Other Companies Train You to Find Defects

WE TEACH YOU TO
PREVENT DEFECTS

The electronics industry's traditional approach to soldering training such as J-STD-001 and A-610 courses is defective. It focuses on memorization of solder connection pictures without providing any real process knowledge. It's like teaching driving by handing out maps — students may know where they want to go but they won't show how to drive the car. Touchup and rework exist because operators do not know how to prevent defects.

Science of Soldering is different. This is the only course that teaches soldering as a process. Our students learn how to meet the most rigorous workmanship standards without touchup or rework.

What Our Clients Say

"I learned more in a day and a half of the Science of Soldering© class than I did in two weeks of soldering class given by the Navy."

Patrick M. Schweiger, Supplier Quality Engineer
LORD Corporation, Erie, PA 16509

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"I have been in the military electronics industry for 35+ years and have been to and taught many classes, to the Mil Standards, Weapons Specs, J-STD-001 and other “industry standards” courses. I decided to bring Jim and the Science of Soldering© class into our facility because I felt there was a loss of focus on the metallurgy behind the process and the “How to achieve” a reliable solder joint. After several discussions with Jim, I felt confident that he had a program that could deliver the kind of information I had been looking for.

"Jim brought his training program to 12 of our trainers, engineers and quality personnel. His approach and knowledge during this session certainly met all of my expectations. The response of those attending this class was overwhelmingly positive as it clearly defined the interactions of all the elements and activities taking place during the soldering process. The attendees came away with a much better understanding of the effects the materials, tools and the operator can have in achieving the proper solder joint."

William LaPois, Vice President, Automated Electronics
L-3 Fuzing & Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, OH

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“As a US Air Force certified aircraft welder, I learned the process of soldering in 1990 and through subsequent 20+ years of experience and training, and *PC seminars, I thought I had learned everything there was to know about it...I was wrong.

“Jim Smith from Electronics Manufacturing Sciences just concluded his Science of Soldering© course here in Skaneateles... he wowed me and our technical team with his practical, comprehensive approach and truly unique insights into the science of the soldering process. We are now in the process of updating all of our soldering process specs in Skaneateles to reflect our new knowledge. This is NOT *PC certification/training! That’s not what we need.

“It’s been my experience that soldering, especially hand-soldering, is a forgotten process in most manufacturing facilities, using the same techniques, tools, and training that were used 20 years ago when I started soldering (these were even old back then!). However, in those 20 years the components being soldered have become far smaller, and much more sensitive. This leaves a significant opportunity for improvement in our processes to reduce heat damage, touch-time, rework, out-of-box failures, latent failures, and scrap.

“Jim develops and teaches all of his courses personally. He knows his stuff and stands out, among the many programs that I’ve evaluated. I highly recommend Jim’s hands-on program for any GE facility/supplier, worldwide, who solders and experiences failures/latent-failures/defects and has struggled to find the true root-cause.”

Floyd Backes, Lean Leader/Sus. Proc. Engineering Manager
GE Inspection Technologies, Skaneateles, NY 13152

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“Science of Soldering© is the best value for the dollar I have encountered in the last thirty years.”

Robert Khaleel
Secure Alert, Sandy, UT

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"If you work in the electronics industry, you absolutely need to attend a Science of Soldering© class. We were astonished at how much absolutely critical knowledge we acquired in the class we attended. Our company had just ordered a $30,000 piece of test equipment that the class proved would not meet our needs. We were able to return the equipment and avoid a significant waste of money. That one lesson alone repaid our tuition many times over but was only a small part of what we learned. We have attended many seminars that charged three times as much and didn’t provide one-third as much useful information.

Steve Warner - Counterfeit Avoidance Inspector
Don LeRoy – Quality Assurance Engineer
Global IC Trading Group, Inc., Laguna Hills, California

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“I have been involved in electronics for over 30 years and now realise that so much of what I had previously been told was wrong and potentially damaging to the components. I particularly enjoyed the teaching style which did not rely on just presenting us with information but lead us to discovering the information for ourselves. It was a fun and enjoyable course and the level of student participation in the learning process was amongst the best I have witnessed.”

Chris Collier-Woods, Process Engineer
Goodrich Power Systems, Pitstone Green, Buckingham, LU7 9GT
England

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"We had a REALLY good time and recommend this course to any and all. If you deal with solder this course will absolutely give you a better and scientific understanding behind solderability and the appropriate process for your application."

Mark Pasdon President
Oxygen Electronics, White Plains, NY

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"There is a difference between thinking you know how to solder and knowing how to solder. Jim Smith from Electronics Manufacturing Sciences took the time to train our production staff and our engineering team in proper soldering techniques. We are applying his training techniques to our policies and procedures and quickly took his advice in obtaining the proper flux, solder and other recommended equipment. His training was professional, quick, thorough and easily followed, even for us engineers. We would strongly recommend Jim and EMS to any company that is need of good sound soldering training that is based off of true scientific principals."

Jacob Bird, Senior Process Engineer
Crystalfontz America, Spokane Valley, WA

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“No matter what education level you’ve received, going through this course will give you a better understanding of how to create and recognize reliable solder joints. Quite simply, Science of Soldering© increases product reliability and reduces costs.”

Jesse Austin, Manufacturing Engineer/Six Sigma Black Belt
Micro Motion Inc., Boulder, CO

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“We have used EMS since 2000 both as an educator for our soldering practices and an advisor to improve our Cost of Quality. The unique EMS approach made it easy for personnel at all levels to grasp the science of this critical process and apply the knowledge to many forms of reliability improvements and cost reductions.

“EMS systems eliminated post–wave and post–reflow inspection, increased test yields, reduced expenses in some surprising areas such as electricity consumption, and allowed us to avoid designs and components that would have led to production and warranty issues.

“On many occasions, we have also used EMS to conduct 3rd party assessments of suppliers and failure analysis. With their extensive knowledge, they helped us protect our customers, avoid warranty costs and recover damages from supplier errors.”

Andrew MacEachern, Quality Manager
Flextronics Automotive, Markham, Ontario, Canada

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“EMS teaches more than how to perform and visually inspect high reliability soldering. They provide thorough soldering process knowledge that will consistently yield the desired results. With this knowledge our personnel now understand the best way to perform their job and don’t just try to make a pretty looking connection.”

Jeff Gray, Director Product Quality Assurance and Conformance
Esterline Power Systems, Buena Park, CA 90620

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“Everyone here did enjoy the classes, they all raved about it.”

Wilson White, Senior Supplier Quality Manager
Medtronic, Jacksonville, FL

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“We challenged EMS to certify our 62 associates in the quickest and shortest period of time possible. EMS responded with the best time and at a very reasonable price. EMS came to our facility with all the necessary training supplies and provided excellent audio/visual tutorials, valuable reference works. The hands–on instructions and instructor were also exceptional.”

Steve Kristian, BMP Manufacturing Test Engineering Manager
BE Aerospace, Inc., Lenexa, KS

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“As part of our factory opening in Mexico for The Genie Company, the quality and manufacturing teams investigated training options that would push the new team beyond established practices to drive superior product quality. We partnered with Jim Smith from Electronics Manufacturing Sciences to help review our current program and develop a roadmap for the future. Jim brings years of experience and industry knowledge that can be used to tailor a new or existing program and provide any organization the best workmanship model.

"For Genie, Jim helped drive a program aimed at understanding why operators touch-up solder joints and what practices can be deployed to counter those reasons with the ultimate goal improved product quality and reliability. His techniques combine a ‘current-state’ review, detailed hands-on training deployment support and follow-up. While Genie is still early in the process we are already seeing process improvements and reduced touch-up and rework opportunities.

"We plan to continue developing our workmanship strategy with Electronic Manufacturing Sciences."

Robert Castro, Director of Quality
The Genie Company, Mt. Hope, OH 44660

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“Science of Soldering© was everything I thought it would be and then some. It was well planned out and presented in a logical way that really made the participants think about the proper recipe for soldering. Other training I have had regarding soldering mainly focused on end results and was presented in a way to simply pass a certication test. Science of Science goes above and beyond what J-STD-001 and A-610 training has to offer. I highly recommend this training for individuals from beginning operators to experienced engineers. It was a real pleasure for myself and the other participants."

Brian Strodtbeck, Process Engineer – Electronics
Electrical Power Systems
Goodrich Corporation, Twinsburg, OH 44087

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"I was tasked with finding a solder training class for the employees at HTC. I searched the internet and found the Electronics Manufacturing Sciences/Science of Soldering© website. I read the information, called many of the references and received very high recommendations for this course. I then contacted Jim and discussed our needs. He agreed to hold the class at our facility at a very reasonable cost and structure the course to only the solder techniques we use. This was extremely important in minimizing the time employees would have to be away from production. He was very flexible in the class dates and times which was also a big plus.

"The class was extremely helpful in teaching the basics of soldering and the correct techniques needed to eliminate the types of solder defects we were experiencing. Jim also analyzed our current tools, chemistry and processes. He had many suggestions for reducing cost and improving the way we solder. All of employees really enjoyed the class and we would welcome Jim back for a refresher as the need arises. I highly recommend the class to anyone having issues with soldering."

Suzanne Walkuski, Quality Manager
Houston Transformer Company, Houston, TX

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“Ludlums contracted Electronics Manufacturing Sciences to conduct training classes on the Science of Soldering©. We did so not because we currently have soldering problems but to advance our knowledge of soldering, soldering materials, processes, and standards. We included personnel from all critical departments, not only the operators who do most of the actual production soldering. The course was challenging for all levels of participants. Jim’s teaching skills are superior. He related well to all participants. Our goal was to improve our soldering technique and results. I believe we accomplished that goal. In addition we have developed a task force to further examine different materials and methods which we plan to test and if appropriate implement. The Science of Soldering© training more than met our expectations.”

Larry Place, General Manager
Ludlum Measurements, Inc., Sweetwater, TX

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“During a critical product launch, we had problems with an electronic pump assembly. We had EMS evaluate our production lines and conduct in-house training for our managers, engineers, and production people. Through the details that EMS outlined and their soldering “recipe”, our soldering related problems were resolved. A reliable product and a happy customer were the results.... Currently those lessons learned are also being applied to new projects.”

James E. Smith, Sr. Automotive Electronics Engineer
Dana Holding Corporation, ASG Technical Center, Maumee, OH

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“Electronics Manufacturing Sciences helped us in many, often surprising, ways. The most significant contribution was the creation and implementation of a user–friendly reliability criteria document.

“This was not a minor accomplishment. Nor was it a tool we had anticipated needing because our existing quality criteria formed the base for most standards used throughout the electronics industry. Our workforce was mature, extensively trained and very experienced.

“The original standard filled hundreds of pages and covered every imaginable condition. The document produced by EMS was less than 40 pages, including large, clear computer graphics, yet it covered every important requirement. Important conditions with previously ambiguous wording were restated so effective evaluation became easy.

“The results were impressive. The amount of rework dropped dramatically because inspectors stopped rejecting reliable connections, test yields increased because assemblies were subjected to less handling, and production cycle time decreased.

"If this had been the only improvement EMS provided us (and it wasn’t), they still would have been an excellent investment.”

James H. Mosher, Manager, Switching & Network Products
Manufacturing and Engineering
Alcatel/Lucent, Columbus, Ohio

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“My experience has been that EMS is certainly not a run of the mill “specialized consulting” group that comes in with some repackaged current concepts and buzz words to invigorate a stale manufacturing environment. Their wealth of experience in very diverse electronics applications is demonstrated as they point out broken, unnecessary, and even counterproductive processes that we walk by and neglect in our day to day operations.

“No matter how good you are or how good you might think you are at electronics manufacture, I recommend you walk around your plant with a clipboard beside an EMS “doctor” and I can assure you that you will generate a list of issues that will make you better if you have the will to address them.”

Ed Rohlfs, Vice President, Global Quality and Customer Satisfaction
ADTRAN, Inc., Huntsville, AL

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"Industry standards (A-610, J-STD-001) are beneficial because they give us goals to strive for in electronics assembly. But Science of Soldering© training from Electronics Manufacturing Sciences helps you reach those goals by teaching the forces that determine the outcome of soldering."

Jeffrey F. Whitehorn, Quality Manager
Dynasty Electronic Company, LLC, Santa Ana, CA 92705