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