-
- 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
Leo Lambert on Training the Next Generation of Technologists
September 25, 2019 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
I sat down for an interview with Leo Lambert, VP of technical director for EPTAC Corporation, during the IPC Summer Meetings in Raleigh, North Carolina. We discussed the company’s growth, including plans to have training centers across different regions of the country to help cut down on students’ travel times, and why training methods must constantly evolve to remain effective.
Andy Shaughnessy: Leo, what’s new at EPTAC?
Leo Lambert: We’re very busy. The issue happening now is to get instructors located around the country because it costs us a lot to travel. By having instructors in various parts of the country, we eliminate a lot of travel, so it is a big deal for our customers and us.
Shaughnessy: Because it is a service industry, more or less.
Lambert: Correct. New state government rulings on taxation for services rendered are going to impact us, and we need to be aware of those impact relative to the total cost of the programs. Secondly, from a training perspective, one of the things that happened at the IPC meetings is the new IPC policies and procedures. At EPTAC, we try to follow those to the letter, but there are so many changes that we are questioning the validity of those changes; for example, they are now going to allow people to change the visual PowerPoint presentations. Individuals were not allowed to change them previously as they were all copyrighted; allowing this to happen automatically changes all of the presentations, so the commonality disappears between the same program, which will impact the industry.
So, my function is to make sure the instructors don’t have four different versions for the same specification. Because if they have modified their presentations, we don’t want to hear, “I heard this from instructor A. Now, I have instructor B, but instructor A said this, and instructor B said that.” It becomes a big effort to standardize the presentation and knowledge being disseminated to the students.
Another issue is IPC has a philosophical bent while creating the programs to do three things: “Let me tell you what I’m going to tell you, let me tell you, and then let me tell you what I told you. To present the material in this fashion produces many slides. So, I question the need to have so many repetitive slides. If the instructor goes through every slide, it ends up being a long day, so again, my question is do we really need all that material to certify the individual.?
Shaughnessy: And you’re talking about 200–300 slides.
Lambert: Yes, and if it could be reduced by a larger number of slides, it would eliminate most of the duplications being experienced. Because of this repetitive process, the instructors have to balance the class during the day to compensate for the total time of the presentation. This also involves taking into consideration where the students are coming from, as we get students traveling on Sunday. Therefore, by having students and instructors around the country, we can help save the students’ travel time. The other thing we’re looking at is online training; we’ve done some, but it hasn’t caught on in our industry.
Shaughnessy: What do you see as the value in online learning? I don’t think it will ever replace face-to-face training.
Lambert: There’s definitely some value in online training. Anything picked up and learned is going to add value to the programs. What they, the students, want is to keep the training program interesting by having video snippets in the PowerPoint slides. With the lecture, you could also have a 30-second video to show you how it’s done. We’ve mentioned it to the developers that they need to have physical demonstrations to provide some perspective of the application as it changes the concept of understanding.
To read this entire interview, which appeared in the August 2019 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
PCBflow Helps Designers Choose Best Manufacturer for the Job
03/28/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineI recently spoke with a few technologists who have first-hand experience with PCBflow: Susan Kayesar, technical product manager with Siemens; Evgeny Makhline, CTO of Nistec, a CEM based in Israel; and Peter Tranitz, senior director of technology solutions and leader of the IPC Design Initiative. They explain how PCBflow functions, from the designer’s and manufacturer’s viewpoint, and how this database helps break down the wall between these stakeholders.
ASMPT to Exhibit Smart Manufacturing at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/27/2024 | ASMPTWith its innovative, data-driven Intelligent Factory concept and a comprehensive hardware and software portfolio around SMT production, market and innovation leader ASMPT will be a major presence at the IPC APEX EXPO 2024, the industry’s main event in California.
Mycronic to Showcase More Versatile, High-productivity Assembly Solutions at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/27/2024 | MycronicMycronic, the leading Sweden-based electronics assembly solutions provider, will continue to respond to growing customer demand for high-flexibility, high-productivity solutions for zero-defect PCB assembly at IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, CA on April 9 - 11.
TRI Launches New Advanced Packaging 3D CT AXI Solution
03/26/2024 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI) proudly announces the launch of the SEMI 3D CT AXI solution, TR7600F3D SII Plus, marking a paradigm shift in precision and reliability for high-reliability electronics manufacturing, such as the Advanced Packaging Industry.
Blackfox Ready for IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/26/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Blackfox Training Institute offers IPC-certified training for a myriad of PCB assembly techniques and standard certifications. With many technologists beginning to eye retirement, this training is at a premium. I recently spoke with Jamie Noland, director of training and education for Blackfox, about the company’s latest educational efforts, and his plans for the upcoming IPC APEX EXPO, where Blackfox will be exhibiting.