Printed Circuit Board Assembly/soldering Initiatives At Penn State

Abstract

Surface mount technology ( SMT ) is having a significant impact in the printed circuit board industry given implications of this technology on component sizelweight considerations, board density, assembly and testing. Large segments of the industry are converting from through hole technology to surface mount and engineers find they have to master new processes and keep informed of new developments. With initial support from the AT&T Manufacturing Foundation and current support from the National Science Foundation, the Industrial Engineering Department at Penn State has developed a laboratory to support most processes required for assembly of printed circuit boards with mixed technology. This paper provides a brief description of two recent educational initiatives involving this technology as well as other aspects of electronic manufacturing.