OnTrack: The PCB Design Podcast

The PCB industry has long relied on manual microsectioning to verify board quality — but as densities increase and skilled labor becomes harder to retain, that process is breaking down. In this episode of the Altium OnTrack Podcast, host Zach Peterson welcomes back Geoffrey Leeds, founder of SCAN Labs, for his third appearance on the show. Geoffrey breaks down what he calls the "metrology gap" — the widening divide between the precision measurement capabilities available to semiconductor manufacturers and those available to PCB fabricators — and explains why this gap is becoming a critical problem for high-reliability industries like defense, aerospace, medical, and automotive.

 

SCAN Labs is addressing this gap head-on with a heavily automated, third-party inspection and test laboratory that specializes in microsectioning for electronics verification. Geoffrey walks through the company's serialized grinding and imaging system, which can produce a fully analyzed IPC coupon roughly every six minutes, generating high-confidence metrology data at scale. The conversation also covers the role of AI and LLMs in electronics manufacturing, the limits of current non-destructive inspection methods, and Geoffrey's vision for standardizing metrology data reporting in collaboration with IPC — so that as-built data can feed directly back into design and simulation tools.

 

👉 Resources from this Episode:

- Connect with Geoffrey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-leeds-63389773/

- Learn more about SCAN Labs: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scan-laboratories/

 

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The Altium Academy is an online experience created to bring modern education to PCB Designers and Engineers all across the world. Here you can access a vast library of free training and educational content covering everything from basic design to advanced principles and step-by-step walkthroughs. Join industry legends as they share their career knowledge, review real-life design projects, or learn how to leverage one of Altium's leading design tools. No matter your level of experience, the Altium Academy can help you become a better Designer and Engineer!

 

About Altium LLC

 

Altium LLC (ASX:ALU), a global software company based in San Diego, California, is accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products.

 

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