Reliability Matters

Episode 40: A Return Conversation with SMT Guru Bob Willis. Thirty nine episodes after Bob's first appearance on Reliability Matters he returns to discuss life as a consultant in the electronics assembly industry. Bob can be reached at: Bob Willis2 Fourth Avenue,Chelmsford, Essex,CM1 4HA EnglandTel: +44 (0)1245 351502https://www.bobwillis.co.ukbob@bobwillis.co.uk

Episode 39: A Conversation with Advanced Assembly's Mark Hughes and Greg Ziraldo About Producing Reliable Assemblies Within a CM Environment.During this interview, we discuss two papers:Introduction to Reliability in Electronics: Tools and Metrics for Anticipating Device Failureby Mark Hugheshttps://tinyurl.com/rxmntruCosmic Mishaps: How Cosmic Rays Can Disrupt Your DesignPart 1: https://tinyurl.com/smccuf7Part 2: https://tinyurl.com/ro4e5ntPart 3: https://tinyurl.com/qp94aos

Episode 38: A Special COVID-19 Episode - A Conversation with Circuits Assembly Magazine's Editor in Chief Mike BuetowMike and I discuss the state of the industry amid the COVID-19 crisis. Mike provides a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of our industry and provides his view from Productronica and APEX.

Episode 37: A Conversation with IPC's President and CEO Dr. John MitchellDr. John Mitchell talks about the state of the industry, COVID-19 (Corona Virus), and the future of the electronic assembly industry.

Episode 36: A Conversation with "Board Talk" hosts Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall.Welcome to a special episode of Reliability Matters, recorded live at IPC APEX Expo, thanks to my friends at Scoop TV. You may hear some background noise as I’m not in my usual studio rather, I’m on a busy and rather loud trade show floor. Today, we are bringing back two previous guests, Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall of ITM Consulting. Phil and Jim host Board Talk, a popular broadcast where they field assembly-related questions and provide answers in a style only they can deliver.We’ll discuss how they go about “fixing” their customer’s problems and their new upcoming book, Trouble shooting electronic assembly, conversations from the board-talk crypt.

Episode 35: A conversation with Dr. Darren Williams of Sam Houston State University about cleaning processes and materials. Dr. Williams has been at SHSU since 2004 teaching Physical Chemistry, Forensic Chemistry, and graduate courses in Spectroscopy and Thermodynamics. He came to Huntsville from the US-DOE Pantex Plant in Amarillo. He taught at West Texas A&M University for four years after obtaining his Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1997. He is originally from Fort Worth, and obtained his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992. He is the author of over two dozen research articles and book chapters covering a broad range of topics, such as cleaning process changes to reduce environmental impacts, contact angle methods for cleanliness verification, prediction of the spectroscopy of aged explosives, and chemical education improvements in Physical Chemistry. Dr. Williams leads the Cleaning Research Group at Sam Houston State University that studies all aspects of finishing and cleaning of high-value and mission-critical parts in the aerospace, medical, electronics, and manufacturing sectors. His lab has dry vapor spray, ultrasonic, vapor degreasing, and vacuum cycle cavitation cleaning equipment. The CRG formulates and tests azeotropic solvent blends, and measures flashpoint, viscosity, surface tension, and specific gravity. Much of the research is performed and published openly, but the CRG also performs contracted work under non-disclosure for external clients. Dr. Williams created the Product Quality Cleaning Workshop in 2018 to address the growing need for education on cleaning processes in industry. The next workshop is May 13-14th, 2020 at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. Registration is now open at https://tinyurl.com/wcnjjw5

Episode 34: A Conversation with "The Cleaning Lady and the Rocket Scientist" Barbara and Ed Kanegsberg about all things cleaning. Barbara and Ed are the authors of Handbook for Critical Cleaning available here:https://tinyurl.com/rlomsz2Barbara and Ed discuss their upcoming Product Quality Cleaning Workshop, in cooperation with Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX and Dr. Darren Williams May 13-14. For more information, please click on the link below:https://www.shsu.edu/academics/chemistry/cleanresearch/cleaningworkshop.html

Episode 33: Altium's Judy Warner (a fellow podcaster) interviews Reliability Matter's host Mike Konrad on the subject of Cleaning for Reliability. Judy is the host of Altium's On-Track podcast . More podcasts from Judy are available here: https://resources.altium.com/altium-podcast

Episode 32: A Conversation with Greg Smith and Tony Lentz About Stencil Design and Void ReductionGreg and Tony talk to me about stencil design and how to reduce voiding. Voiding is a key concern in specific electronic applications including automotive and LED electronic manufacturing. Greg and Tony published a paper entitled "Root Cause Stencil Design for SMT Component Thermal Lands"Download here: https://tinyurl.com/szx3xt8Greg Smith can be reached here: gsmith@blueringstencils.comTony Lentz can be reached here: tlentz@fctassembly.com

Episode 31: A Conversation with Scoop's Phil Stoten recorded at SMTAI in Chicago. Phil discusses Industry 4.0 and other industry-related topics.