Reliability Matters

By Mike Konrad

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Subscribers: 11
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 196

Description

Reliability Matters is a podcast on the subject of reliability of circuit assemblies. Reliability "best practices" and success stories are discussed. This podcast features interviews with experts in the electronic assembly industry.

All electronic production segments which effect product reliability are on the table. This includes contamination, coating, cleanliness assessment, inspection, building for harsh environments, reflow, printing, failure analysis, board fabrication, and much more.

Your Host:
Mike Konrad began his career in the electronic assembly equipment industry in 1985. Mike founded Aqueous Technologies in 1992 in response to the Montreal Protocol and the resulting international treaty banning most popular cleaning/defluxing solvents.

Mike is an internationally known speaker on the subject of increasing reliability through contamination removal and cleanliness quantification techniques and procedures. Mike was awarded “Distinguish Speaker Status” with SMTA in 2018 and received the “Rich Freiberger Best of Conference Award” in 2019.

Mike is a member of the SMTA Global Board of Directors where he is Vice President of Communications. Mike is also Vice President of Technical Programs for the Los Angeles / Orange County SMTA Chapter.

Visit the Reliability Matters Podcast Website:
https://www.reliabilitymatterspodcast.com

Episode Date
Predict, Prevent, Produce: RoviSys' Bryan DeBois on Manufacturing's Al Future Episode 190
Apr 14, 2026
From the Factory Floor to System Design: Why Women in STEM Matter with Kristen Eckart - Episode 189
Mar 24, 2026
An Academic Look at Al in Electronics Manufacturing: Where It Works, Fails, & Why It Matters - # 187
Mar 10, 2026
Readiness Through Repair: How the U.S Military is Strengthening Capabilities with Right to Repair - Episode 186
Feb 24, 2026
Electronics Manufacturing Today: Pressures, Priorities, and the Path Forward With Trevor Galbraith - Episode 186
Feb 10, 2026
How Accuracy & Force Compliance Contribute to Better Quality & Reliability with Michael Sivigny
Jan 28, 2026
Advances in Dispensing Automation and Thermal Management with PVA’s Jon Urquhart - Episode 184
Jan 13, 2026
Preserving Knowledge,Advancing Reliability: A Reliability Matters Podcast Year-End Reflection - #183
Dec 23, 2025
Getting it Right: How to Work Effectively with your CM - With Daniel Stanphill & Sean Kincaid
Dec 09, 2025
What Every OEM Should Know About Working with Contract Manufacturers - With Raymond Novara
Nov 25, 2025
Cooler Connections: Low Temp Soldering for a High-Reliability World With Indium’s Dr. Hongwen Zhang
Nov 11, 2025
Building Reliability from the Inside Out: Indium's CEO’s on Innovation & Reliability with Ross Berntson
Oct 28, 2025
Behind the Alloy: Soldering Materials, Process Control, & Reliability Shantanu Joshi & Greg Starrett
Oct 14, 2025
SMTAI 2025 Conference & Event Preview - Special Episode
Sep 24, 2025
The Chemistry of Reliability: Choosing the Right Solder and Flux: A Conversation with Chris Ward
Sep 23, 2025
Humidity: Small Cause, Huge Reliability Risk with Viktoria Rawinski - Episode 177
Sep 09, 2025
War Stories from the Line: Phil Zarrow & Jim Hall Talk Reliability - Episode 175
Aug 26, 2025
AI in PCB Design - It's Already Here! With David Wiens & Stephen Chavez, Siemens EDA. Episode 174
Aug 12, 2025
Improving the Reliability of Public EV Chargers with ChargerHelp! Co-Founder & CEO, Kamale Terry
Jul 22, 2025
Episode 172: From Chaos to Control: Steering ERP Projects Back on Track with Chintan Sutaria
Jul 08, 2025
Pick & Place Machine Selection and Optimization with Hanwha Semitech Americas CEO, Tim Kang - Episode #171
Jun 24, 2025
Episode 170: Reliability, Safety, and Human Impact: The DMR Approach with Dheeraj Narang
Jun 13, 2025
Reliability Matters on the Road in Anaheim California at the IPC APEX Expo - Episode 169
May 27, 2025
Reliability Matters on the Road in Anaheim California at the IPC APEX Expo - Episode 168
May 13, 2025
Episode 167: Meet the Press: A Conversation with Journalist and PCEA President, Mike Buetow
Apr 22, 2025
Electronics: Down Memory Lane and a Vision for the Future - Episode 166
Apr 08, 2025
Stencil Design and Manufacturing Best Practices with Elias Malfavon Jr.
Mar 25, 2025
AI Integrated Supply Chain Management Software with Sebastian Schaal
Mar 11, 2025
Battery Selection and Safety Best Practices with Alex Norman
Feb 25, 2025
Electronics Testing Best Practices with Robert Boguski- Episode 162
Feb 11, 2025
AI-Based Inspection Technologies with Priyansha Bagaria - Episode 161
Jan 28, 2025
Opportunities and Challenges within the EV Industry - Episode 160
Jan 14, 2025
2024 Season Wrap-Up of the Reliability Matters Podcast - Episode 159
Dec 24, 2024
Episode 158: The New Kids in Town - The Cast of the D-Code Podcast
Dec 10, 2024
Episode 157: What's On Your Workbench? Critical Steps to Avoid Contamination of PCA's During the Rework Process
Nov 26, 2024
Episode 156: An Introduction to Flexible Circuits with Joseph Fjelstad
Nov 12, 2024
Episode 155: Ultra HDI Panel Discussion - Recorded Live at SMTAI
Oct 29, 2024
Episode 154: Thermal Profiling Best Practices
Oct 22, 2024
Episode 153: Contract Manufacturing Best Practices with Adrian Leal
Oct 08, 2024
Episode 152: High-Reliability Solder Paste Selection Best Practices
Sep 24, 2024
Episode 151: Optical Inspection System Best Practices
Sep 10, 2024
Episode 150: The Truth Behind Statistics
Aug 27, 2024
Episode 149: AOI and X-Ray Best Practices
Aug 06, 2024
Special episode: Surface Mount Technology International - 2024
Jul 30, 2024
Episode 148: IPC Apex Special
Jul 23, 2024
Episode 147: IPC Apex Special
Jul 09, 2024
Episode 146: IPC Apex Special (part 1 of 3)
Jun 25, 2024
Episode 145: Designing Electronics to be Reliable in Harsh Environments
Jun 11, 2024
Episode 144: A Conversation with Indium's Rick Short about Education-Based Marketing
May 28, 2024
Episode 143: A Candid Conversation with Industry Icon Doug Pauls
May 14, 2024
Episode 142: Live from SMTA's Pan Pacific Strategic Electronics Symposium (PanPac)
Apr 23, 2024
Episode 141: Component Tape Splicing Best Practices with Larry (The Professor) Welk
Apr 09, 2024
Episode 140: Circuit Board Design and Acquisition Best Practices
Mar 26, 2024
Episode 139: Environmentally Responsible Alternatives to Traditional PCB Fabrication
Mar 12, 2024
Episode 138: Hand Soldering and Rework Best Practices with Debbie Wade
Feb 27, 2024
Episode 137: Building a Sustainable Career with a Sustainable Impact
Feb 13, 2024
Episode 136: Environmentally Responsible/Sustainable Conformal Coating with Dr. Cassandra Zentner
Jan 23, 2024
Episode 135: A Conversation with Dr. Zach Peterson about Board Design Best Practices
Jan 09, 2024
Episode 134 - 2023 Podcast Season Wrap-Up
Dec 26, 2023
Episode 133: Novel Wireless / Wearable ESD Monitoring
Dec 12, 2023
Episode 132: A Conversation about Ultra-Thin Conformal Coating with HZO's Lisa Rizzo
Nov 28, 2023
Episode 131: A Conversation with Industry Icon Bob Willis
Nov 14, 2023
Episode 130: Human-Centered Approaches to Innovation with Dr. Alexis Abramson
Oct 24, 2023
Episode 129: Network Reliability - Avoiding Cyber-Security Threats
Oct 10, 2023
Episode 128: Industry Standards Explained with Leo Lambert
Sep 26, 2023
Episode 127: Ask the Experts - A Conversation with Phil Zarrow & Jim Hall
Sep 12, 2023
Episode 126: Moisture Mitigation Strategies with Dan Jenkins and Rob Lowery
Aug 22, 2023
Episode 125: DFM Best Practices with Pride Industries' Engineering Manager Andrew Williams
Aug 08, 2023
Episode 124: Industry Icon Dave Hillman's Amazing 3,600 Mile Kayak Journey Down the Missouri River
Jul 25, 2023
Episode #123: Introduction to HALT – Highly Accelerated Life Testing with Dr. Christopher Jackson
Jul 11, 2023
Episode 122: The Integration of AI Into Inspection Systems
Jun 27, 2023
Episode 121: Dr. John Mitchell discusses his new book "Fire Your Hiring Habits"
Jun 13, 2023
Episode 120: Making Reliability Training Entertaining and Effective
May 23, 2023
Episode 119: Quantum Mechanics Explained
May 09, 2023
Episode 118: Making "Big Data" Useful with Intraratio's Ryan Gamble
Apr 25, 2023
Episode 117: When Residues Cause Circuit Assemblies to Fail
Apr 11, 2023
Episode 116: Supply Chain Musings
Mar 28, 2023
Episode 115: Making Sense of "Big Data"
Mar 14, 2023
Episode 114: The Remarkable Return of the Post-Reflow Cleaning Process
Feb 21, 2023
Episode 113: A Conversation about Counterfeit Component Detection with Dr. Eyal Weiss
Feb 07, 2023
Special Episode: A Conversation about Business Challenges with STI Electronics' President David Raby
Feb 01, 2023
Episode 112: A Conversation about ESD Mitigation with ESD Expert Christopher Almeras
Jan 24, 2023
Episode 111: Liquid Metal’s Potential Future in Electronics
Jan 10, 2023
Episode 110: A Wrap-Up of the Reliability Matters 2022 Season
Dec 20, 2022
Episode 109: A Decade of Industry 4.0 - What it Was - What it Wasn't
Dec 13, 2022
Episode 108: A Preview of the Upcoming SMTA Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium
Nov 22, 2022
Episode 107: IPC Validation Services & the Trusted Supplier Program
Nov 08, 2022
Episode 106: A Conversation about Production Automation
Oct 25, 2022
Episode 105: Conformal Coating Material Selection Best Practices
Oct 12, 2022
Special Episode: A Sneak Peak at the SMTAI Technical Conference with the Technical Committee
Sep 29, 2022
Episode 104: A Conversation about ESD Flooring with Thomas Ricciardelli
Sep 20, 2022
Episode 103: SMT Assembly Equipment for Low Volume Applications
Sep 13, 2022
Episode 102: Contract Manufacturer Selection Process Best Practices
Aug 23, 2022
Episode 101: Forging the Future of US Manufacturing with IPC's Matt Kelly
Aug 09, 2022
Episode 100: A 100th Episode Special (Recorded Live)
Jul 27, 2022
Episode 99: A Conversation about the IPC Cleanliness Standard & How to Comply with Graham Naisbitt
Jul 12, 2022
Episode 98: A Conversation with AIM Solder's Jen Fijalkowski About Advances in Solder Pastes
Jun 28, 2022
Episode 97: Best Practices for Purchasing X Ray Equipment
Jun 13, 2022
Episode 96: A Conversation with Industry Gurus Phil Zarrow af Jim Hall about their New Book
May 24, 2022
Episode 95: A Conversation with SMTA SMT Certification Course Authors Dr. Ron Lasky and Jim Hall
May 09, 2022
Episode 94: A Conversation with Author Dr. Ron Lasky About His Many Books.
Apr 26, 2022
Episode 93: A Conversation with Dr. Kunal Shah about Ni-Less ENIG & the Improvements in Reliability.
Apr 12, 2022
Episode 92: Conversations from IPC APEX Expo - Reflow Thermal Control - Automated Device Programming
Mar 22, 2022
Episode 91: Conversations from IPC APEX Expo - Inspection Systems - Contract Assembly - and Pirates!
Mar 08, 2022
Episode 90: A Conversation with Component Storage Expert Mike Adamson
Feb 23, 2022
Episode 89: A Conversation About Tombstoning Mitigation with Tony Lentz
Feb 08, 2022
Episode 88: A Conversation about Electric Vehicles with Indium's Brian O'Leary
Jan 25, 2022
Episode 87: A Conversation with SPI and AOI Inspection Expert Joel Scutchfield
Jan 10, 2022
Episode 86: A Conversation with IPC Training Expert Bob Doetzer
Dec 28, 2021
Episode 85: 2021 Reliability Matters Episode Wrap-Up
Dec 21, 2021
Episode 84: A Conversation about Solder Paste Inspection with Christopher Frederickson
Dec 14, 2021
Episode 83: A Conversation with Thermal Management Expert Miles Moreau
Nov 23, 2021
Episode 82: A Conversation with Solder Paste Expert Paul Salerno
Nov 09, 2021
Episode 81: IPC APEX Expo 2022 Technical Program
Nov 05, 2021
Episode 80: Cheryl Tulkoff & Greg Caswell's Book "DESIGN FOR EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING"
Oct 26, 2021
Episode 79: A Conversation with Arch Systems' Dave Trail about Industry 4.0
Oct 13, 2021
Episode 78: SMTAI is Back LIVE!
Sep 29, 2021
Episode 77: A Conversation with James Kovacevic about Maintenance Reliability Training
Sep 28, 2021
Episode 76 - Meet the Press
Sep 21, 2021
Episode 75: Matric Group's Patrick Stimpert on Lean Manufacturing with a "Lean-In" Philosophy
Sep 14, 2021
Episode 74: A Conversation about Contract Manufacturing with Worthington Assembly's Chris Denney
Aug 24, 2021
Episode 73: A Conversation with Solder Paste Expert Tim Jensen of Indium
Aug 10, 2021
Episode 72: A Conversation About Thermal Profiling with ECD's Mark Waterman
Jul 27, 2021
Episode 71: A Conversation with Manufacturer's Representatives About Sales and Support Post Covid 19
Jul 12, 2021
Episode 70: A Conversation with Nano Dimension's Co-Founder Amit Dror
Jun 23, 2021
Episode 69: Part 2 of an Interview with Me (Mike Konrad) on the Pick-Place Podcast with Chris Denney and Melissa Hough
Jun 09, 2021
Episode 68: An Interview with Me (Mike Konrad) on the Pick-Place Podcast with Chris Denney and Melissa Hough
May 26, 2021
Episode 67: A Conversation with Rework/Repair Expert Norman Mier of Best Inc.
May 11, 2021
Episode 66: A Conservation with Dr. Ron Lasky and His Students Annaka Balch, Nadia Clement, and Raaga Kannan
Apr 27, 2021
Episode 65: Part 2 of our Conversation with Tim O'Neill and Fred Dimock on Oven Profiling
Apr 13, 2021
Episode 64: A Conservation with Tim O'Neill and Fred Dimock about Voiding, Vacuum Reflow, and Oven Profiling
Mar 23, 2021
Episode 63: A Conversation with and a Presentation by Reliability Expert Dock Brown
Mar 09, 2021
Episode 62: A Conversation with Cogiscan's Co-Founder François Monette
Feb 22, 2021
Special Edition: A Conversation with IPC's Chief Technologist Matt Kelly about IPC APEX Expo 2021
Feb 16, 2021
Episode 61: A Conversation with Flex Circuit and Additive Electronics Expert Tara Dunn
Feb 09, 2021
Episode 60: A Conversation with Rockwell Collins' Dave Hillman about Solder Voiding
Jan 26, 2021
Episode 59: A Conversation with CMOS Inventor Dr. Eric Fossum
Jan 12, 2021
Episode 58: 2020 Round-Up
Dec 14, 2020
Episode 57: A Conversation with CAF Expert Graham Naisbitt
Dec 08, 2020
Episode 56: A Conversation about Solder Voiding with Solder Materials, Stencil, and Cleaning Experts
Nov 24, 2020
Episode 55- A Conversation with SMTA President Dr. Martin Anselm
Nov 10, 2020
Episode 54: A Conversation with Michael Ford about Digital Twin
Oct 27, 2020
Episode 53: Meet the Press - A Conversation with Industry Journalists about the State of the EMS Industry
Oct 13, 2020
Episode 52: A Conversation with Conformal Coating Expert Dr. Sean Clancy of HZO
Sep 22, 2020
Episode 51: A Conversation with X-Ray Expert and Entrepreneur Dr. Bill Cardoso
Sep 08, 2020
Episode 50 - A Conversation with IPC's Matt Kelly on IPC Technology Focus & Investment
Aug 25, 2020
Episode 49 - A Conversation with SMTA's Tanya Martin and Greg Vance about SMTAI 2020
Aug 11, 2020
Episode 48: A Conversation with a China Supply Chain Expert about Importing from and Exporting to China
Jul 28, 2020
Episode 47: A Conversation with Environmental Sustainability Expert Matthew Chalkley
Jul 14, 2020
Episode 46: "The Experts" - A Special Episode Featuring a Conversation with Four Industry Experts
Jun 30, 2020
Episode 45: A Conversation with Dr. Chris Jackson About Reliability
Jun 23, 2020
Episode 44: A Conversation with Dr. Jennie Hwang About Reliability
Jun 09, 2020
Episode 43: A Conversation with Cal State University's Dr. Mike Stull about Entrepreneurship and Today's Challenging Times
May 27, 2020
Episode 42: A Conversation with X-Ray Expert Keith Bryant
May 26, 2020
Episode 41: A Conversation with Better Board Buying's Greg Papandrew About Ways to Buy Boards Better
May 12, 2020
Episode 40: A Return Conversation with SMT Guru Bob Willis
Apr 28, 2020
Episode 39: A Conversation with Advanced Assembly's Mark Hughes and Greg Ziraldo About Producing Reliable Assemblies Within a CM Environment
Apr 14, 2020
Episode 38: A Special COVID-19 Episode - Conversation with Circuits Assembly Magazine's Editor in Chief Mike Buetow
Mar 31, 2020
Episode 37: A Conversation with IPC's President and CEO Dr. John Mitchell
Mar 24, 2020
Episode 36: A Conversation with "Board Talk" hosts Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall
Mar 10, 2020
Episode 35: A Conversation with Dr. Darren Williams of Sam Houston State University
Feb 25, 2020
Episode 34: A Conversation with "The Cleaning Lady and the Rocket Scientist" Barbara and Ed Kanegsberg
Feb 20, 2020
Episode 33: Altium's Judy Warner Interviews Reliability Matter's Host Mike Konrad on the Subject of Cleaning for Reliability
Jan 28, 2020
Episode 32: A Conversation with Greg Smith and Tony Lentz About Stencil Design and Void Reduction
Jan 14, 2020
Episode 31: A Conversation with Scoop's Phil Stoten
Dec 10, 2019
Episode 30: A Conversation About Reflow Technology with Guest David Heller
Nov 26, 2019
Episode 29: A Return Conversation with Foresite's Lead Investigator Eric Camden
Nov 12, 2019
Episode 28: Part 2 - A Conversation with IPC's Brook Sandy about IPC APEX EXPO’s Technical Program
Oct 25, 2019
Episode 27: Part 1 - A Conversation with IPC's Brook Sandy about the IPC APEX EXPO
Oct 25, 2019
Episode 26- An Interview with Ventec's Technology Ambassador Alun Morgan
Oct 22, 2019
Episode 25 - An interview with Indium's Kay Parker about SMT Printing and Being New in the Electronics Assembly Industry
Oct 08, 2019
Episode 24 - A Conversation with Teradyne's Reliability Experts Mark Levin and Jon Rodin
Sep 24, 2019
Episode 23 - A Conversation About Testing Circuit Assemblies with Datest Founder Robert Boguski Jr.
Sep 10, 2019
Episode 22 - A Conversation About Adhesion Testing with BTG Lab's Materials Scientist Elizabeth Kidd
Aug 25, 2019
Episode 21- A Conversation with Manuel Schöllig - There's More to Clean than just Assemblies
Aug 10, 2019
Episode 20- A Conversation with Conformal Coating Expert Phil Kinner
Jul 23, 2019
Episode 19- A Conversation about Display Technologies and Reliability-Improving Production Methods
Jul 09, 2019
Episode 18 - A Conversation with Saturn Electronics' Yash Sutariya about PCB Fabrication
Jun 25, 2019
Episode 17 - A conversation with Brian D'Amico about AOI and SPI best practices.
Jun 10, 2019
Episode 16 - SMT-WARS- Lessons Learned from a Contract Manufacturer & Their Customer Who Sued Them
May 27, 2019
Episode 15 - Scoop TV Interviews Mike Konrad
May 14, 2019
Episode 14- An Interview with Reliability Expert Fred Schenkelberg
Apr 30, 2019
Episode 13 - A Conversation with KIC's MB Allen About Thermal Management and Reliability
Apr 23, 2019
Episode 12 - An Interview with FLITE's Michelle Ogihara and Sherry Stepp on Women in Electronics
Apr 16, 2019
Episode 11 - Tips and Tricks for Successfully Cleaning Circuit Assemblies
Apr 09, 2019
Episode 10 - An Interview with Dr. David Bernard - All About X-Ray Inspection
Apr 02, 2019
Episode 9 - An Interview with Dr. Mike Bixenman about Cleaning Challenges, Chemicals, Components, and Cleanliness Testing
Mar 25, 2019
Episode 8 - Cleaning Roundtable
Mar 19, 2019
Episode 7 - A Conversation with ITM Consulting's Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall
Mar 12, 2019
Episode 6 - An Interview with Collins Aerospace's Doug Pauls
Mar 05, 2019
Episode 5 - An Interview with Dr. Craig Hillman - Design for Reliability
Feb 26, 2019
Episode 4: Improving Reliability of Circuit Assemblies in Harsh Environments
Feb 12, 2019
Episode 3 - An Interview with Johns Hopkins' APL Engineer, Wendy Casker
Feb 07, 2019
Episode 2- When Failure Happens - An interview with Failure Analysis Investigators
Dec 18, 2018
Episode 1 - An Interview with SMT Guru Bob Willis
Dec 12, 2018
Reliability Matters Episode 0
Nov 11, 2018