At AERI we favor manual decapsulation for a variety of reasons. There is much less chemical waste, you can change the process on the fly when there are surprises, and often times the part is still functional after the process. This article presents a good and detailed case for manual decapsulation.
Robb Hammond is the President of AERI and the former chair of the Aerospace Industry’s Counterfeit Electronic Components Mitigation Standard for independent distributors, AS6081, which has become one of the industry’s most respected documents, as well as being adopted by the Department of Defense. Robb is one of the foremost thought leaders in the industry on counterfeit detection and speaks regularly at conferences around the globe.