- Compatible with conventional pressbook tooling systems
- Small outside footprint compared to traditional hot-oil presses
- High temperature capabilities for advanced materials, up to 900°F
- Selectable & highly controllable ramp rates
Contact your Territory Area Manager or myself for additional information.
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For more information, contact:
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foils
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The People Behind the Puma
Meet Steve Piatt
Technical Account Manager
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Steve you have been with Insulectro for over 48 years. Almost the entire modern electronics era is spanned by your employment. What was your first job with the company?
It will be 49 years in Sept. My first job for Insulectro was shearing laminate in a gutted house in El Segundo, CA
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I recall you studied Geology. What made you think you could be a salesman?
Geology was a fall back career after deciding I wasn’t going make it as a Chemical Engineer, as I was having to much fun partying at UCSB. Never thought of myself as a salesman, as that image conjures up used car lots.
In the the semiconductor boom in the 60s, what was a typical day for you?
I’m old John, but: In 60’s I was in High School and College using a slide rule and having no idea what a semiconductor was.
What were your customers like?
My first full time job with Insulectro was Inside Sales, so that began my training on getting the PO first and then figure out how to make commitments.
What products did you sell?
We represented GE laminates in 70’s, Westinghouse in the 80’s, Norplex-Oak/Allied Signal in the 90’s and currently Isola. All were best-in-class at the time.
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With no computer, cell phone, pager, or Internet, describe how you worked?
You worked with maps, notebooks and always looking for a phone booth.
How many people claimed to be your “boss” over your career?
Not enough fingers and toes to count.
Name three differences between now and the good old days that you recall.
Two come to mind, less drinking and drugs.
You’re famous for bringing doughnuts to customers. When did you start delivering these snacks?
Goes back to my working in that house shearing laminate, as whichever outside salesman showed up with donuts in the morning, his customer went to the top of the list. Also found out early that I could go through any open door in a Fab if I had a pink box.
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How many doughnuts do you think you’ve bought?
Years in outside sales, ~ 5 dozen a week times 52 =10,400 dozen give or take
What top three things have you practiced in maintaining great customer relationships?
Care about their issues and lives, become personal friends and stay as open and honest as you can while conducting business.
What was your favorite car over your career?
Any Company car!
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What was your most embarrassing moment with a customer?
Most of those have been shredded by HR dept and want to keep it that way.
You’ve always been a dapper guy. What do you remember wearing then that makes you cringe now?
Polyester
How has the industry changed for the better? How about for the worse?
Much more Professional and Technical.
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What is the ideal Steve Piatt dining out experience?
Great bottle of Cabernet and a Tomahawk.
How would your current colleagues describe you?
The term “Partly Cloudy” has come up.
Your autobiography would be named what?
“Once A Puma Always A Puma.”
In the screen version of your autobiography who would play you?
Brad Pitt comes to mind, but probably more likely be John Goodman.
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Talk about any mentors or role models you’ve had along the way?
My mentors were and are 3 great role models and friends and all Pumas; Neil Colgrove, Bob Straccia and Don Redfern.
What’s the last bit of advice you given someone? Who was it? Did they take it?
Keep your right elbow tucked in, look at the back of the ball to my 2 year old grandson. No, he didn't take it.
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Name something you wish you could do over.
Climb Mt Whitney again but with my son, but knees say "no."
What is your proudest accomplishment at Insulectro?
Becoming a part of “The Puma Family.”
If not working, name three favorite things to do.
Use to be Hiking in Sierras, Golf/Tennis, and time with my two kids; now time with my kids and grandson, senior golf, and live music.
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Insulectro Unleashes the
Incredible Power of 5
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Opportunity!
New Defense Electronics Group
Invites Industry Participation
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Chandler, AZ Quick Turn Center Up & Running
Isola's New Facility is a
Manufacturing Game-Changer
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Isola has completed the final phase of construction of our new 118,000 square foot facility located in Chandler Arizona.
The facility houses corporate headquarters, a fully equipped, state-of-the-art research laboratory and the most recent addition, Isola's new lamination and fabrication facility which was designed to serve US fabricators need for quick turnaround and prototype business.
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The new manufacturing facility will produce copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepreg materials used to fabricate advanced multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs).
The new facility is the first investment in a brand new PCB materials manufacturing facility in the US in this 21st century. The lamination system was custom designed to allow critical path orders to be inserted into the process without interrupting the overall flow of production. This unique level of flexibility enables the production team with a cost effective means to a low volume, high mix of products very efficiently.
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Isola's highly automated facility has completed all shakedown testing and has been certified for production. Customer qualification samples have begun to ship to Insulectro and Isola customers for several of Isola’s flagship products. Once customers have completed their evaluations, Isola expects the systems will really start positively impacting the PCB and OEM customers' time-to-market.
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Sean Mirshafiei, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, said, “We anticipate our new QTA facility will provide an incredible amount of flexibility for our PCB customers that produce prototypes and small lot production. Our highly automated and flexible production systems will reduce lead times and ultimately our end user customers time to market.”
The new facility is part of the Lotus Project, which is located near Kyrene Road and Loop 202 at 6565 West Frye Road, Chandler AZ 85226. With the continued concerns over COVID-19, a Grand Opening celebration has been postponed until further notice.
However, if you are interested in seeing the facility via virtual tour, a web call with your local Insulectro or Isola sales representative can be set up. Isola is excited to show off this new, gleaming facility.
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Norm Berry
Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
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Welcome Back!
Mike Carnarius
Field Application Engineer
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"What have I been doing since I left Insulectro in 2013?," asked Mike.
"After leaving Insulectro 8 years ago, I was Sales Manager at Innovative Circuits in Alpharetta, GA then Product Manager for GMF products across the country for 3 years at Automated Chemical Solutions – followed by working for a Danish company selling premium, eco-friendly parts washer cleaners and degreaser chemicals to the automotive manufacturing industry in the southeast USA region.
"I was also Business Development Manager for an aerospace metal finishing company in Clearwater, FL (Freedom Metal Finishing). Moved back to California and took job as Production Manager for another aerospace metal finishing company, Hudson Plating Works in Moorpark, CA.
"Moved south and took Sales Manager and Marketing position at a PCB final finishing service company in Santa Ana (EFT Fast Quality Service) – a company I ran for 3 years before first time working for Insulectro in 2008.
"And now I am back on the Puma Team hitting the ground running doing service tasks and sales support like I never left! Mike concluded.
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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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PRINTED ELECTRONICS INKS & PASTES,
SUBSTRATES & FILMS
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Introducing pe-Cademy!
Webinars to Help You Get Real
about Printed Electronics
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Please stay tuned for a series of upcoming webinars hosted by Insulectro to cover a variety of topics. These web-based presentations will be interactive and focused on many interesting applications and materials for Heaters, Wearables, Formable /In -mold, Substrates and Tolling capabilities to name a few.
We look forward to seeing you.
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Insulectro Unleashes the
Incredible Power of 5
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A Second Family at Our Workplace
Comradery Helps Us Strive to be Best
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We typically work side by side with our co-workers constantly, creating great environments which include increases in morale and comradery. We can sometimes even spend more time with our workers, than our family, thus creating a “second family” at our workplace.
I can honestly say we have achieved something important here in Lake Forest, and continue to strive towards even higher goals and objectives. But in many instances, the comradery spreads across branches.
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We have developed connections with many other branches. The San Jose branch is one of our sister locations we communicate with often.
Alberto Soto, oversees shipping at Insulectro's San Jose fabrication center. When orders come in, he makes sure they go out, GSD style. When it seems improbable, he makes it possible.
From checking what is pending, pulling, QCing, FedEx prep, communicating with other locations (receiving, fab) and ISMs when the order requires attention, and making sure accuracy is implemented, overall, Alberto makes sure that it can go out, and it goes out.
Comradery was established long ago, and continues to improve. When communicating with Alberto, we know that he’ll listen, maybe crack a joke, and always end the conversation positively, regardless of phone call's purpose.
The community established with Alberto Soto and the San Jose branch can be fun. We are always pushing each other to be number one, but that in turns, makes the connection grow and pushes us, in both branches, to strive for the best.
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Daniel Carrera
Warehouse Supervisor - Lake Forest
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Geoff shouts: "Are you FLEX-able!'
Get Flexible with Alternatives
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Interra™ HK04M is in stock!
Interra™ HK04M, the next evolution Interra™ HK04J, is in stock at Insulecto warehouses later this month. With a robust supply chain, Interra™ HK04M provides the same embedded capacitance performance as HK04J. With an improved polyimide formulation, HK04M can be manufactured down to 8 microns in thinness further reducing inplane inductance.
Pyralux® AG
Pyralux® AG is an alternative copper clad material that meets IPC 4204/11. This copper clad laminate has best-in-class flexible performance and is ideal for any high volume application. With economical price points and constructions down the 9 micron copper, Pyralux® AG is in stock and will work for your flex applications.
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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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Insulectro PumaNews™ will write, curate, and publish provocative articles on innovation, vision, and thought leadership in our industry spotlighting people who make a difference. |
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Current & Challenged
Meet Pam Simonds
Group Controller,
High Speed Products Group
Amphenol
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I started in the electronics industry straight out of college and graduated from the Lockheed Martin Financial Leadership Development Program.
At 25 years old, while on a one year assignment in Bethesda, MD one positive female role model I had was my Internal Audit VP, Marilyn Hewson who later went on to become a very successful CEO of Lockheed Martin. What I admired was that she was driven, intelligent yet personable and polished.
The leadership program was great for my professional development due to the exposure to different products, people and businesses. Also, changing jobs forced me to build relationships quickly and increased my confidence in asking questions which made an impact on my career at a very young age.
I ended up at a company called Amphenol by acquisition in 2001 when I was just 27 years old. I quickly realized I loved the decentralization of this entrepreneurial company because it allowed management teams to make quick decisions without a lot of levels.
A few years later in 2007, I was promoted to take on the role of General Manager of Amphenol Printed Circuits (APC) which was located in my home town of Nashua, NH. This was a stretch role for me but I had a boss who believed in me, coached me (often with tough love) and partnered with me to improve the business.
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I learned many things in this role; lead from the front, get to know people, build a strong team, surround yourself with the people who have the same level of passion you do. I was lucky enough to have a second female role model in Diana Reardon who was the CFO of Amphenol until 2015. Diana was not just a CFO, she helped create the culture that we have at Amphenol today.
Once piece of advice for professionals in challenging roles is not to take suggestions personally. We are all passionate about our businesses but ultimately this allows you to grow more professionally and it improves your business strategy, diversification, technology roadmap and operational excellence. I also, learned in this position, the importance of having hobbies and manage stress.
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I am proud to say that I completed 5 triathlons during my 13 years as a General Manager of a printed circuit board and assembly shop as well as a few other crazy races. The PCB business is not easy but I learned, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and I am so proud to see where the APC business is today.
In 2021, I took a new role at Amphenol as Group Controller of the High Speed Products Group. In this role I can use my operational and financial experience to support the growth of this exciting business which enables high speed technology for our customers.
I also get to learn new products and how they support things such as 5G. I feel energized, and just like 25 years ago, when I was in the Leadership program I am asking a lot of questions, learning about new products, and building relationships!
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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 seven OEM FORUMs from our library are available by clicking on the box to view our complete library on VIMEO.
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New Product!
Pacothane Introduces PACOVIA 3500
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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].
Introducing to the Pacothane Lineup PACOVIA 3500 engineered to provide an easy and reliable technique for laminating multilayer Printed Circuit Boards, which incorporate buried and blind via hole technology.
PACOVIA 3500 prevents blind via resin overflow and provides discreet control of liquid resin so that internal buried via hole barrels will be completely filled with easy release characteristics even when used over alternative oxide. Leaves no residue to clean from the surface!
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PACOTHANE® TECHNOLOGIES offers products that give our Customers the ability to produce PCB’s by using our high quality materials to obtain higher yields and enhance their bottom line! Less scrap means more profit for our Customers.
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PACOTHANE TECHNOLOGIES® Proudly Produced in the USA with American Labor and American Materials!
And, don't forget, recently published Pacothane® Product Sample Guide available. Contact me for details.
Joe Bevan
Product Manager, Pacothane
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@Mike Creeden
Get the Most from My Fabricator Relations
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Each OEM has a supply chain that consists of proto-type and production manufacturing. This may or may not be sub-divided into fabrication and assembly, or perhaps you may have a contract manufacturing firm that performs all under one roof. In either way, we will discuss some of the benefits from having a great relationship with your supply chain.
At Insulectro, we support almost every fabricator across the North American market segment. We indeed love all our fabricator customers equally. They come in all shapes and sizes with varying capabilities. They further serve different OEM industry sectors from a technology standpoint and some from a regional standpoint. Each fabricator has many choices when they select materials, process aids and chemicals. We appreciate the opportunity to support them all.
Each OEM seeks to develop their circuit boards in support of their company goals by incorporating high quality, yield, and reliability. At the same time, they seek to produce a product that is cost competitive. The truth of these factors is, “High-yield equals low-cost” and vice/versa, “Low-yield equals high-cost.”
By building a good relationship with your approved vendors, you highly increase the potential for this success because you will design a robust circuit correct-by-construction.
Key factors for this good relationship:
- Qualify the fabricator at the beginning for technical capabilities, business practices, and cost-value fit.
- Establish a working relationship with the technical staff, first by visiting the shop, staying in constant communication for technical issues, and forecasting potential projects.
- Learn of the shop capabilities from: Minimum – Standard – Robust. Always design to the robust parameters wherever possible and use the minimum parameters only where absolutely required.
- During the earliest stages of a new project, perform all competitive bidding early and make a PO commitment with your vendor of choice at the start of the design.
- Establish a co-engineering effort supported by a standing PO that shows your commitment. They will then honor this by investing technological expertise.
- Review all known technical challenges with them early and often. This should occur at the start of each project, throughout development, at the creation of manufacturing deliverables, and after manufacturing has commenced.
- Stay loyal to your supply team and work with them should technical issues or problems arise, as every company makes mistakes. The important thing to look for is a corrective-action provided and implemented when issues arise. Be open to the fact that the design may be the source, or a contributor of the issue.
- Design schedules almost always slip, as everyone is trying to make the required circuit modifications to revision one and save the cost and time of building revision two, prior to production. What happens is poor project management does not allocate for the impact of the discovery-nature of engineering. This creates a very disruptive situation for almost all fabricators, as the late board with a planned ship date and cost, will now be late and costs more. Proper accountability, management, and communication as you collaborate with the fabricators mitigates this concern.
Seeking your fabricator’s engineering input at the end of design development is too late to implement any solutions and will almost always result in sub-par build with yield and reliability concerns that make a board no good or cause harm to the overall company.
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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.
Stay safe, happy, and healthy!
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Mike Creeden CID+ MIT
Technical Director, Insulectro Design & Education
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CAC® Inc
Superior surface quality,
supporting thinner foils
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The best and most economical solution for using difficult-to-handle thin, reverse treated & double treated copper foils. Important to producers of increasingly high technology PCBs.
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Improve efficiency - All 4 edges are sealed from the factory, ensuring a pristine surface
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Increase productivity - supported 9µm to 140µm foils, eliminate handling defects
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Superior finish – Reduce image transfer by x2 with 8 mil CSC
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Limit variation – CSC achieves a more consistent CTE in terms of heat rise & cool down rate
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Supply chain simplification - North American sourced aluminum, steel & copper
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For additional information, please contact me.
Mark Satchwell
Product Manager, Foil & CAC®
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Endmills available now!
Let Kemmer Improve Your Board Quality
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Insulectro is pleased to carry the Kemmer line of tools.
Allow us to work with your engineers to review your fabrication area and help support you implement industry best practices.
Assessing proper tool selection, tool life, preventative maintenance are all areas we can support our customers in.
If you’re interested in having a fresh set of eyes do a comprehensive overview of your Fabrication area, Insulectro would be delighted to support in this endeavor. Our router and endmill inventory is readily available for all your fabrication needs.
Please contact your local Insulectro branch for additional product information and availability.
Geraldine Arseneau
Product Manager - Drill & Business Development - Canada
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Chris Hunrath on Future Tech
Changing Technology, Changing People, Designing the Future
May 2021
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When I started in PCBs, it was with one of the manufacturers of Multiwire. It was connected to PCK, a company founded on PCB technology. Indeed photoresist, electroless copper, soldermask and flying probe testers all have their roots here. Because of this, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to some of the industry’s pioneers. That was a while ago and these folks have since moved on.
From OEMs to designers to fabs, some of our most experience colleagues going elsewhere. What does that mean to the industry? Basically, we need new folks to take the reins. I have witnessed some OEMs and fabs bringing in interns which is great. While they have various levels of training, it can take a long time, sometimes years to get the kind of experience represented in some industry veterans.
We’ve be able to help some. Our product managers and FAEs along with our supply base has been able to pass on some of this information. That said, even some of these folks are retiring potentially leaving a huge knowledge gap.
Fortunately, there are more places to get information and to share knowledge and experience.
The IPC is a great resource for this, but there are other ways too. Webinars and podcasts from people in the industry have a lot to offer. One example is “OnTrack with Judy Warner”. In the series, Judy hosts different guests on a variety of topics with a focus on design but covers fab relevant aspects as well.
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Altium supports several resources to access knowledge and experience. Others are doing the same. Over the last year with the lockdowns and travel restrictions brought on by the pandemic, we at Insulectro started a series of webinars - the very popular OEM FORUMS. These are recorded and available online (links available in this news magazine).
Both for the US and the PCB industry, there is a lot at stake. While the technology is always changing, we need people with knowhow to continue the evolution. We are in this together and need to develop the next generation to ensure the technology thrives.
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Stay sane, safe and see you soon.
Chris Hunrath
Vice President of Technology
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Redfern Companies Chief Finanical Officer Brad Biddle Nominated for Award |
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CFO Brad Biddle has been nominated for the prestigious 2021 CFO of The Year Award, presented to financial professionals in Orange County, CA for outstanding performance as corporate stewards for the preceding fiscal year. The nominees and finalists are selected by the Orange County Business Journal.
There are 65 nominees for the 2021 CFO of The Year Awards. These nominees are being recognized in five categories:
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- Outstanding CFO of a Public Company
- Outstanding CFO of a Private Company
- Outstanding CFO of a Not-for-Profit Organization
- Rising Star
- Lifetime Achievement
Biddle is nominated in the category of "private comany." A gala CFO of The Year Awards Dinner will take place on September 28, 2021 at Irvine (CA) Marriott for all nominees.
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Stop Bingeing on NETFLIX:
Feast on Our Virtual Power Chats, Training Sessions, & Product Education
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With in-person meetings nearly impossible, Insulectro has turned to virtual meetings, webinars, parking lot drop-offs to keep in touch. There's no doubt these are trying and uncertain times, but what we're finding is customers are welcoming the time to become more knowledgeable about products, their applications, and potential new markets.
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Here is a listing of Power Chat Seminars we can do for your team, all online. . .
Pyralux® Product Line Overview
Geoffrey Leeds, FLEX Product Manager
Laminate Manufacture and Selection
Norm Berry, Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
Copper Foil Overview
Copper Foil for High Speed Digital
Mark Satchwell, Product Manager - Foils
High Speed Flex Materials
Geoffrey Leeds, FLEX Product Manager
Consider The Composite: HSD Material Attributes to
Mitigate Insertion Loss
Norm Berry, Director of Laminates & OEM Marketing
Design - Making Revision 1 Work
Michael Creeden, Technical Director, Insulectro Design Education
Material - the Science
Various Insulectro Subject Matter Experts
Material - the Process
Various Insulectro Subject Matter Experts
Material - Industry Application & Usage
Various Insulectro Subject Matter Experts
Design - Material Implementation (HDI, SI, High-Speed, RF)
Michael Creeden, Technical Director, Insulectro Design Education
Design - Advanced Placement and Routing
Michael Creeden, Technical Director, Insulectro Design Education
FocusTech Chemistry
Jeff Johnson, Product Manager - Dry Film/Chemistry/Paste & FAE
TADCO® Lamination Tooling
Paul St. John, Director of National Sales LCOA
Drilling and Routing
Paul St. John, Director of National Sales LCOA
Geraldine Arseneau, Product Manager - Drill, Business Development - Canada
Getting Started with Flex PCBs
Chris Hunrath, VP of Technology
Get to Know SlickBack® and Bullseye®
Paul St. John, Director of National Sales LCOA
Geraldine Arseneau, Product Manager - Drill, Business Development - Canada
Pacothane® – Pad & Release Products
Pacothane® – Conformable Products
Pacothane® – High Temp Lamination Products
Joe Bevan, Product Manager - Pacothane®
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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 PumaNews™ will write, curate, and publish current provocative articles on the phenomenon of 5G and the impact it is expected to bring to the way we live our lives. |
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Here's what we think. . . |
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The 5G World
by Mike Creeden CID+ MIT
Technical Director, Insulectro Design & Education
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5G - Antennas Solve Unique
Insulectro as the distributor of DuPont, Isola laminates and substrates, as well as other vital fabrication products CAC®, LCOA®, Pacothane®, Ormet® and Focus Tech Chemistry, is heavily involved in this electronics’ industry enabling 5G infrastructure.
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Antennas come in a wide range of forms depending on the application, service, and frequency of operation. Some antennas you cannot even see like the few units in your current smartphone. These antennas are single element devices, a metal structure, or printed circuit board (PCB) pattern that are connected to a receiver or transmitter by a transmission line.
Now, another type of antenna is emerging to address the forthcoming exotic 5G cellular systems and other advanced wireless products like Wi-Fi routers. This antenna is the phased array: a group of antennas that work together to provide some significant benefits and capabilities not available with the simple antennas we know.
Massive MIMO and Beamforming Antenna Arrays
Massive MIMO and beamforming signal processing is expected to play a critical role in 5G as it greatly enhances coverage and user experience across the entire range of frequency bands. Massive MIMO, a term coined by the 5G community to describe antennas with many elements (up to 128), will contribute significantly to the required 5G capacity increase.
Massive MIMO will employ beamforming technology, which will then enable 5G systems to pinpoint and steer the signals to specific users and track these users, so they always have good coverage. It will also enable simplified receivers on the user equipment side. Isola’s Astra® MT77 laminate materials exhibit exceptional electrical properties which are very stable over a broad frequency and temperature range.
Astra® MT77 is suitable for many of today’s commercial RF/microwave printed circuit designs. It features a dielectric constant (Dk) that is stable between -40°C and +140°C at up to W-band frequencies. In addition, Astra® MT77 offers an ultra-low dissipation factor (Df) of 0.0017, making it a cost effective alternative to PTFE and other commercial microwave laminate materials.
Engineers will use active phased array antennas to implement MIMO and beamforming in base stations and devices. Not only are active antennas essential to overcome signal propagation issues such as higher path loss at mmWave frequencies, but they also provide the ability to dynamically shape and steer beams, as required.
Active antennas offer more flexibility and improve the performance of 5G communications. Another benefit offered by beamforming is the ability to transmit considerably less power due to the array gain, which in turn results in certain reductions in hardware complexity. For example, the power amplifiers (PAs) and supporting circuitry in a traditional base station dominate power consumption at about 1kW because of their need to provide high-RF output power and their low efficiency.
In Massive MIMO, a similar range can be covered with a total power consumption of 15W for 100 antennas. Massive MIMO also helps counteract the impact of the higher propagation losses at mmWave frequencies by directing energy more efficiently over the channel. Astra® MT77 helps to support these low loss requirements with low profile Copper Foil Type - VLP-2 (2 micron), 1 oz and below.
In addition, beamforming improves the radio environment by limiting interference to small fractions of the entire space around a transmitter and likewise limiting the impact of interference on a receiver to infrequent arbitrary events. The use of beamforming will also be an important technology for lower frequencies; for example, to extend coverage and to provide higher data rates in sparse deployments.
Another goal is to provide within the MIMO technology itself is spatial-multiplexing capabilities that increase user throughput. By using arrays with hundreds of antennas at base stations that simultaneously serve many tens of low-complexity terminals, in the same time frame, through closed-loop spatial multiplexing/de-multiplexing, an increase in gross throughput can be achieved with massive MIMO.
Perhaps even more important is the significant gain in reliability. The potential of massive MIMO will bring over 10x capacity improvement and over 100x reduction in power consumption.
In this column we will look at 5G technical challenges, solutions and applications. We hope to hear from you on some of the issues you’ve faced and successes you’ve had as we build, “The 5G World”.
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INSULECTRO'S COPPER & COPPER FOIL OFFERINGS |
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Not All Foil is Created Equal!
Copper Complexity & Clarification!
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A focus on RTF foil….which is Grade 3 BUT Grade 3 is not automatically RTF, Reverse Treated Foil.
Reverse Treated Foils as the name suggests have been enhanced on the Cathode or drum side opposed to the anode or matte side. The revolving drums surface has been polished to ensure deflect free foil topography, this serves as the foundation to then achieve a finish of 4Ra ≤ after treatment.
Following the plating of pure copper by Electro Deposition, the base foil surface is again treated by depositing copper nodules to aid in mechanical adhesion to a dielectric resin, process known as nodulation. These nodules are then encapsulated with additional copper plating to lock the nodule to the base foil.
Metallic passivation metals are plated over the nodules to ensure both thermal and chemical integrity though lamination and subsequent PCB wet process steps. Lastly, it is common to use a chemical adhesion promoter to achieve the highest peel strength. Meeting IPC 'V' for Very Low Profile category .
For fabricators and designer’s, it is important to note and specify RTF, rather than simply grade 3 on your PO or prints.
- RTF foils are available in 12 – 18 – 35µm
- Grade 3 High Temperature Elongation
- Peel strengths 5.5 Lbs/in > (170°Epoxy)
- Also referred to a DSTF
- Matte is laminated to the prepreg
- Lower profile supports Signal Integrity
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For additional information, please contact me.
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?
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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Shurloc Frame Systems:
With a minimal cost and an immediate return on investment, the day you begin using the system and stretching……why wait?
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- Mesh panels ready to stretch into the Shurloc frame in minutes
- Each mesh panel has a color-coded edge as well as the information stamped in one corner
- Available in the common 22.5 degree angle needed for LPI or 90 degree
Contact your Insulectro Account Manager to see how the Shurloc frame system can better assist at your facility!
Shurloc can custom fit most any size frame to your application.
- Ease of use, “anyone” can learn to stretch a frame
- Continuous consistent tension throughout the frame
- Frames can be stretched in a matter of minutes
- Ready for use immediately (no more leaving frames/mesh settle out for hours and then have to re-tension before use)
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IBC Brushes!
Do your pumice brushes have the correct bristle diameter and material type to give you the best copper topography results for solder mask adhesion?
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Too thin of a bristle will result in a softer brush that will require more pressure to try and achieve the proper copper surface needed for adhesion. This could also lead to nylon smear if your pumice concentration and pumps solution supply to the manifolds is not absolutely perfect!
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With the IBC brushes, they have been engineered specifically for this application so, with the proper footprint, the pumice can be rolled and driven across the copper as it should, while minimizing the bristle contact to the copper surface.
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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In case you didn't happen to catch the
“5 Reasons to Call Insulectro” for your Service needs!
Remember that we can assist in your equipment needs through the following.
- Equipment Reviews and Audits
- Service and support
- Preventative Maintenance Programs
Ruben Zambrano
Field Application Engineer
Cell: 847-345-3759
Please reach out should you like to discuss any of these topics further.
Thank you.
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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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