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PODCAST

Reliability Matters

Reliability Matters is a podcast on the subject of reliability of circuit assemblies. Reliability "best practices" and success stories are discussed. This podcast features interviews with experts in the electronic assembly industry.All electronic production segments which effect product reliability are on the table. This includes contamination, coating, cleanliness assessment, inspection, building for harsh environments, reflow, printing, failure analysis, board fabrication, and much more.Your

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All Episodes

74:51

Episode 112: A Conversation about ESD Mitigation with...

Reliability Matters ·

2023/01/24

Electricity is the life blood for all circuit assemblies. It can also afflict significant damage via electrostatic discharge. My guest, Christopher Almeras of Raytheon reviews the various ESD mitigation strategies as well as some ESD horror stories!Christopher Almeras began his career in process engineering for a small electronics manufacturer in the late 1990s. There he became responsible for the sites ESD compliance verification. His next career move took him to a high-volume manufacturer where he

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75:04

Episode 111: Liquid Metal’s Potential Future in...

Reliability Matters ·

2023/01/10

Historically, circuit assemblies are rigid devices. IoT (Internet of Things) has opened up the opportunity to embed electronics into a near limitless array of form factors. Some of these form factors require the electronic assembly to be flexible such as in wearable and medical applications.To complicate matters, The metal conductors on the assembly are rigid, and not flexible or malleable. That may change with the adoption of liquid metals. We were all exposed to the concept of liquid metal in the

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8:59

Episode 110: A Wrap-Up of the Reliability Matters...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/12/20

On this episode, there are no guests, and no specific topics. I would like to use this opportunity to thank my guests, our syndication partners, and, of course, my audience for making this podcast so successful. We have a full season ahead in 2023 and I'm excited to share those episodes with you. Please keep your questions and topics suggestions coming. Send them to mike@mikekonrad.com.A huge shout-out to my 2022 guests:Joel Scutchfield Brian O'LearyTony LentzMike AdamsonGreg Papandrew Kevin Huo

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69:29

Episode 109: A Decade of Industry 4.0 - What it Was -...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/12/13

Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution. Beyond the buzzwords, what does this mean? My guest today is David Graham, Chief Technology Officer of 4IR.UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Internet of Things focused, British Systems. 4IR.UK specializes in creating Monitoring, Control and Automation solutions, often based on the MultiPlug Edge Computing Platform, for manufacturing environments. They also provide consultancy and development for other Industry 4.0 platforms.I was intrigued by a webinar

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48:42

Episode 108: A Preview of the Upcoming SMTA Pan...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/11/22

Welcome back to another episode of the reliability matters podcast. For those who are counting, this is episode number 108. SMTA is well known for producing high-quality relevant technical conferences and symposiums. This includes, among others, the technical conference held at SMTAI, the High reliability cleaning and coating conference, the symposium on counterfeit parts and materials, the Advanced Electronics Assembly Conference, the Wafer-Level Packaging Symposium, the Electronics in harsh

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54:51

Episode 107: IPC Validation Services & the Trusted...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/11/08

Like most manufacturers, the electronic manufacturing industry relies on countless suppliers to fulfill its manufacturing needs. I'm quite certain there is no one within the EMS space who fabricates their own boards using materials produced in house, operates their own semiconductor foundries, designs and manufacturers their own components, and produces soldering materials for their reflow process. Our industry relies on a vast network of manufacturers throughout the world to build even the simplest

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53:02

Episode 106: A Conversation about Production Automation

Reliability Matters ·

2022/10/25

It's been said, on this show, that one key factor to international competitiveness is automation. While labor rates vary widely across the world, automation helps to level the field. My guest today is Michael Mchale, CEO of Production Systems Automation, otherwise known as PSA. Michael graduated from Drexel University with a BS degree in mechanical engineering. Just to put our upcoming conversation into context, it's helpful to know that PSA is a privately owned engineering and custom manufacturing

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67:47

Episode 105: Conformal Coating Material Selection...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/10/12

A new episode of the Reliability Matters Podcast is now available.Episode 105: Conformal Coating Material Selection Best PracticesToday, we’re diving into conformal coating best practices. With the explosion of IOT, the electrification of vehicles, and the miniaturization of circuit assemblies and associated components, many of which are operating in harsh environments, the need for conformal coating has never been greater.Coating your assemblies? Where does one start? What material should one

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41:16

Special Episode: A Sneak Peak at the SMTAI Technical...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/09/29

Surface Mount Technology International 2022 is quickly approaching. My guests today are SMTA President Dr. Martin Anselm, a Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Technical Committee members Julie Silk of Keysight Technologies and Raiyo Aspandiar of Intel. Together, my guests review the technical conference tracks as well as special events taking place at the Expo.Surface Mount Technology InternationalConference: October 31st- November 3rd Exposition: November 2nd-3rdMinneapolis,

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57:12

Episode 104: A Conversation about ESD Flooring with...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/09/20

Modern electronics assembly has seen so many changes over the years. In today’s era of IOT, the electrification of vehicles, the explosion in the use of bottom terminated components, the increasing implementation of electronics into harsh environments have all contributed to the increasing complexity and difficulty of building electronics. While so much has changed, there are some things that have remained the same. One such thing is the need for ESD control. There always was and continues to be

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55:09

Episode 103: SMT Assembly Equipment for Low Volume...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/09/13

Today, we're going to talk about low-volume electronic assembly. We all know who the “big players” are when it comes to solder paste printers, pick and place machines, reflow ovens and other assembly equipment. But what choices does one have if they need to produce low-volumes of electronic assemblies such as prototypes and other low volume applications? Let’s face it, most assemblers can’t justify a multi-million-dollar production line for low volume production. One solution may be to outsource the

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71:40

Episode 102: Contract Manufacturer Selection Process...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/08/23

Today, we're going to talk about contract manufacturing. Do you have a circuit assembly that needs to be built? Don’t have the equipment in-house or enough bandwidth or specialized expertise to build it? You may be best served by utilizing the services of a contract manufacturer.Contract manufacturers come in all shapes, sizes and capabilities.Should I seek out a Tier 1 manufacturer? How about Tier 2, 3, 4? What does tier stand for anyway?should I have my assemblies built overseas or in-country

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59:37

Episode 101: Forging the Future of US Manufacturing...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/08/09

It seems today, the entire world is experiencing supply chain challenges in nearly all product categories. In the electronic assembly industry, the focus has been within the semiconductor market, especially in North America. Why is this? How did the US allow this to occur? Was it short sightedness, greed, an over-reliance on foreign suppliers, other factors, or a combination of all these factors? What would it take to finally address this issue and are we doing anything about it? My guest today is

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74:03

Episode 100: A 100th Episode Special (Recorded Live)

Reliability Matters ·

2022/07/27

Episode 100: A 100th Episode Special (Recorded Live)This is the 100th episode of the Reliability Matters podcast! Hear clips from past episodes and messages from past guests on their views about reliability.A special thanks to the 117 guests I have had the privilege to learn from. Also, thank you to my listeners and viewers of this podcast. I sincerely appreciate all of you. As we pass more than 20,000 episode downloads, I feel grateful to host a show that provides so much valuable information to

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64:05

Episode 99: A Conversation about the IPC Cleanliness...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/07/12

Today, we're going to talk about cleanliness testing of post-reflowed circuit assemblies. In late 2018, IPC shocked the electronic assembly community by introducing an amendment to section 8 of the J-STD-001G. This amendment radically changed the way industry determines cleanliness. Now, assemblers must prove their assemblies are clean enough not to experience electro-chemical migration events which would cause the assembly to fail. This new process of obtaining objective evidence has been met with

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48:27

Episode 98: A Conversation with AIM Solder's Jen...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/06/28

Jen Fijalkowski works for Aim Solder. Jen obtained her B.S. from the University of Rhode Island in Chemical Engineering and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Prior to her role as a Technical Marketing Engineer, she interned as a SMT Process Engineer, where she analyzed various reports regarding solder paste printing and co-authored "Comparison of Aperture Designs, Solder Pastes, Nanocoatings and Print/Inspection Systems", published in Circuits Assembly Magazine. Jen also produces a video

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72:46

Episode 97: Best Practices for Purchasing X Ray...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/06/13

In this episode I speak with four experts about best practices for purchasing X ray equipment.There are numerous manufacturers of X ray equipment each with multiple models with varying capabilities. Which type of X ray equipment is right for your application? What are the price ranges? What are the specific capabilities? What questions should I ask when speaking with manufacturers of X ray equipment? How do I define my needs? These and other questions will are answered by our expert panel.Our expert

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63:30

Episode 96: A Conversation with Industry Gurus Phil...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/05/24

Episode 96: A Conversation with Industry Gurus Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall about their New BookA couple of episodes ago, I talked to Dr. and Professor Ron Lasky about a couple of books he wrote. He also recommended a book he didn't write. That book is titled Troubleshooting Electronic Assembly: Wisdom from the BoardTalk Crypt by industry gurus Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall available on Amazon (both were prior guests on this show). Well today, we’ll have a conversation with Phil and Jim about their book. If

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47:15

Episode 95: A Conversation with SMTA SMT...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/05/09

I spoke with Dr. Ron Lasky and Jim Hall, authors of the SMTA SMT Certification Courses (along with Phil Zarrow) about the content of these courses. I also spoke with two course students, Claire Hotvedt of Indium Corporation and Tom Watson of Kimball Electronics about their experience taking the courses and the value they received.SMTA offers two certification courses:• SMT Processes• Lean Six Sigma Green BeltEach SMTA Certification program is a three-day offering consisting of a 1.5-day workshop on

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80:56

Episode 94: A Conversation with Author Dr. Ron Lasky...

Reliability Matters ·

2022/04/26

Dr. Ron Lasky talks about the many books he has authored on SMT processes and production efficiencies. Dr. Ron Lasky is a Senior Technologist at Indium Corporation, as well as a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where I have twice had the privilege of speaking on the Dartmouth campus to his students. If you're like some people who view the next generation of young adults skeptically and pessimistically, I can assure you your view would quickly change after spending time with his

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