How Do Ceramic Capacitors Fail? Let Me Count the Ways!

What is the best way to cause frustration? Take one of the most brittle materials in nature and make it the most popular component in electronics. To learn how to avoid the most common design flaws with ceramic capacitors, read Craig Hillman's column in the October issues of Global SMT and Packaging (you will need to register). For more information on capacitor failures, contact Seth Binfield.

DfR's Randy Schueller presents at the SMTA - WI Chapter in Milwaukee on November 7

Randy Schueller will be presenting on "Leveraging Existing market Knowledge to Ensure a Successful Transition to Pb-free Medical Products" at this regional event. For more information or to meet with Randy at the event, please contact Randy Schueller.

It's official! DfR Solutions has moved!

To meet increasing demand for our electronics reliability services and innovative software, DfR Solutions has moved to a state of the art facility in Beltsville,MD, (9000 Virginia Manor Rd Ste 290, Beltsville MD 20705) just a few miles from our existing location . The new facility, with controlled access and video monitoring, will allow DfR Solutions to handle and secure the most sensitive intellectual property. Speaking of sensitive, our new laboratory will also be blanketed with anti-static flooring, static dissipative furniture, and ESD test stations that will only bolster our existing comprehensive ESD control plan. At over 15,000 sq ft (an expansion of 7,000 sq ft), this new location will make DfR Solutions the largest and most advanced failure analysis/testing facility in North America. For more information, contact Craig Hillman.

Start-Stop Hybrids Make Automotive Testing Obsolete

In the race to improve fuel efficiency, new cars will shut down whenever possible, including stop signs, heavy traffic, and even when you take your foot off the accelerator. With engines, and the associated electronics, turning on and off hundreds of thousands of times over their lifetime, tests designed to replicate this environment will become time and cost prohibitive. The solution? Robust simulation and modeling. If you want to learn how, before it is too late, contact Jim Mcleish.

Texas ESDA Lightning Presentation in Austin on Oct. 29 at 3pm

For more information regarding Texas ESD Association activities, please go to the following

WEB page:   http://centxesdassoc.homestead.com/

Lightning Presentation in Austin

October 29, 2012  Mon 3pm

October 29, 2012  Mon 3pm - Lightning presentation in Austin -Nevada Lightning Lab and Myth-busters presentation explores the unusual ability of natural lightning to 'cheat’ classical physics... throwing arcs kilometres in length with less than a tenth of the voltage gradient required to produce normal laboratory arc discharges.  Although researchers don't fully understand how lightning performs this trick, new theories and a few tantalizing experimental results suggest that relativistic effects [and possibly the presence of antimatter] can greatly enhance lightning formation at physical scales beyond about 60 meters in length.

Presenter will be Greg E. Leyh is the principal engineer for the Lightning Foundry, a research facility for exploring the large-scale physics of atmospheric electricity.  He designed the Electrum Project, a 38ft high kinetic lightning sculpture currently operating in New Zealand. 

Presentation will be at the 3M Innovation Center, Hill Country Room.  AUSTIN TX

There is not a charge for the meeting but we do need an RSVP (if you haven't already) with name, company, & phone for security badges ands room planning.

2013 Board of Directors Election - we are accepting nominations for next year's Board  through November 03rd.  Then we are allowing a week to confirm with nominees and add them to the voting web site.   To nominate a candidate or announce your desire to run, simply reply to this email.  If you are interested in becoming more involved and want to know more reply to this email and how best to contact you.

Your 2012 Texas ESD Association Board of Directors

Ray Bowman  - City of Austin - President / Webmaster 
Ginger Hansel,  Dangelmayer Associates L.L.C.  - V.P. Education 
Jason Jowers, Velocity Electronics - V.P. Membership 
David Swenson, Affinity Static Control Consulting, LLC - Treasurer / National Liaison 
Gary Sutorius, Stanley Consultants - Secretary 
Frank Rodriguez,  3M Corp., - Member at Large 
Jeff Salisbury, FLEXTRONICS, Member at Large

Fred Bahrenburg, Dell Inc., Member at Large

Bob Renker, Temple College/Retired TI - Board Advisor

Gilbert Koss,  Retired 3M - Board Advisor

DfR's Craig Hillman presents at the IPC Medical Sector Conference in Andover, MA November 6-8

At this ground-breaking conference, Craig Hillman will speak on the "Upcoming Challenges of RoHS and Medical Devices." For more information, please contact Craig Hillman.

Gain working knowledge that you need for implementation of lead-free electronics manufacturing processes.

• Learn about engineering challenges associated with materials selection, reliability, testing and supply chain quality control, as well as potential solutions.
• Take home practical applications that you can use today, from technical experts who will share lessons learned from the leaded-to-lead-free conversion process at their own operations, and those of their suppliers.
• Connect with colleagues who can help you work effectively and efficiently.

The July 2014 deadline for regulatory compliance applies only in Europe at this time, but it is a wake-up call for all organizations with global sourcing and distribution in the medical sector.

AGENDA

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 Workshop 9:00 am–3:30 pm Challenges of Conversion: From Leaded to Lead-Free Operation Leo Lambert, Vice President, EPTAC Corporation and Umut Tosun, CTO, ZESTRON America Be prepared for the challenges of converting to lead free from a leaded operation. Process awareness issues based upon the conversion will be covered, including specification changes implemented with new alloy introduction and differences in the metallurgy. What You Will Learn Process changes for implementation Laminate and material changes involved in the conversion Thermal profile differences Lessons learned since introduction of lead-free materials in the industry Criticality of cleaning Your Instructors With more than 30 years of experience and special expertise in metallurgy and soldering, Leo Lambert provides expert consultation developing, troubleshooting and auditing manufacturing processes. He is a Master IPC Trainer for one of the most widely-utilized industry training programs (IPC-A-600 for Acceptability of Printed Boards). Umut Tosun is the application technology manager at ZESTRON America, and has published in leading electronics manufacturing publications and presented technical papers and studies at international conferences. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree and master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Hamburg, Germany. TOUR 3:30 pm–5:00 pm Customer Visit Center at the Philips Healthcare offices THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 Technical Conference 7:30 am Check-in and Continental Breakfast 8:00 am Welcome and Introductions Po Tse, Ph.D., Candidate, Sr. Reliability Risk Manager, Philips Healthcare 8:15 am Keynote: Reliability Priorities for Lead Free Peter van der Heide, Ph.D., Sr. Director of Product Creation Process, Philips Healthcare 9:00 am Supply Chain: Lead-Free Quality Concerns and Expectations Ravi Nabar, Ph.D., Sr. Director of Supplier Quality, Philips Healthcare 9:45 am PERM (Pb-free Electronics Risk Management) Status Report Anthony Rafanelli, Ph.D., P.E., Engineering Fellow, Raytheon 10:30 am BREAK 10:45 am Past, Present and Future Lead-Free Projects Within HDPUG Marshall Andrews, Executive Director, HDPUG (High Density Packaging User Group) 11:30 am Roles and Responsibilities Within Medical Electronics Manufacturing Organizations Mulugeta Abtew, Senior Manager, Sanmina-SCI 12:15 pm LUNCHEON 1:15 pm Lead-Free PCB Testing: Experiences in the Medical Sector Raj Kumar, Vice President of PCB Technology, Viasystems 2:00 pm  Simulation-Based Reliability Assessment of RoHS compliant Electronic Equipment Michael Osterman, Ph.D., Research Associate, CALCE, University of Maryland 2:45 pm BREAK 3:00 pm   Sherlock II Prediction Model for Reliability Craig Hillman, Ph.D., CEO and Managing Partner, DfR Solutions 3:45 pm Lead-Free PCB Cleanliness Requirements Mike Bixenman, DBA, CTO, Kyzen Corporation 4:45 pm Concluding Remarks 5:00–6:30 pm NETWORKING RECEPTION at the Wyndham Hotel FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Technical Conference 7:30 am Check-in and Continental Breakfast 8:00 am Keynote: Benefit, Risk, and the FDA Elisabeth George, Vice President Global Regulations & Standards, Philips Healthcare 8:45 am RoHS and Related Environmental Legislation Issues in the Context of Implantable Medical Electronics Peter Tortorici, Ph.D., New Product Development Manager, Medtronic 9:15 am BREAK 10:30 am Optimal Choices for Lead-Free Soldering Materials Karl Seelig, Vice President-Technology, AIM Solder 11:00 am Tin Whiskers: Detection, Formation, Mitigation Bob Landman, President and CTO, H&L Instruments 11:45 am Concluding Remarks 12:00 pm ADJOURN

Special Contributors Dr Aidan Turnbull, Principal Head of WEEE, RoHS & EcoDesign, ENVIRON International, Guide to the RoHS2 EN 50581 Standard Bruce Kline, Technology Licensing Manager, Mayo Clinic Riccardo Corridori, Environmental Affairs Manager, COCIR Mark Kohorst, MITA/NEMA, National Electrical Manufacturers Association

DfR Solutions at the Automotive Test Expo in Detroit, MI on October 23-25

Jim McLeish and Tom O'Connor will be manning the DfR booth at Automotive Test Expo in Detroit. Please stop by and see what DfR is up to with respect to automotive reliability. For more information or to arrange a meeting with Jim and Tom, please contact June Caswell.