Ep.72: How IPC President and CEO, Dr. John W. Mitchell is working on solving the workforce problem
In this episode, we uncover the multifaceted persona of IPC President and CEO, Dr. John Mitchell, from his educational background to his Ironman pursuits. Learn about IPC alongside insights into John's acclaimed book, Fire Your Hiring Habits. John also talks about the history behind the IPC Apex Expo and what you can expect at the even if you participate.
Check out our other episode on IPC here.
Chris will be hosting a podcast meetup at IPC Apex Expo. We'd love it if you'd join him!
Date: Tuesday, April 9th
Time: 3:15 PM to 5:00 PM
Location: Room 209A, Anaheim Convention Center, CA
You can register for the event here.
pickplacepodcast.com
Ep.71:What factors influence PCB quotes w/ Brett Babilonia
In this episode we're happy to welcome back Brett Babilonia, who we spoke to way back in episode 3 and 4 on the show. In addition to purchasing, Brett also handles a lot of quoting at Worthington. We often get asked how we quote boards, is there a magical formula, and figured Brett is the perfect person to speak on this topic.
Ep.70: Stick It Up Your Tube
Parts packaged in tubes are awful and Chris has had enough. He's starting a movement to end the use of tubes once and for all. Why do they still exist? If anybody has an answer PLEASE write in to let us know. Join us on this hour long rant as we discuss all the reasons why tubes suck including their effect on the environment and how inefficient they are for pcb assembly.
Ep.69:How New Solder Products Are Developed w/ AIM Solder Content Marketing Specialist, Gayle Towell
Welcome to the first episode of 2024 (which was recorded in 2023)! In today's show we're joined by AIM Solder's Content Marketing Specialist, Gayle Towell.
AIM is a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry with manufacturing, distribution, and support facilities located throughout North and South America, EMEA, and Asia.
Gayle helps to walks us through topics like what exactly a soldering company like AIM does, how they make their products, who buys it, how they decide what product to design next, and more.
Ep.68: A digitized solution to managing manufacturing workflow processes w/ Praxie CEO, Michael Lynch
We like to talk to interesting people on this show so when Praxie reached out to us wondering if their CEO, Michael Lynch could come on the show we knew it would be a fun conversation.
Michael is the former head of Internet of Things at SAP software and now CEO of Praxie (and believe it or not, former lead in Les Miserables on Broadway prior to that!).
We talk about how Michael went from the acting/performance world to the internet of things and eventually wound up founding Praxie.
Praxie provides a platform that allows organizations to transform their workflows with AI-powered processes, dashboards, and applications, without spending an arm and a leg and taking months to complete. This is especially relevant for manufacturing businesses who are stuck using Excel spreadsheets and software from the 80s.
Ep.67: Conveyers, An Episode You Didn't Know You Needed
Why would we dedicate an entire episode to conveyers, you ask? Because it just so happens to be Chris' favorite topic! Chris has an addiction to progress and conveyers are one of the best ways in a factory setting to achieve that (both literally and figuratively). We get an overview of the different types of conveyers typically used in a factory setting and get into the technical aspects of how to set conveyers up before venting about the end of daylight saving time.
Transfer inspection conveyer - https://vanstron.us/collections/transfer-inspection-conveyors/products/copy-of-ptb-460l-5m-20-long-pcb-transfer-inspection-conveyor
Ep.66:An Answering Your Questions Grab Bag
At the end of our episodes we've been asking you to send in any questions you had...and we're finally answering them. In this grab bag episode we discuss topics like what happens to excess parts, the ISO certification process, the shrinking size of resistors, and more! In honor of spooky season, we also share some scary stories from production.
Ep.65: Impedance Control Demo w/ NCAB Group Field Application Engineer Ryan Miller
In this episode we welcome back NCAB Group Field Application Engineer Ryan Miller. The first time we had him on the show he gave us a lesson on what impedance control is, in what situations is it necessary, and more.
This time we recorded a video demo going through how he would create a stackup the requires controlled impedance.
In order for this episode to make sense watch the video version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwsyTUTN1z0
Ep.64:Catch up with Chris
What's been going on at the factory while we've been away? Chris catches up Melissa and all of you listeners on all of the new people, machines, and processes that have been introduced during our break.
Ep.63:ESD Flooring w/ SelecTech CEO Tom Ricciardelli
After a LONG hiatus, we're back! Our break was for a very good reason though. Listen to find out why!
In this episode, we welcome SelecTech CEO and co-founder Tom Ricciardelli. Tom is a technical flooring expert on static control or ESD flooring. He is also chairman of the committee formed by the ESD Association (www.esda.org). His company, SelecTech, is a leader in the manufacture of innovative flooring products and has a very interesting story on how it came to be.
Tom gives us a quick recap on what ESD is (we also have a full overview episode on ESD) and discusses the importance of having an ESD-protected floor. We also talk about what the ESDA is, LEED certification and sustainability, as well as a very meta pet peeve.
For more information on SelecTech's ESD flooring visit https://staticstop.com/
Side note: Worthington Assembly is currently selling their used MY100 pick and place machine. If interested contact Chris at cdenney@worthingtonassembly.com or visit https://www.worthingtonassembly.com/my100-sale for more information.
Ep.62:Soft Skills of Engineering w/ Being an Engineer Host, Aaron Moncur
This week we're joined by fellow podcast host Aaron Moncur who runs the Being an Engineer Podcast and is also the founder of Pipeline Design and Engineering.
We had a fun discussion on the soft skills of engineering, including how to have systems in place that align with/support your goals, time management, and productivity hacks you might find useful for managing yourself and your team.
Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations, and more.
Ep.61:How Small Manufacturers Manage Large Volume Orders
How do smaller manufacturers like Worthington and CircuitHub manage larger volume orders? Recently we've seen a big increase in these types of orders so it only seemed fitting to have a discussion about it. We briefly touch on the financial and negotiation side of things before getting to the logistics of how we handle large-volume orders. This includes how we decide if we're going to build and/or ship in batches, how large orders change how we buy parts, and why building this can be a very successful way of producing boards.
Ep.60:What Happens After the CHIPS Act w/ the Printed Circuit Board Association of America
We're back after a bit of a break! In this episode, we're excited to welcome David Shield from the Printed Circuit Board Associated of America (PCBAA) to talk about how their work is influencing the US Congress to bring electronics manufacturing back to America.
The Printed Circuit Board Association of America is the sole association of U.S. domestic printed circuit board manufacturers and suppliers. PCBAA was established in 2021 by PCB manufacturers and other industry stakeholders amid rising geopolitical challenges.
PCBAA seeks to promote an environment in which U.S.-based printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers can thrive.
The PCBAA was formed to respond to the misunderstandings in the Chips Act. David explains to us what exactly the CHIPS Act is, what sort of impact might the efforts of the PCBAA have on people within the United States hiring a company like Worthington to order their circuit boards, and more.
Links:
Learn more about PCBAA's core mission and activities in Washington
Ep.59: Even Cleaner Cleaning With Cleaning Expert Mike “Mr. Clean” Konrad
We're very excited to have Mike Konrad, founder of Aqueous Technologies as well as host of his own podcast, Reliability Matters, back on the show.
We first had Mike on the show to discuss the history of board cleaning, the electronics the industry's transition to primarily using no-clean flux, and why more and more companies are reintroducing board cleaning back into their assembly process.
Mike recently reached out to us and offered to talk about the 2018 changes to the IPC cleanliness standards and why adoption of the new standard has been slow at best due to the lack of understanding of the standard's details. We of course jumped at the opportunity...
We hope you enjoy this episode that is most definitely more entertaining than watching grass grow.
Listen to Chris on the Being and Engineer podcast
Ep.58: The Benefits of Asynchronous Design Review for Engineers & Manufacturers w/ AllSpice.io
This week we are joined by Valentina Ratner and Kyle Dumont, co-founders of AllSpice.io. Valentina and Kyle met while doing an MBA program at Harvard and realized they both shared a common frustration - the lack of asynchronous design review tools available for electrical engineers despite such tools being readily available for other engineering fields like mechanical and software. Thus they joined forces to create AllSpice.
AllSpice is a git platform for hardware engineers that helps them to accelerate their time to market by enabling modern revision control and collaboration for native electronic designs.
We had a great time having them on the show to learn more about AllSpice as well as Valentina's hatred of sharp-edged rectangles.
Show links:
AllSpice website: allspice.io
The Git for Hardware Guide: https://content.allspice.io/en-us/git-for-hardware-guide
Questions / Demo: info@allspice.io
Ep.57:Outer Layer Imaging w/ CAM Engineer Dave Wilcox
CircuitHub CAM engineer, Dave Wilcox is back on the show to teach us more about the PCB fabrication process. In our last episode with Dave, we went into the fine details of drilling a PCB. Today we move on to the next step Outer Layer Imaging.
Ep.56:Understanding Controlled Impedance w/ NCAB Group Field Application Engineer, Ryan Miller
We apologize for our extended break! Chris has been hard at work from morning til late at night every day setting up Worthington's two new Fuji pick and place machines. Now that some of the dust has settled we hope to get back on a more regular recording schedule.
We've had several requests from our listeners to have an episode on on impedance control, which is unfortunately a topic Chris and Melissa have little expertise on. Fortunately we were able to connect with Ryan Miller from NCAB group who specializes in the subject and kindly agreed to come on the show to give us a lesson on what impedance control is, in what situations is it necessary, and more.
Ep.55:How PCB panelization methods inform depanelization
In episode 19, we focused on the different types of depanelization methods that can be used during assembly. In this episode, we take a deeper dive into panelization, how we decide what panelization methods and sizes to use, and how this informs depanelization.
Ep.54:A Conversation with The Awkward Engineer
In this episode, which might just be our nerdiest one yet, we are joined by Sam Feller, aka The Awkward Engineer. First and foremost he would like everyone to know that he is the awkward one, the engineering is top notch.
Sam is a long time Worthington/CircuitHub customer, product manager at Tulip, former engineer at Amazon, and founder of the Awkward Engineer where he works on quirky hardware project and now does consulting!
It was a pleasure to have Sam on the show. Some of the topics we touch on include:
Why having common stock parts set up on reels is not actually the simplest idea to execute.
Interesting sourcing stories.
Soldering techniques for building prototypes
The importance of having structured processes in place for your hardware of software development team .
Sam's vickrey auction for his Voltmeter Clocks
If you want to get in touch with Sam you can email him at questions@awkwardengineer.com
Ep.53:The nitty gritty details on solder
We're back! In this episode we talk about what we were busy doing on our "break", the different types and formats that solder comes in, and some unfortunate consequences that sometimes occur while eating chips.