Thursday 25 August 2016

Craig Curk - The Early History of Surface Mount Pick and Place Machines

As the founder of QC Electronics, Craig Curk has a high level of expertise in surface mount pick and place machines, which have been an important part of the electronic component manufacturing process since the 1980s thanks to their precision and speed. Over the years, the technology has advanced enormously from when it first came to prominence and began to achieve high usage.



Craig CurkEarly History

Early pick and place machines were generally designed for speed over precision, with rapid placement machines soon starting to appear on a number of assembly lines. Sometimes called “chip shooters,” these machines would place low-precision, simple components, such as resistors and capacitors. They were usually built around a single turret design, with a conveyor passing around the turret. The belt would pass an optical station that deciphered the angle that a part was placed at, with the machine itself compensating for this before placing the component. At optimal levels, such machines were capable of placing 15 parts every second, massively speeding up the manufacturing process.

However, due to the fact that the belt moved, rather than the turret itself, they could only be used to place fairly low-precision components on parts that would not move of their own accord during transit.

Advancements

Craig Curk has experience of working with more precise machines, which started to gain prominence in the 1990s. Such machines were capable of working with smaller components and irregular parts, often relying on gantry supported moving heads and high resolution verification cameras that allowed for finer adjustments to be made.

Thursday 18 August 2016

Craig Curk - Advice For Flipping Houses

Craig Curk is an entrepreneur and electronics expert who also has an interest in flipping houses, which is the process of buying homes and renovating them, before selling them on for a profit. This is actually more difficult than it appears and many approach the industry with inflated levels of confidence, despite not understanding what needs to be done in order to be successful. The following are all useful tips if you are thinking about flipping houses.

Craig CurkHave Cash

There is no getting around the fact that you are going to need a decent chunk of capital before you can even start to think about flipping houses. This is not like a traditional house purchase, where you will attach a mortgage to it and then pay it off over time. Your objective should be to buy as low as possible and get the house sold quickly, so you need to make sure you have cash reserves in place to pull this off.

Know The Market

You also need to know as much as possible about the property market before you commit to a purchase, as some homes may look like bargains on paper but end up costing you money due to a lack of demand. Do your research and speak to an expert if you feel like you need a little more help.

Be Patient

Craig Curk has been interested in house flipping for a number of years. Patience is key, as rushing into decisions may leave you with a house that you can’t afford to renovate, so always remember that other properties will come along if you can’t afford one right now.

Tuesday 9 August 2016

Craig Curk - Tips For New Soccer Coaches

Craig Curk has been coaching youth soccer since 2001, having also been a Division 1 player in his own right at Xavier University. New soccer coaches have difficult tasks ahead of them, as they need to be able to adjust to their roles quickly so that their teams start developing. The following are all useful pointers for those who are new to coaching positions.

                                               Craig Curk
Get To Know Your Team

Coaching is about much more than running drills and discussing tactics. You also need to be able to build personal bonds with your players, as this will help them to trust your decisions and respect your authority as the coach. Furthermore, by getting to know your players you will also be able to figure out what motivates them, allowing you to adjust your training style accordingly.

Be Flexible

Speaking of making adjustments, you also need to recognize that your favored methods of training may not work out for some of your players. This means that you need to be flexible in your approach so that you can figure out what you need to do to get the most out of your team. Experiment with new drills and tactics to find the best fit.

Use Your Experience

Craig Curk is able to draw on many years of experience as a soccer goalkeeper when working as a coach. It is important that you consider what you learned during your own playing days, so that you can transfer as much of this useful knowledge to your players as possible.