Spirit: Behind the Screen

The CHIPS ("Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors") Act passed in July authorizes more than $200 billion in federal funds and incentives to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.

While the main goal is manufacturing, the CHIPS Act also addresses the services, labor and supply chain that support semiconductor production. Spirit CEO Marti McCurdy discusses in this episode what areas of the supply chain could see additional investment and support.

Also critical to supporting semiconductor manufacturing are resources like substrate manufacturing and testing services. Marti discusses how Spirit is positioned to help customers stay ahead of these unexpected constraints.

Find out more about Spirit's testing services at spiritelectronics.com/test.

Our JD Edwards Oracle enterprise resource planning software is a big system for a small business. Used by Fortune 500 companies, it can manage manufacturing, materials, work, and finances. But when Spirit Electronics implemented it several years ago, our processes only used maybe 5-10% of the program's capabilities.

With investment and Megan's studied expertise, JDE has given Spirit's processes electronic automation above and beyond what most small business achieve. JDE touches all our departments and workflows and has been a cornerstone in Spirit's team and business  growth.

In this episode, find out how Megan's programming has helped automate the business and secure resources and data in the aerospace & defense supply chain.

Learn more about how Spirit can automate your inventory and offer just-in-time delivery for your supply chain.

The chambers are whirring and ovens firing in Spirit's on-site test lab. What's the buzz around adding so many options for testing under the same roof as authorized electronic component distribution and circuit board assembly?

Marti McCurdy covers the order flow at the Spirit Electronics facility, including:

(2:47) The "umbrella" of services Spirit offers

(6:00) Value-added test services compared to longer testing programs

(7:20) System-level testing 

(8:10) Electrical and environmental testing

(8:50) Radiation testing

Marti explains the critical piece of managing complex test programs is understanding the customer requirements. Schedule a call with Spirit to see how we can build a custom program to bring your electronics supply chain under one roof.

Spirit Gives is our nonprofit foundation working to give local kids quality childhood experiences and support.

CEO Marti McCurdy covers our current mission and successes and the next big events lined up for this fall 2022.

Find out more about how to support through volunteering, gift basket purchases, and ticket teasers for our Halloween Boogie Bash.

For our calendar or opportunities, visit SpiritGives.org. Follow the action on Instagram and social media @spiritgivesfoundation.

In early 2021, CEO Marti McCurdy and producer Alyssa recorded a summary episode outlining the achievements and growth opportunities for Spirit as a business. We made some major progress, but we never could have predicted the long-reaching supply chain effects of the pandemic.

This "State of the Union" episode looks at the major service achievements of the Spirit team in 2021 along with our growth plan for the rest of 2022 and beyond. We cover team growth, value-added testing services, circuit card assembly and what product lines and services we hear customers need in the current supply chain.

Follow Spirit's growth and updates on our LinkedIn page, and if our work solving unique customer problems in the supply chain sounds up your alley, we're interested in helping you grow alongside us. Spiritelectronics.com/careers

It's no secret that the Spirit business and sales team has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. Working in a small company offers many options for growth and cross-training experience.

But when it comes to scaling the team, host Marti McCurdy has found it necessary to target the team's growing pains. Enter our newly promoted Corporate Sales Team Lead Dan Jasinek.

Dan began with Spirit's pricing team, quoting microelectronics and services for our customer accounts, but challenged himself to become a dedicated sales account representative. After growing multiple customer accounts and getting to know many customer and supplier representatives, Dan has industry experience he's ready to share with the Spirit sales team in a training role.

Spirit's team encourages challenge and growth options, and plenty of our successful representatives bring sales skills from other industries. Dan knows the aerospace quality clauses and requirements, consistent order management and relationship skills our customer accounts require.

This interview is insight into how to grow as a sales professional, how Dan did just that and why training and encouraging the team goes hand-in-hand with an interest in continually learning new skills.

Spirit is always looking for strong sales professionals to manage our technical orders and support our customer accounts. If you or anyone you know is looking for a challenging new career opportunity, let us know at spiritelectronics.com/careers/.

This week Spirit's Lab Technician Corbin Pearson joins Marti to talk about our Epliog fiber laser machine.

The lab and warehouse have marked everything from name badges to phone cases, but real magic of fiber laser marking is in the ability to serialize and physically trace microelectronics and semiconductors through our value-added test programs.

Rather than relying on documentation and data, a physical serial part number, marking or logo lets us tie the physical component back to test data.

Corbin explains that the laser marker can be programmed for depth of the marking as well as placement and automated serialization for multiple parts in a lot or tray.

Corbin briefly touches on some of the other lab testing he conducts such as solderability, HAST, and programming Spirit's robotic arm for our automated BGA reballing process. Laser marking is a quick and easy internal process we can add to any value-add program to make products more traceable for our end customer.

You can learn more about our laser marking and value-add programs at spiritelectronics.com/services/laser-marking.

Spirit offers authorized distribution, testing to MIL-STD-883, and circuit card assembly. Is that the full turnkey or can you deliver product even closer to ready-to-use?

Jeremy Rolin, Spirit's Warehouse Manager, returns to Behind the Screen to talk about running custom box build programs, where circuit cards and components are assembled into a final deliverable product. Our flexible services and assembly options even include interfacing with customer systems, serializing and barcoding, and programming box assemblies.

Jeremy also manages receiving, work orders, and shipping, directing components through our on-site lab and board assembly line.

Jeremy's Warehouse team is the hands-on operational side of Spirit, where we do far more than distribution: we offer a full system-deliverable solution to our customers.

Learn more about value-added services from XRF to board assembly at spiritelectronics.com/services.

Electrostatic-discharge (ESD) is a universal experience as you walk across the floor and touch a door handle, but even an undetectable static discharge can damage an electronic component.

High-reliability electronics are particularly susceptible to ESD damage, which can often go undetected until it shows up as performance reductions or part failures.

Aerospace and Defense has largely moved to ANSI/ESD S20.20 as the ESD control gold standard method for protecting components during handling. Spirit has done daily, weekly and monthly monitoring and logging for years, but recently Jeremy Rolin put the Spirit program through an audit with Quantum Systems to certify one of our workstations to handle ESD Class 0 devices.

ESD Class 0 components are considered the most sensitive of electronic devices. To achieve this level of control, our warehouse has implemented robust temperature and humidity controls, workstation grounding, smock and shoe personnel grounding, air ionization and regular verifications.

You can view our certificate results along with our extensive quality programming at spiritelectronics.com/about-us/quality.

Marti is back with Tracey Latham to discuss how high-tech automated assembly can change the game with BGA reballing. Spirit's new process starts with robotic ball removal, and then our in-house partner Latham Industries uses their advanced assembly line equipment to place the new balls on the BGA.

The power of automation to control the ball placement and inspect the BGA really shines throughout this process. Marti & Tracey discuss each step of the Latham line, including:

• 3S printer for solder paste application
• 10-nozzle pick-and-place of new balls
• 10-zone KIC-controlled oven reflow
• Deionized wash
• Final ball scan

Automated BGA reball includes detailed inspection at each step of the process to avoid rework and damage. The result is a leaded BGA solution, fully tested and ready for production. Your BGA never leaves our facility, protecting it from shipping delays, handling damage and ESD and environmental damage.

See our BGA reball process in action at spiritelectronics.com/contract-manufacturing/bga-reball.