Reliability Takes on a New Urgency
September 5, 2018 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
In the last year or so, I believe our industry definition of reliability has changed. Consumers wanted a reliable car that wouldn’t break down on the road; a computer that wouldn’t crash; a phone network that wouldn’t drop our calls; the plane we were hurtling across the sky in to stay in the air and land safely, with the wheels down. In retrospect, those seem rather simple wants, and the industry certainly wants to deliver.
But with the advent of the autonomous vehicle and all that has been written and discussed about it—from the “computer on wheels” concept to hacking concerns and who’s responsible in a crash—I believe this has made us stop and think deeply about what reliability really means. As one of our authors points out this month, a PCB can be of highest quality, meeting the most stringent specs, but in the end the machine it goes into may not be reliable and in fact the board itself may fail down the road. How can we ensure that the PCBs we make are reliable and how can we feel confident that reliability will carry through to the final product—for the lifetime of that product? This month, our experts provide the latest information to help with that.
We begin this month with a discussion on reliability with Colonial Circuits, a PCB manufacturer that builds mostly military boards. Increasing demands regarding feature sizes, material types and preciseness only highlight the need for more communication between designer and fabricator, as well raw materials suppliers, to ensure reliability.
To read the full version of this article which originally appeared in the August 2018 issue pf PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Arlon EMC Receives IPC-4101 QPL Recertification
03/20/2024 | Arlon Electronic MaterialsArlon Electronic Materials has successfully completed an intensive two-day recertification audit by IPC Validation Services that examined Arlon’s manufacturing processes and testing procedures to assure that they are in conformance to the requirements of IPC-4101E-WAM1, the Specification for Base Materials for Rigid and Multilayer Printed Boards.
Orbit International Electronics Group Reports Bookings for February 2024 in Excess of $2,000,000
03/14/2024 | Globe NewswireOrbit International Corp., an electronics manufacturer and software solution provider, announced that its Electronics Group (OEG) reported bookings for the month of February 2024 in excess of $2,000,000.
U.S. Space Force Awards Boeing WGS-12 Communications Satellite Production Contract
03/07/2024 | BoeingBoeing received a $439.6 million contract to build the 12th Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) communications satellite for U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command.
IPC Releases Newest List of Standards Updates, Revisions
02/20/2024 | IPCEach quarter, IPC releases a list of standards that are new or have been updated. To view a complete list of newly published standards and standards revisions, translations, proposed standards for ballot, final drafts for industry review, working drafts, and project approvals, visit ipc.org/status.
Triumph Wins Contract To Upgrade U.S. Army Chinook Helicopters
02/07/2024 | PRNewswireTriumph Group, Inc. announced that its Systems, Electronics and Controls business in West Hartford, Connecticut has been awarded a five-year contract with the United States Army to provide an upgrade of the EMC32T Hydraulic Metering Assembly (HMA) fuel control on the T55 engines, supporting the CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleet.