BEST soldering geeks enable electronics companies to be more effective through professional instruction, tools and taking secondary assembly projects off your plate
While it has been a prolonged winter in the Midwest, you can choose to embrace it or curse it. In keeping with the former, I recently had the chance to play a blue blood racquet sport outdoors called paddle ball. Think of tennis meeting table tennis outdoors in the fresh air. It was loads of fun! Pickleball was recently featured on NBC here. Anyone have game?
Our April 3rd X-Ray Workshop
was sold out with lots of great questions from the attendees as well as some "can you do this?" Boards were brought along to make it a highly interactive session. Thanks again to industry experts on x-ray, Bob Klenke and Ken Gribble. There are a couple of new developments in the IPC training world. Take a look at some of the other articles in this newsletter.
Looking forward to ushering in spring!
Bob Wettermann
President, BEST Inc.
See our new mascot-the Soldergeek below!
Bare Board Rework Eliminates Some Board "Spins"
Before Solder Mask Ablated
If you need to have traces cut, pads added, solder mask ablated, boards machined to exacting specs or conductors added; then BEST can be your source. We can quickly modify existing boards, eliminating the wait on a board re-spin, and eliminate the scrapping of many existing boards that are unusable.
BEST can cut down on your board spins and can save lots of WIP from the scrap pile.
Call Laura Ripoli at (847)797-9250 or email her at lripoli@solder.net to get a sample of BEST workmanship.
BEST Develops New Cleaning Tool
BEST has developed one of those tools that you'll have to have on your PCB rework and repair work bench-the new PCBVac(TM).
This is a handheld tool which can vacuum off both liquids and solids from a PCB board. If conformal coating, mask or loose solder fibers need to be removed, this is your tool. If residual flux, cleaning solution or other liquid needs to be removed and "wiped" everywhere on the board, then this is your solution. Think of it as a shop vac for your electronics workbench.
The PCBVac(TM) system is very simple. It connects to your workbench air system for its vacuum power. An ON/OFF switch and a muffled venturi will provide a powerful but quiet resource for the vacuum. Teflon tips can be cut to size just like a tip from a calk tube for differing air flows and sizes of the vacuum source.
Be one of the first to own this product by buying it here.
Another video from the BEST Technical Symposium series on QFNs
QFN Rework Demonstration
Check out the videos on our YouTube channel -Solderinggeek- from the recent BEST symposium on bottom terminated components. There is a series of (5) sessions featuring Q/A at the end of the session.
As we learned recently, the IPC certification program testing and certification registration process is moving on-line. This will help make sure questions remain fresh and enable electronic certifications easier to track. The IPC-A-610CIS program is the first to use this method with other cert programs following suit soon. Tests will still need to be proctored by your company's CIT or an MIT at BEST. The training itself will also ONLY be done in person. If you need assistance, call Katy Radcliff at (847) 797-9250.
New IPC-A-630 Handbook for Electronic Enclosures Released
IPC-A-630 Spec
The newest inspection criteria specification, the IPC-A-630 for electronic enclosures, was released towards the end of 2013. It has now been accompanied by the printing of the A-630 handbook, which was recently released by the committee. A certification program will be ready within 18-24 months. Stay tuned!
Trivia Contest-April'14
The answer to last month's trivia question was the pitaya ordragonfruit. Congrats to our winner Florian Polasic from ITW!
The 1st person who replies with the correct answer will
win a phone/mp3 player speaker that allows you to deliver full sound from your phone!!!
Question for April '14:
Which Samsa family members (of the giant bug/man fame) work?
Science of a SlapShot
Science of Hockey: Slap Shot
You technologists out there trying to get youngsters or other non scientists interested in STEM subjects stop talking about your boring topics that interest you. Use common everyday things that your audience is interested in-like hockey. Above is an example of how to get the kids into the science discussion. Take a look at "NBCLearn" on the web for more engaging science ideas!
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