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Presents an integrated approach to assembly planning for manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs). The integrated manufacturing assembly planning system (IMAPS) is a system that incorporates knowledge‐based techniques to assist process engineers with the development of assembly plans for building PCBs. IMAPS has been developed in a two‐year project with a multinational telecommunications manufacturer and the Alberta Research Council of Canada. The scope of IMAPS is to develop an integrated environment that takes full advantage of electronic information for assembly planning of PCBs. Several functions in the company can be integrated with IMAPS, including product design, detailed assembly planning, line balancing and generation of shop floor drawings. Information stored in the manufacturing and design databases of the corporation, about a PCB to be assembled, is employed by a knowledge‐based module to generate assembly plans to build the PCB. A line balancing procedure is employed to select the most adequate assembly plan of those generated by the knowledge‐based module. The final assembly plan is then presented to the operators as a diagram with instructions for the assembly of the PCB. IMAPS has increased the speed to generate assembly plans from 120 hours to four hours. The final computer‐aided assembly planning system implemented in the company has taken the concepts developed in IMAPS; they have been implemented in C and C++. Lessons and experiences learned while developing and implementing IMAPS are presented.

The purpose of this paper is to form copper coin-embedded printed circuit board (PCB) for high heat dissipation.

Manufacturing optimization of copper coin-embedded PCB involved in the design and treatment of copper coin, resin flush removal and flatness control. Thermal simulation was used to investigate the effect of copper coin on heat dissipation of PCB products. Lead-free reflow soldering and thrust tests were used to characterize the reliable performance of copper coin-embedded PCB.

The copper coin-embedded PCB had good agreement with resin flush removal and flatness control. Thermal simulation results indicated that copper coin could significantly enhance the heat-dissipation rate by means of a direct contact with the high-power integrated circuit chip. The copper coin-embedded PCB exhibited a reliable structure capable of withstanding high-temperature reflow soldering and high thrust testing.

The use of a copper coin-embedded PCB could lead to higher heat dissipation for the stable performance of high-power electronic components. The copper coin-embedded method could have important potential for improving the design for heat dissipation in the PCB industry.

This paper presents a snapshot of the status of the UK printed circuit board (PCB) industry in 2003. Comparisons are made with a similar study from 1997. Data are presented concerning employment and turnover within the industry, the number of manufacturing sites engaged in PCB manufacture and assembly, and the geographical location of these sites. Employment in PCB manufacture is found to have dropped by more than half, and there has also been a general shift from large firms with over 250 employees to medium‐sized firms with between 50 and 249 employees.

This paper examines the make‐up of the subcontract printed circuit board industry in the UK and identifies the geographical location of manufacturing sites together with the number of employees at these sites. It describes both the subcontract board‐producing and assembly sectors. The maps show the position and size of the sites, and these together with a histogram showing the frequency of ranges of employee numbers, provide an understanding of the structure of the industry. Higher density areas which have a greater incidence of PCB manufacturing activity are identified and compared. It is also shown that there is little consistent relationship between the positions of the major system providers and the PCB subcontract industry sites. Concern is expressed about the ability of the many smaller companies to compete in the supply of emerging assembly and substrate technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to present the details of key best practices that can help printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing companies to optimize energy consumption, conserve materials, and reduce waste and costs.

Various individual opportunities for making energy saving are discussed along with the accompanying manufacturing best practices.

There are many opportunities to reduce energy consumption across the whole PCB manufacturing process. Additional savings may also be made by enhancements to the broader activities within PCB manufacturing plants.

The paper summarises key findings that have been reported in a much larger Best Practice Guide and due to space considerations the amount of information given is somewhat restricted.

The paper details how the introduction of best practices in each stage of the PCB manufacturing process can lead to material and energy savings that have value in helping board makers to reduce costs. Readers are directed to a larger Best Practice Guide which is freely available from the SurfEnergy web site.

The purpose of this paper is to present an update of and the latest results from work on a project aimed at monitoring electronic products during the whole life cycle with embedded wireless components.

Business processes of the electronic manufacturing supply chain were analysed. A business case and the system opportunities for life cycle monitoring, based on embedded wireless components system were developed. Radio frequency identification (RFID) assembly technology was adapted for the integration of components into a multi‐layer printed circuit board (PCB).

By storing product‐related information into electronic products, tracing of components, monitoring of processes, operations and costs, environmentally optimised recycling can be enhanced.

The research undertaken so far relates to the embedding of RFID tags into PCBs. Wireless components with more processing power will be used in the next project phase.

The paper details how wireless components can be embedded into multi‐layer PCBs and how a business case for a life cycle monitoring system can be established.

To introduce the Innovative Electronics Manufacturing Research Centre Flagship Project: Integrated Optical and Electronic Interconnect PCB Manufacturing, its objectives, its consortium of three universities and ten companies and to describe the university research being carried out. This paper briefly reviews the motivation for developing novel polymer formulations, fabrication techniques, layout design rules and characterisation techniques for hybrid electronic and optical printed circuit boards (PCBs) using multimode polymer optical waveguide interconnects.

The authors are investigating a number of different fabrication techniques which they compare with each other and with modelled calculations of waveguide components. The fabrication techniques include photolithography, laser ablation, direct laser writing, embossing, extrusion and ink jet printing.

A number of design rules for polymer multimode waveguides have been found and published. Techniques for ink jetting polymer to print waveguides and laser ablation techniques have been developed. New formulations of polymer which cure faster for direct writing have also been developed.

Further work is needed to thicken the ink jet printed polymer and to investigate side wall roughness of the ablated waveguides and development of new polymer formulations for dry film. Further research is also needed on construction of prototype system demonstrators.

The fabrication techniques being developed are designed to be transferred to industrial PCB manufacturers to enable them to make higher value optical PCBs. The design rules being discovered are being entered into commercial PCB layout software to aid designers of optical PCBs.

The paper is of interest to PCB manufacturers who wish to upgrade their processes to be able to manufacture optical PCBs. The university research is original and some has been published as shown in the publications in the reference list.

This paper details the impact of “Coefficient of Thermal Expansion” (CTE) imbalances caused by the different materials used in a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). It will also provide guidance as to how the PCB manufacturing process can be modified to accommodate the new requirements from PCB fabricators, assemblers and OEMs for high dimensional consistency of the laminate and prepreg to improve manufacturing yields in bare PCB fabrication, in assembly and during the life‐cycle of the electronic device in the field.The paper also explains the risks associated with metal migration and cathodic/anodic filaments (CAF) in PCBs, the impact of a lower CTE and a lower dielectric constant (Dk), as well as the need to minimise the differences of CTE between the PCB laminate and the package/chip in order to better manage the higher stress incurred by the use of lead‐free soldering materials. New materials are discussed which are processable in standard PCB fabrication lines, and which can accommodate the needs engendered by halogen‐free resin systems.

Pb‐free soldering challenged printed circuit board (PCB) assembly with high temperature. The purpose of this paper is to explain the failure mechanism of printed circuit board (PCB) assembly with solder bubbles of vias to avoid the problems of via‐drilling defects and solder joint failure.

The failure of PCB vias with solder bubbles was investigated through cross sections and SEM microstructure inspection, TMA measurement, moisture absorption analysis and DSC measurement. The moisture absorption and CTE of FR4 laminate matched with manufacturing requirement to avoid the effects of solder bubbles. The effects of via drilling with a dull drill bit were compared to that with a new drill bit.

The moisture absorbed inside holes of via plating layers could be exposed to induce solder bubbles during Pb‐free soldering assembly and dull drill bits should be prevented during the drilling process to avoid the no‐bearing drilling effects.

The failure of PCB vias is not only involved in the voiding in solder joints but manufacturing processes of PCB. The paper designs an approach to analyse the properties of PCB materials and the drilling effects of vias to find out the mechanism resulting in solder bubbles of vias. The problem of drill bits should be considered to prevent the moisture absorbed in drilling vias with defects.

In August 2007, the European Institute of Printed Circuits produced a Technology Roadmap for the industry for the period 2007‐2017. The purpose of this paper is to give details of the roadmap, the aim of which is to provide information which underpins the aims of the EU‐funded ProSurf project, which are to strengthen European small‐to‐medium enterprises (SME) competitiveness in both the medium‐ and long‐term through increasing knowledge and awareness of high‐tech methods in these industries.

The approach is an outline of the ProSurf project which will enable SMEs to have a clear view of the trends that will affect their businesses in the coming decade, and be delivered in a way that is readily comprehensible.

The summary highlights the present market, the market characteristics, and the position of the European PCB industry today. General factors which influence market trends are listed, within which the demands for miniaturisation and weight reduction, and higher data transmission rates are notable. There are specific requirements of each market sector, viz military, consumer, and automotive electronics, and here the roadmap looks at design rules and manufacturing capabilities. Towards the end of the roadmap attention is paid to the environmental considerations.

The ProSurf technology roadmap is a unique document without peer, and is specific to the European PCB industry whilst having considerable influence in other global areas as the technology demands within Europe impact upon production elsewhere.