Well Happy new year from the UK. Some weeks ago some one was asking about
reference material so I thought that many engineers would be interested in my
book review pages in the UK in 1996.
Were ever you go in the world there is always a thirst for knowledge and
solutions to practical manufacturing problems. Text books provide a reference
and a very cost effective way of obtaining 100's of years of experience in all
areas of electronic assembly. Often managers see engineers spending money on
text books as a luxury, it is not it a cost effective way to learn, the engineer
must however have the will to learn new tricks. 
"Manufacturing Techniques for Surface Mount Assemblies - Klein Wassink & Martin
Verguld Well its been years since the last edition of Wassink's "Soldering in
Electronics" book for published. I remember reading the book sitting under a
palm tree on a beach in Bali with the only distraction being the annoying local
music. The teaming up of Wassink and Verguld both very knowledgeable and
interesting speakers looks like a winning combination with only a brief flick
through the contents of the publication. A more detailed review provides the
reader with the results of many of the authors trails. Most notable being the
sections on design, solder paste application and soldering. It should be born in
mind that this is not a book confined to just soldering it covers the whole
manufacturing process and with it the new developments. The solder paste
application methods of course covers the traditional stencil printing but
reviews the benefits of paste dispensing. As always Electrochemical Publications
have produced a layout which of high quality and well illustrated. A very
interesting inclusion is the use of colour photography in the appendix. If you
are looking for a inspection standard for surface mount the book has it all,
paste, glue, placement, soldering all the basic criteria is there. I bet the
photographs start appearing in many internal company specification. The only
area were the text is lacking is the loss of Klein Wassinks little off the cuff
opinions containing in the his last soldering bible.  Personal opinions are here
but less flippant. If you need to up date your library this is a serious
contender.  
Setting Up in House SMT - David Boswell 
David Bowell and this editor often don't see eye to eye on some technical issues
but I am sure that we both agree on one issue that David's book is a practical
guide to setting up you own surface mount facility. All the practical and
administrative detail has been covered along with emphasis on the key to success
the people. People are the key to a project and training from the top to the
bottom is a must. Its a pity that David did not have time in his early career to
write this text as it would have saved a lot of companies a lot of grief. The
chapters cover both technology and management but the emphasis is how to mange
the change in the company. My only criticism would be that the book tends to
suggest that introduction is difficult, it isn't it must just be done correctly
to succeed. Hybrid Microelectronics Handbook - Jerry Sergent & Charles Harper I
have known Charly Harper for a number of years and he really is a bubbly
character and always remembers when we first met in Marconi years ago, when I
was just a boy. This is the second addition of the book first published in 1974
since then the hybrid industry has changed adapting its self to the growth in
surface mount, putting semi conductors and chip components directly on to
printed boards. Much of our surface mount experience came from the hybrid
industry and as many companies look to wire bonding in their chip on board
projects there is still more to learn. The text has been put together through a
collaboration of engineers from the industry to bring together a wealth of
knowledge. The chapters cover a introduction to the technology then cover the
substrate developments, thick and thin film processing, assembly techniques,
design and manufacturing facility requirements. The assembly chapter whilst
including the standard process techniques it also includes flip chip, tape
automated bonding. It also illustrates methods to control quality in a very
demanding environment. There is also an interesting section on failure analysis
which should prove very useful to engineers. It features the methods of
detection, recording information and is illustrated with example failures and
their potential causes. 
Mastering & Implementing BGA - Douglas Peck
A further contender in the BGA market place an only recently released is a BGA
manual produced for the practical engineer covering all aspects of the new
technology. The most interesting aspect of this new text on BGA is that it is a
living document produced and printed by AEIC Mr Pecks training company. It has
been recently up dated from the review copy provided to this editor. The text
covers all aspects of the technology from design, component types, availability,
costing and assembly and is written in a very practical manner. It has been
written from the authors experience and through a review of the best available
technical papers on the subject some with conflicting opinions. It is fairly
well illustrated with tables and photographs to complement the text and is well
worth considering. The manual is used as a training manual on the companies
courses, as AEIC is a training and consultancy organisation it is non
commercial. There are some very nice tricks of the trade on component rework,
temperature profiling BGA and selection of the correct process equipment which
should make an invaluable reference source to both engineers, colleges and
Universities alike. 

Plus here is a tip on a "Design" book which was published in 1989 and its still
the best on the market. If any publisher knows of any better books then my
review pages are always open.

Surface Mount Technology by James K Hollomon

Have great year in 1996.

I do not sell books contact the SMTA.

Bob Willis