Reliability Matters
Mike Konrad
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 Host:Mike Konrad began his career in the electronic assembly equipment industry in 1985. Mike founded Aqueous Technologies in 1992 in response to the Montreal Protocol and the resulting international treaty banning most popular cleaning/defluxing solvents. Mike is an internationally known speaker on the subject of increasing reliability through contamination removal and cleanliness quantification techniques and procedures. Mike was awarded “Distinguish Speaker Status” with SMTA in 2018 and received the “Rich Freiberger Best of Conference Award” in 2019.Mike is a member of the SMTA Global Board of Directors where he is Vice President of Communications. Mike is also Vice President of Technical Programs for the Los Angeles / Orange County SMTA Chapter.Visit the Reliability Matters Podcast Website:https://www.reliabilitymatterspodcast.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 2, 2019 • 1h 4min
Episode 10 - An Interview with Dr. David Bernard - All About X-Ray Inspection
X-ray has come a long way since its discovery in 1895. Originally used in the medial field, X-ray technology has been integrated into many industrial sectors including the electronic assembly industry. Dr. David Bernard is an expert in X-ray technology within the electronics industry. Dr. Bernard and I discuss the modern use of X-ray technology, applications within the electronic assembly industry and the skills required to interpret the images produced.
Mar 25, 2019 • 1h 5min
Episode 9 - An Interview with Dr. Mike Bixenman about Cleaning Challenges, Chemicals, Components, and Cleanliness Testing
Episode 9 features an interview with Dr. Mike Bixenman. We’ll be talking about cleaning for reliability, challenging components and fluxes, methods to determine how clean is clean enough, and how and why he co-founded Kyzen Corporation.Mike is one of the founders of Kyzen Corporation and serves as its Chief Technology Officer. Mike is well known within the electronic assembly industry and is a featured speaker at industry conferences and symposiums around the world.Mike is the Chair of the IPC Cleaning and Coating Conference held once every two years in Chicago and is the Technical Chair for SMTA Europe’s Electronics in Harsh Environments Conference held annually in Amsterdam. Mike has also received the IPC President’s Award and has chaired the IPC Cleaning Handbook Task Group.
Mar 19, 2019 • 1h 11min
Episode 8 - Cleaning Roundtable
On this episode, we’re hosting a roundtable discussion on the subject of cleaning circuit assemblies after reflow. After all, contamination removal is exclusively performed to increase the reliability of circuit assemblies and the products they are installed in. With the rapid expansion of electronics due partly to automotive and IOT, cleaning of circuit assemblies has increased dramatically and with that, challenges to cleaning have also increased. Because cleaning is commonly an “end of the line” procedure, it frequently falls victim to assembly procedures earlier in the assembly process. As a result, cleaning technology (equipment, chemical, processes), must be reactive to overcome the challenges presented by the assembly process.Today, we’re going to discuss some of the challenges to cleaning and to do so, I’ve recruited a panel of experts. Today’s cleaning roundtable features a number of experts from Zestron, a company known for manufacturing innovative chemical solutions for the electronic assembly and semiconductor markets.
Mar 12, 2019 • 54min
Episode 7 - A Conversation with ITM Consulting's Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall
I’ve known Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall for many years. Phil, Jim, and what they describe as their brothers, operate ITM Consulting, a consulting and advisory firm for the electronic assembly located in Springfield, TN. Phil and Jim also produce a question and answer program, answering technical assembly-related questions in an equally valuable and humorous manner. As you will hear, Phil and Jim, while taking their customer’s problems seriously, don’t take themselves too seriously, which is one of the things I love about them.
Mar 5, 2019 • 59min
Episode 6 - An Interview with Collins Aerospace's Doug Pauls
Collins Aerospace's Doug Pauls chaired the IPC committee to implement a new cleanliness testing specification. IPC J-STD001-G Amendment 1 which is now active. Doug explains the new requirements of this standard and provides suggestions on how to comply.
Feb 26, 2019 • 44min
Episode 5 - An Interview with Dr. Craig Hillman - Design for Reliability
Episode 5 features an interview with Dr. Craig Hillman of DfR Solutions. The theme of this episode is design for reliability. Dr. Hillman expresses some interesting views on circuit assemblies for space and automotive applications and as well as battery reliability.
Feb 12, 2019 • 50min
Episode 4: Improving Reliability of Circuit Assemblies in Harsh Environments
With the rapid expansion of IOT, many circuit assemblies are now functioning in unfamiliar environments, many of these environments are harsh. Additionally, many new electronic applications control critical systems such as automotive electronics. This webinar focuses on the influence contamination plays on reliability of circuit assemblies, particularly when operated in harsh environments. Several contamination-related failure mechanisms are presented including electro-chemical migration (dendritic growth, parasitic leakage) and conductive anodic filament (CAF). Methods to determine how clean is clean enough are discussed.
Feb 7, 2019 • 37min
Episode 3 - An Interview with Johns Hopkins' APL Engineer, Wendy Casker
Changing a customer's mindset is often difficult. When a process is working well, we often resist changing the process, even if the change provides a better result. This is the "Good is the Enemy of Great" syndrome. My guest, Wendy Casker of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory tells of us how she introduced a "better process" to her space customer.
Dec 18, 2018 • 1h 7min
Episode 2- When Failure Happens - An interview with Failure Analysis Investigators
What happens when failure happens? This episode features Failure Analysis Investigators Eric Camden and Paco Solis. Together, they discuss stories from the field and some "interesting investigations".
Dec 12, 2018 • 47min
Episode 1 - An Interview with SMT Guru Bob Willis
This episode of Reliability Matters features an interview with SMT guru, Bob Willis.
