SMT Today issue 3

industry innovation

Latest products and technologies from around the world

Conformal Coating and Cleaning NPL focus on the experience

red carpet Who’s doing what, where?

inside IPC APEX expo 2014, las vegas

meet the CEos Page 8 Dr. Mike Bixenman, CTO of Kyzen (cover) Curt Couch of Count On Tools Inc. Colin Longsworth of DKL Metals Bjorn Dahle of KIC Doug Farlow of Production Solutions Don Naugler of VJ Electronix

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

smttoday.com

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welcome to smt today Welcome to the third edition of SMT Today - a bi-monthly global magazine solely for the electronics industry which focuses on providing the best content and distribution through the latest technology channels.

I’m delighted to welcome Keith Bryant to our SMT Today team as Technology Editor. Keith is very well known in the industry and brings with him a wealth of experience and achievements gained over more than 25 years. His initial article is included on page 4 in which he outlines his ideas and challenges for himself and SMT Today.

This edition of SMT Today focuses on Cleaning and Coating and includes articles and announcements that support this month’s IPC APEX EXPO in Las Vegas which will be attended by more than 400 of the industry’s top suppliers. The theme for this year’s event is “New Ideas... For New Horizons”. We’ve included an article that will hopefully help you get the most out of your visit by planning ahead.

As a team, we’ll be at APEX and we’re looking forward to meeting industry leaders like yourselves and hope to have the opportunity to share what SMT Today can offer you in the form of maximum media exposure, a quality printed magazine, multi-platform compatibility and complimentary videoing capabilities.

Lin Ramsay Editor

If you’ve any feedback on the content/format of this magazine, together with any suggestions or input for forthcoming issues, I would love to hear from you.

My contact details are included on the next page.

Otherwise, I’ll see you in Vegas!

magazine contacts...

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Editor Lin Ramsay lin@smttoday.com

+44(0)1292 834009

skype: lin-smttoday

European Advertising Lin Ramsay lin@smttoday.com

+44(0)1292 834009

skype: lin-smttoday

Design Big Blue Dog bigbluedogdesign.com

+44(0)1292 280022

USA Advertising Ron Friedman ron@smttoday.com 1-860-523-1105

skype: ron-smttoday

Website

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NEXT EDITION May 2014 Book your space now and have your products and services exposed to the right people at the right time.

inside this issue...

IPC APEX EXPO 2014 Who to see and where

6

Technology Today

6

Industry experts share their knowledge 4

SMT Today’s New Boy

12

Using 2D & 3D Inspection in a Single AOI Platform

8

IPC APEX EXPO 2014, Las Vegas

Meet the CEOs

16 Storagesolutions Weaves Efficiency into BTSR’s Successful Yarn Control Solutions

26 NPL/SMART Conformal Coating & Cleaning Experience 28 Carolina Electronics Assemblers’ Business Outlook Results in Reshored Business

44 An interview with Fine Line Stencils Brent Nolan

8

Meet the CEOs

34

New Products

30

Jet Technology: Advancements in Fluid Dispensing

52

Datest Celebrates 30 Years of Delivering Bad News

46

Electronic Assembly Misprint Cleaning Advancements

58 New Blood for the Next Generation of Manufacturers Reps i n the SMT Industry 60

Are Stencils the Weak Link in Your Process?

Industry Interviews

SMT Today’s exclusive industry interviews 20 Claire Saunders, Event Director of National Electronics Week 24 38

Frank Silva, Vice President of Sales, MatriX-FocalSpot Graham Naisbitt, Managing Director of Gen3 Systems

44 Brent Nolan, Chief Operations Manager of Fine Line Stencil

New Products

46 Electronics Assembly Misprint Cleaning

Exciting new industry innovations

Industry News

34

What’s happening in the world of electronics

Red Carpet

40 56

Photo gallery of industry personalities and events

Page 3

smt today

news flash

SMT Today’s New Boy

by Keith bryant, smt today Technology Editor Keith has worked in the SMT industry for over 25 years and we’re proud to announce him as our new Technology Editor.

Dear Reader,

When this great new magazine was launched in November 2013 I wrote to the editor saying that I believed there was a real opportunity for a new magazine, providing it offered something different from the current publications. Even in this digital 24-hour news on demand world, there is space for a magazine that is interesting, informative and, most importantly, readable.

At that time, I was the Sales and Marketing Director of an OEM and writing a regular column in Global SMT & Packaging magazine. ____________________________________

‘‘

My aim is to make this publication the most readable, current and interesting in the market supported by a website carrying up-to-the-minute news, interviews and comment

____________________________________ There is a saying “be careful what you wish for” and I guess I should have been because I have been offered the Technology Editor position at SMT Today and have accepted. I have some very interesting new challenges for this year.

My aim is to make this publication the most readable, current and interesting in the market supported by a Website carrying up-to-the-minute news, interviews and comment. There is a great team here at SMT Today, so I am confident we can make this happen. Already the feedback from readers has been great and, like many new things, it will continue to improve.

I will be doing my part by bringing in articles from the best current writers around

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the globe, interviewing the key industry movers and shakers and even doing some of my own writing! ____________________________________

‘‘

It is also my plan to have a different technology theme for each issue of the 4,000 hard copy magazines, published bi-monthly, starting with this one ____________________________________

It is also my plan to have a different technology theme for each issue of the 4,000 hard copy magazines, published bi-monthly, starting with this one. This issue focuses on Cleaning and Coating, which is a hot topic after the change to a lead-free world. No-Clean flux became an issue for many companies and there is a resurgence in cleaning, cleanliness testing and conformal coating fuelled by fears of poor reliability, tin whiskers and dendrites.

operation can improve yield, reliability and reduce costs. This starts with a visit to Graphic PLC, one of the best circuit makers around and where, many moons ago, I started my relationship with this wonderful industry. They have a strong reputation for working closely with their customers at the front-end to iron out any problems, so I am going to find out if this is true and will write up some of the issues they have that would cost their customers money if not fixed at the start of the process. I will enjoy writing this series because DFM, DFT, etc. are topics very close to my heart. Over the years, I have encountered many design problems when it was too late to correct them and they all caused stress and loss of profit to someone!

2D and 3D SPI and AOI will be next.

There are some great new products in the market, but who needs them and why?

Do you need to be a rocket scientist to program and use them? Plus views from those using the technologies and if we can prise open some R&D secret documents, what is coming next.

Other thoughts include looking at the move to more flexibility in the pick-andplace market, with the driver being zero down time. A look at SMD towers and the advantages they bring to mid-and-high mix operations. Perhaps even a relook at the printing vs dispensing debate as both technologies have moved on.

My first offering will be a series on Design, tracing the journey from bare board to finished unit and looking at ways that improved design and co-

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

do you have an article for keith?

We are constantly looking at improving our articles to make sure they’re an interesting read.

If you have any subjects or articles that you’d like to see in the next issue of SMT Today, please email them through.

We’d love to hear your ideas!

SEND TO

keith@smttoday.com

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3/3/14 9:34 AM

IPC APEX expo 2014, las vegas So, you’ve decided to attend the IPC APEX EXPO® in Las Vegas from March 23-27? Good move. Actually, great move. All the industry’s movers and shakers, as well as the up-and-coming companies participate in this North American-based exhibition and conference.

If you’re visiting the show floor or exhibiting your newest innovations - or if you’re attending the highly rated conferences or participating in them, the answer is clear: APEX is a must-attend event.

We’re heading back to bustling Las Vegas for this year’s exhibition. The expo and conference will be held at the beautifully appointed Mandalay Bay Resort & Convention Center, centrally located to many of the treasures that Vegas offers.

The theme of the 2014 show is “New Ideas... For New Horizons.”

The theme alone gives us shivers - the brainpower, ideas and new innovations that will be introduced, demonstrated and presented throughout this week in late March are guaranteed to be chart-topping. But, in addition to that, the keynotes, events, meetings, technical presentations and show floor NPIs that the IPC has lined up reportedly are going to leave us in awe.

In this article, we’ve compiled the highlights - the “must dos” if you will - to make your APEX experience the most beneficial to you and to your company. Read on and start making your plans because the largest US-based exhibition and conference will be here before we know it.

keynotes Three free keynote sessions will be available at APEX this year. Each one is interesting and informative so plan to attend all three.

Tuesday, March 25, 8:30-9:30 a.m Creating A World of Abundance: Exponential Technologies Causing Disruptive Innovations Peter Diamandis, M.D., Chairman/CEO, X PRIZE Foundation A dynamic inspirational speaker and tech entrepreneur, Dr. Diamandis will share his insights into how breakthroughs in exponentially growing technologies like artificial intelligence, nanomaterials, 3-D printing, robotics and digital medicine will re-engineer products, companies, industries - and even society - over the next 20 years. This inspirational keynote will give you plenty of reasons for optimism... and a roadmap to creating a world of abundance.

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Wednesday, March 26, 9-10 a.m Swarm Robotics and the Toys, Movies and Insects that Made it All Possible James McLurkin, Roboticist, Inventor, Researcher and Teacher They will flock. They will swarm. And they will tackle dangerous, dirty and dull jobs - from Mars exploration and search-and-rescue missions to warehouse operations. They’re multirobot systems, and one day they will become the norm. Get a fascinating look at the future of robotics… and the technology that is making it happen.

Thursday, March 27, 9-10 a.m The Physics of NASCAR Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, Ph.D., Physicist, Researcher and Author How do you design and manufacture a car that will move at speeds in the neighborhood of 200 mph (321 km/h) - yet handle with precision and, most important, keep the driver alive? What technology makes a NASCAR car different from the vehicles you see on the highways every day? This keynote will take you behind the scenes of America’s most popular spectator sport and explain the feats of engineering that make NASCAR work, tracing the lifecycle of a racecar from its creation to the action of the NASCAR series.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

On the Show Floor More than 400 of the industry’s top suppliers are expected to exhibit at APEX. Discover new processes to gain greater efficiency, find new suppliers to save you money and uncover new solutions that will improve your bottom line. Numerous activities will be presented from the show floor, including: New Product Corridor: View cutting-edge products and services in the New Product Corridor on the show floor. Get a sneak preview of the equipment, materials and services that are breaking new ground in our industry.

Show Floor Reception: Kick back with your colleagues from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25 at IPC’s very own happy hour. Walk the exhibition, scope out the new exhibitor offerings and catch up with colleagues.

Technical Conference The IPC APEX EXPO is known globally for its premier Technical Session — and for good reason! This year’s program will take place from Tuesday, March 25 to Thursday, March 27. Recognized as the finest and most selective in the world and in keeping to the theme of “New Ideas... for New Horizons,” the technical conference presents new research and innovations from experts in the areas of board fabrication and design, electronics assembly and test. To date, 33 sessions covering the most up-to-the-minute topics that attendees need to succeed will be presented, including 2.5-D/3-D packaging, onshoring, miniaturization, thermal management, cleaning and much more. More than 85 technical papers will discuss the latest and most important breakthroughs in our industry. Attendees will learn about solutions to current challenges as well as upcoming innovations and technologies that are expected to shape our future. The complete list of technical conference sessions is available at www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/conference Professional Development Courses The top-rated schedule of Professional Development Courses will take place on Sunday, March 23, Monday, March 24 and Thursday, March 27. The professional development program offered during the IPC APEX EXPO goes above and beyond typical courses because they are designed not only to discuss problem areas but also to provide the solutions needed to meet these industry’s issues and challenges.

IPC APEX EXPO Hand Soldering Competition: On Tuesday, March 25 and Wednesday, March 26, watch industry pros compete in the hand soldering competition. Finalists will participate in the hand soldering world championship.

IPC Hand Soldering World Championship: Be part of history! Watch the world’s best hand soldering technicians vie for the title of IPC Hand Soldering World Champion on Thursday, March 27.

A complete list of new products to be displayed can be found at www.ipcapexexpo.org/exhibitors

Each important topic has a course dedicated to it so that attendees can focus on the specialized knowledge they need.

Some of the topics to be covered include assembly processes for lead-free and tinlead; cleaning/coating/contamination; design; emerging technologies; and more. The complete list of professional development sessions is available at www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/courses Standards Development Meetings Recognized around the globe as the leading standards organization for printed board design, manufacturing, assembly and test, this year’s IPC APEX EXPO will showcase emerging technologies from over 400 of the industry’s leading firms.

Numerous worldwide experts will discuss electronics manufacturing standards in more than 80 standards meetings that will take place during the IPC APEX EXPO from March 23-27. These sessions are open to all attendees, unless noted otherwise. A complete list of standards development meetings is available at www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/standards Other Activities The IPC has many more activities planned during APEX – and most of them are free! Be sure to take advantage of these by attending as many as your schedule permits.

International Reception: Monday, March 24, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

International visitors are invited to relax, have a bite to eat and meet their colleagues from around the world at this festive gathering.

First-Timers’ Welcome: Tuesday, March 25, 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Maximize your time at IPC APEX EXPO. Enjoy a continental breakfast while colleagues share the ins and outs of this event. Learn how to put IPC’s resources to work for you and your company and find out how to take advantage of everything this event has to offer. Even if you’re not a first-timer, join us for a refresher course on IPC programs.

IPC Government Relations Committee Open Forum: Tuesday, March 25, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.

What are your international, national and regional concerns regarding government regulations and laws impacting your company’s ability to compete globally?

Members of the IPC Government Relations Committee will provide an update on key issues impacting your company’s bottom line and give an overview of IPC efforts to support the prosperity of the global electronic interconnect industry. After the overview, there will be open discussion on future issues for the committee to address.

Women in Electronics Networking Meeting: Wednesday, March 26, breakfast meeting 7:45-8:30 a.m.

Join your colleagues from across the supply chain to share your ideas and experiences as a woman in the electronic interconnect industry and build your network. RSVP through IPC APEX EXPO online registration.

meet the CEOs the people who make it happen Our industry is driven by a global network of CEOs with the energy and vision that brings new technology and innovation down the line. Every edition, we will introduce you to the faces behind the companies.

Count On Tools

Curt Couch is the president of Count On Tools Inc., a precision component manufacturer specializing in all aspects

of the machining industry. The company has been setting new performance standards in the SMT pick-andplace nozzle market since 1991. As the original source for high-quality, low-cost vacuum placement nozzles and associated consumables, Couch and his team have pioneered with world-class development and process engineers that combine to ensure that innovation and competitiveness is applied to all of its extensive product range. Proven engineering expertise, coupled with the latest in design and manufacturing technology, has allowed the company to simplify the complexities of the industry and deliver a solution to its customers.

DKL Metals

Colin Longsworth is the managing director of DKL Metals, the largest UK solder manufacturer. Established in

1986 as an independent manufacturer of tin/lead alloys, DKL Metals Ltd. has grown to become one of the UK’s leading suppliers of high purity solders and alloys - manufactured in accordance with national and international standards or customer proprietary specifications. It is Longsworth’s policy to pursue the highest standards of quality and consistency to satisfy the varied and exacting demands of the modern manufacturing industry. In recognition of EU legislation to remove lead and other harmful materials under RoHS, DKL Metals formed a number of strategic alliances with like-minded independent companies and, in 2002, signed a manufacturing license with Nihon Superior Co. Ltd. of Japan to produce its SN100 range of lead-free solders.

KIC

Bjorn Dahle is the president of KIC, the industry leader in automated thermal process tools and systems for reflow, wave, cure and semiconductor thermal processes. The company pioneered the development of oven profilers and process optimization tools, and then worked to create the next generation of thermal systems to help manufacturers improve the thermal process quality while reducing cost. With the introduction of cutting edge tools, Dahle and his team continue to stay on the leading edge of process optimization and automatic thermal process systems, and the company has won numerous industry awards.

Production Solutions

Doug Farlow is the president of Production Solutions, a leading manufacturer of the industry-leading RED-E-SET Board Support System. Established in 1998 as an engineering, design and manufacturing company, Production Solutions, Inc. is located in Poway, Calif. north of San Diego. The focus of the Farlow’s development projects has been on improving the methods of assembly of printed circuit boards. In 2000, the first product introduced was the Red-E-Set board support system for semi-automatic screen printers. Well received by the market, PSI introduced the inline version in 2001. Since that time, Farlow and his team have continued expanding the company.

VJ Electronix

Don Naugler is the president/general manager of VJ Electronix, a leading global manufacturer providing rework

technologies and advanced X-ray inspection systems. The company manufactures production-ready, automated rework and X-ray inspection systems with many advanced capabilities. Additionally, Naugler and his team of experts frequently provide custom solutions tailored to satisfy specific application requirements.

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| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

director

spotlight

an interview with DR. Mike Bixenman, kyzen Kyzen specializes in precision cleaning chemistries for electronics, advanced packaging, metal finishing and aerospace applications.

Kyzen’s industry expertise and dedicated customer support provide integrated cleaning process solutions that meet any cleaning challenge. Founded in 1990, Kyzen is the leading provider of environmentally responsible, RoHS compliant cleaning chemistries to industries worldwide. We recently caught up with Mike Bixenman, Kyzen’s Chief Technology Officer, to find out how Kyzen is staying ahead of current industry challenges and remaining successful.

Q.

Mike, congratulations on earning your doctorate. Your name is synonymous with “expert” and “guru” in the electronics manufacturing industry.

Can you provide our readers with a brief explanation of your background and industry involvement?

A.

I have been in the chemical business, cleaning one thing or another for my entire career. My dad’s company manufactured paint strippers, stains and finishing products.

By the late 1980s, the greener chemical products movement was just a concept, but one I saw as critical to the future of the world and our family business. Kyle Doyel, who co-founded Kyzen with me in 1990, was a product manager for a large chemical company responsible for new, green products for use in cleaning materials. At the time, the electronics assembly cleaning market was undergoing a disruptive change.

Chlorofluorocarbon 113 (CFCs) was the industry cleaning product of choice used by defense and other Class 3 manufacturers for cleaning printed circuit boards (PCBs), and it soon would be banned for production and use worldwide.

Kyle knew people at Delphi Electronics, a division of Delco Electronics (then a division of General Motors), were greatly concerned about cleaning after CFC 113 was no longer available and were open to new ideas. Together, we made contact and talked about this new technology.

Delphi introduced us to hybrid circuits, flux residues and the need for cleaning flux residues from the completed assemblies.

That is where it all began.

When considering the company name, we decided to build on the theme of continuous improvement. Kaisen (pronounced ki-zen) was the Japanese word for a method that strives for continuous improvement.

As young entrepreneurs, our vision was to create a company that valued talent

and empowered employees with a culture focused on serving customers.

We settled on the name Kyzen. The name is synonymous with continuous improvement. Our goal was to listen and partner with customers to continuously innovate products that met their needs.

Q. Kyzen has developed into a global market leader of electronics assembly and advanced packaging cleaning agents. Can you provide us with some insights on how Kyzen went from an idea to the go-to company for precision cleaning agents and solving cleaning needs?

A. At Kyzen, the customer takes center stage. It is the needs and voice of the customer that defines the technical capabilities we create at Kyzen to provide the support our customers expect from their world-class technical partners. We also try to continuously interact with customers. After all, they are the reason we exist and represent a valuable source of new ideas. The future success of both Kyzen and our customers requires continuous learning, and innovation focused and connected with the needs of the customer.

The electronics industry excels from innovations that provide increased functionality packaged in smaller form factors. The better the functionality, the more the users of those innovations come to rely on them. Reliable hardware is more challenging to deliver today due to physical size reductions, density of components, higher electrical fields and devices exposed to less controlled environments. Highly dense designs require smaller components, which result in tighter distances between conductors.

Manufacturing residues, which were mostly harmless on devices with larger distances between conductors, now

are problematic and a root cause for premature device failures.

Original electronic manufacturers have no place to hide within today’s interconnected world. If their product fails in the field, customers can share their dissatisfaction online. Their customers are honest about product quality and performance. They rate the products and share their experiences.

Bad experiences go viral. Reliable products now are critical to survival.

Kyzen’s success has come from a culture that tuned into what really mattered to customers. This requires us to continually think about customer needs with a focus on helping our customers solve nagging cleaning problems or simply improve already good performance. The reality is that as device size shrinks, the importance of cleaning grows. The problem is those highly dense devices are much harder to clean. As challenges surfaced, Kyzen targeted those as research goals to better understand the problem and to develop best practices and products to help our customers solve the problem. This culture of continuous improvement continues to serve us well.

Q. Kyzen is known worldwide for its cleaning research. As for yourself, you have published or jointly published, hundreds of research papers. Can you provide us with some insight into that progression?

A.

In a world where it is estimated that knowledge is now doubling every 12 months, we try to be open to the ideas and insights of others while adding to that body of knowledge in a meaningful way. Continuous improvement requires continuous learning. Researching new challenges to plug the gaps in our understanding and abilities is how we learn every day. A successful approach has involved partnering with non-cleaning

director

spotlight

knowledge experts who could help us learn and fill those gaps while our cleaning expertise helps them fill their own gaps.

Joint research projects afford Kyzen the ability to learn from these like-minded experts and together we publish research about all facets of the cleaning process for the benefit of the global industry.

These experts come from many technical areas: cleaning equipment, soldering material, circuit board, stencil printing, reflow, wave soldering, component, metallurgists, label, reliability labs, consultants, conformal coating, water, process control and environmental companies. It is a big tent, but we have found this is the best approach to address the complex cleaning needs of the industry.

These focused research efforts help us learn more about the problem. From these insights, we advanced our knowledge toward helping our customers and uncovered innovation opportunities. Over the past 25 years, we have developed hundreds of new products and process advancements. Many of the ideas and process advancements have come from these joint research projects.

Q. Can you tell our readers about your

application labs? We understand they are equipped with a range of solder, test, cleaning and validation machines and technologies. How do these labs help Kyzen’s solve customer needs and continuously improve your products?

A.

Kyzen has four application labs: one at our headquarters in Nashville, TN, Engineering Lab in Manchester, NH, Maldegem Belgium and Penang Malaysia.

We’re currently building an application lab near Shanghai, China. The application labs are designed to help us solve customer cleaning needs, research new technologies and validate new products.

Many cleaning equipment companies place cleaning machines at our lab for research and customer testing.

The lab located in Nashville is also equipped with machines that allow us to assemble PCBs, clean, environmentally test as well as run failure analysis. We use these capabilities to characterize soils, test processing conditions, research circuit board designs that can improve cleanability effects, cleanliness testing, process control, process optimization, data logging and material compatibility.

In conjunction with the co-located R&D lab, the application lab in Nashville is instrumental in developing new technologies as well as proving and validating product performance before introducing these new technologies to the marketplace.

Hundreds of prospective and existing customer projects go through our application labs each year. The huge

Page 10

benefit is that we typically get the “hard ball” cleaning challenges. With the move to lead-free soldering and miniaturization, cleaning has become increasing complex and challenging.

The application labs have afforded us the ability to learn about emerging technologies and, from those insights, develop new products and processes to meet new challenges.

Q. Solder paste companies constantly

develop new products to improve reliability and conform to emerging safety standards. What cleaning challenges do you anticipate in the coming year?

A.

The flux portion of solder paste is needed to improve process yields.

Lead-free, miniaturization and hightemperature soldering requires complex flux compositions. The materials used within these flux compositions change cleaning properties. Kyzen has developed a working relationship with all the large solder paste companies. Each of these companies send solder pastes to our lab for solubility testing.

Kyzen has developed methodologies for characterizing the soil as well as developing solubility parameters and static cleaning rates. Our current solubility database on electronic soils is most likely the largest in the world. These standardized test methods enable a predictive model for matching the cleaning agent to the soil to the cleaning machine and also to the actual process parameters needed to get the job done.

Q. What technical trends have Kyzen seen emerge over the past 12 months?

A. Each year we update our technology roadmap. The industry is moving toward stack packages, through silicon vias, optoelectronics and embedded components.

These technologies are needed to support increased memory, higher processing speed, flash movies and graphics. Our goal is to learn about these technology trends and to understand cleaning needs.

Additionally, we see advancements in power electronics, medical, aerospace, information technology and industrial applications. Within each of these segments, the demand for high-quality cleaning has risen.

Q.

We keep hearing about the Learning Center on Kyzen’s Web site. For those not familiar with this service, can you explain what it is and the value that it provides to visitors?

A.

As we continue to add customers throughout the world, we are always looking for new ways to provide service, support and expertise to our customers 24/7. The Learning Center is one tool we have initiated to address this goal. Our

goal is to develop interactive video content to help customers solve problems, learn about current and new technologies, and guidelines for implementing best practices. We plan to expand the Learning Center with knowledge content that helps customers design their cleaning process, solve cleaning problems and select the right product for their application.

Q. We saw a new product from Kyzen

in 2013 – AQUANOX A8820 Stencil Cleaner. What drove the company to create this cleaner?

A.

Conventional wisdom tells us that stencil printing accounts for 60-70 percent of electronics assembly defects. Smaller components only increase stencil printing challenges. Over the past two years, Kyzen has thoroughly researched both onand off-the-stencil printer cleaning needs.

As always, our focus is on developing products that reduce electronics assembly defects, improve cleaning and reduce environmental effects. AQUANOX A8820 is a “Micro-Cell Technology™” that by design matches up and cleans today’s no-clean solder pastes, not simply the rosin products of yesteryear. One of a new broad suite of Kyzen products designed for on- and off-printer stencil cleaning, it is ideally suited for cleaning stencils after they have been removed from the printer in an automated cleaning machine. A8820 does not require a water rinse, which fulfills our goals for ever greener products by reducing rinse water waste streams.

Q.

We understand that in addition to the electronics manufacturing industry Kyzen is involved in industrial applications. Is Kyzen’s involvement split evenly between these industries?

Why or why not? Do you foresee one growing stronger than the other in the coming year? If so, can you explain your reasoning?

A.

Years ago, we began cleaning nonelectronic, so-called industrial parts for our electronic customers. As time went by, our environmentally-driven, continuous improvement approach started to attract inquiries from companies with no ties to the electronics industry. Today, Kyzen’s industrial products are an important part of our business throughout the world.

We see the cleaning world holistically with many individual, discrete challenges: highly active water soluble fluxes, nocleans non-reacted flux activators trapped under bottom termination components, high lead, industrial oils, greases, smuts or adhesives. All need to be removed thoroughly, economically and safely without harming the item being cleaned; the individuals doing the cleaning; and protecting the environment regardless of the industry. That in a nutshell is what we do here at Kyzen.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

Using 2D & 3D Inspection in a Single AOI Platform

by Brian D’Amico, President, of MIRTEC Corp.

The continuing evolution toward advanced miniature packaging has led to ever increasing PCB density and complexity.

As the manufacturing process becomes progressively more complicated, there is an ever increasing probability for defects to occur on finished PCB assemblies. For years the Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) industry has relied solely upon twodimensional (2D) inspection principles to test the quality of workmanship on electronic assemblies.

While advancements in conventional 2D optical inspection have made this technology suitable for detecting such defects as missing components, wrong components, proper component orientation, insufficient solder, and solder bridges; there is an inherent limitation in the ability to inspect for co-planarity of ultra-miniature chips, gull-wing leaded devices, BGAs and LED packages. True co-planarity inspection of these challenging devices is an absolute necessity and literally requires the addition of a third dimension in inspection capability; 3D inspection technology. It is important to understand that there are advantages and disadvantages associated with both 2D and 3D inspection technology. In order to achieve the highest level of quality assurance the AOI system must, therefore, use a combination of both 2D and 3D inspection technology in a single platform.

Understanding 2D Inspection Technology In this day and age, 2D inspection technology is the most widely adapted AOI solution available to electronics manufacturers.

The most advanced systems are configured with multiple ultra high resolution cameras, 10 to 15 Mega Pixel resolution, precision telecentric lenses and multi-tiered lighting technology to properly illuminate regions of interest across the assembly. The most technologically advanced hardware,

however, is not enough. The AOI system must also provide a sophisticated arsenal of 2D inspection algorithms to characterize and inspect for manufacturing defects on finished PCB assemblies.

In order to fully understand this technology we must examine both the advantages and disadvantages associated with 2D inspection. These are outlined in Table 1.

As we can see, although there are some inherent limitations with 2D inspection technology, there are some significant advantages which make 2D inspection an extremely viable technology. Even the simple ability to test for two dimensional component nomenclature and polarity indications is sufficient to make 2D technology an absolute requirement for automated inspection.

Understanding 3D Inspection Technology Although 3D inspection technology has existed for many years in the electronic inspection industry, this technology has primarily been reserved for inspecting solder paste depositions on printed circuit boards directly after the screen printing process. Over the past few years, however, 3D inspection has emerged as a viable technology for testing gull-wing and BGA devices as well as a host of other coplanarity sensitive circuitry on finished PCB assemblies. Of course, the main reason for the industry trend toward 3D inspection

technology is to compensate for the limitations of conventional 2D inspection.

There are basically two different methodologies by which 3D inspection is employed in AOI machines.

The first is Laser Measurement, the second is Multi-Frequency Moiré Phase Shift Image Processing. Laser Measurement methodology uses a laser subsystem to

scan across gull-wing lead tips as well as provide 3D measurement of BGA and other height sensitive devices. This proven methodology works very well for detecting co-planarity defects that may otherwise be missed with conventional 2D inspection. Unfortunately, this technology does not provide volumetric measurement of a given region of interest and is primarily reserved for testing gull-wing leaded devices and BGAs. Another limitation of Laser Measurement is the inability to inspect solder fillets post reflow.

Multi-Frequency Moiré is by far the most advanced methodology for testing true co-planarity of virtually any given region of interest on the PCB. Moiré 3D Phase Shift Image Processing is a methodology by which a single or multiple projectors are used to project a shifting pattern of lines on a given region of interest. A digital camera then captures the image of deformed lines as they are shifted across the test surface. By applying phase shift analysis and phase unwrapping techniques, the 3D profile of test surface can be reconstructed for precise measurement. Please refer to Figure 1.

Multi-Frequency Moiré takes this one step further in that two or more line patterns of differing frequencies are projected onto a given test surface in order to characterize objects of varying heights. Please refer to Figure 2.

Page 12

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

feature continued...

15 Mega Pixel downward camera with telecentric lens architecture, four (4) 10 Mega Pixel Side View Cameras, a Six Tier Color Lighting System and a Digital MultiFrequency Quad Moiré 3D subsystem.

Please note the exceptional image quality.

The most advanced systems employ a series of four or more Digital MultiFrequency Moiré Projection Probes to yield precise height measurement data which may then be used to detect lifted component and lifted lead defects as well as provide solder volumetric data post reflow. The fact that the probes are “digitally programmable” means that the pattern frequency may be altered via software to provide the ultimate in inspection flexibility.

The alternative methodology uses two “fixed” frequency patterns which may prove limited for some applications.

Once again, in order to fully understand 3D inspection we must examine the advantages and disadvantages associated with this technology. These are outlined in Table 2.

Table 2 below again illustrates a significant advantage from the modelling system when counting false failures after programming from 1, 10, and 30 panels.

Again the modelling system was around 3 x lower in false failure rates.

After carefully reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of both 2D inspection and 3D inspection it becomes increasingly evident that neither technology is completely capable of addressing the full complement of inspection requirements associated with the complexity of current

Page 14

and future electronic assemblies. In order to successfully cover the full range of inspect requirements without compromise, the AOI machine must provide both 2D and 3D inspection capability in a single platform.

The most technologically advanced AOI systems must essentially provide the following: • A “state of the art” 2D hardware / software engine configured with a minimum of five (5) ultra-high resolution cameras, precision telecentric lens architecture, and a multi-tiered lighting system combined with a sophisticated feature set of algorithms designed to leverage the various advantages associated with a 2D inspection technology.

• A 3D subsystem with either Laser Measurement or Multi-Frequency Moiré capability. In the case of the latter more desirable 3D inspection solution the system must be configured with four or more Multi-Frequency Moiré projection probes to provide highly accurate 3D imaging from which the system may extract precise volume and shape characteristics for any given region of interest on the finished PCB assembly.

The end result is a highly accurate quality assurance system which combines the advantages of 2D inspection technology with the advantages of 3D inspection technology without compromise. Figure 3 shows the inspection results from one such AOI system configured with a

conclusion The continuing trend toward higher PCB density and the ensuing miniaturization of electronic packaging technologies has resulted in an unprecedented level of complexity for the manufacturing process.

To contend with the complexity of today’s PCB assemblies, the AOI system must provide both 2D and 3D inspection capability. By combining the flexibility and accuracy of 2D inspection technology with the advanced measurement capability of 3D technology, the AOI system becomes an extremely effective tool that will provide manufacturers with a clear view into the manufacturing process, thereby helping them achieve higher operating efficiencies and improved quality.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

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3/3/14 10:56 AM

Storagesolutions Weaves Efficiency into BTSR’s Successful Yarn Control Solutions

by Massimo Rossetti, Quality Manager, BTSR International S.p.A.

For more than 25 years, BTSR International S.p.A. has been a worldwide leader in the design and development of advanced solutions for yarn control in a variety of industrial processes, from yarn preparation to textile manufacturing. Today, BTSR International is a world Reference Partner for major companies operating in the textile chain, by contributing to their production efficiency and quality improvement. ____________________________________

‘‘

BTSR International S.p.A. has been a worldwide leader in the design and development of advanced solutions for yarn control in a variety of industrial processes

____________________________________ To maintain its competitive edge while operating as efficiently as possible, BTSR International partnered with Storagesolutions, a division of Essegi System Service s.r.l., to use its range of leading intelligent storage systems to ensure that its SMD component stock remained in good order.

Before implementing the Storagesolutions systems three years ago, BTSR International performed an intensive competitive analysis. At the end of the process, it was found that the Storagesolutions units best fit the company’s needs for its SMD component stock. The solutions are dedicated and specific for SMD materials, they provide better performance in the ratio of system to floor space, they have the option of humidity control, numerous systems have been installed worldwide and the handling of the materials in the cases is exemplary.

BTSR International has installed numerous Storagesolutions’ intelligent storage systems at its facility, including seven ACS1500 systems, three ACS1500 with humidity control units and an ACS400 system with a humidity control unit.

“We are pleased that we have been able to help BTSR International solve many of its coding, management, material handling and humidity control issues,” said Storagesolutions’ Sales Director Matteo Padoan. “The ACS systems that BTSR has implemented are designed to use the full potential of the existing equipment used in its production department. Our goal is to help BTSR make its production run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

Coding and Management of Incoming Material Before the implementation of the intelligent storage systems, the coding and management of BTSR International’s incoming materials were performed by the operators in the main stock area. However, those operators were not trained to handle electronics components.

After the implementation of the Storagesolutions storage systems, all electronic stock was moved into the SMD production area. In this way, the operators that were handling and checking the incoming material were more skilled and

Page 16

trained to handle these types of sensitive components. This move resulted in numerous benefits, the top two being reduction of error during the coding and labeling of the new material as well as improved detection of non-compliant materials. ____________________________________

‘‘

the operators that were handling and checking the incoming material were more skilled and trained to handle these types of sensitive components

____________________________________ Handling of Materials for Production Also before the implementation of the intelligent storage management, all material needed for production was prepared, placed on pallets, and then moved to the SMD production area. Operators had to manually locate each component among many reels on the pallet as they went through the setup process. This was an inefficient use of time.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

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feature continued...

Humidity Control At first, BTSR International did not purchase the systems equipped with humidity control because it felt that the building’s air conditioning units were sufficient to maintain a reasonable humidity level. However, it experienced an issue in August 2012 in which the facility’s air conditioning failed. Because the company was closed for the summer holiday, the facility went a few weeks without air conditioning and humidity levels in the SMT department rose significantly. Once back in production, the company found that 10-15 percent of the LED Class 3 MSD components mounted on the PCBs failed. For this reason, it retrofitted three of its ACS1500 systems and the ACS400 system with Storagesolutions’ humidity control unit. Since that time, no further failures in this type of LED have occurred.

After the implementation of automatic systems, however, there were no more movements from the main stock to the SMD department. All material needed for production was already in the department and easily available.

exposure time beyond the limits, notifying the operator and blocking the component if the maximum limit is exceeded.

Moreover, the system uses software designed and developed solely for electronics production. It allows BTSR International to check in advance to ensure that the necessary reels and components are available and ready for production. ____________________________________

Storagesolutions offers a complete line of ACS automatic and intelligent component storage systems. All ACS intelligent static warehouses can be configured with the humidity control module. Thus, it is possible to control and monitor humidity, and to maintain an internal environment with humidity of less than five percent.

Marketing Value

‘‘

the facility went a few weeks without air conditioning and humidity levels in the SMT department rose significantly

____________________________________ This software provides the company with significant advantages, including the reduction of more than 50 percent of the handling time of the SMD components.

It also reduces line stoppages due to issues related to component handling.

Additionally, operator errors are eliminated in the selection and search of needed materials, as well as pallet flow problems from the main warehouse and the SMD department. With the AutoSMD software, the systems can trace all component movements and automatically calculate the

Page 18

“With the dynamic management of the intelligent storage systems, we have reduced our SMD stock space by 70 percent,” said BTSR International’s Massimo Rossetti. “We were able to move all stock in the SMT production area and gain more space in the main warehouse that previously was used for SMD components. Also, we no longer need space for transit materials waiting to be loaded in the lines.”

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

BTSR International is an international company that regularly invites customers onsite. With the Storagesolutions systems, the company can show customers firsthand how efficient and organized its production department is. Customers can also see firsthand how proficiently BTSR International stocks its primary materials (electronics components), showcasing its process and high-quality products.

“We consider Storagesolutions to be a very good investment and we intend to implement more as needed while updating our existing systems with new solutions,” concluded Rossetti.

2014 Global Flexible SMT Placement Equipment

CoMPany oF ThE yEar

Blakell europlacer was judged Based on five criteria: • growth strategy excellence • growth implementation excellence

frost and sullivan scored europlacer 9.5/10.0 total, which is significantly higher than the 7.9 and 7.0 scores earned by their two closest competitors, respectively.

• leadership in Market penetration

portfolio has helped strengthen its market position. By means of the high quality of its customer service, the company

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• degree of innovation with products and technologies • leadership in customer value

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Flexible SMT Placement Equipment market, Europlacer is recognized with the 2014 Company of the year award.”

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technology today interview

an interview with Claire Saunders, Event Director of National Electronics Week by smt today staff editor This year’s expo will take place at National Electronics Week Birmingham (Hall 2), UK from April 8-10

National Electronics Week (NEW) is a total industry event that focuses on rising-interest sectors such as embedded systems and software, rapid prototyping, component manufacturing, component distribution, power supplies, capital equipment, PCB equipment manufacturers, services and board manufacturers. Our editor recently caught up with Claire Saunders, NEW’s Event Director, to find out more about this expo and what this year’s edition will do to differentiate itself from other industry exhibitions. ____________________________________

‘‘

We have focused on areas of the industry that are strong in the UK and also complement each other well

____________________________________

Q.

We understand that this year’s show will focus on four major sections. Can you please tell us about these sections?

A. The 2014 event has been broken down into four key industry sectors. We have focused on areas of the industry that are strong in the UK and also complement each other well. Every sector event will have seminar and technical content and a wide range of global exhibitors.

The four sectors include: • Design & Test: Features include seminars and The PXI Show, which has integrated its event into ours.

Page 20

• Components & Power: Seminars will focus on global trends and this area is supported by ESCN, who will be driving the technical content. This sector already has a varied exhibitor focus and is getting stronger all the time. ____________________________________

‘‘

It is difficult to pinpoint sectors that cover such a complex industry but we feel that the four sector events highlighted complement the UK industry the best

____________________________________ • Production & EMS: Offering a true platform for companies wanting to show their capital equipment and machinery and shout about their manufacturing capabilities, the exhibitor list contains international and national brands and products.

Additionally, Advanced Rework Technology will run a full seminar programme, The IPC is holding its IPC Hand Soldering Competition live onsite, and NPL and The SMART Group are championing a Cleaning and Conformal Coating Experience.

• Embedded & Software: This sector event is being run alongside the Embedded Masterclass to reintroduce a focused event to the industry. The exhibition and conferences previously organized in the UK have changed focus and we feel that this event now offers engineers the ideal platform to learn, network and engage with the industry.

Q. Why were these sections chosen over any others? Do you feel that these best promote where the industry is heading? Why?

A. It is difficult to pinpoint sectors that cover such a complex industry but we feel that the four sector events highlighted complement the UK industry the best.

They also sit well alongside the other industrial shows running simultaneously at The NEC – these include MACH (the largest machinery manufacturing event in the UK) and Drives and Controls Expo.

Ultimately, we believe that it is important for the UK market to have strong dedicated events in these sectors.

Q. What other new features will be seen at this year’s NEW? In addition to briefly describing these, can you tell us what benefits these features will provide to exhibitors and attendees alike? ____________________________________

‘‘

we have a host of features and seminars for visitors to attend such as the PXI Show, the IPC Hand Soldering Competition, the Cleaning & Conformal Coating Experience and the Embedded Masterclasses

____________________________________

A. As previously mentioned, we have a host of features and seminars for visitors to attend such as the PXI Show, the IPC Hand Soldering Competition, the Cleaning

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

KIC ON BOARD

technology today interview

interview continued... & Conformal Coating Experience and the Embedded Masterclasses, giving attendees a chance to network and learn at the same time. In my opinion, what we are doing this year is more interactive than ever before, not only with the companies who are signing up to support the event and the features but with their enthusiasm to offer visitors a ‘show’ – I am really encouraged by the sense of excitement for National Electronics Week 2014. ____________________________________

relationships with other industry events, trade associations and publications globally who help us spread the name of National Electronics Week around the world. ____________________________________

‘‘

____________________________________

Being involved in this industry for a long time and being a proactive company, gave us the opportunity to act on requests from the industry and take our brand “on the road” in 2013

____________________________________

Q. In looking at the current exhibitor list, we notice many big name companies.

Has this list increased in numbers over the years? To what do you owe the increased numbers?

A.

As in many countries, you see global companies being represented via distribution. I urge visitors to look at our exhibitors’ profiles and see what products and services they represent – I am sure there will be names you did not realize you would see.

It is always our aim to improve our offering to visitors, with the event running every two years, I believe that both exhibitors and visitors are realizing the importance of attending, ensuring they keep up to speed with technology changes, industry updates, and meeting new and existing contacts.

After all, a lot happens in two years!

Q.

How does the show reach international attendees and visitors?

What, if anything, is used to encourage their presence?

A.

The UK is an incredibly important marketplace for electronics, we are often forgotten because of our size as an island but UK represents quality and knowledge. We are very lucky to have good

Page 22

‘‘

we’re inviting key buyers from around the world to meet UK companies and build business relationships Additionally, we are again working with the UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) on an International Brokerage Zone – inviting key buyers from around the world to meet UK companies and build business relationships. They will also run technical content that will help UK companies expand into new regions.

Q. We understand that NEW introduced regional events in 2013? Where are these held and how do they benefit the industry?

A. Being involved in this industry for a long time and being a proactive company, gave us the opportunity to act on requests from the industry and take our brand “on the road” in 2013. These events were small regional shows in the North West, Scotland and South West.

They gave visitors a chance to network with a key group of companies very close to their facilities and also allowed us to promote our National event to them. ____________________________________

‘‘

The UK market has had a tough time over the last six years and we have all survived one of the worst recessions the country has ever had.

National Electronics Week has maintained low exhibiting costs

____________________________________

Q.

The first NEW expo took place in 2008. Over the past six years, what affect would you say that the show has had on the UK market?

A.

The UK market has had a tough time over the last six years and we have all survived one of the worst recessions the country has ever had. National Electronics Week has maintained low exhibiting costs, easy to exhibit stand packages and additional extras onsite to help companies promote themselves. We hope that our event has given the industry a platform to build businesses and also promote capabilities.

We hope that our customers know that if they come to us with ideas and suggestions, we will take them into consideration and try to guide future events in the way they recommend – like the biennial format we have adopted.

Q. In general, how do you see business in the UK going in 2014? What importance does this market play in the industry’s global success?

A. UK electronics is a key part of the country’s success and future and, that along with general manufacturing has been neglected for a long time now.

Thankfully it looks like times are changing and there is a lot more manufacturing coming back home. ____________________________________

‘‘

Thankfully it looks like times are changing and there is a lot more manufacturing coming back home.

What we now, as a country, need to do is re-energise our offering to the industry

____________________________________ What we now, as a country, need to do is re-energise our offering to the industry.

New blood needs to be encouraged into this sector and UK companies and enterprises should shout about their successes and capabilities – exhibitions are a great way to do that because they allow people to engage, network and learn. The UK needs to step out of the shadows of other European countries and show how great it is.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

YOU’VE UPGRADED.

SHOULDN’T YOU UPGRADE YOUR STENCIL PRINTER? 1993 saw the introduction of the Single Roving camera to cope with demands of that era.

Twenty years later the world is a very different place.

You would like to think something would change to manage today’s more demanding technological challenges .

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Dual Roving Camera Its the SMART way Forward

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technology today interview

an interview with Frank Silva, Vice President of Sales, MatriX-FocalSpot by smt today staff editor Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Munich/Feldkirchen (Germany), MatriX Technologies GmbH is a leading global supplier of high-speed automated In-line X-ray inspection systems.

Their systems are used to control the manufacturing process and to ensure the quality of critical electronic devices/ components and electronic PCBs manufactured by its customers within series production. Additionally, MatriX supplies manual, semi-automated and automated inspection solutions for nondestructive testing of other non-electronic materials.

MatriX’s inspection system solutions assist its global customer base to achieve and fulfill the highest quality demands for critical parts and components. MatriX Technologies has presence in Germany, China, Singapore, Japan and the US. MatriX-FocalSpot, Inc. is MatriX Technologies’ US-based subsidiary and supplier of high-quality manual and semi-automated X-ray inspection systems.

Our editor recently sat down with Frank Silva, the vice president of sales at MatriXFocalSpot, to find out about the merger and how this will positively affect the industry.

Q.

We understand that MatriX Technologies acquired FocalSpot in May 2013. What advantages does this acquisition bring to FocalSpot?

A.

The acquisition provides numerous benefits, especially technology, development and an existing automated X-ray inspection (AXI) product line.

By adapting MatriX’s advanced X-ray inspection software (MIPS) to the FocalSpot MXI product line, we are generating a unique common X-ray software platform for all MXI/AXI systems.

Q. Why did MatriX choose FocalSpot as its partner?

A. The teams at MatriX and FocalSpot have

known each other and worked together since the early 1990s so there is some strong history in place from both a development perspective and working relationship.

FocalSpot offered MatriX a North American support base and an existing manual X-ray product line with approximately 400 installed machines worldwide.

Page 24

Q.

Q.

A. MatriX employed some sales and service staff in the US before, but this is the first time that MatriX has formalized their corporate presence in North America.

MatriX has an install base of more than 40 machines in North America.

A.

Is this MatriX’s first time having a presence in North America?

Q. Why did the company choose to expand into North America?

A.

The acquisition will further strengthen MatriX Technologies’ market position in the US and North America by adding FocalSpot’s highly experienced sales and service staff as well as its strong NorthAmerican Sales and Support network to the MatriX Group.

Q. How do you anticipate the acquisition affecting MatriXFocalSpot’s future growth/presence in the X-ray inspection market?

A.

MatriX is a market leader in the development of advanced X-ray technology for production inspection as opposed to off-line metrology or basic inspection use.

The integration of MatriX’s technology into the former FocalSpot equipment concepts will further develop and enhance FocalSpot’s current X-ray product line with its advanced engineered hardware and software technology platforms. The systematic consolidation of important operating functions, such as production, provides for additional synergy effects.

Q. Do you think the strategy of acquiring companies is a good move in today’s industry? Why or why not?

A.

Company growth is crucial to staying ahead of the competition. That requires capital, development, know-how and an energetic team. When acquisitions bring those elements into an organization then, yes, it is a good move.

Looking ahead to the end of 2014, in what aspect(s) do you foresee the company growing the most? Is this on track with your growth strategy plan?

There are three submarkets to X-ray inspection: off-line use, off-line metrology and advanced failure analysis, and production inspection. MatriX-FocalSpot will grow share in off-line use as we demonstrate to the market a new concept of automating manual inspection as well as in production inspection through our additive products of manufacturing cell (off-line) inspection concepts. These include automated handling as well as the introduction of pure in-line post reflow AXI inspection products. We believe that our growth plan and these new products have us positioned to strongly increase market share before the end of 2014.

Q. What separates your company from its competition?

A. From the beginning, we have strived to provide our customers with a high-quality, innovative inspection approach as well as advanced support. We offer a combination of an in-house developed, industry-proven inspection software (MIPS) and high-end inspection hardware featuring state-ofthe-art components in a high value priceperformance-ratio.

Q. In an ever-tightening industry, what benefits does MatriX FocalSpot provide to its customers that can help them excel?

A. First and foremost, we provide strong support to get the most out of the equipment and continued development of feature sets that support production inspection and process control to quickly and easily screen defects before other tests and provide fast feedback to improve process control to reduce defects.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

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1/15/14 10:35 A

NPL/SMART Conformal Coating & Cleaning Experience by bob willis & keith bryant, smt todays’s tech editor This year NPL & SMART focus on conformal coating and each process decision a design or process engineer needs to make.

Correct choices during introduction, subcontract or for process improvement are key to obtaining the highest reliability in demanding environments. So don’t miss the opportunity to spend one, two or three days looking at all things coating and cleaning in conjunction with the New Electronics Week.

“It’s a very exciting project and will be a feature not to be missed by any process, quality or design engineers,” said Bob Willis, NEW Feature coordinator. It’s a great opportunity to work with stateof-the-art equipment and interact with technical experts from these companies

This great event has already been run at several major global exhibitions and has been a great success, drawing huge interest from visitors and indeed being the reason many even visited the event.

SMART and NPL are giving technologists in the UK a chance to join in this experience and gain knowledge that will benefit them and their companies. After the move to lead-free many companies changed to cleaning and coating regimes to increase reliability and counteract tin whiskers etc., making the timing of this event ideal. ____________________________________

Conformal Coating Prizes

‘‘

FREE Conformal Coating Webinar

SMART and NPL are giving technologists in the UK a chance to join in this experience and gain knowledge that will benefit them and their companies

____________________________________ Each presentation will last around 20 minutes. After the presentations, there will be an opportunity to learn more with hands-on experience of the key processes and testing and inspection techniques used during cleaning, masking and coating board assemblies. The Conformal Coating & Cleaning Experience area will provide practical and theoretical experience in coating materials, application methods, inspection and rework with seminars and free process consultancy. It will be an ideal area to meet experts in cleaning and coating, get advice, learn about the process and solve problems at the NEC.

Page 26

During the show visitors will have the opportunity to win Conformal Coating Training packs plus IPC Standards pack to aid their successful implementation of coating processes. These include: • Interactive Conformal Coating Process & Defect Guide CD ROM • Conformal Coating Defect Photo Library • Conformal Coating Inspection & Defect Wall Charts

Wednesday 9th April 10.30 Dip or Spray Coating Advantages and Disadvantages 11.30 IPC, ESA and NASA Inspection Requirements for Coating 1.30 In-Process Quality Control for Conformal Coating PCBs 2.30 Cleaning Printed Board Assemblies for Coating 3.30 Confirming Component Compatibility with Cleaning Materials Thursday 10th April 10.30 In-House or Contract Coating Cost and Implementation 11.30 PCB Contamination Testing Options for Coated Boards 1.30 Test Methods for Conformal Coating Reliability 2.30 Conformal Coating Defects Causes and Cures

Prior to this year’s show, we will hold a free Webinar “Conformal Coating Inspection Defects – Causes and Cures” on Thursday 20th March at 2.30pm UK Time and presented by Bob Willis – NPL Defect Database Coordinator.

To see and obtain a copy of the presentations, visit the “NPL/ SMART Conformal Coating & Cleaning Experience” Feature Area at National Electronics Week Tuesday 8th April 10.30 Design Rules for Conformal Coating and Cleaning 11.30 Clean or No-Clean for Conformal Coating Reliability 1.30 Selecting a Coating Based on Product and Environment 2.30 Reworking Conformal Coating and Component Damage 3.30 Process and Field Failures with Coatings

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

BOB WILLIS Bob Willis currently operates a training and consultancy business based in England and has created one of the largest collections of interactive training material in the industry. With his online training Webinars Bob has provided a cost-effective solution to training worldwide and regularly runs training for SMTA, SMART, IPC and recently EIPC. Although a specialist for companies implementing lead-free manufacture, Mr. Willis has provided worldwide consultancy in most areas of electronic manufacture over the last 25 years. This is based on working in manufacture with contract assembly, printed board manufacture and environmental test facilities. This has earned him the SOLDERTEC/ Tin Technology Global Lead-Free Award for his contribution to the industry. He has also been presented with the SMTA International Leadership Award and IPC Committee Award for contribution to their standards activity.

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Carolina Electronics Assemblers’ Business Outlook Results in Reshored Business

by Carolina Electronics Assemblers Inc.

is entering a trend in which company owners and managers are developing a “collective conscious” and factor that into manufacturing decisions. Finally, offshore rates are rising due to labor rate convergence around the world.

The company’s commitment to quality is at the forefront of each and every process it uses, which helps make the decision to keep manufacturing in the United States an easy one. CEA’s equipment and processes are optimized for maximum efficiencies.

Highly trained and experienced production personnel are able to recognize defects and potential problems before value is added.

Carolina Electronics Assemblers, Inc. (CEA) is a leading contract electronics manufacturer that specializes in the development and manufacturing of printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies, cable assemblies and related electronic products. Headquartered in Smithfield, NC, the company offers a full range of services from simple prototype assemblies to full turnkey solutions, giving customers maximum flexibility when choosing the level of service required. CEA currently operates from a 50,000 sq. ft. state-ofthe-art facility with the ability to expand to allow for future growth.

CEA strives to keep business in the United States and also works to win contracts that are coming back from China.

According to the company, the formula for “onshoring” or “reshoring” is comprised of two parts: First, increase efficiency without sacrificing quality. By doing this, CEA was able to create a more aggressive internal pricing structure that, in turn, helps provide a more competitive end customer pricing model. The second part is to educate customers about what the total and true cost of offshore manufacturing means to their organization and how that compares to US manufacturing.

In many organizations, the different areas of cost are controlled by different people and sometimes even different

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departments. This can lead to a misleading cost analysis when one compares actual unit price only. By educating people at all levels and bringing them together to analyze the total true cost picture, the company has reduced the perceived cost gap. In many cases, the final cost analysis indicates that the cost of onshore manufacturing quickly approaches the cost of offshore manufacturing and has significantly fewer headaches to go with it.

“I think there is a growing trend to bring manufacturing back to the United States. In addition to the issues listed above, I believe we are starting to see people really care about ‘made in the USA.’ Our employees take great pride in being able to say that the products we produce are indeed made in the USA and tend to be superior in quality from many of the products we have seen made offshore,” said Steve Yauch, President of CEA. There are other factors involved when customers evaluate their options for manufacturing locations. First, “time to market” windows continue to shrink and because many want to keep inventories low, it can be almost impossible to manage offshore lead times. Additionally, there has been much publicity about the working conditions in many offshore facilities. Yauch believes that the industry

A large part of the company’s success is attributed to the employees. “As much as it sounds like a cliché, most of our success can be attributed to our people. If you find a dedicated, conscientious group of individuals, give them the right tools and let them know they can impact their future as well as that of the company as a whole, success just seems to come on its own,” said Yauch.

He added that CEA takes a team approach to problem solving and as such, conducts frequent “in-process” inspections to guarantee delivery of the highest quality products and services to customers. The complete satisfaction of each customer is CEA’s top priority, and that pledge is the foundation upon which the company stakes its reputation.

One of the aspects that CEA has taken in order to live up to that pledge is to best manage its raw material lead times.

Yauch commented that the company currently is seeing volatility in areas that historically have been stable. In order to combat this issue, CEA is spending more time managing material and working on creative collaborations with both its customers and its suppliers. Enter Juki Automation Systems.

Several years ago, CEA’s local Juki representative, Bob Doetzer from Circuit Technology, introduced Yauch to the Juki product. “At the time, I was very

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

AOI systems allow CEA to closely monitor all of its PCB assemblies for component accuracy, proper solder joints, component defects and electrical shorts. The X-ray system provides us with the capability to look within and under components such as BGAs for manufacturing defects.

impressed, but did not have the budget to purchase a new SMT line,” he said. In 2012, the company began replacing some of its older SMT equipment and spent several months evaluating all of the major equipment manufacturers’ products. “Once we looked at the price vs. performance comparisons, it became an obvious choice,” Yauch added.

In addition to price and comparison, there are numerous other reasons that CEA partnered with Juki. First is the quality of equipment. “When a company provides the type of warranty that Juki provides, you know they believe in the quality and reliability of their equipment,” said Yauch.

Second, Juki offers free training for the life of the equipment. Over time, this can be a significant cost saving. Third, Juki’s proximity to the CEA facility has allowed the company to partner with Juki on several fronts and create a true partnership that Yauch believes will be the cornerstone for long-term success.

The company finished the installation and training on its first Juki line in June 2013. As of now, that line is simply called “LINE 3.” However, Yauch mentioned that after a few months, engineers will name each piece of equipment and the entire line (typically the names come from a famous movie). “One of the chip shooters we recently replaced was called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and was installed on the Disney Line (also known as line 1),” said Yauch. While this might seem somewhat unusual, Yauch said that it adds some levity on the production floor.

CEA will install a second Juki line in early September 2013 and has plans to purchase a third line sometime in early 2014. Additionally, it is installing automated material handling and storage equipment from Juki in late September 2013. It is anticipated that the combination of the three Juki lines and one of the company’s existing lines will provide the capacity to handle growth for the next several years. “However,” Yauch added, “Should the need arise, I will not hesitate to purchase additional Juki equipment as needed.”

CEA offers a range of services important to helping its customers reach best-in-class status. The three main services include turnkey, PCB and value-add. CEA’s turnkey services include cable assemblies, box build, conformal coating, potting, labels/overlays/front panels, full functional testing, programming and mechanical design documentation. Its PCB assembly services consist of both prototype and production. CEA is capable of both through-hole and SMT auto placement.

Through-hole assembly consists of DIP, radial and axial insertion.

SMT capabilities include components down to 01005, BGA and CSP and up to 48” LED boards. Finally, it’s value-add services are designed to keep companies running as efficiently as possible and include SMT tape-and-reel, through-hole sequencing, material management, manufacturing documentation, SMT and through-hole board repair.

• Cable/Harness Assembly: CEA has a full array of automated equipment to deal with industry vendors as well as wire processing capabilities from 350MCM to 28awg and harness board layout and assembly.

Additionally, it uses IPC/WHMA-A-620 industry standards for assembly and it does not use drawing or BOM. Finally, it can reverse engineer.

• Cable Test: The company uses industrystandard testers as well as a wire tester for harness board assemblies. High-voltage/ current ground testing is available and custom tester development is available based on customer need.

• PCB Repair: CEA has a BGA rework station as well as a well-equipped designated rework area.

• Wave Solder: There are two totally independent wave solder machines available. The first is used for non-RoHS solder operations while the second is used for RoHS-compliant assemblies. The SAC 305 solder alloy is used for this unit.

• Engineering design services for electrical designs, mechanical design and in-house 3-D printing capabilities.

“Think of CEA as an extension of your own manufacturing department,” said Yauch.

“From concept to completion, we work one-on-one to provide customers with the exact solution required. The versatility of our manufacturing and engineering capabilities accommodates all production volumes from simple prototype assemblies to high-volume production.”

CEA also provides a long and varied portfolio of capabilities: • Surface Mount Equipment: Their facility is equipped with three complete SMT lines, each containing chip shooters, finepitch placement and 10-zone ovens. CEA also uses advanced software that provides the flexibility needed to set up production on any of the three lines with little or no programming downtime, reducing set up cost and lead times.

• Automated Through-Hole Equipment: The company uses an axial, radial and dip inserter as well as a sequencer.

• PCB Inspection: The facility is equipped with two AOI and an X-ray machine. The

• Other: In use in CEA’s facility, there are four slide lines and 22 individual work cells for manual solder operations. These work areas are separated into RoHS and nonRoHS cells. Additionally, there are three final QC inspection stations, a designated area for final assembly, cable assembly and box build.

“We are constantly improving our people, our processes and our management in order to exceed our customers’ expectations each and every time. We are committed to unparalleled customer service and earning long-term customer loyalty,” concluded Yauch.

Jet Technology: Advancements in Fluid Dispensing

by Can La, Product Manager, Techcon Systems, OK International Inc.

Electronic devices are growing in demand and shrinking in size, requiring manufacturing and packaging technologies to dispense new varieties of materials in microscopic amounts with ever-increasing speed and accuracy.

As a result, fluid dispensing has grown from the early use of a small plunger manually pushing fluid out of a syringe to today’s sophisticated computercontrolled devices. Traditional fluid dispensing methods are hampered by slow speed. Non-contact jet dispensing offers speed, precision and a lower cost of ownership. While the best method is ultimately determined by the material and application at hand, jetting provides a superior technology and a wide process window.

Common Dispensing Methods and Techniques Time/Pressure Dispensing Time/Pressure Dispensing (TPD) methods use a syringe and a pneumatic valve. The TPD Syringe method utilizes controlled and timed air pressure, producing a measured shot of air that forces fluid out of a syringe, through the dispensing needle and onto the work surface. Due to its simplicity and low cost, this method is widely used in bench top applications. To achieve more repeatable results, TPD valve methods incorporate a pneumatic valve to better control the volume of fluid being dispensed. For low to medium viscosity fluids, a Needle valve or a Diaphragm valve is recommended. An automated controller opens a piston/needle assembly or diaphragm, which in turn opens a path for the fluid to flow through. When the air signal stops, the piston returns to the original position and closes the valve. Time and pressure can be precisely controlled to dispense dots or continuous beads of fluid. Higher viscosity fluids often require a Spool Valve, where the piston drives down to open the fluid path. When the dispense cycle is completed, the spring of internal compression lifts the piston up to close the valve, creating a natural back-suction feature that prevents drips.

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Positive Displacement Methods A common weakness of time/pressure dispensing is its susceptibility to fluctuations in the dispensed fluid‘s viscosity. If the fluid becomes thicker or thinner, pressure must be adjusted accordingly to maintain repeatability. One way to avoid this problem is to use a SemiPositive Displacement Method such as a Rotary or Auger pump. The auger pump uses a rotary feed screw (auger) that rotates inside a fluid chamber to push fluid from the auger inlet to the dispense tip. A better way to control repeatability of the dispense process is with a True Positive Displacement Method. As the name suggests, pushing down in a displacement chamber pumps an identical volume of fluid out of a matching dispensing chamber. Displacement pumps vary by the type of mechanical action used, such as the Progressive Cavity Pump, Piston Pump and Peristaltic Pump.

Common Disadvantages to Common Methods TPD and Positive Displacement dispensing methods have an inherent disadvantage: slow dispensing speed. This is because they are both contact dispensing methods and thus require repetitive Z-axis motion—move down to place the fluid, then move up to break away. As it retracts, the dispense head sometime leave behind strings or tails that can contaminate the work surface or create unwanted interconnections. Programming special manoeuvres to reduce stringing/ tailing is only moderately effective and adds even more time. To produce today’s microelectronic assemblies, surface mount technology (SMT) requires increasingly smaller and tighter dispensing at faster speeds, and with greater accuracy and higher yield, posing a challenge for traditional dispense methods.

Jet Technology: Fluid Dispensing at Jet Speed

contact dispensing, a jet hovers over and shoots fluid at the work surface without ever touching it. The difference is like a fountain pen versus an inkjet printer.

Jetting is primarily a valve-based technology. In piezoelectric systems, voltage is applied to a piezoceramic stack which then expands/contracts to operate the valve. In air-actuated systems, air pressure operates the valve. However, instead of the large sliding valve stem in conventional needle valves, one of the newer jet valves utilizes a very low mass diaphragm, which requires less energy and speeds up the process. In jet dispensing, the fluid is separated from the applicator using droplet momentum and the result is a perfectly round dot. Jetting produces dots of extremely small size, low volume and high consistency. Also, jet dispensing’s positive shut-off can execute precise lines and sharp corners. By incorporating a multifunction process controller, dispensing results can be perfected by fine-tuning jet and fluid pressures, drop size, drop rate, and dispensing parameters such as refill and dwell time.

Figure 1. Diaphragm Jet valve only has two wetted parts

Jet Technology represents a paradigm shift in precision dispensing. With traditional contact methods, a needle touches down and physically applies the fluid; with non-

Jet technology is perhaps best defined by what does not happen during jetting: There is no contact with the work surface. There is no needle and there is no Z-axis motion

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feature continued... required to dispense. These distinguishing features provide advantages in dispensing speed and agility, dot capability and quality, maintenance, throughput, and cost of ownership.

Jet Tech Advantage: Speed A significant advantage of jet dispensing comes from the elimination of Z-axis motion. By removing the stop-down-up motion required for contact dispensing and adhesion, jets can dispense “on the fly,” greatly increasing speed for very high frequency dispensing (short bursts up to 1000 Hz at full stroke). Also, since jetting takes place above the work surface, it eliminates the time-consuming requirement of constantly monitoring the Z-axis position. Finally, non-contact dispensing leaves behind no strings or tails thereby eliminating the additional time/ motion required to prevent/correct them.

Figure 2. Piezo Jet offers extremely

high-speed dispensing Jet Tech Advantage: Agility Since there is no needle, fitting into tight spaces or disturbing other parts is not an issue. Jetting can deposit fluid in spaces where needles cannot fit—a common dilemma when dispensing between closely arranged components. Also, since there is no touching down to dispense, there is no need to accommodate work surface topography.

Jet Tech Advantage: Capability Compared to traditional dispensing, jetting produces dots of smaller size and volume—newer jets achieve dot size as

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small as 10 nl with high-viscosity fluids and 2 nl with low- to medium-viscosity fluids. Since dispense tip build-up is not a concern, multiple dots can be stacked to form larger dots. A line, circle, or any shape or solid is a simple matter of jetting dots shoulder-to-shoulder—without changing the tooling or slowing down to guarantee surface adhesion. Sharp lines can meet at corners without a pool of media building up while the needle changes directions.

Jet Tech Advantage: Quality By definition, non-contact dispensing means that no applicator touches the work surface. Eliminating work surface contact means no drips, strings or tails. Since only the dispensed fluid touches the work surface, surface adhesion is undisturbed.

Dot size remains consistent because there is no wicking to the needle, no fluid build-up on the needle, and no dripping from the needle. Since fluid is dispensed from above the work surface rather than pressed onto it, adhesion quality does not suffer from work surface irregularities such as inconsistent cleanliness, warping, or non-flatness.

Jet Tech Advantage: Maintenance In fluid dispensing, clean is good, but cleaning time is down time. Conventional dispensers have a fluid ejection device to purge and as many as eight dynamic fluid seals to disassemble and clean. With jet dispensing, cleaning is quick and tool-free.

For example, a key component of one of the newest jets on the market is its valve—a single diaphragm and nozzle plate. Only these two parts contact the fluid, so only these two parts need cleaning. The jet can remain on the robot, clean parts are reinstalled immediately and, since no special off-line cleaner is required, there is no need to re-calibrate the system.

Jet Tech Advantage: Throughput As described above, the easy maintenance of jet dispensers results in less down time.

Non-contact dispensing means the work surface and its components and wires are not damaged if the needle accidentally touches them. Eliminating Z-axis motion also eliminates the use of a Z-axis standoff, which is prone to media buildup and requires constant attention to avoid damaging the work surface. Less damage means less costly and time-consuming rework. Finally, jet dispensing simplifies parts handling, since additional support under the work surface is not necessary.

Jet Tech Advantage: Cost of Ownership The greatest value to jet technology is fluid dispensing at greater speed and with higher quality results than with traditional contact dispensing. Additionally, jet methods produce smaller wetted paths and thus waste less fluid, require less down time for cleaning and maintenance, and offer greater yields due to less damage to the customer’s product. Process controllers that offer micro-increment control of key dispense parameters allow dispensing programs to be easily adjusted for batch-to-batch changes in materials or fluid characteristics, reducing time, money and material wasted on trial-anderror tinkering. A single jet dispensing system can easily accommodate multiple applications. As new opportunities and materials arise, dispensing capabilities (and the system’s value) can be increased by adding nozzles, diaphragms and nozzle plates in a variety of sizes and shapes. ____________________________________

‘‘

Advancements in jet technology and system design continue to expand the range of jetable materials, such as jetting silicone phosphor in LED assemblies

____________________________________ Jetting Applications: Shooting for Perfection Jet dispensing is common in SMT applications such as silver epoxy for die bonding, adhesive dispensing for component assembly and encapsulant underfill for flip chips. Advancements in jet technology and system design continue to expand the range of jetable materials, such as jetting silicone phosphor in LED assemblies.

Non-contact dispensing has also been the biomedical industry’s method of choice. For creating assays and lab-on-a-chip materials, jetting offers a contamination-free method for making tiny deposits of rare, sensitive or expensive fluids with little waste. Because of its positive shut-off and repeatable shot size, jet dispensing has become a popular method for pipetting in the life sciences. As advancements in technology continue to both miniaturize and multiply the devices we can’t live without, it is certain that jet technology will make them possible.

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VJ Electronix Redefines AFFORDABLE X-RAY INSPECTION

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BGA X-ray Inspection

The new Vertex II from VJE sets a new standard for affordable X-ray inspection. With improved imaging, a smaller footprint and a full suite of quantitative software tools, VJE has created a new value proposition for production ready X-ray. With enhanced performance and the same trusted reliability, Vertex II is the clear choice for your production X-ray requirements.

VJ Electronix, Inc. 234 Taylor Street, Littleton, Massachusetts USA 01460 +1 978 486 4777 www.vjelectronix.com

See us at APEX, Booth 2553

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new products exciting new industry innovation Keeping you informed of the latest developments in technology and innovation within our global electronics industry.

trolley are also available so that the system can quickly and easily be equipped with different solder alloys.

The modern control concept with touchscreen visualization guarantees simple and safe machine operation and continuously monitors all important operating statuses. What is especially nice with the youngest Ersa POWERFLOW model is its outstanding price-performance ratio providing an early ROI – even with high solder prices.

Kurtz Ersa Introduces POWERFLOW e N2

____________________________________

Kurtz Ersa North America, a leading supplier of electronics production equipment, introduces the POWERFLOW e N2. The compact full tunnel wave soldering system significantly reduces solder consumption as well as the unit cost attributable to the process.

ERSA’s POWERFLOW e N2 relies on high-end technology. Due to innovative concepts for fluxer and preheating as well as an enameled stainless steel solder pot, this compact wave soldering system offers its user optimal conditions for energyefficient, safe and repeatable processes.

The entire N2 process tunnel is made of stainless steel and designed for lowest nitrogen consumption.

The preheating system consists of a modular, flexible and expandable preheating concept with a combination of convection and emitter heating systems. With intelligent spray fluxers and the use of high-quality materials and perfect geometries in the solder module, the POWERFLOW line provides the best soldering results in combination with Ersa’s many years of experience in Nitrogen lead-free production lines.

Additionally, the conveyor system can be designed as finger or pallet conveyor. If desired, exchangeable solder pots with

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can be configured with a single nozzle or dual nozzle for increased flexibility. It supports an easy-to-use exchangeable solder pot for dual alloys. The CUBE.460 comes equipped with many standard features that include heated nitrogen at the soldering nozzle, 0° and 7° soldering to accommodate various types of nozzles including wetted nozzle tips and nonwetted nozzles, a live viewing camera, and fast-reacting Quartz IR bottom side preheater to name a few.

With the CUBE.460, users are in good hands with the Juki service and support team, which is the largest in the Americas.

Here is a list of what comes with the purchase of the CUBE.460: • Installation and training • One year parts and labour warranty • One week of advanced process training to be used anytime within the warranty period • No charge for attendance at any regularly scheduled training course at Juki facilities • Free machine software upgrades for life of machine • Free 24-hour phone support

Juki Introduces the New CUBE.460 Batch Selective Soldering System Juki Automation Systems (JAS), Inc., a world-leading provider of automated assembly products and systems and part of Juki Corporation, introduces the new CUBE.460 Selective Soldering System.

The system’s low cost and small footprint uses the same soldering technology found on Juki’s larger platforms while offering a superior ROI of 6-12 months.

The CUBE.460 sets the new standard for mini-wave soldering systems. The unique batch platform offers excellent flexibility for through-hole applications. The CUBE.460

For more information about Juki Automation Systems, visit their website at www.jukiamericas.com ________________________________

Viscom Quality Uplink The five steps for effective process control Effectiveness not only plays an important role in purchasing, logistics and workflows, but a decisive competitive advantage also is achieved in respect to the inspection concept and the use of AOI and AXI systems by linking information. The Viscom Quality Uplink successfully links SPI, AOI, AXI and MXI. This prevents human false accepts, reduces manufacturing costs and increases the first-pass yield.

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Precision and Reliability You Can Count On • 17,100 CPH Chip (Laser Centering/IPC9850)

KE-3020V High-Speed Flexible Mounter

• 9,470 CPH IC (Vision Centering/MNVC)

t us a t i s Vi ooth B X APE 11 2

• From 01005 (0402 metric) to 74 mm square components or 50x150 mm • Three Year Full Parts Warranty

Flexibility and Quality You Can Trust.

Supporting our customers with the largest and most experienced service group in the Americas.

Global Headquarters

Tokyo, Japan Tel: (+81) 3 3480 1111 Email: inqsmt@juki.co.jp

American Headquarters Morrisville, NC, U.S.A. Tel: (+1) 919 460 0111 Email: sales@jas-smt.com

European Headquarters

Solothurn, Switzerland Tel: (+41) 32 626 29 29 Email: info-europe@jas-smt.com

Macon Argentina

Cachi 266 C.A.B.A. Tel: (+54911) 4911 8280 Email: info@MacOnNet.com

www.jas-smt.com

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new products continued...

The Viscom Quality Uplink features a closed-loop connection to the paste printer. This allows the SPI to initiate an automated correction of the solder paste printing or optimize cleaning cycles.

Additionally, Viscom offers verification of the stencil design in the framework of program generation. The forward loop of the automatic correction of component placement is also possible. When viewing the 3-D SPI in the direction of the end-ofline process, the Quality Uplink makes it possible to optimize the SMT process in five steps by linking SPI information with post-reflow AOI, AXI or MXI. Step 1: Image Uplink — In the first step, the SPI defect patterns are transferred as a bitmap to the post-reflow classification station. After the AOI defect verification, the SPI-only defects are subsequently displayed as well. These are the defects that were detected on the SPI but were no longer noticeable on the AOI since they were corrected during the process. Here, the Image Uplink helps the operator to verify the displayed soldered connection.

Step 2: With the Paste Uplink, Viscom offers the option of displaying the results of the paste inspection in the framework of the AOI or AXI defect classification. For all soldered connections of an affected component ID, the 3-D and 2-D paste information and features are available, regardless of the SPI inspection result.

Additionally, the information from all adjacent soldered connections can be called up, avoiding misclassifications (human false accepts) to the greatest possible extent when the result of the solder joint inspection is verified.

Step 3: With the Solder Uplink, additional images of the finished soldered connection for SPI-only defects and/or SPI limit defects are provided automatically. A feature of the Viscom 3-D SPI is used to generate so-called ‘warnings.’ In addition to the categories ‘certainly good’ and ‘certainly bad,’ there is the group of ‘paste application in the limit range,’ which is especially relevant for paste printing.

These views can be recorded orthogonally, angled, in 2-D and 3-D, and in color.

Together, with the detailed information from the SPI, they provide clear indications of how certain irregularities have behaved after soldering. The additional images can come from the AOI as well as the AXI or MXI. This comparison makes it easy to develop the optimum inspection strategy and optimally use resources.

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Step 4: TITUS Uplink — As previously mentioned with the Solder Uplink, Viscom distinguishes between marginal defects and definitive real defects, i.e. specification violations, in the paste inspection. Both limits can be defined independently of one another according to the component type.

Depending on the paste measurement values, the TITUS Uplink can be used to define the inspection strategy online, while taking the AOI inspection into consideration. For example, the rules can be defined in relation to products or components. The configuration takes place on the Viscom SPI and determines rules such as which inspection step is addressed and when. Depending on the inspection result, particular inspection steps can be eliminated or activated, resulting in false call reduction, improved quality and increased efficiency.

Step 5: All relevant AOI, SPI, MXI and AXI data can be saved for later process analysis and quality optimization with the Process Uplink. Using the Viscom Uplink Process Analyzer (VUPA), all defects that have occurred can be subsequently analyzed on an offline PC. The functions offer direct conclusions about the soldering result and the corresponding paste inspection results. Therefore, the Process Uplink can directly help define optimized defect limits.

The advantages include cost reduction, process and quality optimization and complete documentation.

Finally, the wide product range of Viscom systems makes it possible to include the inspection results of the MXI systems (off-line X-ray inspection) in the uplink in addition to the AOI and AXI results. All inspection data from the Viscom 3-D solder paste inspection can be displayed at the verification station and compared with the images of the X-ray inspection.

The Viscom Quality Uplink makes it possible to better understand process limits and link all inspection data and results in such a way that they are available where they are needed. This conserves valuable resources and optimizes manufacturing costs. ____________________________________

Engineered Material Systems Introduces New NonConductive Paste Engineered Material Systems (EMS), a leading global supplier of electronic materials for electronics applications, debuts its 585-1 Non-Conductive Paste (NCP) designed for flip chip packaging applications.

This new NCP is designed to provide high reliability to the gold stud bump interconnects used in flip chip packaging.

585-1 has very high fracture toughness, adhesion, is ionically clean and cures in seconds during thermal compression bonding at 200°C. It is the latest addition to Engineered Material Systems’ extensive line of electronic materials for semiconductor, circuit assembly, photovoltaic, printer head, camera module, disk drive, printed electronic and photonic applications. ____________________________________

Productions Solutions to Debut New RED-E-SET XHD Line Production Solutions Inc., manufacturer of the industry-leading RED-E-SET Board Support System, announces the debut of its new line of RED-E-SET Xtra High Density (XHD) products.

The RED-E-SET XHD units offer the highest density pin coverage on the market and are designed for difficultto-support PCBs such as very thin or highly routed boards. Production Solutions will offer XHD versions of its

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standard units as well as custom sizes.

The custom size units will address those manufacturers that currently use custom milled support plates.

All of the RED-E-SET products are proven to reduce changeover times, improve quality, eliminate component damage, and increase revenue once implemented on any screen printer, pick-and-place, chip shooter or dispensing machine. ____________________________________

PROMATION Offers Multifunctional Magazine Handling Solution A leader in the field of PCB Handling Equipment, Robotic Soldering Systems, Automated Label Placement, and other complimentary Custom Automation, PROMATION debuts the ESM-200 multifunctional magazine handling system.

To ensure future line configuration flexibility, the ESM-200 has been configured to meet front of line, end of line and middle of line capability. This innovative single magazine handling system can be a line loader, line unloader or magazine rack buffer (LIFO or FIFO), and also can handle post-AOI sorting or act as a simple pass-through conveyor. Automatic width adjustment option makes product changeover fast.

Available in four sizes, the intuitive touch panel allows users to quickly configure the system for wherever it is needed in the line.

By retracting the leveling feet, the roller wheels allow for easy movement throughout the factory without use of fork lift or hand truck. ____________________________________

BTU International’s Innovative Pyramax 100A BTU International (NASDAQ: BTUI), a leading supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment for the alternative energy and electronics manufacturing markets, introduces PYRAMAX™ 100A. The PYRAMAX 100A features 100” of heated length and eight zones, 350ºC maximum temperature, flexible platform configuration, low power consumption, and a comprehensive menu of options. The oven provides excellent thermal uniformity through BTU’s exclusive closed loop convection control in addition to extremely low operating costs. The combination of high yield and low running costs provides a tremendous cost-of-ownership advantage.

The 100A represents an excellent value for many of BTU customers. The 100A has extremely low operating costs, yet it is capable of complex thermal profiles at high production throughputs.

The system delivers proven quality features such as side-to-side recirculation that enhances temperature uniformity and unmatched convection efficiency that reduces zone temperature set points. The PYRAMAX 100A features user-friendly Windows-based WINCON® oven control software, parts-identification software, a wide range of options for flux management, advanced conveyor solutions and smart tracking SMEMA, optional barcode reader, as well as a comprehensive warranty backed by BTU’s world-class product and technical support. BTU’s award-winning PYRAMAX platform of reflow ovens includes a 6-zone PYRAMAX 75, an 8-zone PYRAMAX 100, a 10 zone PYRAMAX 125 and a 12-zone PYRAMAX 150z12. ____________________________________

Nordson DAGE Launches the XM8000 Wafer X-ray Metrology Platform Nordson DAGE, a division of Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ: NDSN), announces the launch of its XM8000 Wafer X-ray Metrology Platform.

This new platform takes the marketleading capabilities from Nordson DAGE’s existing X-ray systems to provide an automated, high-throughput X-ray metrology and defect review system for both optically hidden and visible features of TSVs, 2.5D and 3D IC packages, MEMS and wafer bumps. The XM8000 provides unprecedented, non-destructive, in-line wafer measurement of voiding and fill levels, overlay, critical dimensions and much more. In this way the XM8000

can be used as an integral part of the fabrication and packaging of integrated circuits or as part of quality control and product acceptance.

Dr David Bernard, Business Manager Automated X-ray Systems, commented, “This is an exciting launch of a major new X-ray platform for Nordson DAGE. We are taking the expertise and innovation that we have developed over many years serving the X-ray needs of electronics manufacture and now we can extend this to the necessary X-ray metrology for the ever smaller features that are used in today’s electronics such as TSVs and smaller wafer bumps.”

The XM8000 X-ray platform measures the invisible – fast – so our customers have no hidden surprises.

technology today interview

an interview with Graham Naisbitt, Managing Director of Gen3 Systems by smt today staff editor Headquartered in Farnborough, UK, Gen3 Systems is a specialist manufacturer of test and measurement equipment used to help predict reliability of electronic circuits and systems.

The company also designs and manufactures dip and spray coating process equipment in both in-line and bench-top formats.

Gen3 is a specialist distributor for several leading equipment manufacturers and provides training, equipment and expertise for manufacturers requiring assessment of their electronic products’ reliability. Here we spend a little time with Graham Naisbitt, Gen3’s Managing Director, to find out more about the company and how it plans to shine in 2014. ____________________________________

‘‘

I made the logical career progression from a multinational heavy engineering conglomerate into chemicals for the electronics industry in 1979, creating a company called Concoat

____________________________________

Q. First, let’s go over a little history to familiarize our readers with your company. We understand that Gen3 is borne of Concoat Systems Ltd. Is that correct? How, when and why did that merger come about?

A. I made the logical career progression from a multinational heavy engineering conglomerate into chemicals for the electronics industry in 1979, creating a company called Concoat. The name was derived from Conformal Coating and we began as the UK distributor for HumiSeal.

We progressed to becoming the European licensee for HumiSeal, developed both the water-based 1H2O and UV40 series of coatings, then selling the business to them in 2005.

Page 38

Concoat began making the AutoSIR in 1997 and appointed Multicore Solders as our global distributor for that product.

When Henkel acquired Multicore Solders, they decided that their SPCID was not core business and I acquired that from Henkel in 2002 to create Concoat Systems.

A. No, not quite. When you are as involved in conformal coatings as we were, you quickly learn the need to understand what will be underneath your coating. Being the last stage in the manufacturing process, naturally anything that then goes wrong with the circuit is bound to be your fault.

Q. Are we correct that the company name Gen3 was chosen because the third generation of the family has joined the ranks? What benefits do you believe a family-owned business can provide to the industry?

We became involved in test and measurement in the mid-1990s when CFCs were being phased out and took on the AutoSIR when it was offered to us by GEC Hirst Research. Just as we got going with the product, GEC Hirst Research was closed down and we acquired the product rights and technology. ____________________________________

A. Entirely correct. When we sold Concoat, the trademark went with it and I was obliged to change the business name. My two sons had expressed an interest in joining me in the business hence we changed the name to Gen3 Systems in 2006.

Henkel is a family-owned business as indeed is BMW. Both do, of course, have a head start on us! Family ownership is preferable to being at the mercy of a bank or, worse, The City or Wall Street. Their goals are entirely short-term and, as my 90-year-old Dad and Chairman is oft to remark, “The City is the enemy of business.”

We bring a level of dedication and product devotion that is extremely hard to find outside a family business. After all, survival in the current economic climate really focuses the mind.

Q. We also understand that it was the acquisition of Multicore’s Soldering Process Control Instrumentation Division (SPCID) in 2002 that was your entrance into the test and measurement segment of the industry. Did the company have plans to enter this segment or was it just a fortuitous coincidence?

‘‘

Being the last stage in the manufacturing process, naturally anything that then goes wrong with the circuit is bound to be your fault

____________________________________ As we were a European business, now with a global product, when Multicore approached us asking if we might work together, the idea of using their global network was attractive and, in 1998, we signed a multiyear distribution agreement.

Fortuitous coincidence? You make your own luck. Fate, on the other hand, is somewhat capricious.

When Henkel acquired Multicore Solders in 2000, their management decided that SPCID was not core business.

Consequently the tables were turned 180 degrees and we acquired our global distributor and all of his other products.

These included MUST Solderability Testing,

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

Contaminometer ROSE Testers and more; products that were all complimentary to our Concoat business. Hence, Concoat Systems came into existence.

Q.

We have seen Gen3 Systems associated with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). What kind of a relationship do you have with the lab?

What mutually beneficial advantages have come as a result of this relationship? Do you foresee it growing and strengthening in the future?

A.

There was at that time in the UK IAG’s - Industrial Advisory Groups - Industry experts who would meet and determine requirements for improved metrology that would benefit British industry. These were led by the NPL with funding 50 percent from government and 50 percent from industry.

It is interesting to note that it was NPL who originally led the research into solderability testing that resulted in the MUST – the Multicore Universal Solderability Tester.

Consequent to our new business acquisition, the 1999-funded NPL project to research and develop SIR testing seemed more than apropos. ____________________________________

‘‘

To my knowledge the nearest equivalent government/business relationship will today be found in South Korea. We were doing this 20+ years ago

____________________________________ Some might see us as having a rather symbiotic relationship. To my knowledge the nearest equivalent government/ business relationship will today be found in South Korea. We were doing this 20+ years ago.

NPL continues to be the UK’s Centre of Excellence. I think these words properly convey their importance: “The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) was founded in 1900 ‘for standardising and verifying instruments, for testing materials, and for the determination of physical constants.’

It is one of the oldest standardising laboratories in the world.

In 1902, HRH the Prince of Wales, the future King George V, used the words that have come to be accepted as the effective, if not formal, objectives: “I believe that in the National Physical Laboratory we have the first instance of the State taking part in scientific research.

The object of the scheme is, I understand, to bring scientific knowledge to bear practically on our everyday industrial and commercial life; to break down the barrier between theory and practice; to effect a union between science and commerce.” HRH the Prince of Wales, 1902. ____________________________________

‘‘

So I do have history on my side and cannot think of a better and more erudite body with which to be associated

____________________________________ It was originally conceived as an extension of Kew Observatory, which was situated around the corner in Old Deer Park at Richmond and, for the first 18 years of its existence, NPL was under the control of the Royal Society, founded in 1660.

So I do have history on my side and cannot think of a better and more erudite body with which to be associated.

Q. Your tagline, “Engineering Reliability in Electronics,” plays an important role in your business, correct? How do you keep up your high-reliability standards year after year? What about this strategy sets you apart from your competition?

A. With the world’s increasing dependency

on electronics, coupled with accelerating miniaturisation, our services are in constant demand to deal with product reliability. So, in a way, the business is more reactive than proactive.

Through our ongoing involvement with NPL, and manufacturing equipment that finds broader and more challenging requirements, we are at the frontier of the metrological science. Hence, the development of standards is a convenient route to getting our message out there.

If I might quote from the British Standards Institute: “Put at its simplest, a standard is an agreed, repeatable way of doing something. It is a published document that contains a technical specification or other precise criteria designed to be used consistently as a rule, guideline, or definition. Standards help to make life simpler and to increase the reliability and the effectiveness of many goods and services we use. Standards are created by bringing together the experience and

expertise of all interested parties such as the producers, sellers, buyers, users and regulators of a particular material, product, process or service.”

Q. We read in the news that Gen3 Systems earned a “Best European Product” industry award for the Gensonic Stencil Cleaning System.

Can you briefly explain the benefits of this system and why it is better than competing systems?

A.

Some of our customers encountered serious issues with solder paste blinding the stencil apertures. Dealing with this requires direct, on-contact surface attrition. We found several systems on the market but felt that these were either too elaborate or poorly engineered, so we decided to create a better engineered and more cost-effective system.

Q. How is 2014 progressing for you so

far? Do you expect more of the same for the duration of the year?

A.

Over the past several years, there has been a significant amount of order deferrals caused, mainly, by the strictures of Wall Street and The City.

Equipment used in manufacturing can only run for so long, either by dint of wear, or by being rendered inadequate to deal with the latest technology or environmental legislation. The problem is that it imposes huge pressures on the supply chain. ____________________________________

‘‘

Equipment used in manufacturing can only run for so long, either by dint of wear, or by being rendered inadequate to deal with the latest technology or environmental legislation. The problem is that it imposes huge pressures on the supply chain

____________________________________ It is wonderful to say that we took more business in the first three weeks of 2014 than we handled in three combined months last year. A classic example of feast or famine!

The rest of 2014? Cautious optimism.

Industry News Keep up to date with what’s new With each issue we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest industry news from around the globe.

CyberOptics Appoints JWSales as its Sales Representative in the Midwest CyberOptics Corporation (Nasdaq: CYBE), a world leader in intelligent inspection and sensing solutions for the electronics assembly market, announces JWSales as its newest sales representative. JWSales will serve customers throughout Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and West Wisconsin, effective immediately.

FCT Assembly’s Tony Lentz to Present During APEX 2014 FCT Assembly today announced that Tony Lentz will be presenting “Can Nano Coatings Really Improve Stencil Performance?” during the poster session at this year’s IPC APEX EXPO on Wednesday, March 26 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. As component assembly density continues trending to finer dimensions, successful stencil printing demands stricter tolerances on equipment setup, solder paste material and stencils. One recent innovation generating much industry buzz is the specially engineered stencil applied coatings that claim to achieve printing capability improvement. With the stencil marketplace now offering a variety of unique chemical coatings on laser cut solder paste printing stencils, this poster session offers a comprehensive review of this technology and performance results.

The poster will be displayed during the entire week of the IPC APEX EXPO. Mr. Lentz will be available to answer any questions regarding stencil coatings, solder paste, solder fluxes and printing issues during and after the poster session.

Page 40

Based in the Twin Cities, JWSales is a vibrant and growing firm, representing a wide variety of solutions-based manufacturers.

The company offers more than 50 years of combined industry experience and has a strong Midwest presence.

“CyberOptics is very excited to partner with a highly experienced sales team like JWSales. We strongly believe that this partnership will further strengthen CyberOptics’ support in the Americas, enabling focused customer service and quick response times,” said Allen Phung, CyberOptics - Americas Sales Manager.

and his team at Legacy Technologies to our business development team,” commented Tom Dykeman, Libra Industries’ Vice President of Sales and Business Development. “This appointment is a major step forward in accomplishing our goal to double the business in five years. Legacy Technologies brings many years of industry experience and customer knowledge in the southwest region, and we look forward to a successful partnership.”

Legacy Technologies Group is an independent manufacturer representative company focusing on business development and account management for metal fabrication/progressive die stampings and injection molding. Legacy Technology offers 16 years of industry experience and international sales expertise within the medical, telecommunication, data storage, industrial, oil and gas, wind and solar market segments.

Kris Meacham and Jeff Benke of JWSales are confident that CyberOptics will provide their customers with enhanced inspection and quality requirement tools and see CyberOptics as a great fit to their line card offering and customer base. ____________________________________

Libra Industries Appoints Legacy Technologies Group

____________________________________

Libra Industries, a privately held electronics manufacturing services provider, has appointed Legacy Technologies Group as its representative. Legacy Technologies Group will be responsible for developing key business throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri.

Essemtec Benelux Strengthens Sales Team with Dieter van Herrewege

“We are excited to welcome Jim Wilson

Due to increased industry interest, Essemtec Benelux has strengthened its sales team with the addition of Dieter van Herrewege, a truly passionate and competent specialist.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

Dieter van Herrewege joined Essemtec at the beginning of January 2014. With a strong sales and business development background, he will support customers in their decision process for highly flexible production equipment for electronics from the Swiss manufacturer Essemtec. Dieter has 15 years of experience in successful B2B sales in ICT and media technology.

As a greatly experienced regional sales manager, he brings passion for growing business, creation of new markets and a strong focus on customer needs.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dieter to Essemtec Benelux. The Benelux region is a steadily growing market for us; therefore, we needed someone with Dieter’s extensive background and understanding of the local market needs to grow the Essemtec business to the next level,” commented Tom van Tongelen, Managing Director of Essemtec Benelux. “Essemtec’s past success in the Benelux region has been largely due to its highly innovative SMT production equipment. With Dieter on board we hope to strengthen our business alliances in the region and provide new avenues for our customers to grow their business.”

Essemtec Benelux is a subsidiary of Essemtec AG in Switzerland, the market leader in manufacturing flexible SMT production systems for industrial users. The office is located in Herselt, Belgium and has a local service and support organization that is capable of fully supporting customer requirements. Their engineers have many years of experience in SMT and can offer both machine and process training. Benelux is one of the major markets in Europe, with a high potential of the target group of prototyping to mid-size customers. ____________________________________

ISVI Corp. Announces Distribution Partnership with TechwaY S.A.S. for the French Machine Vision Market ISVI Corp. announces the signing of a distribution agreement with TechwaY S.A.S. to address the French machine market’s need for high-speed, highresolution cameras.

“It was very important to us to find a reliable and technically highly competent partner to sell our cameras to a broad field of applications in the French market,” said Gerard White, Vice President of International Operations at ISVI. “The engineering and sales teams at TechwaY represent a very high level of expertise in all aspects of successful machine vision systems. We are confident this expertise will help us reach a wide variety of customer applications that require the special attributes of our cameras.”

“The partnership with ISVI is an outstanding opportunity for TechwaY and will increase our Vision product offering with a new range of CoaXPress and Camera Link high-resolution cameras,” added Patrick Mechin, Founder and President of TechwaY. “Additionally, it will fill a gap to fully leverage the advanced frame grabbers from Matrox and the TechwaY FPGA processing card. The synergy among these products is a major key success factor.”

challenges and processes required to achieve successful repair of the complex boards and components found in smart phones and tablets. The removal techniques of various packages as well as the cleaning methods of underfills, glue from substrate and solder pads, will be explained. Package on Package (PoP), BGA/CSP rework and general ultra-fine pitch BGA style component removal and replacement will also be understood. Finally, how and why the reclaim of expensive components can be a worthwhile endeavour when they are carefully removed.

Mr. Wood will be joined by two other presenters: Jasbir Bath, Principal Engineer, IPC and Robert Wettermann, Engineer, BEST Inc. ____________________________________

____________________________________

Metcal’s Paul Wood to Present at IPC APEX 2014 Metcal today announced that Paul Wood will be presenting “Rework Challenges for Smart Phone & Tablets: Do it Right the First Time” during the Rework technical session at IPC APEX EXPO on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 from 1:30PM-3PM at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. The technical session will cover rework of electronics assemblies, addressing challenges related to rework of smart phones and tablets including removal and replacement of PoP (package-onpackage), and fine pitch BGA components.

After attending this rework technical session, users will understand the

STI’s Mel Parrish to Chair Committee at IPC APEX 2014 MSTI Electronics, Inc., a full service organization providing training services, electronic and industrial distribution, analytical and failure analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly, announces that Mel Parrish will be leading the Product Assurance Committee at IPC APEX EXPO on Monday, March 24, 2014 from 8-9am at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. Parrish will be joined by Mike Hill, Quality Manager at Viasystems Group, Inc. The meeting is for planning purposes, and all task group and subcommittee leaders of the Product Assurance Committee will be in attendance. ____________________________________

industry news continued...

Founded in 1968, Arbell Electronics is Canada’s largest and leading provider of production supplies and equipment. The company represents leading companies in Canada with a strong technical sales team.

Arbell maintains the largest national sales coverage from coast to coast. For more than 45 years, Arbell’s focus has been – and remains – to provide high-quality products and individualized customer service throughout Canada.

PROMATION Reduces Pricing on Popular TT Series Soldering Robots A leader in the field of PCB Handling Equipment, Robotic Soldering Systems, Automated Label Placement, and other complimentary Custom Automation, PROMATION Inc. announces that it has reduced the pricing for the TT and G series table top soldering robots until March 31, 2014.

As a special promotion for the upcoming IPC APEX EXPO, PROMATION will offer an additional 5 percent discount on the company’s TT-200, 300 & 400 series soldering robots for a limited time.

The TT series robots offer exception soldering capability and are equipped with numerous standard features such as wet sponge/air blow-off tip cleaning station, 150 W power supply, highresolution process viewing camera, temporary product fixture plate and auto solder feeder. Positive tip location and nitrogen are also available to meet production requirements. ____________________________________

Aqueous Technologies Appoints Arbell Electronics as Exclusive Canadian Sales Partner Aqueous Technologies, North America’s largest manufacturer of fully automated cleaning/defluxing machines and cleanliness testing equipment, has appointed Arbell Electronics as its exclusive sales partner in Canada.

Page 42

Michael Konrad, Aqueous Technologies’ President, stated, “We are very pleased to be able to work with Arbell and its talented team of professionals in Canada.

Arbell’s commitment to providing relevant solutions to its customers and its reputation for hands-on customer service complement Aqueous Technologies’ passion for excellence.” ____________________________________

Kyzen to be Represented in 5 Technical Sessions at IPC APEX EXPO 2014 Kyzen today announced that Dr Mike Bixenman, DBA, CTO, and David Lober will present at five separate technical sessions at IPC APEX EXPO in Las Vegas in March.

5-31J: Cleaning Compatibility Task Group Mon, Mar 24, 2014 - 3:15 PM to 5:00 PM Cleaning/Coating/Contamination Dr Mike Bixenman, DBA, CTO, Presenter/Chair This task group will develop a standard test method to replace Mil-Std-202G, Method 215K which does not accurately represent modern cleaning chemistries and the cleaning equipment advancements that are currently used within electronics assembly manufacturing processes. The new test method will determine the compatibility of cleaning agents and mechanical delivery systems with general electronics assemblies, component hardware, and electronics assembly materials.

continue the Revision A.

process

of

developing

5-32C: Bare Board Cleanliness Assessment Task Group Weds, March 26, 2014, 3:15PM-5PM David Lober, Process Chemist, Presenter/Chair This task group is working on the adoption of the IPC-5704 printed board cleanliness specification within the IPC-6010 performance specifications.

BTC Reliability Thursday, March 27, 2014, 10AM-12PM “Combination of Spray and Soak Improves Cleaning under Bottom Terminations” Dr Mike Bixenman, DBA, CTO, Presenter The use of bottom terminated components (BTC) has become extremely popular because of their low cost and good thermal and electrical performance. But the challenge for the industry is knowing how to achieve the best possible assembly and reliability of BTCs. Attendees will be presented with information discussing reliability in terms of stand-off height and component die size and solder joint void size as well as thermal modeling, automated X-ray inspection versus 2-D X-ray and cross-sectional analysis in addition to cleaning of residues under BTC components. Join us as we take a firsthand look into this expanding area.

PD25: Cleaning and Contamination Process Guide Thursday, March 27, 2014, 9AM-12PM Dr Mike Bixenman, DBA, CTO, Presenter/Committee Chair Numerous factors should be considered when engineering a cleaning process capable of removing flux residues from highly dense circuit assemblies.

Uniqueness of the part, sensitivity of components, best cleaning processes, type of soil, cleaning equipment and cleaning agents are just a few of the elements that must be considered. This course will discuss the dynamics of ensuring a successful cleaning result.

5-31G: Stencil Cleaning Task Group Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 8AM-12PM Cleaning/Coating/Contamination Dr Mike Bixenman, DBA, CTO, Presenter/Chair This task group is responsible for the maintenance of the guideline document, IPC-7526, “Stencil and Misprinted Board Cleaning Handbook.” This meeting will

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technology today interview

an interview with Brent Nolan, Chief Operations Manager of Fine Line Stencil by smt today staff editor Want to know what the buzz is about nano-coated stencils?

We sat down with Brent Nolan from Fine Line Stencil to ask him a couple of questions about this new technology.

As Chief Operations Manager, Brent gave us some insight on new innovations and what we can expect from the stencil industry in the future. ____________________________________

‘‘

Because we are involved in so many aspects of our customers’ operations, we hear what they are dealing with on a daily basis

____________________________________

Q. What was the core reason for developing a nano-coating for SMT stencils?

A. NanoSlic® is a NEED-based product.

Because we are involved in so many aspects of our customers’ operations, we hear what they are dealing with on a daily basis. For most, it is reducing waste in their process and saving money, and NanoSlic® certainly does both. We also worked with customers to satisfy some technology issues with certain component footprints or paste release issues.

NanoSlic® fixed them all. So you could say the core of the reason for developing this product was our customers.

Q.

How is NanoSlic® different from other stencil coatings on the market today?

A. We see several differences from coating to coating, including durability, thickness, consistency, adhesion and paste release.

I am sure there are more differentiators but, as you can see, we have some big items

Page 44

listed. I am certain that competing coatings do well in some areas but NanoSlic® is the clear choice in ALL of these categories. Our processing techniques were developed by industry veterans using Lean Six Sigma Strategies that have delivered world-class results. Most of our competition is simply wiping their product on with a towel, so it is not difficult to make that choice. ____________________________________

‘‘

I am certain that competing coatings do well in some areas but NanoSlic® is the clear choice in ALL of these categories. Our processing techniques were developed by industry veterans using Lean Six Sigma Strategies that have delivered world-class results

____________________________________

message out to all our customers and putting the bad experiences with other coatings behind them. ____________________________________

‘‘

The biggest challenge for FCT is getting the “real value” message to our customers and into their hands quickly ____________________________________

Q.

Besides nano-coatings, what other trends do you see in the future for stencil manufacturing?

A. I see development in laser technology, step technology and possibly more consolidation in this market. The backbone of the electronics industry is good people and keeping up with the evolution of the equipment. I think with a company like Fine Line Stencil driving to revolutionize this industry, it will be hard for some to keep up.

Q.

What challenges do you see coming from this new technology entering the marketplace?

A.

The biggest challenge for FCT is getting the “real value” message to our customers and into their hands quickly. I have already met with several customers that have “tried” a coating product and it did not seem to work very well or did not solve their problem. I understand there are coatings on the market that are limited and have a very narrow window of improvement. NanoSilc® is the real deal and is applied using a robust process that delivers incredible results. Our challenge lies in getting this

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

MW/FT/9/Nanocoatings for SMT Today.indd 1

2/26/14 3:44 PM

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY MISPRINT CLEANING ADVANCEMENTS

by Mike Bixenman, Ph.D., and Dirk Ellis, Kyzen & Jody Saultz, Eric Becker, Greg Calvo and Jim Morris, Speedline Technologies

ABSTRACT Assemblers surveyed report that cleaning misprinted circuit assemblies is a production gap that has not been adequately addressed. Traditionally, the industry has used stencil cleaning agents and equipment to address this rework need. One of the benefits of cleaning misprinted assemblies with the stencil cleaning process is the ability to collect and filter wet solder paste. The major short coming of cleaning misprints within stencil cleaning processes is the inability to remove B-side reflow flux residues from both the surface and under bottom termination components. ____________________________________

‘‘

Cleaning misprints within production spray-in-air cleaning equipment has been looked down upon due to wet solder paste accumulating within the wash tank

____________________________________ The purpose of this research was to test and validate new cleaning equipment innovations that allow for misprints to be cleaned from electronic assembly batch and inline production cleaning equipment.

Cleaning misprints within production spray-in-air cleaning equipment has been looked down upon due to wet solder paste accumulating within the wash tank. Free solder spheres that are picked up by the pump can be wedged and deposited onto production assemblies.

Recent cleaning equipment innovations have been developed to trap, collect and filter wet paste removed from misprints.

Designed experiments were run to test the robustness of the process and validate cleaning of both wet solder paste and reflowed flux residues.

Page 46

REWORKING/CLEANING MISPRINTED ASSEMBLIES Stencil printing is a highly automated process. During machine setup, a small group of boards are misprinted. During production stencil printing, circuit boards are periodically misprinted due to clogged apertures, stencil out of alignment, solder paste rheology shifts and other issues. Stencil misprints are defined as A-Side (Initial print out of alignment with no components previously placed) and B-Side (A-Side was successfully printed and components placed and soldered.

The subsequent process of printing the B-Side results in the solder paste being out of alignment resulting in a B-Side misprint).

Printed Circuit Board misprints are a costly problem with no easy rework methodology.

Production cleaning processes are normally not used to clean misprint assemblies. Potential quality issues such as: • Solder balls collecting into the wash tank and being transferred back onto the assembly • Solder balls migrating into the rinse streams resulting in hazardous waste from metals in the wash and rinse holding tanks.

These complexities potentially compromise repeatability and reliability standards. Due to these complex issues, most assembly houses have looked down on cleaning misprints within their production cleaning process.

Assemblers commonly address the misprint cleaning need by either hand wiping the misprinted side of the circuit card and/or clean the misprint in a stencil cleaning machine. Both methods create the potential for quality issues. First, when wiping solder paste from the misprinted side of the board, solder paste can be trapped in solder mask defined channels, through-hole vias, and other board

geometries (Figure 1). Numerous quality problems can result due to lack of control and definition.

Figure 1: Solder Balls Wedged into No Solder Mask Defined Channels and Via Holes

Second, stencil cleaning machines are designed to remove wet solder paste from stencils. Most stencil cleaning processes do not rinse the stencil with water. For those that use a water rinse, the water is reused since trace levels of metals in water prevent disposal to local treatment works. Cleaning a production board in a machine designed to clean stencils fails to meet ionic cleanliness standards required for a production assembly. Additionally, on B-Side misprints, the stencil cleaning agent is typically not adequate for cleaning reflowed flux residues on the A-Side of the board. In most cases, the stencil cleaning agent partially removes the reflowed noclean flux residue resulting in white residue and an ionically dirty assembly.

MISPRINT CLEANING INNOVATIONS Cleaning the misprinted circuit board within an electronic assembly production cleaning process has the potential to achieve cleaning of wet solder paste and reflowed flux residues as well as meet quality and yield objectives. The problem with cleaning a misprinted circuit board in a production cleaning process is the

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feature continued... deposits of solder spheres collected into the wash holding tank. Free solder spheres within the wash holding tank can be picked up by the inlet of the pump and sprayed onto production assemblies. There is also the potential that the solder spheres can be dragged into the rinse sections. Both quality and waste treatment issues result from this practice.

To resolve the quality and water treatment issues, an innovative collection and filtration method was designed to collect and filter solder spheres. The collection and filtration system is offered on both batch and inline electronic assembly production cleaning machines. The misprint cleaning design contains the solder spheres and captures them to prevent spraying solder balls through the pump and spray manifolds.

The mechanical and filtration systems resolve the issues of redepositing solder balls onto production assemblies and the potential to contaminate rinse streams.

The overriding quality advantages in systems that are designed for repeatedly removing all solder spheres from the assembly, remove reflowed flux residues and render an ionically clean printed circuit board provide a reproducible and repeatable product.

Electronic Assembly Inline Misprint Cleaning Design A misprint option was developed to clean boards misprinted with raw solder paste through a production inline aqueous printed circuit board assembly cleaning machine.

The pre-wash section of the cleaning machine is designed to wet, elevate the circuit board to wash temperature, and soften reflowed flux residues from production circuit assemblies. The flux composition within raw solder paste cleans easier than does reflowed flux residues. An S-Jetâ&#x201E;˘ spray nozzle design is used within the pre-wash section to displace greater than 90% of the solder paste on a misprint circuit board.

The pre-wash section is equipped with deflectors that contain the raw solder paste as it is being displaced from the circuit assembly. The deflectors close in the pre-wash spray manifolds using collection devices to prevent solder spheres from escaping the housing of the pre-wash section. As the boards enter the pre-wash section, the displaced solder balls and wash fluid drain into the collection devices. This important design feature contains the bulk of the solder balls with a minimal amount escaping to the wash holding tank.

Page 48

Solder balls that are not collected within the pre-wash collection devices will drain into the wash fluid holding tank. To prevent these stray solder balls from being sprayed onto circuit boards, three pump intake strainers prevent large spheres from entering the pump (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Strainers in Suction Inlet of the Wash Holding Tank

Following the suction strainers, the wash solution is pumped through a filtration system that is designed to collect any remaining solder spheres before reaching the spray manifolds.

prevent the spheres from being sprayed onto the board assembly. A pre-wash type cycle in the batch cleaning process will wet, elevate the circuit board to wash temperature, and soften the reflowed flux residues from the production circuit assemblies. The flux composition with the raw solder paste is easier to remove than the reflowed paste. An integrated multistage filtration system is used to capture and contain solder spheres and prevent from being sprayed back onto the board assemblies. Similar the in-line cleaner, the multi-stage filtration is capable of filtering solder spheres as small as Type 5 Solder Paste (see Figure 3). An integrated pressure monitoring system will alarm the operator if the pressure drops. The design is such that thousands of misprint boards could be cleaned before having an impact on the bath integrity, pressure and cleaning performance.

The innovative multi stage filtration design removes solder spheres as small as Type 5 Solder Paste while preventing solder balls going to the manifolds. Should the pressure drop within the fluid delivery system, the machine is equipped with a user defined interface, which sends an alarm to the operator. The design is such that thousands of misprint boards could be cleaned before having an impact on the bath integrity, pressure and cleaning performance.

Electronic Assembly Batch Misprint Cleaning Design One main difference between batch cleaning machines versus an in-line type cleaner is the ability to program the type of wash cycle, the sequence, and cycle times within the cleaning process. It is therefore critical that the ability to effectively trap and collect wet solder paste be integrated into the batch cleaner wash cycles.

The design objective is to provide the board assembler the flexibility to deflux their normal production runs (A/ B side), deflux an A-side with B-side misprint, clean A/B side misprint, plus the ability to completely rinse and dry the product within the same batch type cleaner.

Similar to the design for the in-line cleaning system, the same equipment manufacturer used the multi-stage filtration approach to effectively collect solder spheres and to

Figure 3: Batch Filtration Design

METHODOLOGY Designed Experiment #1: Inline Cleaning Machine The objective of the first designed experiment was to determine if solder spheres were present in wash liquid exiting the spray jets. A total of 1000 grams of solder paste was washed off boards and collected into the wash section (Figure 4).

After each 200 gram addition, the wash section was sampled at the outlet of the spray manifold. Five additions were made for a total of 1000 grams of solder paste. The samples were sent to a chemical lab to run Millipore Filtration and Non-Volatile Residue tests. If solder spheres were present, they would be detected using the Millipore test.

The flux solids would be detected using the Non-Volatile Residue test.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

Millipore test is used to determine if solder spheres are present in wash liquid that is sprayed onto circuit assemblies as they are being cleaned. The solution was filtered using 1 micron filter paper. The weight of the filter paper was measured. Following filtration of the wash sample, the filter pad was placed in an oven to dry. The dried filter paper was weighed following the drying process. The total weight in grams minus the tare weight in grams equals the weight of solder spheres present in the wash solution.

Non-Volatile Residue test is used to quantify the level of non-volatile residue in a wash liquid sample. A portion of the sample is placed into an aluminum weighing dish at 120°C for a minimum of one (1) hour. The residue is allowed to cool in a desiccator and weighted.

The weight of the residue is compared to a virgin sample of the wash solution.

Figure 4: 200 grams of Solder Paste Added to Wash Section

The NVR test tracked the non-volatile flux solids added to the wash solution. Roughly 0.02% flux solids were added to the wash bath per 200 grams of raw solder paste additions. The data findings infer that 0.02% flux solids would be accumulated into the wash tank per 200 grams of raw solder paste cleaned in the wash section.

Designed Experiment #2: Batch Cleaning Machine Unlike the inline cleaning machine design, the solder spheres from the batch cleaning machine are collected using a multi-stage filtration system. Double strainers are placed at the intake side of the power wash pump. Five micron bag filters are placed at the exit side of the flood and power wash pumps. A three hundred micron bag filter is placed at the drain back exit into the wash holding tank. The multi-stage filtration is designed to capture solder spheres and prevent them from being present in the wash fluid that is sprayed onto parts being cleaned. ____________________________________

‘‘

If solder spheres were present, they would be detected using the Millipore test

____________________________________

Designed Experiment #1: Data Findings Figure 5 provides an overview of the data findings.

Figure 5: DOE#1 Data Findings Graphed

The objective of the second designed experiment was to determine if solder spheres were present in wash liquid exiting the spray jets in the batch cleaning machine. A total of 1000 grams of solder paste was washed off boards and collected into the wash section. After each 200 gram addition, the cleaner from the wash section was sampled at the outlet of the spray manifold. Five additions were made for a total of 1000 grams of solder paste. The samples were sent to a chemical lab to run Millipore Filtration and Non-Volatile Residue tests. If solder spheres were present, they would be detected using the Millipore test. The flux solids would be detected using the NonVolatile Residue test.

Figure 6 provides an overview of the batch loading data findings.

The Millipore test was used to capture solder spheres that may be present in the wash bath samples. No detection of solder spheres was found up to 800 grams of solder paste added. At 1000 grams added to the wash bath, the levels found were very low at 0.07g/100gram. The data findings infer that very little to no solder balls are being sprayed onto boards being washed through the cleaning machine.

Figure 6: DOE #2 Data Findings Graphed

The Millipore test was used to capture solder spheres that may be present in the wash bath samples. No detection of solder spheres was found from samples except sample #3.

The level for sample #3 was 0.02g/100g indicating practically no breakthrough. Similar to the inline cleaning machine, the data findings infer that very little to no solder balls are being sprayed onto boards being washed through the batch cleaning machine.

The NVR test tracked the non-volatile flux solids added to the wash solution. For each 200 gram addition of raw solder paste, the range of flux solids added to the wash bath ranged from 0.005 – 0.02%.

At the completion of the test, the wash fluid was drained from the batch wash holding tank. A small amount of solder paste was collected at the bottom of the holding tank.

The data findings infer that this small level of solder spheres on the bottom of the holding tank are successfully captured in the 5-micron filters on the exit side of the wash pumps.

Designed Experiment #3: A-Side Misprint Cleaning The objective of DOE #3 was to test the effectiveness of removing missregistered wet solder paste printed on two different board designs. The first board is designed with both large and small aperture component placements. The pad placements on the test board #1 were non solder mask defined (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Non Solder Mask Defined Pads on Test Board #1

Many assemblers wipe the excess solder paste off the board before cleaning. The risk of wiping is the potential to wedge solder balls in the solder mask defined troughs and in the throughhole vias (Figure 8). Once a solder ball becomes wedged, it is highly difficult to un-wedge the solder ball. Even with high pressure spray impingement, solder balls wedged may not be able to displace and result in trace solder balls next to the pad. This factor may or may not be a problem. Due to this risk factor, best practice is to not wipe the board before cleaning.

feature continued... are cleaned in a process that is not design for production cleaning. Ionic residue left from inadequate rinsing can be far more problematic in risking electrochemical migration once the assembly is completed and in use. ____________________________________

‘‘

Figure 8: Wipe Before Cleaning is a Poor Practice and Not Recommended

The wet solder paste was consistently removed in both the batch and inline cleaning machines. Wash time and time from when the board was printed to the time it was cleaned did not factor into the ability to consistently remove the wet solder paste. Wash time and the time window from 1-4 hours after the misprint was not significant from a cleaning perspective. ____________________________________

A subset of the boards was tested for ionic contamination levels using resistivity of solvent extract. For all boards tested, the total contamination was 00.0 pg. NaCl/sq.in

____________________________________ Following the cleaning process, the A-Side of the circuit board was visually inspected to determine if reflowed flux residues were removed from boards processed in both the batch and inline cleaning machines. The single and double row QFNs were removed from boards processed in the inline and batch cleaning machines. The data findings found that both Aside and B-Side residues were successfully cleaned.

‘‘

the cleaning process used to remove the misprinted solder paste must not interact with the reflowed flux residue or must effectively clean the reflow flux residues during the cleaning process ____________________________________

Figure 9: Inline Cleaning under QFN Bottom Termination

Designed Experiment #4: B-Side Misprints B-side misprints create a much more challenging cleaning requirement. If the flux residues on the A-side of the circuit board are not cleaned before stencil printing and populating the B-side of the circuit board, the cleaning process used to remove the misprinted solder paste must not interact with the reflowed flux residue or must effectively clean the reflow flux residues during the cleaning process.

A secondary issue is ionic contamination that can be left behind when the boards

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Figure 10: Batch Cleaning under QFN Bottom Termination

A subset of the boards was tested for ionic contamination levels using resistivity of solvent extract. For all boards tested, the total contamination was 00.0 µg. NaCl/sq.in.

RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS Cleaning both A-Side and B-Side misprints has been a complex problem for assemblers. Using a stencil cleaner to clean misprints has numerous flaws as discussed in this paper. Most assembly houses do not allow misprints to be cleaned in production cleaning machines due to the risk of contaminating product boards with stray solder balls and due to waste water metal contamination issues.

The data from this research paper finds that the innovative collection and filtration systems designed into inline and batch production cleaning equipment safely captures and contains solder spheres from being sprayed onto production assemblies.

Additionally, the containment and filtration systems prevent raw solder paste from entering the rinse water streams.

Using a production cleaning machine provides numerous benefits to the assembler.

1. Recovery and rework of expensive hardware 2. Removal of wet solder paste 3. Containment of solder spheres 4. Removal of reflowed flux residues 5. Exceptional rinsing 6. Ionically clean assemblies 7. Repeatable 8. Reproducible The research also found that wiping wet solder paste from production assemblies is a bad practice. When wiping wet solder paste, solder spheres can be wedged into no solder mask defined troughs, vias and other offsets. When these solder balls become wedged, high levels of energized sprays may not be sufficient in displacing a wedged solder ball.

This research finds that best practice is to clean the misprint without wiping.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

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LibraAd.indd 1

3/4/14 11:56 AM

Datest Celebrates 30 Years of Delivering Bad News

by Robert Boguski, President, Datest Corp.

Contrary to what some may think, failure is, in fact, an option. Failure can even teach us something, especially when it results from a malfunctioning process. Indeed, if your business is testing and inspecting printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), failure, it discovery, and the detection of root causes, is your lifeblood. Datest has notched 30 years in business to prove the point. And 30 years from its inception as an in-circuit test (ICT) and test engineering company, business is booming, on the front end of production as well as the back end. Which goes to show that board failure, and the fear of it, from Datest’s standpoint, is good for business. The simple truth is that there are a lot of bad boards out there. Real and latent failures abound. And somebody needs to find them. Enter Datest.

Board failures mean missed shipments, and dead dollars, often with many zeros behind them, a CFO’s worst nightmare.

Board failures not detected in a timely manner can erode a CM’s hard-earned reputation. Cause for despair? On the contrary, Datest offers hope. Here’s why: Fremont, CA-based Datest is an ISO9001 and AS9100-certified provider of advanced, integrated PCBA testing, inspection, and engineering services to the CM/EMS and OEM communities since 1984. In those 30 years Datest has augmented Agilent/Keysight, Teradyne, and GenRad ICT with SPEA flying probe testing, Goepel and Asset boundary scan testing, Agilent 5DX automatic X-ray inspection, and failure analysis featuring the Nordson DAGE XD7600NT500 Ruby X-ray Inspection System with X-Plane Technology. Engineering is followed by testing, either on-site at Datest’s facility or on-site at the customer’s designated contract manufacturer. Every customer has different preferences and Datest respects all of them. No two customer engagements are the same.

If Datest performs the actual testing, more value is added. When a board fails, it is not merely handed back to the customer with a tag, a bill and a wish for good luck and God’s blessings; rather, Datest technicians

Page 52

are skilled troubleshooters, expert at diagnosing faults to the component level.

In many cases they also rework the board, even removing and reballing suspect BGAs as warranted. Give us 100 boards to test, and we will try our level best to give you back as close to 100 good boards as practically possible. The results are not always perfect, but the intent never changes. Datest’s recurring customers appreciate this service, not leaving them hanging with defective product. That’s how you stay in business for 30 years.

You also stay in business by listening.

Customers have budgets and they have expectations. Sometimes the two do not coincide, especially when expectations are fueled by an incomplete understanding of testing terminology or engineering capability. So Datest personnel make a habit of listening to what the customer wants and then steering them in the most cost-effective direction, often involving a solution the customer may not have imagined when first contacting Datest. Education is a big part of the job. Unvarnished straight talk about what works and what does not is a big part of that education. Excellence in the pedagogical role, and straight talk to inquisitive customers, whether nontechnical laypersons or highly specialized technical experts is another reason Datest has remained in its customers enduring good graces for 30 years.

Integrated Testing Solutions. Not just a slogan, but a way of life. Datest has become a leading test services provider by focusing on relentlessly delivering value to the customer. Value does not always appear in obvious guises. Paradoxically, occasionally the delivery of value includes protecting a customer from himself: one customer bent on implementing ICT on a board may not realize the board was not designed for ICT in the first place. A combination of flying probe and automated X-ray inspection may be the next best solution. Frequently it proves to be the better solution, from a cost and throughput standpoint, than what was contemplated in the customer’s original request. Sometimes a customer will bring a board to be x-rayed, with little

information except that it failed. Datest asks the customer for more specificity about the failure, its location, and even its suspected root cause. Specificity leads to solutions; whereas vagueness leads to inconclusive results, which make no one happy, especially when accompanied by a large bill for services rendered. We do not have to do this; we can simply take the money (we charge by the hour for this type of service). But we have a conscience, and a reputation for forthrightness to protect.

Our customers appreciate that, and they’ve faithfully supported us for 30 years.

Datest extensively serves a range of industries including consumer, medical, industrial, automotive, military/aerospace, biotechnology, telecommunications, solar/ photovoltaic, data encryption and security, product design/development, contract manufacturing and environmental controls/ technology. The company supports these industries through a comprehensive repertoire of systems and technologies such as ICT (Agilent 3070, GenRad, and Teradyne) and augments with SPEA Flying Probe testing, Agilent 5DX AXI inspection services, benchtop boundary scan and functional testing. Datest has numerous close partnerships with complementary service and equipment providers. Datest is also a Goepel Electronic Center of Expertise as well as the West Coast equipment demonstration site for SPEA flying probe test systems.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

GKG takes the screen printer market by storm From the leading supplier of fully automatic vision printers comes the popular GL Series of printers. GKG Asia Pte Ltd’s GL printer is designed for PCBs with a maximum size of 510 x 510 mm and proven 01005 printing.

The GL Series comes standard with many advanced features: • Stencil Position Memory • Combination of top/side PCB clamping function • Bottom-side PCB support pins locating guidance system • Auto squeegee pressure check

• Auto PCB thickness adjustment • Core cycle time of less than 8.5 seconds • Intuitive operation for quick and easy model changeover • Best in class for price performace

For more information and to find out how to get a GL printer into your facility, contact us today!

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MW/GK/2/Jan SMT Today adb.indd 1

1/14/14 12:38 P

feature continued...

Datest is the first test services company in the United States to fully integrate the state-of-the-art SPEA 4060 double-sided flying probe tester with the newest Goepel boundary scan tools. This integration provides crucial benefits, such as increased digital test and fault coverage as well as significant time savings using automatic diagnostics. Combining advanced test platforms (flying probe, X-ray, boundary scan and ICT) with 30 years’ experience, and a sharp eye on the lookout for new applications and technologies (Look for scanning acoustic microcopy services being introduced this year) Datest delivers superior value-added services.

file conversion services; mechanical design for testability (DFT) analysis, electrical DFT analysis, test strategy consultation and implementation, test sanity checking, design for manufacturability (DFM) analysis, lot tracking and statistical reporting, and mixed OEM/EMS provider engagements. Datest also is involved with third party dispute resolution, often adjudicating a disagreement between and OEM and a CM. In this role Datest becomes Switzerland; i.e. the neutral, unbiased party, calling them exactly the way they see them, with no predetermined bias or agenda. Neutrality in execution and discretion in advice assures longevity in business, 30 years to be exact.

Failure Analysis for Engineers

You may have noticed a pattern by now.

Datest understands that support services are key in today’s industry and, as a result, works consistently to provide comprehensive capabilities — and continually update them as needed.

Datest staff are acutely aware that when an engineer presents us with a problem, this usually implies the need for immediate solutions, because decisions, and dollars, hinge upon the outcome. The process engineers who arrive at Datest with a suspect board and a crisis back home often leaves with clarity, direction, and the beginning of a resolution to the immediate process problem. ____________________________________

‘‘

Datest can help with the troubleshooting, repair and retest of failed boards

____________________________________ We also are cognizant of a growing concern with long-term reliability of manufactured electronic products, especially at the interface between the board and the individual digital device. What passes initial electrical test, immediately following manufacturing, provides no assurance of long term field reliability or any predictor of failure. But fail they do, and increasingly, engineers appear at Datest seeking causes of field, functional, or system test failures, and increasingly, Datest provides the answer.

Datest can help with the troubleshooting, repair and retest of failed boards; BGA removal and replacement; CAD and Gerber

Page 54

Bonepile Rehabilitation When a board is deemed unrepairable or fails under warranty, it is written off by the OEM and placed into a “bonepile,” which is an accumulation of defective PCBAs. These boards represent a significant challenge, and revenue loss, to the industry — and have since electronic products have first been built. This is a costly and time consuming process, especially when you consider that an OEM often invests valuable tech time in troubleshooting the failures, with little success. As an antidote, Datest has applied its proven and longstanding expertise in the board testing and inspection realm to establish a systematic solution to this problem, delivering enduring value and contributing to a better environment. Green is good, and lucrative. In the United States, Datest is innovating bonepile recovery, rehabilitation and analysis of failed PCBAs to deliver key results, and recovered revenues, to key industry players. Scrap and expensive remakes are avoided following a successful rehabilitation. Resources are preserved for other priorities, and Datest is a hero. Heroes stay in business 30 years, especially green ones.

The concept is fairly straightforward: customers bring data, documentation and previously written-off test failures. The company then uses its test engineering resources and platforms to bring the boards “back to life.” It makes full use of its suite of integrated testing resources to troubleshoot, rework and restore assemblies to operational status that previously failed a customer’s functional

or system test, or even in the field under operating conditions. Datest will directly rework the boards or show customers where to rework if they prefer to do it in-house. Like all other facets of manufacturing, communication is key.

Therefore, the company works closely with customers to define what constitutes a “good” board after it is reworked. The rehabilitation service is offered at a fraction of the original manufactured cost and is ideal for reverse logistics, warranty repair and returns management programs.

Datest mobilizes the same hardware and software resources utilized in production board testing to aid in troubleshooting, fault diagnosis, repair and recovery. Testing using the flying probe system, boundary scan/ JTAG testing and X-ray inspection are all highly effective, and frequently used for this task. The objective is to arrive at an efficient test solution that is both cost-effective and delivers significant value (i.e., has a high recovery rate) at zero-risk to customers.

By analyzing the failures and using its full range of testing solutions platforms and engineering know-how, Datest can rehabilitate many of the bad boards, restore “lost” revenue and contribute to a greener world. This is an economical and intuitive answer to a perennial issue that delivers significant monetary and environmental benefits in a world where diminished resources have become a fact of life. What’s not to like?

Conclusion Over the past 30 years, Datest has grown up, taken risks, and branched out — what started as a small EMS has turned into a thriving, multi-faceted company. It has earned a venerable name in the EMS business as a company that focuses on adding new, cutting-edge capabilities.

Datest understands the importance of adapting to industry needs and providing the most comprehensive value-added service possible. The company also uses its technologies and experience to present cost-effective, environmentally friendly solutions to the challenge of failure analysis. Failure is indeed an option, as long as you know how to fix it. Who says testing and test engineering don’t add significant value? Datest does, and confidently expects to be carrying on this venerable tradition of valuable results for the next 30 years. Stay tuned.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

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MW/PA/1/Jan2014ad-2.indd 1

1/21/14 11:57 AM

red carpet out & about in the industry In this feature we follow our industry movers and shakers throughout the world.

Time to take a bow...

Page 56

Conelec Electronic Manufacturing selected Kurtz Ersa North America’s ECOSELECT 2 for its facility in Deland, FL. The ECOSELECT 2 is ideally suited for operation in modular production lines, and it is the optimal solution for small and medium scale production where flexibility is paramount.

Essemtec hosted a successful US sales meeting at its European headquarters in Aesch, Switzerland. The meeting included an overview of sales in 2013 and the marketing plan, goals and future plans for Essemtec in 2014.

Libra Industries purchased a Vitronics Soltec XPM3m Series Reflow Soldering System. This investment will enable Libra Industries to continue providing customized manufacturing solutions to help make its customers more competitive and improve their profitability.

Julia Adamczyk of STI Electronics, Inc. recently celebrated her 10-year anniversary. Julia started with STI as a Customer Service Representative and is now the company’s Buyer and Logistics Coordinator for the sales department.

Etek Europe Ltd. has been appointed as distributor for Osai Automation Systems in the UK and Ireland. This appointment reinforces the relationship between two great companies: Osai A.S., a LASER system producer, and Etek, one of Europe’s largest distribution organizations within the electronics industry.

PROMATION Inc. successfully completed a major installation at a major CM over a period of several months. The company was selected after an extensive evaluation process that was based on the design of its handling systems, reliability of the existing installed base, and customer feedback.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

what’s happening in your business? send your event pictures to red@smttoday.com

Horizon Sales has hired Kathleen Thompson as its Regional Sales Manager.

She oversees Horizon’s efforts with all support products, such as bare PCB sales, PCB tooling, material inventory and storage solutions in addition to equipment sales.

ESSEGI SYSTEM SERVICE s.r.l. is celebrating its 20th birthday in 2014. Despite the difficult business climate in Italy, ESSEGI has continued to meet the challenges of the market and maintain a positive outlook for the New Year.

Lars Bartels has joined Viscom to reinforce sales customer support in Europe. With Bartels, Viscom has added an expert in AOI and X-ray inspection to its sales team.

Datest commemorates 30 years in business in 2014. Over the past 30 years, the company has added a range of worldclass testing equipment, while building a reputation as the industry experts for testing and training.

FCT Assembly announces that Fine Line Stencil is the sole licensee of the NanoSlic® Gold Coating Technology, which is based on a proprietary application process that offers superior paste transfer efficiency.

Metcal released the schedule for its Advanced Package Rework and Repair seminars during the first half of 2014. The seminars will address the latest techniques to rework and repair a variety of applications and provide keys to unlock the challenges of rework.

New Blood for the Next Generation of Manufacturers Reps in the SMT Industry by smt today staff editor Mike Luzius initially became involved in the electronics industry through an internship with PACE Incorporated in 2010.

Mike started as the Assistant Product Marketing Manager, responsible for the development of the company’s marketing literature and its new Web site. ____________________________________

states. He also organized and conducted numerous training seminars and product demonstrations throughout the eastern territory, which directly generated a profit for the company.

‘‘

In March 2013, Mike accepted an opportunity with Kurt Whitlock Associates as an outside sales rep covering the Florida electronics market. Based out of a 12,400 sq. ft. Facility in St. Cloud, FL, Kurt Whitlock Associates (KWA) markets, distributes and demonstrates selected industry-leading technologies and process solutions. KWA’s full service facility is one of the few in the US electronics industry. ____________________________________

In this position, he generated and launched new product press releases, balanced the firm’s marketing objectives and customer satisfaction, created all print marketing materials to help drive sales initiatives

____________________________________ Upon graduation and earning a Business Degree in Marketing from Towson University, he was hired full-time and promoted to the Product Marketing Manager.

In this position, he generated and launched new product press releases, balanced the firm’s marketing objectives and customer satisfaction, created all print marketing materials to help drive sales initiatives, and developed product positioning that differentiated PACE in the market. Additionally, he was responsible for coordinating the company’s IPC APEX EXPO booths, which included all logistics and equipment set-up procedures.

Because of his assiduous work ethic, a year later, management took notice of his potential and promoted him again to the PACE Mid-Atlantic Regional Sales Manager.

After only four months, Mike’s region was expanded to the entire East Coast, where he managed 12 sales reps and major distributors, covering more than 15

Page 58

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According to Mike, a key factor that drew him to KWA, which really emphasizes the company’s true competitive advantage in the market, is the state-of-the-art demo facility

____________________________________ He reached this decision primarily because of the substantial opportunities and the confidence he sensed in the Florida market.

Additionally, it provided a chance for him to diversify his product portfolio in the industry.

According to Mike, a key factor that drew him to KWA, which really emphasizes the company’s true competitive advantage in the market, is the state-of-the-art demo facility. This facility showcases manufacturing equipment from the most elite international firms and can only be seen and tested at KWA. Throughout the year the company hosts several open

houses where customers from all over the state are invited to visit the facility for a firsthand experience of these highly sought after machines.

The company’s facility is, and will continue to be, its long-term commitment to its valued electronics assembly partners. KWA brings machine technology and materials for hands-on demonstrations in real time, with factory experts running customer’s production challenges and providing repeatable process solutions. ____________________________________

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With numerous OEMs, defense contractors and contract manufacturers, Florida is a remarkable platform for the electronics industry

____________________________________ The KWA team now represents more than 20 PCB/SMT production equipment lines, and distributes 10 companies serving the Florida market.

With numerous OEMs, defense contractors and contract manufacturers, Florida is a remarkable platform for the electronics industry.

While incessantly progressing and providing solutions to its partnerships, KWA has been serving the Florida market for over 35 years. Mike is seeing a positive trajectory in the industry and around the country, and he is as equally excited about the future endeavors of Kurt Whitlock Associates.

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

Winner of 2013 Global Technology Award for Bonepile Rehabilitation Service

MW/DC/25/Datest Bonepile ad-SMTtoday.indd 1

www.datest.com 510.490.4600 Y E A R S

2/20/14 3:06 PM

Are Stencils the weak link in your Process? by fraser shaw, Technical Sales and Marketing director Pictures courtesy of Siplace from their Live 03015 process demo During Productronica 2013.

“As a rule of thumb 50% of all smt line defects can be attributed to the print process” In our position we get to see a lot of the worlds electronic assembly processes, and it’s a fact that the SMT print difficulty graph is going up whilst stencil prices are going the other way. We may think that this is tolerable in the short run, but are we just burying our heads in the sand and ignoring what’s around the corner?

Chrys Shea of Shea Engineering, who has written many papers on SMT print capability and is an independent arbiter of stencil quality, comments, “Despite the fact that the vendors know they are vying for sizeable contracts I’ve seen everything from miscut apertures to positional shifts of over 2mils.

It has never been truer that you get what you pay for. If users put more emphasis on quality, so would suppliers, and the focus would shift back to where it belongs: on precision and accuracy, not production speed and cost.” ____________________________________

‘‘

It’s all too familiar, the print process is tolerable until it isn’t.

A customer design appears that includes 01005 components, and suddenly that bargain stencil isn’t such a bargain any more

____________________________________ Saving $50 on a stencil can easily lead to $100’s of dollars on rework. We have all seen the reports of literally millions of smartphones being returned for rework in Asia not to mention 10’s of thousands of operators just doing retouch.

What you may not realise is that the system has already broken in some countries with leading stencil suppliers being squeezed until they went out of business. In Europe and USA we have seen some stencil vendors all but giving up on investment,

citing low prices as a barrier to innovation.

It seems like the $100 Stencil has infected the market even though in high labour cost economies we would never tolerate a high level of rework.

Modern fiber laser machines like the T8 introduced in 2006 changed the industry by being hugely reliable and consistent.

Suddenly stencil quality leapt forward giving universal improvements AND almost making Stencils a cheap commodity.

The trouble is that now we see, as a result of the price pressure, Stencil vendors are using up this technology capital to cut costs rather than increase capability. It has become a race to the bottom, a race that will inevitably end in failure at worst OR preferably, a reset in our thinking - before it’s too late.

With prices squeezed this hard who wants to invest in a new laser machine? For the last two years, Stencil machine sales in the USA have been dominated by budget priced systems with demand for the most capable systems trailing considerably.

At Tannlin, we know all about truly challenging print capability after working with cutting edge suppliers on 01005 and the even more demanding 03015 components. We have not let up in our drive for perfection and have filed more stencil related patents than any other company, offering a range of stencil laser options.

The new T11 range is designed to satisfy every requirement. The standard T11 is a fairly priced system capable of serving both the stencil vendor and the end user in todays hugely competitive market.

However, we strongly believe that even though laser cut stencils are direct imaged and hence among the most accurate

components in the SMT process, a 20,000 aperture stencil still has 20,000 opportunities to be wrong. That’s why we have launched a range of simple upgrade options for the T11 to enable advanced manufacturing capability to meet the coming challenge. ____________________________________

‘‘

The T11 analyses the area ratio of every aperture, no matter how complex

____________________________________ The upgrades enable advanced manufacturing algorithms which analyse each and every aperture for complexity and employ advanced motion algorithms that perfectly synchronise laser profiles to both motion control, stencil materials and thicknesses.

The T11 analyses the area ratio of every aperture, no matter how complex. It uses this data to actively control the laser cut process, optimising every aperture so that whether it is a 0.5mm or a 0.1mm aperture for a 03015 chip, the T11 will cut perfectly every time. In addition you can add a HD AOI capability to check each and every aperture after cutting.

We has proved conclusively that the industry can keep using stencil printing to satisfy the needs of the next generation of assemblies. Innovation like the Tannlin T11 product line will make meeting the coming challenges as painless as possible.

Find out more on the new T11 at tannlin.com

Page 60

| MARCH 2014 ISSUE

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