-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueOpportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
Manufacturing Know-how
For this issue, we asked our expert contributors to share their thoughts on the absolute “must-know” aspects of fab, assembly and test that all designers should understand. In the end, we’re all in this together.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
The Newest Flex Shop in the U.S.
July 7, 2016 | Barry Matties and Angela Alexander, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 27 minutes
I-Connect007 sales team member Angela Alexander and I recently got a tour of Lenthor’s new Silicon Valley flex board shop and then sat down with President and CEO Mark Lencioni to discuss the new flex facility, the markets, management, and the future.
Barry Matties: Mark, give our readers a little background on Lenthor Engineering and what you do.
Mark Lencioni: We are entering our 31st year of business; having been founded in 1985. We are now located in our brand new, 55,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility dedicated specifically to the fabrication and assembly of flex and rigid-flex products. We made it as “Lean” as possible for all our manufacturing systems to be very close to each other, in order to get the most efficiencies with our employees and product movement. It came out just like we planned.
Matties: So is Lenthor a flex shop primarily?
Lencioni: Yes, we specialize in flex circuit fabrication and assembly. We specialize in multilayer and rigid-flex technology, very high aspect ratios, high layer counts, and the technology to allow packaging to get into the size and shape it needs to be. We have succeeded by satisfying the toughest demands from the most demanding customers in the world.
Matties: Flex is still one of the fastest growing areas in the marketplace.
Lencioni: Yes, our customers’ products are the largest they will ever be and flex circuits are a natural solution to help people package things in the size and shape they need to be. They're getting smaller and smaller. From wearable devices, to cellphones, to any kind of mechanical device, automotive, military equipment, and some semiconductor equipment processing.
Matties: In your 30+ years, what's the most surprising thing you have seen in the flex market?
Lencioni: I would say the growth in both medical and military. We didn't really appreciate the opportunity these markets held for us until we did some specific market research after 9/11. The results of that research are what led us to move more heavily into these markets. If you look at the world and the environment we are in, these marketplaces are poised to be well-established for many, many years to come.
Matties: Your facility is an ITAR facility; what's the percentage of work that you bring through here?
Lencioni: We are about 55% military, 25% medical, and the rest balances across industrial and telecom.
Matties: Where do you see the largest growth coming from right now?
Lencioni: Military and Medical. Military obviously is in a very stable environment because it doesn't go offshore. We are finding growth from within a market that we are already well positioned to support. The medical market is also very favorable for us. We have developed the kind of process validation and control that market insists on.
Matties: Going back to your new facility, who laid out the facility?
Lencioni: It was a combination of Rich Clemente and myself. We took the processes, and with help from engineers regarding where they needed to be, we just started to lay it out. We did that with an architect, and so whatever building we decided to go into we just took that footprint and laid it right in.
Matties: When you are laying out a facility like this, what's the goal?
Lencioni: The goals were product efficiency and people movement. To really make sure that the product started finished within the most efficient process path, minimizing as best we could the movement and handling of materials.
Matties: When we first started the tour we talked about your old facility and the length of that process.
Lencioni: Yes, we had a campus environment previous to this which included three separate buildings. Although they were across the parking lot from each other, the movement of materials from beginning to end was about 2.2 miles. We re-validated what it is in our new factory and depending on product type the movement is down to about one eighth of a mile. The product moves with more efficiency, it doesn't get mishandled, and the employees are able to stay focused on their job of producing boards instead of moving materials.
Page 1 of 5
Suggested Items
Trouble in Your Tank: Supporting IC Substrates and Advanced Packaging, Part 5
03/19/2024 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankDirect metallization systems based on conductive graphite or carbon dispersion are quickly gaining acceptance worldwide. Indeed, the environmental and productivity gains one can achieve with these processes are outstanding. In today’s highly competitive and litigious environment, direct metallization reduces costs associated with compliance, waste treatment, and legal issues related to chemical exposure. What makes these processes leaders in the direct metallization space?
AT&S Shines with Purest Copper on World Recycling Day
03/18/2024 | AT&SThe Styrian microelectronics specialist AT&S is taking World Recycling Day as an opportunity to review the progress that has been made in recent months at its sites around the world in terms of the efficient use of resources:
Matrix to Exhibit at IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, CA
03/05/2024 | MatrixMatrix will be exhibiting at IPC APEX EXPO 2024, to be held on April 9-12, 2024, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA.
The Chemical Connection: Getting to Know Your Vendor
02/16/2024 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionAfter working for a capital equipment supplier for almost 50 years, I’ve found that the most important part of getting to know your vendor is good communication among all parties. While contact between fabricators of a constantly changing product line and the designers of those products may occur daily or weekly, conversations between you and your equipment supplier may be years apart. That lengthy gap often means that previous contacts may have been promoted, retired, or moved on to other opportunities. You may have also migrated to a new supplier with whom you have little or no history. In either case, you will be interacting with someone you are unfamiliar with (as they are with you). Therefore, it is essential for both sides to communicate clearly so expectations will align.
EIPC Winter Conference 2024, Day 2: A Closer Look at Global Trends
02/14/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The opening session of the second day’s conference proceedings focused on global PCB trends and was introduced and moderated by Dr. Michele Stampanoni, vice president of strategic sales and business development at Cicor Group in Switzerland. He opened the session with Dr. Hayao Nakahara’s knowledgeable and enlightening video presentation on the IC substrates industry.