Some 20 months after Altium’s announcement it would move its suite of PCB tools to the cloud, a handful of PCB industry veterans are vying to be the first to offer pre-CAM analysis through that same new channel.
Under the name Iron Atom, Iain Wilson and Alessandro Federici are in the last cycle of beta testing this new model, making proprietary CAM software available for individual, one-off use, without the need for a license or maintenance agreement.
The tool, in this case, is Ucamco’s Integr8tor front-end engineering software. Designers and CAM engineers can now access the software via Iron Atom’s website, choosing the features to run and preferred CAM output (UCAM, Gerber 274X or ODB++).
Using the cloud – really, a group of servers that reside with a third party instead of with the user – is essentially a different medium for tool rental. But the model will allow lighter users the opportunity to take advantage of the Ucamco’s stackup, registration and design rule checks without the cost and hassle of purchasing and installing a full license.
Users create a job, upload their files, and configure which outputs they desire. Reports are generated in minutes, Iron Atom says. Recognizing IP control is a concern, Iron Atom opted for a proven commercial technology partner. The site runs on Amazon’s EC2 cloud computing platform, and secure jobs can be run on Amazon’s GovCloud, which is approved for US ITAR products. “There are multiple levels of security, says Federici. “Design files never make it to the Iron Atom website. They all go straight to Amazon.”
“All processing is done in an instant,” adds Wilson, “with results going back to the user.” Results include a PDF report with design analysis and XML data files. CAM ready data and layer images are optional. Jobs are then deleted from the server as a security measure.
Support is supplied by Iron Atom, but according to Wilson, the need is minimal. “We’ve found Integr8tr provides 80% to 90% of the data automatically. And we report back to the user if problems are found.” Custom design rule checks and manual processing are also options.
To do all this, Iron Atom runs a full feature version of Integr8tor 7.1, Ucamco’s latest release. Iron Atom charges an undisclosed fee per use, with Ucamco getting a percentage of every transaction. (A small surcharge is applied for extra outputs.)
The concept is undergoing its second round of beta testing, having been tested by a number of North American and European fabricators, plus a couple more in China, that have been Ucamco customers. Iron Atom is seeking additional beta partners; Wilson can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. “We have maybe one more month of beta before we get fully online,” he told PCD&F.
Wilson, who has been a CAM engineer since 1996, says the inspiration for Iron Atom was a “light bulb moment.”
“It’s nice to be the first to offer this. It’s difficult task for CAD vendors because of the type of processing involved. I think it’s a difficult step. But I’m pretty confident that in 10 years’ time, we will say, ‘Remember when we used to have to buy servers.’”
While Iron Atom can scale for larger users, initial interest most likely would come from lighter users. However, Wilson says, “We could see bigger shops using it if they have a spike in demand. Even if they have an in-house solution, it takes up time and resources in their CAM machines.”
For the user, the experience poses the advantages of access to DfM checks and analysis with no installation time or setup or maintenance costs. “My experience with Ucamco has always been very good,” Wilson says. “The level of automation is exceptionally high. The end-user wants to get their DfM done; they don’t want to use additional software.”
The deal between Ucamco and Iron Atom is nonexclusive. For its part, Ucamco sees Iron Atom as an additional pipeline to reach small- to medium-sized customers who otherwise might not be prospects.
Mike Buetow is editor in chief of PCD&F (pcdandf.com); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Results of a two-year study of various electroless nickel baths.
Many Pb-free alloy formulations, including SAC alloy (consisting of 3-4% silver, 0.5-1% copper and the balance tin), have been developed to replace leaded solder (typically, SnPb), and used successfully to manufacture and assemble printed circuit boards. As Pb-free solder can leave bumps on the traces during HASL (hot air solder leveling), many alternate surface finish processes have been investigated to overcome this challenge.
Alternate surface finishes for Pb-free solder have been developed and used for leadless components with pitches of 4 mils (0.01mm) or less, on which BGAs, TSOPs, etc. are mounted and soldered. These alternate surface finishes include:
Several formulations of ENIG plating have been tried. Here, we discuss a successful formulation of ENIG that has been in continuous use in large-scale PCB production for more than two years.
Formulations of electroless nickel on copper. The following Bath I showed good results for electroless nickel plating on copper pads and PTH holes.
Bath I: Nickel chloride (Nicl2.6H2O): 20g per liter. Sodium hypophosphite (NaH2PO2.H2O): 15g per liter. Acetic acid (CH3COOH): 20ml per liter. DL-Malic acid, CH2 (COOH).CH (OH).COOH: 20g per liter. Glycine (NH2CH2COOH): 5g per liter. Boric acid (H3BO3): 2g per liter. pH – 6.5 to 6.7 (adjusted with NaOH and HCl) Temperature: 70o to 72oC. Time to get 5 to 6µm of eNickel on copper: 25 to 30 min.
Process sequence. The process sequence was as follows: 1) acid cleaner, 2) swill, 3) micro-etch, 4) swill thoroughly, 5) pre-activator, 6) activator, 7) swill, 8) post-activator, 9) swill thoroughly, 10) electroless nickel plating, 11) swill, 12) immersion gold plating, 13) swill, 14) hot water dip, 15) dry.
This bath was further studied thoroughly by varying the various ingredient chemical compositions. Graphs were plotted to show the optimum condition to get the best and fastest results of deposition of electroless nickel deposit on copper. Each time, a single chemical ingredient (out of six chemicals) was varied and studied at temperatures of 70˚, 75˚ and 80˚C.
Cleaned, pre-weighed 1" x 1" copper specimens were used throughout the experiment, and the nickel deposit thickness obtained and calculated by the weight gain method. This was cross-checked using an x-ray fluorescence thickness tester, and the results were within ±5% difference.
Figures 1 to 11 show the thickness results as obtained by weight-gain method, demonstrating the optimum condition of the bath chemical composition.
Table 1 shows the optimum results.
Optimum composition of eNi bath (Bath II): Nickel chloride (Nicl2.6H2O): 15g per liter. Sodium hypophosphite (NaH2PO2H20): 14g per liter. Acetic acid (CH3COOH): 22ml per liter. DL-Malic acid, CH2 (COOH). CH (OH). COOH: 18g per liter. Glycine (NH2CH2COOH): 7g per liter. Boric acid (H3BO3): 2g per liter. pH: 6.8 to 6.9 (adjusted with NaOH and HCl). Temperature: 70o to 72oC. Thickness: 6.74 to 9.0µm of Ni in 30 min. Time: 30 to 35 min. Final (optimum) composition of eNi bath: Nickel chloride, Nicl2.6H2O: 15g per liter. Sodium hypophosphite, NaH2PO2H20: 14g per liter. Acetic acid (CH3COOH): 22ml per liter. DL-Malic acid, CH2 (COOH). CH (OH). COOH: 18g per liter. Glycine (NH2CH2COOH ): 7g per liter. Boric acid (H3BO3): 2g per liter. pH: 6.8 to 6.9 (adjusted with NaOH and HCl). Temperature: 80o to 82oC to get 9.44µm of nickel. Time: 25 to 30 min.
This bath was prepared and used for 12 months to verify and establish the results. It was consistent in providing a thickness of 8-9µm of nickel at 80oC in 25-30 min.
Composition of nickel deposit. The deposited nickel was subjected to EDAX analysis to reveal the composition. Results are shown in Figures 13 and 14. The deposit contains 12.23 to 13.74% of phosphorus.
Formulation of immersion gold on nickel: Gold potassium cyanide K Au (CN)2: 3g per liter. Sodium hypophosphite: (NaH2PO2.H2O): 10g per liter. Sodium citrate: 50g per liter. Ammonium chloride (NH4 cl): 5g per liter. Temperature: 90±2oC. pH: 6.9 to 7.0. Time to get 0.03 to 0.05µm of gold on nickel: 15 to 20 min.
The thickness of gold was measured using an x-ray fluorescence tester. With these two formulations, standard deposits of electroless nickel gold were obtained for large-scale production.
Before shutting down, add 100ml of glycine solution (1gm per liter of glycine stock solution) to the working electroless nickel bath to avoid the possible deposition of nickel on the walls of the process vessel. With this precaution, the bath can easily be maintained for more than 100 days.
Before the start of the bath, analyze the nickel content and add required nickel chloride solution, sodium hypophosphite solution, adjust pH and start the dummy to plate.
This formulation has been found useful for volume production of ENIG plating.
References
Arthur K. Graham, ed., Electroplating Engineering Handbook, second edition, 1962. Kenneth E. Langford, Analysis of Electroplating and Related Solutions, 4th edition, Teddington, Draper, 1971.
Dr. T.S. Krishna Ram is chief executive (Techno-Commercial) at M/s. Meena Circuits Pvt. Ltd.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Olin King might not have invented EMS, but his approach is a model for public-private partnership.
An old Army ballad says, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” The same is apparently true for electronics manufacturing services entrepreneurs. Olin B. King, founder of SCI Systems, passed away on June 16, with very little mention outside of northern Alabama.
I had to do a little soul-searching before writing this. I spent five years in what I jokingly called the Olin King School of Hard Knocks in the early ’80s and not all of it was good. That said, I honestly can’t say I’ve worked with a CEO since who had as many accomplishments or helped as many people. And I think it is important to discuss a few of those accomplishments, not from the perspective of accolades, but in terms of examples worth emulating.
King was one of the founders of Space Craft Inc. in 1961. The company name was later changed to SCI Systems to better reflect its diverse customer base. One obituary credited King with inventing contract manufacturing. That isn’t exactly true. Contract manufacturing was a widespread cottage industry in the ’60s and ’70s. However, SCI won the contract to build the first IBM PC. That turned it into the EMS industry’s first Tier One contractor, and it stayed in that leadership role for decades. King actually deserves credit for laying the foundation for the Tier One business model. SCI was the first predominantly EMS company to go public and enter the Fortune 500, although other publicly traded companies had divisions that did some form of contract manufacturing at that time. King was also instrumental in educating financial markets on the potential for the business model, actually bussing in analysts once a year to tour factories and listen to presentations on company and industry trends. King literally plowed the road for future competitors’ IPOs, with SCI’s success stories.
Northern Alabama also benefited from SCI’s presence in the region. SCI was headquartered in Huntsville. At the time it started to grow with the IBM PC contract, that region was depressed. Huntsville had been a big winner in the fledging space program, but when the Apollo program wound down concurrent with military downsizing, Huntsville was hit hard. The interstate highway system bypassed Huntsville, making it less attractive as a manufacturing center for new industries. Under King, SCI didn’t simply grow as a company; it grew the region. King would regularly call the governor’s office looking for resources for SCI. Most of the time those resources benefitted Huntsville as well. When I was there, SCI became Huntsville’s largest employer, and many of the employees it hired had no manufacturing skills. Alabama paid for classroom trailers and instructors to teach soldering skills. SCI set the trailers up in its parking lots. The best students got hired, and the rest walked away with skills that made them employable in other companies in the region, many of whom preferred not to hire unskilled labor. King was instrumental in getting the city connected to the interstate, growing a major technology park and enhancing the state university system. Today, Huntsville has a diverse economy, but I wonder what the city would look like had King not worked to improve the infrastructure. The SCI public-private partnerships in the ’80s translated to thousands of jobs, conversion of unskilled applicants into trained production operators, and enhancements to the local transportation and educational infrastructure that benefited the entire business community, all within promised deadlines.
Wages at SCI back then were low. I used to joke that I made more money in college as a waitress. However, SCI had Cadillac benefits. It wasn’t all philanthropy. SCI had been a union target, and King saw good benefits as a way to compete with unionized factories. Union avoidance was another reason unskilled workers, mostly women, were hired in large numbers. Women would work for lower wages, were less prone to organize, and were willing to do repetitive tasks like drop loading components or clipping leads. While some would call this a sweatshop environment, I saw a totally different picture. The health insurance benefits were quite comprehensive, and sick leave could be accumulated indefinitely. The few employees I knew who got serious injuries or illnesses had jobs when they came back, and if they’d saved their sick leave, got full pay, plus disability coverage, during recovery. There was also strong United Way support, and United Way agencies helped a lot of people in that community. While I can’t speak to what the company did after I left in 1986, I can say that during my time there, SCI was one of the more stable employers, because wages and salaries stayed low. The unionized operations seemed to have annual strikes, often driven by negotiations in other parts of the country, and non-union employers with higher wages often course corrected through layoffs. But the crown jewel in SCI’s benefits was the best tuition refund program I’ve ever seen. Any full-time employee could receive reimbursement for classes at any state university, provided they earned a C on undergraduate classes or a B on graduate classes. It didn’t have to be job-related. And, King and other business leaders worked with the University of Alabama in Huntsville to design evening-based degree programs, so employees could work full-time and go to college at night. Additionally, SCI offered first line supervisor training and other courses via its National Management Association chapter, and would pay for job-related training on a case-by-case basis. In short, those willing to put in the time to tap the training options could gain skills that opened the door to far greater opportunity than they’d had when they were hired. It was a pathway to the American Dream funded by sweat equity, not taxpayer dollars.
Everyone who worked at SCI has at least one Olin King story, some good, some bad. Some will remember him for his Type A management style, which he labeled “distributed autocracy.” Others will remember him as a truly ruthless competitor on projects strategic to SCI. Yet others will remember his involvement at the community and state level. I will remember him as a man who opened the door to opportunity for any employee willing to put in the hours to take it. SCI paid for my master’s degree, and I often wonder if my life would be nearly as comfortable if I hadn’t earned a graduate degree and developed a “no excuses” work ethic in the Olin King School of Hard Knocks. I suspect many others feel the same way. RIP, Olin King.
This is the second in a three-part series that details my observations from the 42nd International Electronic Circuits Exhibition held in Tokyo Big Sight in Japan June 13 through June 15. I could not visit every exhibit because of the limited time, so I decided to share a couple of technology changes and advancements that seems to be newsworthy.
