It’s always good to catch up with old friends, especially when you can start working together. I recently spoke with my friend John Johnson, who has joined American Standard Circuits as the director of business development. At ASC, John will be using the Averatek A-SAP process that he was previously involved with. He shares some of his background and provides insight on the best ways to use this semi-additive PCB fabrication process that opens the capability window for forming trace and space.

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Because of PCB layout problems or required circuit modifications, at times a trace on the surface of a PCB needs to be severed. In this procedure a small section of the trace is removed, thereby forming a “break” in the circuit. In general practice, the length of this trace cut is as least as wide as the minimum conductor spacing. In most cases, a very sharp-edged knife or high-speed mill will make the cut. After cutting the areas is tested and then sealed with epoxy.

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Adversity drives focus, realization, and then innovation. This is especially true in manufacturing, which has felt the effects of recent challenges. For decades, manufacturing has been overly focused on short-term business objectives, with little regard for risk and adaptability. This oversight has persisted into automation projects and digital transformation initiatives. Innovators today realize that there is no way back, that we must embrace the intelligence—the silver linings—that we must have learned.

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