SMT - Printed Circuit Board Assembly, Boards, Design News: ElectroIQ.com
Surface Mount Technology Featured Articles
Cleaning for Reliability Post QFN Rework

Mike Bixenman, Kyzen and Michael Konrad, Aqueous Technologies present cleaning process options for removing flux residue under QFN devices post-rework.

Read More
Surface Mount Technology Featured Articles
Interoperability: The Next Big Thing in QMS/MES

When QMS or MES in electronics manufacturing are discussed, interoperability is key to cost and quality ROI. Bruce Isbell and Jay Gorajia, Valor Computerized Systems Ltd., provide real-world examples.

Read More
Surface Mount Technology Featured Articles
New Design Products

Following are design software packages and upgrades that simplify, automate, and otherwise improve PCB design, design for excellence (DfX), and other aspects of new product introduction.

Read More
Surface Mount Technology Featured Articles
SMDs in Medical Electronics: Just What the Doctor Ordered

Craig Hunter, Vishay , discusses the medical electronics sector. Shifting the focus of care to patients’ homes can only happen with advances in medical technology, mainly enabled by high performance and reliability of components.

Read More
Surface Mount Technology Featured Articles
New Products for Component Placement: Chipshooters, Kitting, Pick-and-place and More

New products include off-line placement programming, a high-speed/high-precision machine vision system for pick and place, line management software, a center board support, and a prototyping system.

Read More
1/5
Previous Page   Pause Slide  Next Page
Surface Mount Technology Industry News
Conformal Coating Webinar Available for Download (Nov 20, 2009)

DYMAX Corporation recently hosted a webinar, “Conformal Coating at the Speed of Light: UV Conformal Coating from Start to Finish.” The webinar focuses on cost savings of UV and how to qualify and maintain an effective UV conformal coating process.

November EMS Indicators Report Released (Nov 19, 2009)

Charlie Barnhart & Associates LLC released its Leading Indicators report for November 2009. The report includes latency factors, such as global cost of labor, corporate costs by EMS type, and mark-up percent by volume/sector. Hysteretic factors include geographic pacing, sector pacing, capacity utilization by geography, and solution cycle by EMS type. Finally, probability factors covered include risk constants by geography.

TT Electronics Targets Medical Equipment Manufacturers (Nov 18, 2009)

TT electronics’ component divisions — AB Mikroelektronik, BI Technologies, IRC, OPTEK Technology, Semelab, TT ims and Welwyn — are highlighting a range of products and services for the medical market. From passive components to optoelectronics and semiconductors, TT electronics’ products are being specified for a number of applications in medical equipment. In addition to components, TT electronics also provides complete solutions through advanced manufacturing services for medical systems, including design support, application engineering assistance, and advanced testing for medical electronics.

Stories From The Trenches: How a Circuit Board Guy Entered the Solar Cell Industry (Nov 17, 2009)

In a Joint Chapter Technical Meeting, iMAPS New England, with ACerS NE and SMTA Boston, will host Don Cullen, managing director of photovoltaics at MacDermid. Cullen will give the talk on his move to the photovoltaics industry, and the industry's future as part of the electronics sector, January 19, 2010, at Courtyard Marriott Marlborough, MA.

IPC Study on the EMS Industry Forecasts Growth Through 2013 (Nov 17, 2009)

Despite economic setbacks in 2008 and 2009, the world market for electronics manufacturing services (EMS) will continue to grow, according to a report released by IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries. The comprehensive EMS study, 2008-2009 Analysis and Forecast for the EMS Industry, presents data and analysis on the EMS industry examining critical trends and providing forecasts, including the potential for market expansion.

Surface Mount Technology Current Articles
Manufacturing Environment, Automation, and Final Assembly Products (Nov 20, 2009)

The following products help manufacturers assemble quality products at high yields, preventing contamination, ESD shock, defects caused by vibration, and other problems. Robotic tooling for increased automation in assembly are also included.

Tracking, Traceability, and Process Control Products (Nov 20, 2009)

Managing electronics manufacturing jobs requires adding traceability from the component level to the line, multiple lines, or even multiple factories. Traceability starts at inventory. These new products include component counters, work order tracking software, barcode readers, and laser markers for in-house labeling in the highest security applications.

STEP 10 Rework and Repair: The Complete BGA Rework Process (Nov 17, 2009)

Robert Avila and Wade Gay, Finetech, describe the steps to BGA rework, aided by video clips of rework in action. There are at least five steps in successfully completing the cycle for BGA rework. These steps, which include component removal, site cleaning, reballing, and soldering, do not change, independent of whether or not the BGA is on a PCB that is large, small, thin, or thick, etc.

New Test and Inspection Products (Nov 17, 2009)

JTAG Technologies released JTAG Live; Surface Mount Technology Corp debuted the SMART platform; Pickering Interfaces introduced RF Matrix LXI switches; Vi TECHNOLOGY upgraded its inspection offerings; Marantz entered solder paste inspection (SPI); and ASSET debuted IC test.

Efficiency Benefits of Manufacturing Operations Software (MOS) (Nov 17, 2009)

Jason Spera, Aegis Software Corp., explains how MOS systems can improve customer relations and increase manufacturing volume and accuracies. In the pursuit of greater efficiency and customer satisfaction, electronics manufacturing factories must have useful access to manufacturing information, eliminate processing bottlenecks, get new products to the floor more quickly, and respond to engineering changes rapidly. Increasingly, the manner in which a company handles its information sets one assembler apart from its competition.

Pete's Tweets

Pete Singer on Twitter.com


    Follow Pete Singer on Twitter
    Surface Mount Technology's Tweets
    Announcing ElectroIQ

    ElectroIQ, the portal for electronics manufacturing, is the new home for Solid State Technology (semiconductors), Photovoltaics World (photovoltaics), Advanced Packaging (packaging), Small Times (nanotech/MEMS) and SMT (surface mount technology). To learn more about ElectroIQ,  read the press release.


    Current Issue
    SMT
    Volume 23, Issue 6
    November 2009
    0911smt_C1.jpg
    Surface Mount Technology Videos
    Gene Dunn, Panasonic Factory Solutions of America, examines thin-die packaging issues that EMS providers will need to consider in board layout for bend possibilities, pick-and-place systems for picking force, and reflow for overheat concerns. ; board design; Fragile Components; Fragile Packages; Miniaturization; panasonic; pick-and-place; reflow; smt; Thin Die; Doug Peck, AEIC, discusses industry trends, including the size of SMT components, assembly difficulty, and the effect on rework operations. ; aeic; doug peck; industry trends; Miniaturization; rework; SMTAI; Gary Tanel, SMT advisor, talks about current EMS business sales and best practices for EMS mergers/acquisitions. ; Acquisitions; advisory board; business; ems; Gary Tanel; Gary's List; Mergers; selling EMS business; SMTAI; Agilent?s sj5000 is featured, performing an AOI scan on a post-reflow assembly. The company also is highlighting lead ringer technology. ; Agilent; AOI; lead ringer; optical inspection; PCB inspection; post-reflow; pre-reflow; SMTAI; Rob DiMatteo introduces BTU's smaller lead-free-capable reflow system, as well as a high-volume 12-zone model, and new lane options for existing systems.; BTU; conveyors; ems; high-volume; lead-free; medical; Military; reflow; SMTAI; Michael Konrad, SMT advisor, shows us Aqueous?s Trident cleaning equipment. The system prewashes, washes, dries, and cleanliness tests at each rinse cycle. ; aqueous; cleaning; cleanliness test; defluxing; PCB cleanliness; SMTAI; trident; Bob Willis, consultant and industry educator, discusses teaching techniques for new and experienced engineers. ; bob willis; Certification; SMTAI; training; The A-Line at IPC Midwest produces a PCB assembly with jet solder printing, dual-head pick-and-place, reflow, and depanelization.; Assembly; cab; ipc; IPC Midwest; Juki; Mydata; Senju; smt; The Morey Corp; Steve Pollock, sales manager at Essemtec, demostrates the printer, pick-and-place, and lead-free convection reflow oven that comprise their turnkey line.; complete line; Essemtec; lead-free reflow; manufacturing line; pick and place; printer; reflow; SMTAI; turnkey manufacturing; Paul Salmon, Balver Zinn, explains the global alliance for the SN100C lead- and silver-free solder alloy, shared with Nihon Superior and other partners. ; Balver Zinn; lead-free solder; Nihon Superior; sac; SMTAI; SN100C; tin-free solder; Bob Doetzer, Circuit Technology, talks about certification training and their training lab. IPC certification takes place at the high-tech lab, and at customer locations, like EMS facilities and even ships.; Circuit Technology; ipc; IPC certification; land repair; operator training; rework and repair; SMTAI; training; Christian Munoz, Hirox, shows us their new digital microscope with plastic prism, inspecting a reflowed BGA.; BGA inspection; digital microscope; Hirox; low-cost inspection; SMTAI; Rick Short, director of marketing and communications at Indium Corporation, talks about lead-free rework and solar cell manufacturing's materials requirements.; indium; lead-free; photovoltaics; rework; SMTAI; solar cells; solder; Bob Black, president, Juki Corporation, demos their range of flexible/high-speed placement systems.; component placement; high-speed placement; Juki; odd-form components; pick-and-place; SMTAI; Brian D'Amico, president, Mirtec, demonstrates laser AOI and other features on their inspection systems.; AOI; automatic optical inspection; laser inspection; lifted leads; Mirtec; Jane Feng, Flextronics, discusses the EMS provider's recent paper on nondestructive BGA inspection techniques. ; EMS provider; Flextronics; Nondestructive BGA Inspection; SMTAI; Tier 1 EMS; James Holova, BPM Microsystems, talks about device programming product lines. He describes the benefits of the Flashstream technology for flash device programming. ; BPM; device programmer; flash; flashstream; programming; SMTAI; Vern Solberg, STI ? Madison, speaks on miniaturization, such as wafer-level packaging (WLP) and chip on board (COB).; BGA; Cob; Flip Chip; Miniaturization; smt; Vern Solberg; Wireless Handsets; Kyzen's VP Tom Forsythe talks about SMTA membership and new cleaning materials hitting the market.; charles hutchins; chemistries; cleaning; cleaning materials; Kyzen; lead-free; SMTA; SMTAI; solder alloys; Craig Hood, Petroferm, introduces a new spray-in-air aqueous cleaner at SMTAI. ; aqueous cleaner; batch cleaning; cleaning electronics; in-line cleaning; Petroferm; SMTAI; Jon Dupree, YXLON, describes the importance of X-ray inspection for new packages, sophisticated PCBs, and harsh-environment assemblies.; Computed Tomography; CT; embedded PCB; harsh environment; HDI; packages; X-ray inspection; Irene Sterian, Celestica, describes her EMS company's business, and the role of manufacturing services providers in the market.; Celestica; electronics manufacturing; ems; North American EMS; Tier I; Al Cabral, marketing manager, VJ Electronix, demonstrates solder rework and X-ray inspection with the company's new machines.; 2D X-ray; manual inspection; rework; VJ Electronix; X-ray inspection; Gabe Gonzalez, SPEA, shows SMT a flying probe ICT system that tests to specifications for fast, economical component-level test.; board test; component verification; flying probe; ICT; in-circuit test; test; Dan Weitzman, president, Valor, talks to SMT about software's roles in electronics design and manufacturing.; data libraries; design; manufacturing; MES; process control; software; valor; Tom Mealey, co-owner, Virtual Industries, operates manual, battery-powered, and plug-in vacuum tweezers for handling SMDs and odd-form components.; components; moisture-sensitive devices; MSDs; placement; rework; SMD handling; vacuum tweezers; Ed Zamborsky, regional sales manager, OK International, shows solder paste/flux/adhesive dispensers, soldering stations, and the basics of hand soldering.; adhesives; dispensing; flux; hand soldering; OK International; Oki; solder paste; Video 1. The video shows an integrated RF design flow using Mentor Graphics design tools in an integrated design flow with the Advanced Design System RF and microwave design solution from Agilent Technologies.; Agilent Technologies; Mentor Graphics; mixed-signal design; RF Design; Paul Ruo, National Sales Manager for Aries, talks to Gail Flower at Semicon West 2008.; Aries Semicon West 2008 packaging; Asymtek's Greg Wood, vice president of sales, talks to Gail Flower at Semicon West 2008.; Semicon West 2008 asymtek packaging; One of Amkor's latest package offerings, FusionQuad, protects the package while making interconnects easier for fine pitch connections to the PCB.; advanced package; AmKor; BGA; fine pitch package; FusionQuad; new package style; PCB package; quad flatpack; SATS provider package; Eric Beyne, Ph.D., scientific director, Advanced Packaging and Interconnect Center, Interconnect, Packaging & Systems Integration at IMEC talks to Gail Flower at Semicon West.; packaging IMEC Beyne Semicon West; Bob Douglas, president, Inovaxe, tours the INOCART-MSD sensitive-component advanced storage system, with separated cells and component tracking.; component storage; component tracking; INOCART; Inovaxe; moisture sensitive devices; MSD; parts handling; SMTAI; traceability; Keith Howell and Masato Nakamura of Nihon Superior discuss the halogen-free solder products debuting at SMTAI. Nihon?s SN100C lead-free solder is the base of this product line.; alloys; dopants; intermetallic layer; lead-free; Nihon Superior; sac; solder; solder paste; Aviza's Kevin Crofton, VP and General Manager, talks to Gail Flower at Semicon West 2008.; Aviza Crofton Semicon West 2008; Brian Toleno, Ph.D., Henkel, describes the FF6000 material -- an epoxy flux and adhesive for innovative electronics assembly.; apex; conductive adhesive; epoxy; flux; Henkel; soldering materials; Dick Johnson, DEK, walks Gail Flower through the Instinctiv V9 machine optimization software.; apex; DEK; Instinctiv V9; machine optimization; Printing; software; In this mini-Webcast, SMT's Editorial Advisory Board shares their insights into the magazine and the industry. ; cleaning; columnists; design; lead-free; manufacturing; processing; reliability test; solder; tin/lead; Brian Duffey, MYDATA, introduces the MY100 DX family of split-axis, linear-motor component placement systems with vibration-free feeding for high component mixes.; apex; chip shooter; component placement; feeders; MY100; Mydata; pick and place; Hiroaki Kobayashi, Seika Machinery, introduces their conveyors and PCB loaders made in Korea with Japanese parts.; apex; assembly tools; conveyors; PCB handling; seika; Paul Walter, Dage, shows Gail Flower their quick-view CT, dual-monitor operator interface, and XD7500 NT inspection system. ; AOI; apex; AXI; computerized tomography; CT; Dage; inspection; x-ray; Steve Glass, RMD, demonstrates their handheld XRF elemental analyzer's new features: an ergonomic stand, solder analysis capability, and "Quick Mode."; apex; components; lead-free; rmd; RoHS; Screening; solder analysis; XRF; Mike Foster of Dynatech/Samsung walks Gail Flower through the SM series complete SMT line at the show. Featured equipment includes screen printer, pick-and-place systems, and more.; apex; Dynatech; pick-and-place; printer; samsung; smt line; Jan Vardaman, president, TechSearch International, (Vardaman's presentation was delivered by Smith, due to a flight cancellation caused by the weather) explores thru-silicon vias (TSVs).; Jan Vardaman; packaging; SMTAI; TechSearch International; through-silicon vias; thru-silicon via; TSI; TSV; Josef Jost, Balzer Zinn, parent company of Cobar, explains the XF3 flux medium for SAC, SN100C, and tin/lead alloys.; apex; Balver Zinn; Cobar; flux; lead-free; sac; SN100C; solder; tin/lead; Tom Nash of BTU discusses reflow trends in nitrogen, process control, and COO.; Patrice Rollet, Avantec, discusses soldering materials, coatings, and cleaners developed by the Europe-based company. ; apex; aqueous clean; avantec; chemistry clean; cleaning; coating; soldering materials; Volker Pape, founder of Viscom, traces the company timeline and reveals details of the 3088-II mid-range inspection system to Gail Flower.; AOI; apex; AXI; inspection; optical; viscom; x-ray; Jim Price of Sony Manufacturing Systems America debuts the SI-P850 screen printer and SI-V200 AOI system to North American assemblers at the show.; AOI; inspection; Printing; screen printer; Sony Manufacturing Systems; Jacques Coderre, Unovis Solutions, presents "Assembly Evolution as Semiconductor and Circuit Board Converge." ; Co-design; convergence; Embedded Components; Flip Chip; packaging; smt; Unovis; Bob Douglas, Inovaxe, demos their MSD handling system for managing editor Meredith Courtemanche.; apex; component storage; Dry box; Inovaxe; lead-free; Materials handling; MSD; Bennet Bruntil tours EVS's solder recovery technology under the hood of the system.; Peter van den Eijnden, JTAG, praises the APEX atmosphere and tells Gail Flower about JTAG/boundary scan's capabilities. ; apex; boundary scan; JTAG; test; Vincent Whipple, Sono-Tek, demonstrates the ultrasonic atomiztion technology behind spray fluxing.; apex; Fluxing; Sono-Tek; Spray Flux; Ultrasonic Atomization; Don Miller, YESTech, walks us through 3D AXI advances, and the emerging inspection market for conformal coatings.; 3D X-ray; apex; conformal coating; inspection; YESTech; Scott Kennedy, senior development engineer at Rogers Corporation, looks at the potential inherent in new package substrates.; ceramic packages; ceramics; Military; packaging; SMTAI; substrates; TSV; Lee Smith, VP of business development at outsourcing semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) provider Amkor Technology, was instrumental in developing the package-on-package (PoP) stack.; AmKor; Lee Smith; package on package stack; Pop; Sats; Jim McElroy, iNEMI, describes the consortium's method for roadmapping and advancing electronics assembly technology.; apex; consortia; iNEMI; roadmap; Ritwik Chatterjee, Ph.D., speaking on behalf of the Georgia Tech Packaging Research Center (PRC), defines 1st and 2nd level integration through all-silicon interconnection.; all silicon; Georgia Tech; Package in package; Packaging Research Center; Ritwik Chatterjee; Tim Nolte, BPM Microsystems, sees the device programming market growing, based on increased flash memory usage.; apex; BPM; device programming; Flash memory; flashstream; vector engine; Chris Underhill of Finetech provides rework advice for challenging package and PCBA applications.; 01005; apex; BGA; Finetech; packaging; repair; rework; stacked die; Erik Bergum, Heraeus, tells us about their ball-dippable paste, developed with TI to replace tacky fluxes in solder sphere placement.; apex; ball-dippable paste; flux; Heraeus; solder powder; solder spheres; Mark Dalderup, Rehm, discusses his company's international goals and their vapor-phase reflow products, including a vacuum system to prevent voids.; apex; reflow; Rehm Thermal; solder joints; vapor-phase; voids; Barbara Duvall, Seica, introduces the Pilot V8 flying prober's features to managing editor Meredith Courtemanche.; apex; flying probe; Seica; test; test point access; John Byers, Asymtek, debuts the SelectCoat SL940 dispensing system for conformal coatings and other materials. ; apex; Asymtek; conformal coating; dispense; dispensing; vision; Frank Piracci, Asymtek, shows the S822 dual-lane shuttle for higher-throughput CSP underfill.; apex; Asymtek; chipscale package; CSP; dispensing; underfill; Jos Brehler, Totech, discusses lead-free in the U.S. and the importance of MSD control using the Superdry dry cabinet.; apex; component drying; dry cabinets; lead-free; moisture-sensitive devices; MSD; Totech; David Geiger, Flextronics International, explains how EMS assemblers implement new packages in their processes.; Bare Die; ems; Flextronics; new packages; Pop; SATS/EMS; smt; stacked packages; Rozalia Beica, 3D interconnect director at Semitool Inc. and representing the EMC3D consortium, expresses integration in packaging.; 3d packaging; packaging; Semitool; SMTAI; TSV; SMT Live gathers global events in electronics assembly at your fingertips, from pick-and-place systems to traceability software launches, to industry discussions of outsourcing, lead-free trends, and more.
    SMT White Papers

    Featured White Papers

    Sustainability Commitment A Key Driver for Product Development
    There's a lot of talk about sustainability these days. While some firms have truly embraced a plan to drive toward more environmentally responsible products and ...
    Sponsored By:  Henkel Corporation
    Using Hansen Space to Optimize Solvent Based Cleaning Processes
    What is an optimized cleaning process? Is it based solely upon removing the residue, or is it more? Of course it is more. We do not want to remove the labels or ...
    Next Best Thing to a Close Shave: Mitigating the Risks of Tin Whiskers
    by Brian Toleno, Ph.D., Henkel CorporationIf you've been in electronics for any length of time, the phenomenon of tin whiskers is something you've likely heard discussed ...
    Sponsored By:  Henkel Corporation
    Conductive Film for RF Grounding Can Take the Heat
    Historically electrically conductive interfaces have been used for RF grounding assembly applications primarily due to their performance and processing benefits....
    Sponsored By:  Henkel Corporation
    New Corrosion-Resistant Conductive Adhesive for Consumer Applications Delivers Cost-efficient Alternative to Current Technologies
    For nearly two decades, flip chip technology has been widely used and accepted for several mainstream and high-end applications including flat panel displays and ...
    Sponsored By:  Henkel Corporation

    Recent White Papers

    Tightening Up Type 4
    Though the majority of assemblers are using Type 3 solder paste for most of today’s mainstream applications, the prevalence of finer-pitched devices is growing. ...
    Sponsored By:  Henkel Corporation
    SMT Blog
    SMT Magazine
    by SMT Magazine

    SMT Magazine's editorial team discusses industry events, trends and important news for electronics manufacturers, IDMs, OEMs and related companies.

    Eastern European Near-sourcing on the Rise

    Much has been made of the attendance numbers at productronica 2009 this year in Munich, Germany. As economic reports have trumpeted a better 2010, and electronics manufacturers have started to see a ramp in RFQs and orders, productronica’s attendance...

    IPC Midwest: Friends, Fellowship, and Live SMT Assembly

    It was a better-than-expected IPC Midwest tradeshow and conference in Schaumburg, IL this September. The A-Line live electronics assembly line attracted interest as each piece of automated equipment performed its task to build a mixed-assembly board with...

    Surface Mount Technology Events

     


    Advertisement