Manufacturing yield is a key measure of quality in PCB manufacturing. Measured as a percentage of good parts relative to the total produced, achieving 100% yield rates is extremely challenging for anything but the simplest PCB designs. Most PCB manufacturers produce less than a 95% yield, eating the cost of discards and re-designs. PCB manufacturers can take steps to improve yield rates. It is possible to achieve over 98% yield rate by addressing common manufacturing errors, improving safety and quality in tandem, and integrating a Lean approach to all processes.

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With the supply chain problem showing no signs of letting up, the idea of designing PCBs with fewer materials has begun to take hold. So, as we mapped out this issue on conserving materials, we knew it was important to hear from Happy Holden about this topic. Happy has been a proponent of cost-aware PCB design for decades. At HP, Happy helped develop the relative cost index (RCI), which allows PCB designers to compare the costs of PCB structures and their alternatives. With this in mind, we spoke with Happy about the potential benefits of designing for material conservation, and why many of the old design concepts may be ripe for updating, such as the 0.062" board.

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Business email compromise/email account compromise (BEC/EAC) is a sophisticated scam that targets both businesses and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests. The scam is frequently carried out when an individual compromises legitimate business or personal email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds. The scam is not always associated with a transfer-of-funds request. One variation involves compromising legitimate business email accounts and requesting employees’ Personally Identifiable Information, Wage and Tax Statement (W-2) forms, or even crypto currency wallets.

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