There are schools of thought that soldering methods are similarly anachronistic but still useful enough not to be worth changing. While that may be true, I see that soldering technologies are experiencing significant changes. It might not be apparent on the surface, but changes are afoot, and there are some disruptive things underway as well.

In this interview at PCB Carolina in November, James Hofer, general manager of Accurate Circuit Engineering (ACE), shares insights into the company’s innovative approach to component embedding and highlights the passion and dedication driving his team’s commitment to quality and innovation in PCB manufacturing. James is still having fun as they push boundaries and do some pretty cool things in the process.

There are three things I know mathematically about PCB yields: Defects that produce low yields may be systemic and repeatable, while others may be random (but you can test for this); you can predict yields if you take the time to collect the data; and yields are such wonderful things, so we should write about them more.