tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105511082024-03-13T19:36:21.438-07:00Anecdotal and other evidence that life exists in the North American Printed Circuit board industry.Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1157132488865249832008-01-14T22:19:00.000-08:002008-01-14T20:23:07.000-08:00

As a veteran of the PCB industry, specifically spending most of my career in the CAD/CAM segment; I think I can accurately describe myself as having access to a great deal of information. Also, having worked for and with every major PCB CAM software vendor, I can also accurately say I have a deep understanding of front-end engineering and data flow.One of the things I consistently find to be an

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-54425080945919860962007-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:002007-12-21T10:52:19.750-08:00

Has anyone noticed how hard it is to get in touch with someone? Those that know me, and have to work with me might say I'm even harder to reach than most folks.On my laptop, I have about a half-dozen communication modes or more. I have three primary email accounts, plus dozens more I seldom use. I have Skype, Google talk, and two cell phones that you can call or SMS. Still, I miss calls that

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-86671261409427895862007-11-30T23:39:00.001-08:002007-11-30T23:46:09.317-08:00

I was recently inspired to begin using this blog again. After a short foray into the exciting world of finance, I'm back in the great sucking vortex that is the North American PCB industry.Lucky for you, dear readers (yes, all seven of you), I'll be morphing the format slightly, focusing a bit more on the personalities in the industry.DISCLAIMER:: The opinions expressed in this blog are strictly

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1146663004441889792006-05-03T06:22:00.000-07:002006-05-03T06:35:38.646-07:00

I am pleased to announce that all of Solidigm System's products and services are now RoHS/WEEE ready. Following the lead of Frontline PCB Solutions (see press release), we have verified that all of our software is ready to meet the demands of customers who are seeking to comply with these "green" directives.Additionally, all of our software now meets the EPA's highest standards for harmful

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1144982358087504362006-04-21T07:33:00.000-07:002006-04-21T07:38:40.340-07:00

- Hey, do we have any more 5 1/4" floppies for the drill machine?- So tweak the values on the ERFs and THEN send them to the customer.- They said the other board shop didn't have any problem with the data.- We build coupons...once in awhile we get a couple of boards on there too.- Is 20 mils too far to scale a drill?- What time is it in Hong Kong?

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1145036303725041022006-04-14T10:34:00.000-07:002006-04-14T11:11:27.553-07:00

I recently read an article on a circuit board made using chicken feathers and soybean-based epoxy. You can read the article yourself on www.treehugger.comNow, I'm not a regular reader of Treehugger (as you would likely guess if you ever met me), but I found this article fascinating because of the obvious implications. According to the author, the new chicken-feather and soybean circuit board is

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1140990318248110172006-02-26T13:30:00.000-08:002006-02-27T07:48:40.463-08:00

This is a bit off-topic, and kind of a rant; but hey...it's my blog, right? And it will end up having something to do with circuit boards. At least I think it will.About a week ago, my wife (who is not exactly a bleeding-edge techno-nerd) asked me about putting a custom ringtone on her mobile phone. I (rather arrogantly, and shortsightedly) replied: "I guess any script-kiddie out there could

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1138909822572540782006-02-02T11:48:00.000-08:002006-02-27T08:16:07.396-08:00

Continuing on in the "TOP TEN" genre...hopefully this one is funnier than the last one :-)10. Really...how much different can THIS year's drill machines be?9. I typically drink WAY too much cappuccino at the Orbotech booth.8. I hate pretending I understand what one of those German engineers is talking about.7. I've already been to Disneyland.6. I don't drink beer...anymore.5. "Networking" gives

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1137442218378225542006-01-26T11:47:00.000-08:002006-01-26T11:42:43.883-08:00

Here is my list of top ten things to (personally) learn in 2006. Being a bit of a trendsetter I thought I would share them :-)10. At least one new way to prepare rice.9. How to more quickly create test fixtures.8. Less Java, more C#.7. My wife's birthday and other needful dates.6. What does RoHS _really_ stand for?5. How to get all the contacts from one cell phone into the other.4. More about

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1137438155156715352006-01-16T10:53:00.000-08:002006-01-16T11:36:10.526-08:00

Ok, so this is a little off topic. But since a large part of The Glamorous Life of a Consultant is travel; I thought we could discuss the issue a bit.Why is the line to board an airplane at the gate exempt from all the rules of line etiquette? Some people (especially "very important business men") will just saunter up to the front of the line and "merge" in. How does that work? Have you ever

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1134496529755751062005-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:002005-12-13T10:20:32.706-08:00

With the Christmas season approaching, what could be more topical than batteries. I'll admit I haven't given much thought to the technologies involved in battery manufacturing or engineering. The fact is, little has really changed since Alessandro Volta first piled up brine-soaked cardboard sheets. All common batteries are based on the same principals. However, there are some groundbreaking new

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1134058613737345992005-12-08T08:14:00.000-08:002006-08-10T03:07:49.286-07:00

After some consideration, I've compiled a list of what I believe to be the top ten reasons to work in the Printed Circuit Board industry.10. Endless hours filled with the pure joy of CAM automation. 9. Capital equipment salesmen! 8. Your friends think printed circuit boards are "high-tech". 7. Gold plating your car keys. 6. You get to use digital file formats that were around when Jimmy Carter

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1134011282621994772005-12-07T18:59:00.000-08:002005-12-07T19:12:19.656-08:00

I guess when it gets cold in Minnesota, we tend to do more indoor things. Here I am, back at my blog. Probably because it is 10 degrees F. My last post was in May...that's probably about when the temperature got above 10 degrees last spring.Blogging. RSS feeds. In my head, I can hear the ringing endorsements for the new "Web 2.0" (that's what this is, ya' know). Sounds too much like those old AOL

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1116192221330784242005-05-15T14:16:00.000-07:002005-05-15T14:52:43.030-07:00

Sure, it seems cool enough. Visits to distant and exotic sounding locations (exotic, at least to my midwestern friends). Working with big names in the high-tech and aerospace industries. But there is a dichotomy to the entire scenario. To an outsider, it looks wonderful...exciting...enticing.My friend JP Hansen builds and maintains saltwater reef tanks as a hobby. They are marvelous to look

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1113458710742765962005-04-13T22:51:00.000-07:002005-04-13T23:05:10.743-07:00

I was sitting here thinking...because that's pretty easy to do; just sit here and think...Anyway, a long time ago (back in the 90's) I learned that one good way to improve a process is to look for similar processes that are successful, and emulate them. It stands to reason then that emulating successes from other industries should help us to be successful in the PCB industry. While still

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1108009347436790342005-03-04T02:32:00.000-08:002005-03-04T00:58:28.220-08:00

I was looking over some statistics from [www.solidigm.com] and noticed that I'm getting alot of traffic from people "googling" for IPC-D-356A (or IPC356A, or IPC-356A, or similar). Electrical test in general, and netlist formats in particular are a difficult subject with most of the PCB CAM-types that I typically hang out with. Often in a printed circuit fabrication facility, the electrical

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1109225778029747612005-02-23T22:13:00.000-08:002005-02-23T22:17:31.266-08:00

While looking at highlights from this year's APEX/IPC EXPO I came across this recent article on Circuitree's web site. It goes much further in depth regarding direct write techniques.The Future of Direct Writing in Electronics

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1108871174200698182005-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:002005-12-08T15:28:51.373-08:00

I was reading about the technology that Epson used to create a printed circuit board using a specialized inkjet technology and alternating conductive/insulating inks. I originally read an article in Maximum PC over two months after the Epson press release. So...perhaps it's not as newsworthy as one would immediately presume. At least not to PCB insiders.Anyways, it is quite interesting, and

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1107459217152779372005-02-03T08:41:00.000-08:002005-02-03T11:33:37.153-08:00

I was talking via IM to an industry friend of mine in Brussels, when I suddenly came to the realization that since entering the PCB industry in 1989, I have never had what I would consider a "real" job. You know, the kind where you punch in at 7, punch out at 3 (or even 9 to 5), get quarterly reviews and all that. Not that every job I've had wasn't plenty "real" in the really real kind of

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1107298081870319652005-02-01T14:37:00.000-08:002005-02-01T14:48:42.326-08:00

I have just happily created links to some trade magazines on my website [www.solidigm.com]. For some reason, I can't seem to get subscribed to these magazines...I send in my subscription forms over and over again. Funny, when I worked for Orbotech, I got trade magazines I never even subscribed to. Now they send me faxes wanting me to advertise in their magazines, but never send me the magazines.

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1107274566844231852005-02-01T08:09:00.000-08:002005-02-01T08:16:06.846-08:00

Ok, so I've got this blog. I'm not really sure what to do with it. Kinda like when I first learned Python back in about '96. I just kinda said "hey...THAT is cool...now what". So, I'll simply start writing things and if I'm doing it wrong, I'm sure I'll hear about it. I think I'll start by writing about all the wierd...I mean interesting...people I've met and worked with during my time in

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10551108.post-1107262236778831332005-02-01T04:49:00.000-08:002005-02-01T08:08:21.666-08:00

Looks like I need to create an initial post for my blog to show up....how odd. I guess I'm still learning. Perhaps I should hire a 12-year old to do my web stuff...

Mike Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11370852587851734923noreply@blogger.com0