Oct22
Engineers, You’re Actually Doctors — Just for a Different Kind of Patient

post on October 22, 2025

Engineers, You’re Actually Doctors — Just for a Different Kind of Patient

When you think about it, doctors are really just engineers who work on people instead of machines. Their methods and processes are surprisingly similar. So, engineers — you’re basically doctors too, just with different patients!

Einstein once said, “An expert is just a trained dog.” Workingbear can’t really argue with that. In fact, Workingbear believes doctors are, in essence, engineers. The main difference is what they work on: engineers deal with non-living things like machines or products, while doctors deal with living humans — that’s about it.

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Role & Responsibility     WorkingBear    Views (1,128)     comment (0)

Oct15
What is MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) and MPQ?

post on October 15, 2025

MOQ_minimum_order_quantity

MOQ stands for Minimum Order Quantity, meaning the smallest number of items a supplier is willing to sell or produce in one order. In most parts sales, especially for less common items, there’s usually an MOQ requirement. Why? Because no manufacturer will set up an entire production line just to make a handful of parts.

Once a production line is set up, it must produce a certain volume to make economic sense — since running a line requires manpower, materials, and support resources that can cost far more than most people expect. Of course, if you’re willing to pay an extra USD 2,000 setup fee just to make one USB drive, no one’s going to stop you!

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Management     WorkingBear    Views (2,262)     comment (0)
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Oct08
What Can an SPI (Solder Paste Inspection) Machine Really Do?

post on October 8, 2025

SPI(Solder Paste Inspection)錫膏檢查機可以做什麼？

SPI stands for Solder Paste Inspection. If we’re talking about the actual inspection equipment, people usually add “machine” after SPI. But in most cases, when you mention SPI in an SMT factory, everyone just assumes you’re talking about the inspection machine.

So what’s the real purpose of SPI? What exactly can it do for us? And why are more and more SMT lines adding SPI machines these days?

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Manufacture, Process, Quality, SMT, Soldering, Test/Inspection     WorkingBear    Views (1,929)     comment (0)
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Sep30
How PCB S/M and Silkscreen Thickness Can Mess with Solder Paste Volume and Even Cause BGA Shorts!

post on September 30, 2025

Did You Know the Thickness of PCB Solder Mask and Silkscreen Can Affect Solder Paste Volume and Cause BGA Shorts?

Over the past few days, Workingbear came across an issue I hadn’t really considered before. Here’s the story: an EMS (electronics manufacturing service) factory reported that during SMT production, they were seeing solder shorts under BGA components. After digging into it, the root cause turned out to be excessive solder paste. And why was there too much solder paste? The PCB’s solder mask (the green layer) and silkscreen (the white ink) were printed too thick.

When you think about it, this makes sense. If the solder mask or silkscreen is unevenly thick, it can affect the solder paste thickness during solder paste printing through stencil aperture. A thicker layer lifts the stencil slightly, increasing the gap between the stencil and the PCB. With all other printing conditions unchanged, that small gap leads to extra solder paste being deposited.

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PCB/FPC/PTF, Quality, SMT, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (1,473)     comment (0)
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Sep25
Big Question: As an Engineer, Do You Prefer R&D or Manufacturing?

post on September 25, 2025

大哉問：同樣是工程師，你喜歡做研發還是製造？

If you ask Workingbear, “As an engineer, would you prefer working in R&D or in manufacturing?”

(This article may not apply to the semiconductor wafer foundry industry. Rumor has it that wafer fabs in Taiwan are notorious for their brutal work hours—engineers often sacrifice their health to keep operations running. Many parents feel proud if their kids land jobs at a major integrated circuit company because of the high pay, without realizing it can also become a career trap.)

Workingbear started out as a product and process engineer, always dealing with products and processes. If I had to answer this question, I’d probably lean toward being a design engineer. But I put a question mark there—because people often complain most about the job they know too well. Since I’ve seen firsthand how tough manufacturing can be, I naturally hesitate. But once you really understand how tough design work is, my answer might not be “design engineer” anymore.

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Management, Manufacture, Process, Role & Responsibility     WorkingBear    Views (1,477)     comment (0)