Hi All, I'd like to ask any input or opinions on how to implement a SPC program that will really be meaningful. I don't want to waste time and effort on something if all it's going to produce is "window dressing"... Our business is very high-mix/low volume stuff. From boards that are very straight forward, standard 50-mil pitch stuff, to those that have every part on the board (SOIC's, CQFP's) cut and formed, pre-tinned, and then placed and reflowed. A big run for us is 100-boards, most of the time it's 50 and under. I guess what I'm saying is that there are TONS of variables with a lot of the products we build here. We do a lot of hi-rel stuff here, very custom, almost hand built boards. We also hand place a lot of components here...for example the resistors on a lot of the boards come to us in little 2" X 2" matrix trays that can't be machine placed. Any design problems that cause defects on the boards most of the time won't be corrected because the document trail that has be completed is so daunting that our customers tell us to not ask for changes because it won't happen, and our time is best spent figuring out a way how to deal with it. So what I'm wondering in a situation like this, what good is SPC going to do? I think the time spent trying to correctly identify all the variables and gather meaningful data would be better spent in training and working with our operators to learn all the little nuances with the product we build so we can deal with them. What was proposed to me for example in screen printing, was to create a simple attribute chart for example; 1. Is the paste coverage complete? Yes/No 2. Is it registered on the pads? Yes/No 3. Is the paste smeared? Yes/No or such simple attributes such as that, and then plot them on a chart. To me it'll be a waste of time. We don't have anything to quantify any measurements...no paste height measuring equipment, or X/Y measuring equipment, everything will be done by the ol' Mark-I / MOD-I eyeball with all it's subjectivity...but I am still being asked to establish an SPC program in SMT. Am I fighting this too much? Or is there some means that will be worthwhile to make this happen? Oh yeah, it's gotta be cheap (next to nothing) too... Thanks in advance! -Steve Gregory- ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ##############################################################