-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
Getting to Know Your Designer
In this issue, we examine how fabs work with their design customers, educating them on the critical elements of fabrication needed to be successful, as well as the many tradeoffs involved. How well do you really know your customer? What makes for a closer, more synchronized working relationship?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
A Conversation (and Day) with Joe Fjelstad Part 4
May 6, 2015 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
We continue the conversation as it turns to the more technically focused area of disruptive technology. The method Joe has been demonstrating for years now is one which is poised to offer dramatic increases in electronic reliability while decreasing overall cost through the elimination of solder--a cornerstone concept of what has been coined as Occam technology (whose name comes from the Ockham's Razor principal of simplicity.)
Joe Fjelstad: Switching gears, I got a call earlier this week from somebody who's interested in some of my connector innovations, which I was kind of surprised and pleased by. Because eight years ago I built an HDMI D-connector, which was about the size of a USB micro or so, but instead of having four pins, it had 19 pins. The device delivered the contact force by means of torsion and it worked perfectly the first time. Unfortunately, most developers stepped back from the D-type because they had reliability problems. Maybe this time it will get some play.
I just have to be patient because it seems that I see lot of things before their time. Some ideas take 10–15 years to actually develop because you have to somehow purge the old ideas. There's going to be some natural resistance. Incumbent technologies do not want to change. Most people like doing what they did yesterday because they are very good at it. They know what they're doing.
Barry Matties: Let’s talk about the Occam process. Could you give us an overview of that process?
Fjelstad: Thanks for asking about that. I guess I should break it down into its simplest form, conceptually. Fundamentally, rather than putting components on circuit boards and soldering them into place, I am suggesting that one should build circuits on top of component boards. It is basically backwards from the norm. By using this approach, one can eliminate a large number of process steps. And the most troubling of all processes is solder, which the reliability experts say is the major cause of electronics failure; if you trace it, it is going to be a solder joint. That's why we see many of my dear and longtime friends in this industry continuing to get up every day and trying to beat solder into submission. However, I don’t believe it is a process that will ever come to heel. While simple conceptually, with all of its variables, it is just too complex. And the industry seems to just continue to add complexity. That's another funny thing: It is easier to make things more complex than it is to make things simpler, because simplicity requires discipline—much more discipline. There's a great deal of irony in that.
Anyway, the concept works. A lot of people came out early on, and there was quite a bit of immediate backlash because it was viewed as a threat. There were people that would've been very unsettled if it caught on, but I'm not worried about that. It will catch on. Once you get a toehold, you just need to get a little tiny place to wedge. When you demonstrate or someone demonstrates that they can make a product for a fraction of the cost of what they make their products for today, you figure at some point in time that should motivate people to want to move in that direction. The latest generation of what I've come to call a component board I plan to make out of aluminum. In fact, my talk at the aerospace conference a couple of weeks ago was all about making things out of aluminum.
Aluminum makes up 8.3% of the earth's crust. It is the third most abundant element on the planet. With regard to thermal expansion, it is 22ppm/°C, where copper is 18. There's a gap there, but on the other hand the gap isn’t that great. And more interestingly, if you don't have to go through the huge thermal excursions that we have to endure presently, then the amount of strain is minimal.
Matties: You were saying there could be up to six and possibly more excursions now.Page 1 of 2
Suggested Items
Indium Corporation to Present, Exhibit at EPP InnovationsFORUM
03/28/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation is set to present and exhibit at EPP InnovationsFORUM, one of Europe’s premier single-day electronics manufacturing forums, on April 17 in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany. Topic areas for 2024 will include AI, automation, sustainability, and quality.
Reducing Nitrogen Consumption in Convection Soldering with Rehm Thermal Systems' Patented Mechatronic Curtain
03/28/2024 | Rehm Thermal SystemsCurrent developments indicate a need for larger throughput heights due to the trend towards e-mobility, which in turn increases nitrogen consumption for process inertization. Rehm Thermal Systems responds to this issue with an innovative solution: the mechatronic curtain.
Indium Corporation, Industry Partners to Showcase Products “Live@APEX”
03/26/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation®, in cooperation with its industry partners, will feature its proven solder solutions live on the show floor throughout IPC APEX Expo from Apr. 9‒11 in Anaheim, Calif., U.S.
ITW EAE Wins New Product Introduction Award for Electrovert® Wave Soldering Machine Deep Wave
03/26/2024 | ITW EAEITW EAE is proud to announce that it has earned a 2024 New Product Introduction (NPI) Award for Electrovert’s Deep Wave option for wave soldering machines. This new, innovative system provides the ability to pump up to a 20 mm wave height.
Mek's Next-Gen AOI Technology Takes Center Stage at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/19/2024 | MEKMek is excited to announce its presence at IPC APEX EXPO, North America's largest electronics manufacturing event, in Anaheim, California, from April 6-11, 2024. Attendees are invited to visit Mek at booth #1433 to explore the latest AOI technology offerings.