The integral resistors on a PCB are already part of PCB production processes. The issue however relates to printing them down, the fact that then need to be a 'wet' process.
which means you have to really control the quality of the ink because if it is not kept mixed then you get 'blotchy' resistors where the value is not consistent, then there are issues related to cleanliness of the pcb and ink thickness, and then there is the physical size issue related to printed resistors, since most are screen printed
Ohms law makes laying down this sort of resistor 'difficult' if high accuracy parts are required, as any variation in thickness or dimensions results in a different value.
Personally I don't think we will see much progress into this until the technology for direct printing of components comes on line, at which point inkject printers with highly refined dot sizes will assist im making many of these problems disappear.
What will be really interesting is that distributors will then become more akin to printing material suppliers, supplying the inks required for laying down the components, possibly with a second line of distributors supplying the cad files for the actual individual components. (forgery/fakes are going to be made really interesting in this environment)
Also, it would be very interesting to know what the rejection ratios are for small packages like the Quad Flat No Lead(QFN), Small Outline No Lead(SON) and the BGA type. Some of these packages if placed improperly might lead to the board rejection itself!
I think the idea that resistors be made part of the PCB printing process and be incorporated in the layout rather than the assembly process makes a lot of sense! I would like to know if something along this line is being pursued already.
That would depend very much on the market, one only has to take a trip to Sam Sui Po in Hong Kong to see there is a significant market for repaired mobile phones, I would also consider it unlikely for a manufacturer such as Nokia to 'trash' off product that was defective in the factory or early on in the warranty period,since most mobles are moving towards single PCB solutions, such a system would require scrapping of a significant amount of the hardware including the IC's , which is where the most cost id found.
I would say mobile devices are already at a stage where damaged or non-working sections of the product would be thrown away and replaced. It is too costly to spend time troubleshooting issues with these products when the components are so small, and the product can be made so cheap now.
I would have to say that the real issue will not be down to production with such parts.Ultimately most high volume manufactured products are assembled by automated equipment.
The issue will come when the products need to be repaired, at this stage in the process it will be the human repairmen that take over, since automated repair is just something that cannot be easily implemented of centralized.
I would guess that a high power lens system or even a low power Stereo microscope will be necessary along with a new set of repair tools and systems. Even with the 0805 parts , there is a need for a low power Stereo microscope in some cases.
The only other solution is that we become more of a 'throw away society' than we currently are, and junk any product that fails ,without attempting to repair it.
The size of 01005 is 0.018 x 0.008 which is smaller than 0201 but the nomenclature has changed. They are aiming at mobile phones, cameras and micro drives. It is time to come up with a printing process directly on a PCB and make resistors the integral part of the PCB layout and PCB manufacturing.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
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Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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