Printing Subtopics

Master Bond debuted a clear conformal coating, a structural adhesive, and a temporary bond adhesive; Rudolph Bros introduced a easy-to-use conformal coating; Fujipoly has new thermal interface gel sheets; Christopher Associates now carries a potting compound for solar junction boxes; and DYMAX offers a spot-curing system and compatible adhesives.

These new products include printer upgrades and options from DEK and Sony; a high-precision valve for dispensing from Tridak, a double-layer stencil from DEK; and a stencil cleaning and care kit from Ascentech.

The introduction of 01005 chip components and 0.3-mm-pitch CSP devices is pushing surface mount technology (SMT) to its process limits. Miniaturization is driving the smallest and tightest-pitch components, but how far can this go before solder paste is no longer viable? How small a feature can be printed with solder paste, and can this be implemented into a production environment? George Babka, Assembléon America; David Sbiroli and Chris Anglin, Indium Corporation; and Richard Brooks, Kyzen define an experiment and guidelines.

Solder paste inspection (SPI) traditionally uses resist height or a pseudo-pad height to calculate solder volume on a pad. However, as features are increasingly miniaturized and compressed on the PCB, resist thickness differences are making SPI measurements inaccurate. Toshiyuki Matsuoka, Anritsu Precision Co. Ltd. and Tim Cappoen, Seika Machinery Inc., discuss a new sensor technology that combines two optical systems to measure solder paste deposits from the true pad.

These new products include thermal interface materials (TIM), potting compounds, epoxy adhesives, and other materials. They can be applied to assemblies using manual or automated placement and dispensing methods.

Research and Markets released “A Global Strategic Business Report: PCBs,” analyzing the global market for printed circuit boards (PCBs) in US$ million. The major markets analyzed include the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and rest of world (ROW), with forecasts through 2015. It identifies major geographical and technological changes coming for the PCB fab industry.

Express Manufacturing, Inc. (EMI), an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, is building a line of products for OEMs to promote health. The company recently obtained ISO 13485 certification for medical device manufacturing and invested in Fuji XPF chip shooters for medical electronics production.

EPIC, the European Photonics Industry Consortium, released “LEDs: The 2009 Market Review.” The report, which is distributed exclusively to EPIC members, tracks the response of the lighting and display industries to one of the most difficult economic crises in recent years. HB-LED and OLED unit production figures as well as revenues have been summarized for major players around the world for the two-year period of 2008 and 2009.

Bob Willis, a consultant who has been providing electronics assembly training over 20 years, will launch a new Website-based training service.

Lightspeed Manufacturing has moved from its old factory in Methuen, Mass. to a new 60,000-sq-ft modern manufacturing facility at 135 Ward Hill Avenue in Haverhill, MA. Lightspeed is a contract manufacturer of printed circuit electronics assemblies that has experienced continued growth.