In the printed circuit board (PCB) industry, manufacturers must drive change or they don’t survive. To stay ahead of the curve, strong supplier partnerships are needed to provide manufacturers with the tools to succeed. The bar is being raised for every supplier across the board, including suppliers of components, adhesives, coatings, and packaging and application systems.
The quality of a product is only as good as the weakest link in the supply chain. Most consumers don’t think about how the board was assembled or how the solder paste and adhesives were applied to the board when they purchase an electronic device. But they do drive demand for the board to be faster, lighter, higher quality, more durable and less expensive. To meet this ever-changing demand, the packaging industry must adapt on two fronts: improving the quality of the packages (e.g., repeatability, function and cleanliness), and staying in tune with the adhesive and solder paste industry to provide the best delivery systems for new products.