EPP Europe P1.2019

04 2019 www.epp-europe.eu 

INTERVIEW 

Wolf Erdmann, IPTE 

Since we understand current 

trends, we can use them in 

different industry segments. 

COVER 

I 4.0 inspection 

for the industry 

CONTENTS 

Trade Shows + Events 

SMTconnect 2019 

PCB + Assembly 

Solder paste for SiP 

assembly 

Importance of drying in 

PCB cleaning 

Test + Quality Assurance 

THT component inspection 

in tight spaces

EDITORIAL 

SMTconnect 2019 

As of this year, the well-established industry show, formerly 

known as SMT Hybrid Packaging, has received a new name, 

SMTconnect. It focuses on current challenges in the microelectronics 

industry and will for the first time target electronic 

manufacturing services, as well. The exhibition is set 

to take place in Nuremberg, Germany, from May 7–9, 2019. 

Stop by and visit our booth 4-140. 

A connected Smart Factory inspection 

Not all PCBA failures can be easily spotted, especially with increasing trends, including 

miniaturization, causing PCB density and complexity. Additional smart verification 

strategies should be added to AOI and AXI solutions, in order to increase production 

yield and reduce manufacturing costs.·To compensate for certain limitations, connecting 

an at-line X-ray system will create an additional high-end sensor. 

Combining brainpower and algorithms. 

Faster innovative line concept 

An EMS provider that is known for complex product designs has added 

an SMT production line, which consists of a stencil printer and three 

placement machines. This not only increased flexibility to their manufacturing, 

but also delivered high precision and reliability. Other benefits included 

simple programming capabilities with an easy user interface, 

high feeder capacity, as well as, an optimized printing quality. 

Meeting all needs for high-mix environment. 

Flexible and versatile dryers 

Complex electronic assemblies and connections are 

made reliable with innovative curing and drying processes. 

This is especially important for sensitive assemblies 

that are exposed to harsh environments. To 

increase quality, different drying systems can be 

used. For instance, a vertical system that requires 

minimum floor space, a meander system that enables 

long product dwell time, or a continuous dryer 

with a vertical looped transport system. 

Optimal drying and curing results. 

07. – 09.05.2019 | Hall 4 | Booth 111 

Ersa POWERFLOW-Series 

Best process reliability at highest 

throughput 

Cost-optimized wave soldering with 

near-time ROI 

Spray fluxer with intelligent spray pattern 

programming 

Modular preheating configuration for 

flexible and reproducible heat input 

Double solder module for different alloys 

Long-lasting cleanliness due to continuous 

process gas cleaning 

Intelligent nitrogen control guarantees 

optimized N2 consumption and cost 

efficiency 

Ersa POWERFLOW PRO 

with award-winning 

modern user interface 

Source: Carina Zarfelder 

Charlene Hesse 

Online Editor EPP E 

Ersa POWERFLOW N 2 

w w w . e r s a . c o m

Contents 04 2019 

European Magazine for 

Production and Test in the 

Electronics Industry 

Cover 

Industry 4.0 for inspection 

Challenges with PCBA manufacturing include component warpage 

and HoP defects. AOI and AXI inspection solutions are used for 

these challenges, however this does not completely eliminate 

false failure calls. Which is why smart verification strategies 

should be implemented by using an at-line X-ray system that connects 

to a 3D AOI and AXI inspection in-line, becoming a smart 

verification tool. 

Added value of smart factory 

Source: ACC Electronix 

Source: Charlene Hesse 

06 

Making a strong educational push into the 

European market to bring support in new areas. 

48 

Control with dual pot selective soldering machines allow 

for robust design and process repeatability. 

News + Highlights 

6 Removing siloed environments with IPC standards 

Increasing opportunities for Europe 

10 Adapting towards the speed and trends of technology 

Interview with Managing Director of IPTE 

12 Industry 4.0 strategy for the Glass Factory 

All Circuits’ plan to a digital transformation 

14 Bringing a competent sales professional on board 

Koenen expands sales and customer divisions 

14 Expanding into the Irish market with partnership 

Super Dry Totech broadens reach for dry cabinets 

14 Central Europe distributor for global growth 

Speedprint enhances localized infrastructures 

15 25 years connected to air treatments 

Extraction. Filtration. Persistence 

16 Two reference guides for engineers 

Industry tips from experienced professionals 

17 Partnership for more control of reflow process 

Integration for connectivity and automation 

17 Manager for research and development 

Rehm appoints department head 

Source: F&S Bontec 

84 

Testing for quality assurance and simpler process 

optimization for thick wire bonds. 

Trade Shows + Events 

18 Undertaking challenges in microelectronics 

Creating lasting connections at SMTconnect 

20 The future of technology coming together 

Getting a first look at IPC Apex Expo 2019 

22 25 years of expertise in automation 

From engineers to one global partner (IPTE) 

24 The future of electronics is certain 

electronica 2018 exceeded all expectations 

26 LEDs in the electronic industry 

1. LED meets SMT forum 

27 Fast Forward 2019 platform for start-ups 

Bringing prototypes together at productronica 

27 2019 Innovation Awards at Apex 

Pushing boundaries of technology 

28 Shaping the future of stencil printing 

Christian Koenen Technology Day 

32 Hotbed for AIoT & IoT integration 

The future of electronics in Taiwan (Taitronics) 

4 EPP EUROPE April 2019

38 

Foto: Yxlon 

34 The digital age on all levels 

Fuji Innovation Days – All about Smart Factory 

PCB + Assembly Features 

44 EMS provider with innovative line concept 

Producing top quality with high precision (ASM) 

46 Product-Updates PCB + Assembly 

48 Quality with robust design and process repeatability 

Helping with continual path to improvement (Ersa) 

50 Solder paste attributes for SiP assembly 

Advantages of small form factor approach (Indium) 

55 Four steps to successfully clean PCBAs 

Tools and techniques for circuit drying (MicroCare) 


60 Process tracking and traceability across all lines 

Quality reflow and cost improvements (KIC) 


64 Providing turnkey sensors to increase market share 

Sensing the world’s needs (Essemtec) 


68 Offering flexible and versatile types of dryers 

Reliable protection for electronics (Rehm) 

72 Surface-mount line to fulfil emerging market demands 

Pick and place at the heart of production (Europlacer) 


76 Outlook on transparent resin choices and applications 

Encapsulation optimised for LEDs (Electrolube) 


IPTE is exhibiting at 

SMTconnect 

7 - 9 May 2019 

Hall 5 

Booth 434B 

Test + Quality Assurance Features 

82 Inspection system for THT component testing 

Timely fault detection in tight spaces (Göpel) 

84 Accelerated mechanical fatigue interconnect test 

Test for reliability of heavy wire bonds (F&S) 

87 Product-Updates Test + Quality Assurance 

Columns 

3 Editorial 

4 Contents 

90 Imprint/List of advertisers 

EPP EUROPE April 2019 5

NEWS + HIGHLIGHTS 

Removing siloed environments 

with collective standards 

Sanjay Huprikar and Philippe 

Léonard discussed IPC’s efforts 

for this year and their influences 

in the European industry, most 

specifically Eastern Europe. 


Since 1957, IPC, an association representing the global electronics 

industry supply chain, has built a reputation of bringing the electronic 

industry together, by establishing opportunities for learning 

and networking. Not only do they provide standards for the industry, 

they also have experience with planning technical and certification 

programs, development courses, as well as competitions. As part of 

their efforts, they are responsible for the North American tradeshow, 

IPC Apex Expo. Every year, professionals, developers, and experts 

come together to discuss challenges and current trends. 

Throughout this year’s show, Sanjay Huprikar, Vice President, 

Solutions, and Philippe Léonard, Europe Director, spoke with 

Charlene Hesse, Online editor EPP Europe, about the efforts the 

company is making in 2019, current happenings with the tradeshow, 

as well as, their push into the European market. 

Can you tell our readers about the company and 

the tradeshow Apex? 

Sanjay Huprikar: IPC Apex is not just a tradeshow, because we emphasize 

not only standards, which is already very present at this 

show, but also education, advocacy, in terms of global advocacy, 

and lastly solutions, where CFX is a great example. 

Philippe Léonard: What we should also not forget is the value of 

having a large portion of the industry coming together. People are 

happy to have a chance just to see each other, network, solve problems, 

deal with issues, and exchange ideas. This adds a lot of value 

especially at this scale, since everyone is in one location for a few 

days. 

Sanjay Huprikar: When most people ask what IPC is, the standard 

answer is our core competencies which is providing standards, educational 

opportunities, and certification programs. I like to answer 

differently in saying that our core competency is our ability to put 

people together to solve something. This is because of our uniqueness, 

we are a non-for-profit, global, industry driven, and member 

focused association. From a value standpoint, what we bring to the 

table every day is the ability to get people together. 

What was new and exciting at IPC Apex show this 

year? 

Sanjay Huprikar: It was a nice combination of bringing in new ideas 

into the mix of what we have historically been doing as well. If I had 

to rank order, the most exciting thing for this year was the CFX 

demo line. In under a year and a half, we went from the initial idea to 

the documentation. In general, if you think about standards, it 

usually takes about 3–5 years to develop and publish a standard. 

However, in this short time period, we got people to envision what a 

demo may look like, then established several demos at last year’s 

show, and this year we got an actual line running that processes a 

real board. It’s almost unheard of! The second important topic that 

occurred, again from an exciting point of view, is the fact that the 

hand soldering competition was back. 

Philippe Léonard: We had 13 certified winners. This means that each 

of these 13 people won a regional competition that took place all 

around the globe, including Europe and Asia. This is also exciting because 

it’s putting the knowledge and set of skills in the spotlight. 


There are less and less people that are able to do this job, but here 

the certified winners are the experts. They have become sort of role 

models. 

Sanjay Huprikar: It’s a great story if you look at it from their perspective. 

Taking a skill, showing your region that you are the expert, and 

then being called to travel to be on an international stage, that’s exhilarating 

for them! But we love it because that’s the energy and excitement 

that we are trying to create for the industry. 

Philippe Léonard: It is also a great opportunity for the companies 

that send their operator here to show how skilled their employees 

are. Not only from an external perspective, but also internally to 

their own employees, they build momentum around this. Which 

shows that this is not just a marketing gimmick, but a useful tool. 

Sanjay Huprikar: Another exciting thing that occurred is that the 

CTO of Tesla delivered the keynote address. He has accomplished a 

lot, and yet at a very basic level, he explained their history, their 

story, and how they went about it. What they tried, what worked, 

what didn’t work, and it was inspiring. 

What has been the feedback for the IPC Connected 

Factory Exchange (CFX)? 

Sanjay Huprikar: Feedback has been great, to the point where the 

CFX standard passed the ballot stage and will soon be published. I 

think the demos that we did in 2017 were tremendous and brought 

us to this point of where the protocol is now realized so that data 

can be transferred from machine to machine, as boards are being 

processed. I think the other positive signal from this standard is that 

we collaborated with an organization called Hermes, which was at 

the time doing their own standard. Part of our mission is to collaborate 

with others to not have a duplication of effort, so it made more 

sense to work together. 

The Vice President, 

Solutions, Sanjay Huprikar, 

believes that 

standards are necessary 

for the industry, 

since there are unnecessary 

duplicate 

efforts happening 

throughout. 

With the year’s theme, ‘Technology’s future comes 

together’, is this significant for today’s market? 

Sanjay Huprikar: It speaks to what it is that we are trying to do. We 

are always looking for opportunities to bring innovation into our efforts, 

and what the industry has done. We are here to serve the industry, 

as well as, take cues from it. And that’s what a member 

driven organization should do. We’ve also been demonstrative 

about taking on initiatives, to help lead the industry in certain areas. 

Automotive is a good example of that as we have long participated 

in the creation of standards for aerospace military and defense. This 

helped the industry understand the potential pitfalls for not having 

standards and working in a siloed environment. 

Automotive has now transitioned, from mechanical parts to electronics. 

The studies that we’ve seen shows that by the year 2030, 

roughly 10 years from now, 50 % of the value of an automobile will 

be electronics. This includes safety, data, and parts in the electronics 

that need to withstand environmental rugged conditions. So 

as the shift has taken place, the need for reliability has increased 

tenfold. Since we played a role in helping aerospace figure that out, 

we think we’ve got the toolkit and experience to help the automotive 

industry. That’s what that technology statement means for us, 

innovating, working and taking cues from the industry, and not 

being shy to point out some things as well. 

IPC has recently made efforts to broaden their 

stance in the European market. Has anything 

changed since this initiative? 

Philippe Léonard: A couple of things have changed actually. First, 

this effort resulted in significant presence of IPC everywhere in Europe, 

at a local and regional level. Over the past 5 years, it also resulted 

in significant increase in our membership. Which is one of 

our proxies to measure how the industry buys into what we do. It 

resulted as well in more activity development for European 

members. We addressed new sectors and innovative initiatives. We 

also have more committees, including technical, standardization, 

and advocacy committees. All of this generates more engagement 

in the local industry. This is important to us because we want to do 

things that matter. 

We are doing more to bring opportunities to the industry, to learn, 

educate, train people, to network locally with people from the same 

local area, Germany, Italy, France, etc. As well as at a European 

level, with people from all over gathering for a specific topic. Our 

plan for 2019 is to have 25+ European events. 

Sanjay Huprikar: One of the themes for this year is also a strong 

push into Eastern Europe. 

Philippe Léonard: We are planning events in Hungary, Czech Republic, 

Poland, Romania. 

Sanjay Huprikar: The OEMs that are based in the western part of Europe 

are moving their factories to Eastern Europe where the work 

force is. And this gives us a great opportunity to introduce our value 

proposition, especially the training and the education piece to that 

market. 

Philippe Léonard: It’s really the same story, we go where the industry 

is. We want to be close to the members and to the industry. We 

realized that a large portion of the manufacturing is there, so we 

also have to be more present there. Also in my opinion, many of our 

European members take the standard as it is. But we want them to 

realize that they can also have a voice. They can be take part and revise, 

change, or adapt standards to their own needs. This is some- 




The Europe Director, Philippe 

Léonard, has been making a 

strong push for their presence 

in Europe by creating more 

technical and advocacy programs, 

at both a local and regional 

level. 


thing that is very well routed in the US industry, but not yet in Europe. 

Are there any new initiatives planned for this year, 

especially in the European market? 

Philippe Léonard: I would define our plans in two pillars. One pillar is 

exploring new territories, sectors, and areas where electronics is 

more present and where reliability is important. Our standards are 

made to do everything possible to avoid failures of the electronic 

system. There are now new areas in the industry where failure is 

not acceptable. An example of this would be in the automotive industry, 

more specifically autonomous vehicle or electric cars. We 

are also targeting a similar evolution that might take place, in the 

medical and e-Textile or smart wearable industries. 

Sanjay Huprikar: And I would say that over the last year and a half, 

we opened several doors. No one has slammed the door in our face 

yet! 

Philippe Léonard: Not yet. 

Sanjay Huprikar: I attribute that to people recognizing the credibility 

that we bring to the industry. The other piece of it is, people are recognizing 

that a siloed mentality is trouble. There are a lot of unnecessary 

duplicate efforts going on from company to company, 

and that’s starting to be recognized. For instance, we created a 

counsel last year called ITERC, the IPC Transportation Electronics 

Reliability Council. That was an important milestone for us because 

we were able to get large OEMs in the auto industry, Renault, Toyota, 

Volkswagen, and large tier-one suppliers, Continental and Bosch, 

to sit at the table together for an entire day. And talk about what we 

need to do in terms of circuit board standards for the future. Better 

to have the conversation now and come up with a plan on what the 

supply chain should be looking for. They bought into the idea that 

standardization in this area is important, making it more efficient 

and cost effective for their supply chain. 

Philippe Léonard: There are also some other things that we continue 

to push. For example, for the last 2 years, we’ve organized a conference 

on the wire harness, including cabling and connectors for the 

printed circuit board. And last but not least, we are looking at further 

developing and improving hand soldering competitions. We had a 

world championship at Apex, but there’s a program with 6 local regional 

qualification competitions in Europe. 

Sanjay Huprikar: And the 2019 World Championships will be held in 

Munich at productronica in November. So we’re excited to have it in 

Europe in 2019. 

Previously, locations for Apex were alternating between 

California and Nevada. Is there a reason for 

why this has changed? 

Sanjay Huprikar: We are a data driven organization and we take 

member input very seriously. We’ve done surveys on this, in terms 

of pros and cons of different venues and what the experience has 

been. And in general, it’s fair to say that most people find the experience 

in San Diego to be much better than Las Vegas. It was a combination 

of consistency of show and also making sure we had maximum 

participation in our standards development programs. So we 

made a decision in 2015 to stay the next 7 years in California. From 

2017–2025, we are in California. Now having said that, we will have 

to see what happens after 2025. 

The political stance of America has changed in the 

past few years. Has this affected the show and industry 

in any way? 

Sanjay Huprikar: I don’t know if that has made an impact on the 

show. There’s obviously been a shift that’s gone on over the last 2 

years, but what we are trying to do is recognize who we are. Historically, 

we’ve focused our advocacy efforts in the United States over 

the last 8–10 years, but IPC is a global association, representing the 

global electronics industry. So, we are beginning to show the value 

to our European members in terms of our advocacy efforts, and well 

do more of that in Asia as well. There are issues that are local, there 

are issues that are global, both in advocacy and in standards. Our 

global team is looking at into those issues, all while listening to 

what our members are saying. We treat advocacy like we treat standards. 

We take the input of our members and develop programs to 

address their issues. That’s what we choose to focus on as an organization, 

what are issues are and how can we globally help from 

an advocacy standpoint. 

Thank you both for taking the time for this interview. 

www.ipc.org 


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See our latest developments at SMT Connect, Nuremberg - Booth 4-229 

Learn more at www.itweae.com 

A division of Illinois Tools Works 



Adapting towards the speed and 

trends of technology 

footprint enable us to be one of the key suppliers for electronic 

manufacturing and test, as well as turnkey solution provider to our 

customers. 

Wolf Erdmann discussed the company’s three business units, which includes test 

solutions, assembly technology, and systems. 

Founded in 1992, the Belgium company, IPTE Factory Automation, 

is now located worldwide, with offices throughout Europe, Americas, 

as well as Asia, with over 800 employees. With three main 

business units, the company focuses on the entire process, which 

includes systems, assembly, and test as the main points for a factory 

automation. Within this, quality, customer satisfaction, and ontime 

delivery are key factors that the company follows with a 

passion. Wolf Erdmann, Managing Director, spoke to Charlene 

Hesse, Online editor EPP Europe, about the company’s current 

stance in the market, as well as, their plans and aspirations. He 

emphasized how important it is for the company to build a rapport 

with customers to fully meet their requirements. This 

means to stay connected, not only throughout the process of the 

project, but afterwards as well. Current and future trends were also 

thoroughly discussed, which gave an insight to where the company 

stands and what they will be focusing on in the future. 

Mr. Erdmann, can you please introduce IPTE and 

explain key factors about the company? 

First, I would like to introduce our portfolio of products and competences, 

which is positioned within three main categories: Test solutions, 

assembly technology, and systems. In the field of test solutions, 

we are a key technology provider for customers test applications. 

Additionally, we include this competence in areas of other 

business units. Assembly technology is mainly based on customer 

specific projects, where we develop and provide complete turnkey 

solutions based on the request. The third business unit, systems, includes 

high tech standard processes for the electronic production, 

such as depaneling, high speed pressing, as well as flexible pressing 

applications. To round it up, we integrate the standard board 

handling equipment that is produced at the headquarters in Genk, 

together with our standard processes, such as laser marking, laser 

welding, just to mention a few. These competences and our global 

Source: Doris Jetter 

What are some of the company’s most recent projects? 

We recently finished off a big project for one of our key customers 

in the area of radar technology. On top of this, we are working with 

other customers on projects for the electrical test of batteries. A 

main driving factor besides the new technologies is the router business, 

where we have been able to win benchmarks on a global 

scale. Our state-of-the-art technology, which also includes solutions 

for Industry 4.0, is very successful and well accepted by our customers. 

Furthermore, we are driving internal improvement processes. 

These actions are targeting continuous improvements for 

efficiency, quality, and service to our customers. A good example is 

how we consolidated our three business units in one location here 

at IPTE Germany in Heroldsberg, in the region of Nuremberg. This 

offers us more flexibility in our daily operations, leading to optimized 

lead time to our customers. 

Being active in both European and American markets, 

do you see any differences between the two? 

We have to say that on one hand each entity is acting independently. 

But on the operational side, we base our doing on sharing 

knowledge and capacity on a global scale. This offers us the opportunity 

to support our customers “local for local”, if this is requested. 

Each country is driven also by intercultural topics. Offering local support 

and on the other hand having the close internal network, we 

can work out the best solution for our customers wherever they are 

located. 

Customer service is important to IPTE, as you are 

available 24/7. Do you do this for all customers? 

Absolutely, we offer a hotline service to our customers. How we set 

He believes that with 

IPTE’s strong global 

presence, the company 

has a great overview 

of the important trends 

that are in each 

market. 



up the service depends mainly on the location and the situation, to 

ensure the best possible support to our customers. For special machines, 

it does get a bit more complex to have the required knowledge 

at all locations. In such cases, we have service contracts with 

customers. Within these contracts, we define the best possible solution 

based on the requirements. It is not only important for us, but 

also for our clients, since they need to operate 24/7. A downtime on 

a production line or a machine is just not acceptable. 

He also explained 

the recent restructuring 

of IPTE Germany, 

in order to become 

even more efficient 

to best serve their 

customers. 

What is the company looking forward to in the 

next 3–5 years? 

In the last few months, we have finished the restructuring of IPTE 

Germany. Flexibility is driving our markets and due to this, it also 

needs to be reflected in our organization. The organization has been 

set up for further growth, as well as trends that are driving our business. 

Besides this, we are looking for the cooperation within the IPTE 

Group, to also ensure our global leadership in the future. 

Have trends, such as e-mobility, automation, Industry 

4.0, impacted the company? 

As pointed out already, it is definitely something our customers are 

requesting. On the other hand, we see it as a need in order to lead 

this industry. Our customers are as well very often market leaders. 

These trends are driving the market and offer a good opportunity to 

develop further. 

With the global presence, we are able to be involved in these trends 

in each location. Asia is key for e-mobility, as well as, they’ve set up 

the Chinese version of Industry 4.0 – China 2025. It is important to 

understand the trends on each end, analyze and lead them into our 

daily operations. We already offer products that include many functions, 

for example predictive maintenance, energy monitoring, selfteaching. 

E-Mobility is a very important topic to us, as the electronic, 

as well as, the battery are key for this business. Both include 

many processes and operations where the company offers products 

and complete solutions for the operation and test. 

In the future, I am personally convinced that the understanding of 

the trends and reflecting them in your business is key for a longterm 

success. Is it only Industry 4.0? I am not really sure since I 

have experienced a lot of different dynamics from the Asian market, 

including China 2025. But whatever it is, I would say it is already 

driving the technology today, as well as in the future. 

From left to right: Wolf Erdmann (Managing Director), Karl Schmaußer 

(Technical Managing Director), Rainer Krohmann (Sales Director). 


What trends do you see happening in the future, 

and how will it affect the industry? 

We already spoke about the key trends like Industry 4.0 and China 

2025. That also includes Big Data, for example. What can already be 

seen today, the key to our industry, is how you are able to handle 

the software. The proportion of software in our solutions and in the 

requests of our customers is constantly growing. 

Not only is the machine, service and support leading to decisions of 

our customer. The software solution, how fast we are able to integrate 

to other systems, MES for example, has also become a focus 

for our customers. Understanding this need, setting up the organization 

according to these requirements will affect our organizations 

at least as much as the recognition of good mechanical solutions. 

Are you following trends as a company? Can you 

see IPTE doing something more? 

As a company, we are part of setting these trends. But it’s also different, 

since some trends haven’t reached Europe, yet. For instance, 

if you look at electric vehicles, I would say there is much 

more that we can still do. IPTE is involved in projects for electric batteries. 

What is important though is since we are experts in the electronics, 

assembly, test, and manufacturing, these trends always 

come back to us. It’s directly affecting us and puts us in the middle 

of these trends. There are areas of these trends that we are still in 

the process of investigating, for example, how to be more prominent. 

This is something we definitely need to continue to look into, 

to best position ourselves for this future market. 

Not even 10 years ago, I was told that on average, a car has about 

90 electrical control units built into it, which included air bags, automatic 

windows, etc. Although I haven’t seen the latest statistics, if 

you add electric motors, automatic distance control or other state of 

the art functions on top of this, now a days, control units must have 

at least doubled. To sum it up, these trends are not only driving the 

automotive business sector. We are lucky to say that due to the fact 

that we understand these trends, we can use them in all different 

industry segments. We are working together with our customers on 

a global scale. 

Thank you very much Mr. Erdmann for taking the time for this interesting 

interview. 

www.ipte.com 




First roadmap to a digital transformation 

Industry 4.0 strategy 

for “the Glass Factory” 

A digital revolution is under way that has changed lives in recent years. The development of the internet and smartphones 

has considerably changed the means of communication and the exchange of information. This revolution, which 

gradually and surreptitiously invades everyday life, is also taking place in industry. After the third industrial revolution 

marked by the automation of industrial processes, digitization is the fourth industrial revolution, also called Industry 4.0, 

heralding the age of data. 

Thomas Cocquempot, Chief Digital Officer, ALL Circuits 

The first axis of this roadmap was to provide the company with a 

common digital base, enabling the construction of a solid and sustainable 

digital transformation. This includes: 

• a common IT infrastructure, 

• new communication tools (video-conferencing, collaborative 

tools, digital telephony), 

• processes allowing more sharing between sites and facilitating innovation, 

• tools such as Digital Learning and Business Intelligence in all 

areas of the business, 

• a digital organization and resources for carrying out the projects. 

As the Chief Digital Officer for ALL Circuits, Thomas Cocquempot elaborates and 

implements digital strategies. He initiated the plan to digitally transform the 

company’s process. 

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality 

(AR) or collaborative robots (cobots) will change manufacturing 

in the factories of tomorrow. And it is an inevitable change. ALL Circuits 

did not stay idly by and watch this revolution, instead they 

chose to follow these trends with initiatives in each of its production 

sites. To accelerate this change and coordinate efforts on digital projects 

for all locations, the company chose to create a new role to 

manage the digital transformation and assigned Thomas Cocquempot 

to drive the initiative, after his eleven exciting years as the head 

of the Bayonne plant. 

The first digital roadmap 

His first mission was to make a diagnosis of the digital maturity of 

each site. This has allowed the identification of strengths and weaknesses 

in the integration of IT systems, the adoption of new digital 

technologies, and the maturity of the organization to accept and implement 

this transformation. It also made it possible to identify the 

achievements and projects of each of the sites. Based on this observation, 

a first digital roadmap, dubbed ‘Digit‘ALL’, was built to serve 

the company‘s strategy. 

Source: ALL Circuits 

The Glass Factory 

The company chose, as with all their initiatives, to put the customer 

at the center of the 2 nd axis entitled “the Glass Factory”. 

The idea was to push the principle of transparency to the extreme 

with each customer. Digital technology makes it possible to simplify 

and automate access or the exchange of information. “We are already 

exchanging digital data with our customers and suppliers via 

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), but we have intensified this communication 

for logistical data (location of product in the factory, delivery 

forecasts, etc.), as well as for technical data (quality level, failure 

rate, productivity, etc.). This profound change in the relationship 

with our customers will drive us further towards excellence and reinforce 

the level of mutual trust, synonymous with sustainability in 

the relationship,” says Thomas Cocquempot. 

Digitizing the process 

The third axis concerned the continuation of digitization actions of 

their processes. Special attention was made to the pooling of solutions 

on all sites that work in order not to disperse the limited resources 

for development. 

To give some examples: 

• the deployment of I-pro solutions (real-time monitoring of the utilization 

rate of equipment) and Caper (digitization of production 

documentation), 

• the interconnection of equipment will continue and projects, such 

as digital QRQC (tool for solving field problems), 

• or remote maintenance (remote maintenance of production 

equipment) are being developed. 

“Particular attention has been made in recent years to the automation 

of production processes. This will, of course continue, but 


Following Industry 4.0 trends, the company integrated digital technologies and 

automated their entire process in order to best serve their customers. 


The company increased digital communication with their customers to automate 

and easily exchange information. 


Industry 4.0 has allowed us to go further and accelerate the automation 

of indirect processes. It will support all sectors of the business, 

more specifically logistics, finance, trade, maintenance, industrialization, 

etc.,” he further concludes. 

Automation is key 

The 4 th axis of the roadmap deals with projects, such as the automation 

of goods receipt, the dematerialization of supplier invoices, 

and the development of a SMT line supervision tool to name just a 

few. 

The solutions brought by new digital technologies and the Industry 

4.0 are multiple and constantly evolving. This current revolution is a 

great opportunity to continue the quest for excellence to best serve 

customers‘ satisfaction. By catalyzing all the energy, creativity and 

ingenuity of the company‘s teams, the Digit‘ALL program has accelerated 

the digital transformation. 

www.allcircuits.com 

Musashi’s Innovative 

Technology for High Precision 

Micro-Dispensing 

Please contact us: 

MUSASHI ENGINEERING EUROPE GmbH 

Marcel-Breuer-Str. 15; 80807 Munich, Germany, 

Phone: +49(0) 89 32 19 96 - 06 E-mail: sales@musashi-engineering.de 



Global sales director and director of customer service 

The Sales and Customer Service divisions 

will now be led by the Global Sales Director, 

as Torsten von Kamp takes on this role. Mr. 

Von Kamp will act as an interface between 

the Sales and Customer Service departments 

for SMD stencils and precision 

screens, to manage their increasingly crossdepartmental 

work in a more efficient and 

customer-focused way. 

Born in Coburg in 1973, he completed his degree 

in Business Administration at Friedrich 

Alexander University in Erlangen in 2003. He 

previously worked for Asteelflash in Bad 

Hersfeld, where he was responsible for key 

account management and business development, 

SRI Radio Systems in Kempten, again 

in key account management, and Siemens 

AG/Nokia, where he focused on supply chain 

management. His responsibilities at Christian 

Koenen include both sales (field sales) and 

customer service (in-house sales). 

“In Torsten von Kamp, we are bringing on 

board an exceptionally competent and experienced 

sales professional,” said Managing 

Director, Michael Brianda. “His many years of 

experience in the electronics industry, particularly 

in sales, purchasing and supply chain 

management, gives him an extremely good 

understanding of our international customers’ 

requirements, making him an excellent 

addition to our leadership team.” 

SMTconnect, Booth 4A-316 

www.ck.de 

Torsten von Kamp is leading the Sales and 

Customer Service divisions. 

Source: Christian Koenen GmbH 

Ultra-low humidity dry cabinets with patented Zeolite technology 

Super Dry Totech has partnered 

with the distributor IPT for the Irish market. 

Super Dry Totech, manufacturer of storage 

and humidity control solutions, has announced 

an exciting partnership with Irish 

distributor IPT. They will be distributing the 

full range of dry cabinets and dry storage sol- 

Source: Super Dry Totech 

utions to the Irish market, strengthening 

their channel in Ireland. 

Super Dry Totech began nearly a decade ago 

as a distribution and technical support channel 

for ultra-low humidity dry cabinets with 

patented Zeolite technology. Rapid growth 

was fuelled by European RoHS legislation 

that magnified the need to carefully control 

product failures caused by moisture sensitive 

devices (MSDs). Since then, the company 

has become an independent design 

and manufacturing organization serving global 

markets with MSD solutions. 

IPT is a technical distributor of equipment to 

the medical device and pharmaceutical 

manufacturing sectors, specialising in packaging 

equipment, packaging testing and inspection 

equipment, automation equipment, 

manufacturing equipment and serialisation 

equipment. 

Managing Director, Jack Daly, is pleased to 

partner with dry storage solutions manufacturer, 

a member of the Asys Group, “Having 

partnered with Asys for many years, we are 

delighted to grow our relationship and distribute 

the ultra-low humidity dry cabinets 

with patented Zeolite technology in Ireland. 

Managing Director, Jos Brehler, is excited to 

bring its dry cabinets to Ireland, “Our development 

efforts have produced new levels of 

drying performance as well as environmentally 

responsible, industry-leading solutions 

such as our XSD & XSDB series.” 


www.superdry-totech.com 

Distributor for Mexico & Central Europe 

Screen printing specialist, Speedprint Technology, 

has appointed Quiptech as its authorised 

distributor for the entire product range 

in Mexico and across most countries in Central 

and Eastern Europe. The agreement was 

sealed at the recent Apex expo in San Diego. 

For over 25 years, Quiptech has been a distributor 

of equipment and consumables in 

the electronics and medical device manufacturing 

sectors, with a geographical footprint 

that provides support in Europe and Mexico. 

Mark Brawley, President of Speedprint, sees 

this as a perfect fit for his company’s global 

growth plans. 

Source: Speedprint Technology 

“We are delighted to engage in this exciting 

new partnership,” says Brawley. “We are renowned 

for delivering the highest-quality 

products and award-winning premium support 

to customers across the globe. Quiptech’s 

industry expertise and service delivery 

parallel our own, while the organization’s 

unique geographical presence allows us to 

enhance our localized infrastructures to meet 

our global distribution needs.” 

The distributor will take on the product range 

and provide field support in Mexico, Central 

Europe and Eastern Europe. 

SMTconnect, Booth 4-251 

www.speedprint-tech.com 

Mark Brawley with members of the Quiptech 

team at the recent Apex Expo. 


25 years connected to air treatment technologies 

What started on 25 January 1994 has developed 

into a true success story. On that date, 

Dr. Christian Jakschik founded the company, 

ULT Umwelt-Lufttechnik, which has successfully 

established its place into the market, 

and moreover, developed into a world-class 

vendor of air treatment technologies with 

more than 130 employees. In the early founding 

days, the company existed only formally – 

the first fume extraction systems were “designed 

in our flat and assembled in the garage”, 

tells Dr. Christian Jakschik. He has led 

the company through good times and hard 

times, always keeping his eyes towards to 

the vision to raise a small German start-up to 

an internationally successful enterprise. The 

current company status is a globally recognized 

provider of fume extraction and process 

air drying solutions proves that persistence 

and courage may lead to success. 

In 2004, ULT changed into a stock company. 

During that time, the team of employees developed 

and produced air treatment systems 

already at the current headquarters in Löbau/ 

Germany. The headquarters has continued to 

grow: In 2018, additional production and office 

areas were taken into operation into 

what was now the sixth expansion step for 

the company. Dr. Christian Jakschik passed 

the baton of company management to his 

sons Stefan and Alexander in 2015, who 

forged their own goals and highlights. 

The company’s continuing success is based 

on several fundamentals: Turn-key and customized 

fume extraction solutions, systems 

for process air drying and conditioning, as 

well as, accessories, such as extraction arms 

and individual capturing solutions. Additionally, 

research and development are of special 

meaning within the company, demonstrated 

by close cooperation with universities, technical 

colleges and scientific institutes. 

“Our product range is that wide as to serve a 

variety of production methods in numerous 

industries and applications,” explains Dr. Stefan 

Jakschik, CEO. Today, they run a global 

sales and service network. Last year, the 

company opened a subsidiary in the US. 

Source: ULT AG 

Winner of the 2016 Saxony Business Award – 

Dr Christian Jakschik, Dr Stefan Jakschik and 

Alexander Jakschik (from left to right). 

“The founding of Wisconsin based ULT LLC 

has been a strategically important step for future 

success in one of the largest markets 

worldwide”, says Alexander Jakschik, CSO/ 

CTO. “Extraction. Filtration. Persistence.” is 

their corporate slogan. “We see ourselves as 

partners of our customers”, say Dr. Stefan and 

Alexander Jakschik with one voice. This attitude 

underlines the company’s impressive 

success. Currently, several thousand systems 

are shipped each year – which is a rising trend. 


www.ult.de 

smtconnect 

07. – 09.05.2019 

Hall 4A, Booth 100 

Nuremberg 

Meticulous protective coating 

with Protecto! 

The use of protective coatings improves the quality 

and durability of your products. Our Protecto selective 

conformal coating system protects sensitive 

electronic assemblies from damage by corrosion or 

other environmental influences. The multifunctional 

lacquer applicator enables all standard protective 

lacquers to be precisely applied by dispensing, 

spraying, jet or curtain coating – with absolute precision 

and reliability! The system also is available as a 

production line design with lacquer dryer. 

ProtectoXP 

Coating 

www.rehm-group.com 



Source: EMA Design Automation 

The hitchhiker‘s guide to PCB design book 

Now available in hardcopy, the eBook 

helps engineers to fully understand the 

design process of PCBs. 

EMA Design Automation, a provider of Electronic 

Design Automation (EDA) solutions, 

announced the availability of The Hitchhiker‘s 

Guide to PCB Design – a resource to empower 

engineers with the knowledge 

needed to understand the complexities of 

the PCB design process – in hardcopy. 

“We‘ve had a number of people request 

printed copies of the eBook, including educational 

institutions who want to use it as 

part of their classroom training,” said Manny 

Marcano, president and CEO. “The eBook 

was optimized to be read on electronic devices 

and has been extremely popular, and 

The book includes real actionable tips from industry professionals, 

detailed graphics, additional resources, and more. 

now by creating a printed version we are providing 

a professional piece of reference material 

that can be carried around and used 

anywhere.” 

The book is a play off the original Douglas 

Adams novel and offers a fun foray into the 

PCB design and manufacturing process. It 

takes the reader on the journey of Ian, a new 

EE getting his footing in PCB design. In his 

first project, he makes some major mistakes 

causing him to produce a design that cannot 

be manufactured. However, due to the input 

and advice of industry veterans, Ian is given a 

crash course on how to design a successful, 

Source: EMA Design Automation 

manufacturable board and assembly. 

With over 100 pages of actionable tips from 

experienced professionals and checklists, detailed 

graphics, and links to additional resources, 

engineers are provided with the 

knowledge needed for design success, no 

matter what CAD software they may use. 

It helps engineers learn how to identify and 

communicate effectively with key stakeholders, 

set up a successful design workflow, 

and avoid design missteps, including: 

• How to create a robust and manufacturable 

PCB layout beyond routing the rats 

• Who the project stakeholders are and why 

their involvement is essential 

• Why it‘s important to incorporate DFX (Design 

for Excellence) and all topics it covers 

• The need-to-know design best practices 

“I wish I had this book when I first started. I 

understood the tools, but in the end, I did not 

understand what I needed to do, in what 

order, or the proper flow. This book fills in the 

gaps, which I experienced at the start of my 

career,” said Theodor Iacob, schematic expert. 

The Hitchhiker‘s Guide to PCB Design is 

something every person interested in PCB 

design should have. The hardcover book is 

available via Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

www.ema-eda.com 

PCB Jumpers and Spacers product guide 

TopLine announces the publishing of its PCB 

Jumpers and Spacers product guide 2019-A. 

Quick to navigate, comprehensive and well-illustrated, 

this easy-to-use guide of nearly 50 

pages is a complete reference tool for engineers 

seeking SMT-solderable PCB design solutions 

in Zero Ohm Jumpers, PCB Spacers, 

Space Fillers, and more. It is available online, 

in print, and as a downloadable PDF. 

“Find it Fast” quick-reference illustrated 

charts make finding different classifications 

of product a snap, for a range of product 

groups including PCB Spacers, Isolated 

Space Fillers, MELF Series PCB Jumpers, 

and more. Images and page references point 

the way to learning more, all completely and 

logically organized. The company’s Jumpers, 

Spacers and Space Fillers are SMT solderable 

just like regular components. 

The company has manufactured a wide 

range of Zero Ohm Jumpers, non-conductive 

spacers and PCB space fillers since 1989. 

Zero Ohm Jumpers conduct current above 

and around traces on the board. Jumpers can 

be used instead of regular components. They 

are available in a wide assortment of devices 

including SOD, SOT, QFN, QFP, and BGA. 

Custom configurations are available. 

Non-conductive Spacers are insulative and 

Source: TopLine 

The PCB Jumpers and Spacers product 

guide 2019-A is available online, in print, 

and as a downloadable PDF. 

prevent adjacent PC Boards from touching 

one other. They can also be used to prevent a 

heavy component from sagging. Spacers are 

SMT solderable. 

Space fillers are insulative and empty component 

packages that look like normal devices 

but solder to the PC board like normal components. 

They are electrically isolated without 

internal connects, and thus will not alter 

the current flow on the PCB. Use space fillers 

to cover an empty pad or spot on the 

PCB. 

Isolated Spacers and Space Fillers do not 

conduct current. They are electrically isolated 

and non-conductive. Jumpers, Spacers and 

Space Fillers are packaged like ordinary devices 

on tape and reel, in tubes or in trays. 

The product guide illustrations include schematics, 

package outlines with perspective 

views, PCB patterns, and more, including 

charts of the Part Numbering System(s). 

www.topline.tv 


Data with MES i4.0 solution 

Manager for research and development 

KIC announces its partnership with iTAC Software 

AG. The integration of smart Reflow Process 

Inspection (RPI) data analytics into the 

iTAC.MES.Suite ensures process control and 

traceability of the thermal process in the oven, 

previously referred to as the “black box” machine 

in the production line. This partnership 

creates new customer value for the entire production 

line, by providing process transparency, 

traceability, consistent quality and reduced 

costs through a new level of connectivity and 

automation. With the connection to the RPI 

data analytics, real-time insight is provided 

into the reflow process to help factories run 

their production more effectively by reducing 

setup and changeover time, faster yield troubleshooting, 

and reduction in scrap and rework. 

“With KIC’s technology expertise, we have 

gained another market leader as a partner to 

more effectively assist our customers with 

implementation and offering future-proof solutions 

with high-added value,” said Peter Bollinger, 

CEO. 

KIC’s Global Products and Technologies Manager, 

Miles Moreau added, “Moving toward 

smart factory manufacturing requires that no 

area is skipped over, which has been the case 

for reflow in the past. Now, the highest level 

of equipment utilization, product quality, and 

profitability can be reached with the partnership, 

leveraging the best in MES solutions 

with smart oven technologies.” 


www.kicthermal.com, www.itacsoftware.com 

Since February 1, 2019, the research and development 

department at Rehm Thermal Systems, 

a manufacturer of thermal system solutions, 

has had a new manager: Dr. Paul 

Wild. He takes over as department head 

from Dr. Hans Bell, who has led the research 

and development department for nearly 20 

years and will retire in 2020. Dr. Wild has 

worked for the company since 2014. 

The previous deputy, Dr. Paul Wild, experienced 

and technologically well-versed, now 

takes over the management of the development 

department. „Over the last few years, I 

have been able to familiarize myself with 

many aspects of the R&D department and 

accumulate valuable experience. I quickly got 

involved in the existing development processes 

and worked with my scientific expertise 

to expand R&D,” he says. His predecessor’s 

three key pillars of research and development 

at the company will remain the 

focus for the future: Research projects with 

institutes and industrial project partners, 

technological cooperation with customers, 

but above all internal research and development 

projects. 

After nearly 20 years as head of the research 

and development department, Dr Hans Bell 

will continue to work in research and development 

until he retires in 2020, passing on 

his experience and know-how to assist the 

new manager in meeting challenges. „I have 

great confidence for the future, because the 

department is in very good hands,“ he says. 

“Paul Wild has a gift for talking with people, 

Dr. Paul Wild is now the new manager for the R&D 

department at Rehm. 

listening to them and leading creative conversations.” 

He has always felt comfortable „in 

and with the entire team,“ says Dr Bell. „It‘s 

a good relationship that is perfectly goaloriented. 

For that I’m very thankful.” 

To this day, Dr. Bell values the work with the 

customers and project partners of the company: 

„It is important to maintain a balance 

between our own development and technological 

know-how transfer in cooperation 

with partners.” There’s one thing that makes 

him prouder than any other: the integration 

of young people into the company. „Be it students 

or school pupils who completed internships 

or undertaking graduate study in development 

– many have stayed with Rehm to 

this day. It shows that the company has a 

really great appeal.” 



Source: Rehm Thermal Systems 

www.carat-conference.com 

19045 | werbersbuero.de | Photos: AdobeStock, sdecoret 

Find out more: 

www.carat-conference.com 

Discover and discuss exciting applications and 

future developments of x-ray technologies at the 

international conference CARAT. 

May 21 – 22, 2019 in Nuremberg 

Alternative Sources | Specialized Technologies 

EPP EUROPE April 2019 17 

Medical Applications | Non Destructive Testing

TRADE SHOWS + EVENTS 

Source: Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH 

SMTconnect’s new name expresses the long-term connections that the show brings to the industry. 

Conveying the lasting connections 

Tackling the current challenges 

in microelectronics 

The well-established industry show, formerly known as SMT Hybrid Packaging, has received a new name. 

Starting in 2019, the event will be known as SMTconnect. The exhibition and Technology Days, set to take 

place at the Messe in Nuremberg, Germany, is scheduled from May 7–9, 2019. 

According to Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, the name of any 

event is designed to immediately communicate the main subject, 

plus its unique features. At the same time, the needs of the 

community should be mirrored to maintain value over a longer period. 

When it comes to the former name of the show, these unique 

features include the bridges and connections built by the trade exhibition. 

Not only the connections between people and technology 

and the link between the varying technologies in the supply chain, 

but also the valuable networking that takes place between people 

attending the event. This event creates contacts and connections 

and, therefore, will be named SMTconnect. 

Creating more connections 

While the event’s name may have changed, the concepts and focus 

areas remain the same. The change of name expresses what makes 

the event unique: it fosters connections that are made to last. For 

the past 30 years, the event has done just that – the new name conveys 

the fact that the exhibition brings together the entire SMT 

community; this includes end-users, suppliers, service-providers 

and customers. With the goal of reaching new target groups and 

providing the community with even more opportunities to connect 

and master the challenges posed by the industry, SMTconnect will 

proactively address numerous topics. This will include the new staging 

of the electronic manufacturing services – in the special showcase 

area “EMS Park” as from 2019. 

Further elements of the event will also be adapted. The tagline has 

been updated to “Solutions for electronic assemblies and systems.” 

Additionally, changes have been made to the look of the event with 

new design language ensuring a fresher appearance. 



The future packaging production line will also take place again this year, including 

guided tours to answer any questions regarding the line. 

Exciting events will occur this year, including the 

EMS Park and the hand soldering competition. 


As a solutions-oriented exhibition, the show 

seeks to bring the community together 

under one roof to tackle the current challenges 

in microelectronics. It also puts more 

of the focus on topics with development potential 

to facilitate valuable, applicationsbased 

connections among the right contacts 

in the industry. As of this year, it will also expand 

its coverage of electronic manufacturing 

services. 

“The event has been a constant on the market 

for 30 years,” commented Anthula Parashoudi, 

Vice President at Mesago. “With the 

further development of the name and look, 

as well as, the new staging of EMS, we do 

not only want to attract new target groups 

but also offer our existing exhibitors even 

more opportunities for high-caliber business 

relationships, as well as a solutions-oriented 

exchange.” 

Hundreds of people attend the show’s conference to learn about today’s 

most important topics in electronics production. 

Source: Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH 

Special events throughout 

The tradeshow offers a place for the expert community to gather 

and exchange ideas. It strives to be a meeting place for all the areas 

involved in microelectronic production, including electronic manufacturing 

services (EMS). In doing so, the exhibition and Technology 

Days focus on the following subjects: system development and production 

preparation; materials and components; processes and 

manufacturing; reliability and test; and software and production control. 

Along with Technology Days and special showcases, product presentations 

and forums will also take place. Reoccurring events will 

also be present, including the hand soldering competition, the future 

packaging production line, newcomer pavilion, and more. PCIM 

Europe will also run in parallel, which will have presentations, forums, 

and guided tours. These will all focus on a variety of topics, including 

power electronics for e-mobility, intelligent motion, reliability 

and robustness validation, renewable energy, and energy management. 

The event brings together people and technologies from the areas 

of development, production, services, and applications in connection 

with electronic assemblies and systems. Industries covered 

during the event include mechanical/apparatus engineering, telecommunications, 

medical technology, aerospace engineering, railway 

technology, measurement technology, industrial electronics, 

safety engineering, automotive electronics. 

www.smtconnect.com 



IPC Apex Expo 2019 

The future of technology 

coming together 

With increasing board complexity, deciphering through large amounts of data, communication 

between machines, and the growing development of automatic processes, not only is the industry 

constantly changing, but it is also not easy to keep up with these evolving trends. IPC Apex Expo 

2019 made it possible to get a first look at what this year will bring. 

There were 440 exhibitors and 9,796 visitors at this year’s IPC Apex Expo. 

All branches of the industry gathered in San Diego, California, for 

a three-day event that was complete with workshops, professional 

development seminars, competitions, live tutorials, committee 

meetings, and networking opportunities. Special events also occurred, 

which made this year even more significant than the previous 

ones. The theme, “Technology’s future comes together”, was 

a perfect fit for the 440 exhibitors to display exclusive products, applications, 

and services. 5,292 attendees from 56 countries participated 

in what this show had to offer. This amounted to a total of 

9,796 visitors on the show floor, coming together to network and 

exchange ideas. The Chief Technical Officer of Tesla, JB Straubel, 

marked the opening of the show. As the keynote speaker, he discussed 

the story of the company, including their history, challenges 

that they faced, and their motives to become more innovative. He 

also highlighted planned initiatives for the future. 

The importance of education 

The show’s organizers have always emphasized education as a big 

part of this North American expo, 

believing that learning and training 

is key for the success of the 

future. Finding employees with 

the right skillset and correct education 

is getting more difficult. 

Therefore, numerous opportunities 

were given to the attendees, 

in order to gain information 

and acquire further knowledge 

on today’s most important 

topics. This year, visitors had access 

to 75 technical papers that 

were submitted, detailing research 

and developments for the 

challenges faced today. This included 

research on Industry 4.0, 

smart manufacturing, and miniaturization. 

Buzz sessions also 

took place, covering topics such 

as, the fourth industrial revolution, 

pb-free applications, warpage 

on SMT process, solder 

materials, and more. Professional development courses occurred 

that was targeted for all levels of experience and knowledge, as 

well as, a variety of subjects and best practices. This included, advanced 

rework, ionic residue testing, defect prevention, thermal 

management solutions, selective soldering, and much more. 


Live production lines 

Last year’s virtual demo of the Connected Factory eXchange (CFX) 

standard was so successful that it was decided to put it into practice 

this year. As a collaboration between CFX and Hermes, two live 

production lines ran boards and manufactured assemblies, throughout 

the week. The first line contained the Hermes and CFX IoT 

messaging standards and the second line focused on assembly production. 

These comprised of the participation of several equipment, 

software, and manufacturing vendors and suppliers, including Aegis 

Software, ASM Assembly Systems, Asys, Cogiscan, Creative Electron, 

FlexLink, Fuji, Heller, Keysight, KIC, Koh Young, Kulicke & Soffa, 

Nutek, OK International, Pemtron, Saki, Test Research, Inc., and 

Vayo. 

These lines showed what the capabilities are for automated machine-to-machine 

communication and the value of a connected setting. 

With multiple demonstrations per day, visitors were able to 



The tradeshow accomplished the goal of their theme, 

which was "Technology’s future comes together". 


A big highlight this year was the live production lines that followed the CFX and Hermes standards, 

where visitors could access real time data and information. 



The CFX demonstrations show the value in machine to machine communication. 

A live demonstration of the line which included different equipment 

and software vendors. 

see live data and information in real time. Different sized boards 

were used to emphasize the flexibility and simplicity of the standard. 

The standard was approved in the beginning of this year. “The 

demos that we did last year were tremendous. It has brought us to 

this point, where we can now do it for real and truly realize the 

protocol. The ability for data to be transferred from machine to machine 

as parts and boards are being processed is great,” says Sanjay 

Huprikar, Vice President, Solutions, IPC. 

Influential reoccurring events 

The world championship hand soldering and rework competition 

also took place. A total of 13 certified competitors from across the 

world, including France, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, 

competed in this year’s tournament. It was quite challenging, as 

competitors needed to remove specific components, as well as, old 

solder, then clean the area, and finally place new parts back on, all 

within 75 minutes. Out of a maximum of 634 points, they were 

judged by an expert, based on standardized regulations, best practices, 

and techniques. Functional tests were also completed at the 

end. After four sessions, the first-place winner was announced and 

received a perfect score as he did not make any mistakes, second 

place received 628 points, and the third place received 625 points. 

All exclaimed that the competition was harder than they would have 

thought. 

Another reoccurring event that took place was the Innovation 

awards, which acknowledged the efforts made by the innovators of 

today. Five winners had ingenious products or services that benefits 

the electronic manufacturing industry and its customers. The 

winning solutions included an automated and green fabrication facility 

(Greensource Fabrication LLC), an inkjet printed solder mask solution 

(Meyer Burger (Netherlands) BV), a manual X-ray inspection 

system (Nordson Dage), an underfill that can handle high operating 

temperatures (Henkel Corporation), and a 3D DFA/DFM solution 

(Vayo (Shanghai) Technology). These winners showed what the industry 

is capable of, and the direction the market is going. 

Every year, this tradeshow brings much more than just an exhibition 

of products and services. Technical experts, industry leaders, engineers, 

and others get together to discuss ideas and challenges, as 

well as, to find answers to their questions. Through forums, live 

demonstrations, and special events, it sets a certain tone for the 

year to come. In 2020, the Apex expo will take place on February 

4–6 at the San Diego Convention Center, with the theme “Elevate 

the excellence of electronics”. (ch) 

www.ipc.org 



A handful of engineers made it to a globally performing partner 

Over 25 years of IPTE 

experts in automation 

IPTE, a major internationally present automation specialist with a strong focus on production systems for the electronics 

industry and special mechanics solutions, has now been in existence for over 25 years. As CCO Hubert Baren 

underlines the enterprise’s aim, “Our mission is to be the leading, independent, global factory automation partner to the 

electronics and mechanical manufacturing industry”. Now, also their well-managed Portuguese branch can celebrate 

its 15 years in business, and probably even more good news is to follow from them. 

Hubert Baren (left): “Our mission is to be the leading, independent, global 

factory automation partner to the electronics and mechanical manufacturing 

industry”. Freerk Macor (right): “From this company site, we can serve our European 

customers in time, with high quality and a remarkable cost-benefit ratio.” 

Source: EPP Europe 

More than ever, manufacturing companies are facing increasing 

requirements for lower cost, high-quality, high-reliability products 

and shorter delivery times to meet new and emerging market 

needs. “The drive to automation and the requirement to optimize 

production equipment means that our customers in order to meet 

the market demands have to to be flexible, agile and responsive to 

technology and technology changes”, Hubert Baren says. “We 

supply automated production equipment around the world for the 

manufacturing industry. In our portfolio, we have standard systems, 

custom-designed assembly systems, and turnkey test and automation 

solutions that ensure the manufacture of high-quality products, 

delivered on time and on budget.” IPTE’s investment in people 

and hardware is complemented with the design of new software 

solutions critical to the manufacturing industry, just as needed for 

the realization of novel Smart Factory/Industry 4.0 concepts. 

So have a look at the facts behind this remarkable market position 

of a middle-sized and worldwide acting enterprise in the field of 

automation, test and production engineering that started more than 

25 years ago from scratch. Founded by just five engineers in 1992, 

the company has grown continuously both organically and through 

merger and acquisitions. The IPTE group currently has a staff of approximately 

880 employees, more than 40 % of them give their best 

in design and application. All in all, they generated sales of around 

127 million euros in 2018. According to Hubert Baren, the company 

continues to operate successfully at a high level as production automation 

is regarded as being a helpful and sensible solution in many 

industries, so a further moderate increase in sales can be expected 

for the year 2019. 

Full range of automation gear 

For example, the successfully operating branch in Portugal, based in 

Ovar near Porto, has now been in existence for 15 years. Under the 

leadership of Freerk Macor, they began with a very small team, typical 

for IPTE, but have ever since grown continuously. And in their 

fourth expansion stage, they have now reached the limits of growth 

on the existing site. This year, the branch will generate a turnover of 

14 million euros with about 100 employees. As Freerk Macor explains, 

”Our employees here design and manufacture customized 

machines and projects as well as turnkey solutions for the mechanical 

and electrical industries for all of clients worldwide. From this 

company site, we can serve them easily in time, with high quality 

and a remarkable cost-benefit ratio. With our efficient solutions, we 

can offer the full range of manufacturing automation: manual assembly 

lines, semi-automatic systems, fully automated assembly 

stations, and customer-specific production lines built with interlinked 

cells.” In addition to the subsidiary in Portugal, IPTE Spain in 

Reus, Catalonia, is another division present on the Iberian peninsula. 

Hubert Baren further explains the vision that drives the company forward: 

”Our optimally flexible solutions, which are geared to the 

requirements of the market, are of the highest quality. And be assured, 

we definitely know what we are talking about. Our technologically 

outstanding position and the consistent application of such 



IPTE’s Ovar production floor: work 

in progress for an extensive and 

complete, customer-specific 

manufacturing line. For this, a huge 

amount of space is needed. 

Very high vertical range of manufacture 

(over 90 %) of the mechanical parts 

characterizes the location Ovar. 


industry standards as Hermes and IPC CFX stand for this. We are a 

strong and reliable partner for our international customers. Currently, 

our business basis encompasses more than 600 customers, 

most of them are highly significant in their field of business and 

technology and/or market-leading Tier One companies, the suppliers 

of modules and systems.” 

To date, the largest market is Europe, whereas the Americas as a 

whole, as well as Asia, are accounting each for approximately 10 % 

of their sales. Broken down by application segments, around 75 % 

goes to automotive manufacturing, around 10 % to the industrial 

sector and the rest to various application areas, such as consumer, 

medical technology, computers, and communications. 

Competence meets careful growth 

The company is proud of providing reliable service with high competence 

and support around the globe. The focus lies, of course, on 

customer care, leading technology solutions, excellent price/performance 

ratio, and a worldwide presence, as Mr. Baren says. Reportedly, 

the strength is based on quality, service, expertise, and cooperation. 

They have built a dynamic organization, with regional locations 

amid the regions where their clients’ fab sites are. 

The company stress their proven expertise in process technology 

that allows them to stand out in competition, this knowledge is the 

bedrock on which their business is built upon. Users can benefit 

from a wealth of experience and skillfulness. A customer-focused 

approach helps the company to meet demanding project requirements, 

and in order to provide the optimum solution, the company 

is also looking to the requirements of a solution from a process perspective. 

Customers can rely on the leading technology and expertise 

in factory automation, coupled with skillful consultancy, fast 

reacting on-site support, and profound after-sales services, Mr. 

Baren concludes. In addition to the 15 globally distributed national 

divisions with their engineering, production, and application departments, 

there is also a number of local offices for service and support 

at strategically important places. 

One major goal for 2019 and surely beyond is the further development 

of process capabilities for Industry 4.0/Smart Factory. In addition, 

the customer base reportedly will be expanded by targeting 

other industrial areas. And in IPTE’s also important field of the production 

test of PCB assemblies, which is a crucial step in electronics 

production automation, fine-pitch structures down to 

0.3 mm pad dimensions can now also reliably contacted with the 

existing line equipment. Highly needed is this as electronics miniaturization 

and ever shrinking board assemblies are, as experience 

shows, an ongoing process. (Gerhard B. Wolski) 

www.ipte.com 



The future of electronics is certain 

electronica 2018 exceeds 

all expectations 

The electronic industry has increased exponentially as everything is now made up of electronics. Several innovative 

waves have rolled into the industry, as new technologies and trends came into play, effecting all branches. The automotive 

industry has especially been transformed. Previously, only a small percentage of a car was dependent on electronics. 

Today, however, drastically more electronic parts are being used throughout, which will continue to broaden, especially 

with the advancement of autonomous vehicles. As innovations continue to grow, qualified labor with the correct knowledge 

base is also becoming challenging. Which is why collaboration and communication is important for success. 

The Managing Director of Messe München, 

Falk Senger, addressed visitors at the 

beginning of the tradeshow. 

The future of the electronics industry seems secure considering 

how successful electronica 2018 was. Taking place in Munich 

this past November, the tradeshow had an increase in attendance, 

exhibitors, floor space, as well as the launch of several supporting 

events. Throughout 4 days, over 3,100 exhibitors from 50 countries 

welcomed 81,000 international visitors. Industry experts, professionals, 

and decision-makers came from all over the world, including 

Italy, Austria, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, France, Switzerland, 

the U.S., the Russian Federation, China and Poland. 

For over 50 years, the show has been covering a variety of important 

topics and trends, while gathering the industry in one place. 

With new initiatives and premieres, the organizers, Messe 

München, brought focus on current challenges and difficulties. Discussions, 

forums, and conferences took place, including themes 

concerning the entire range of the industry. Networking and talent 

recruiting opportunities were also a highlight for this show. 


The conferences 

Four main conferences took place throughout the week, which created 

a platform for visitors to gain information and obtain answers 

to their questions. Specific highlights were automotive and electromobility, 

which is why the Automotive Conference (eAC) was 

beneficial, as trends and strategies were covered by prominent 

automotive experts. Topics included electronics and PCBs in the 

automobile. The Embedded Platform conference (eEPC) focused on 

development tools and software solutions. Discussions of challenges 

were also mentioned, while highlighting current and future 

topics. Lectures, panels, and roundtable discussions were part of 

the Wireless Congress conference. Specialists from the industry 

discussed the most recent news about systems and applications. 

The Medical Electronics conference (eMEC) made its premiere, 

which focused on health and medical applications, as well as, wearables. 

The forums 

Giving visitors exclusive information regarding the industry, the 16 

available forums were informative, as they comprised of lectures 

and presentations, technical papers, and roundtable discussions. A 

variation of topics were discussed addressing all knowledge levels, 

including automotive, cyber security, IIoT, LED, PCB, components, 

power electronics, and more. 

A specific highlight was the e-ffwd forum, which focused on building 

a connection between startups and reputed companies. This 

platform was a win-win for all parties involved, as it helped startups 

receive advice and market information. It was also beneficial for 

others to learn about innovations, examine prototypes, and get 

fresh business ideas within the industry. 

Further forums included the Discovery stage, where lectures and 

panel discussions, as well as the keynote speaker was held. 

Special initiatives 


Source: Messe München 


Ajit Manocha, President and CEO of SEMI, expressed his optimism with 

the collaboration between Semicon Europa and electronica. 

Over 3,100 exhibitors from 50 countries welcomed 81,000 international 

visitors in Munich, Germany. 


Artificial Intelligence was discussed in detail at the CEO roundtable platform. 


This past show increased in attendance, exhibitors, floor space, 

and supporting events. 

Bringing even more value to this tradeshow, education was a great 

focus for this year. The exchanging of knowledge and ideas is important 

for the advancement of the industry. Which is why the CEO 

roundtable was so notable, since international business professionals 

from renowned companies gave their insights on artificial intelligence 

and its impact on small to large businesses. This platform 

also discussed, from a global viewpoint, the status of AI in the market 

and what it will bring for the future. 

The job market is evolving at a rapid pace, however young talent can 

be hard to come by. With the recruiting initiative and ‘electronica Experience’, 

the tradeshow made it possible for young qualified entrepreneurs 

to make connections with potential employers. A list of 

job openings was available for high school and college students, as 

well as, attendees, to be able to meet with exhibitors. Supporting 

talent and giving them the correct tools can help the industry in the 

long run. 

The exhibitions 

Compared to 2016, the showroom this year expanded in size, giving 

the opportunity for the display of even more products and solutions. 

This covered a variety of subjects, including automotive, displays, 

EMS manufacturing, test and measurement, micro- and nanosystems, 

wireless, and much more. 

For the first time, Semicon Europa took place simultaneously. 327 

exhibitors displayed semiconductor products, materials, and solutions, 

targeting the microelectronics industry. More specifically, 

this included LEDs, MEMS, as well as, printed and organic markets. 

9,220 attendees visited this show with a strong interest in sensors, 

nanoelectronics, IoT, smart manufacturing, and electronics applications. 

With 42 conferences, workshops, and more, visitors were 

able to gain further knowledge, including flexible electronics, advanced 

packaging, smart manufacturing, silicon wafer, smart mobility, 

and more. This tradeshow strongly believes in the initiative to 

find talent as well, which is why a workforce development program 

was created. 

The collaboration with Semicon enabled the expansion of resources 

for all show attendees. The next show will take place for the second 

time along with productronica in Munich this year, on November 

12–15, 2019. 

This most recent electronica show had a bigger purpose than most 

regular events. From the increase in showroom floorspace, to the 

added educational feature, there were advantages for all visitors. 

The organizers summarized it as: ‘We showcase, we network, and 

we support talent!’. As it takes place every two years, the next one 

will be held on November 10–13, 2020. 

www.electronica.de 



1. LED meets SMT forum 

Significance of LEDs in the 

electronic industry 

The industry of LEDs has grown exponentially, due to its high durability, long service life, as well as, distinct capabilities in 

versatile applications. In order to ensure the high-quality production of LEDs, the manufacturing process needs to follow 

updated trends, requirements, and proficient methods. Depending on individual processes, the material used (solder 

paste, solder pad, etc.) is of high importance, which also correlates to the methods applied for component placement, 

soldering, and inspection. Due to this shift in the industry, EPP hosted the LED meets SMT forum in collaboration with 

Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH for the first time. 

Source: Michael Vogl 

The entire manufacturing 

of LEDs was covered, including 

topics such as 

thermal conductive, material 

positioning, soldering 

processes, and inspection. 

In collaboration with Osram Opto Semiconductors, 

the event discussed the implications the electronics 

industry has on LEDs. 



(From left to right) Dr. Hans Bell (Rehm 

Thermal Systems), Kurt-Jürgen Lang (Keynote/ 

Osram Opto Semiconductors), Wolfgang Runte 

(Koh Young Europe), Ferdinand Lutschounig 

(AT&S AG), Norbert Heilmann (ASM Assembly 

Systems), Harald Grumm (Ersa), Jörg Trodler 

(Heraeus Deutschland), Andreas Gladis 

(Viscom AG), Axel Wolff (Asscon) 

Taking place in Regensburg, Germany, visitors gained knowledge 

on solutions to manufacturing challenges, as experts discussed 

the implications the electronics industry has on LEDs. Participating 

companies included AT&S AG, Heraeus Deutschland, Ersa, ASM Assembly 

Systems, Asscon Systemtechnik-Elektronik, Koh Young Europe, 

Rehm Thermal Systems, and Viscom AG. The all-day German 

event consisted of technical presentations made by industry 

leaders with a keynote presentation from Osram Opto Semiconductors, 

as well as, networking opportunities. The entire manufacturing 

of LEDs was covered, including topics such as thermal conductive, 

material positioning, optimal soldering processes, and quality inspection. 

Visitors were given the chance to participate in a tour of 

Osram’s SMT laboratory, complete with a LED line assembly, which 

consists of a printer, placement system, vacuum reflow soldering 

oven, as well as, inspection systems. 

Keeping up with LED trends 

As this industry continues to grow, design difficulties are arising 

along with changes in production needs. LED manufacturing 

requires high assembly accuracy, nearly free of voids, as well as, attention 

to thermal resistance. Optical impairment of the LED is also 

probable, where cracks and breaks in bond wire or a chip offset can 

occur. Correct heat dissipation is becoming a challenge with miniaturization 

trends and overloaded boards. This can create an overheating 

of components, and ultimately impact the product life. 

Which is also a cause to pay attention to the design of PCB, solder 

pads, as well as, the type of paste. 

Advantages of different soldering methods were discussed, depending 

on specific processes. Whether using vapor phase, vacuum, 

or convection reflow technologies, all agreed that the goal is 

to have an oxidation-free process for void-free results. Solder paste 

was also analyzed, including the optimum amount of paste and its 

volume that would be needed to accomplish the best bonding results. 

Chip placement, as well as, solder pad design and size were 

also common topics, explaining the best solutions to overcome any 

thermal issues. 

A variety of inspection tools were presented, to ensure solder pads, 

beads, pores, as well as, partially or completely concealed solder 

joints were visible. It is sufficient to inspect visible joints with 2D 

technology but was recommended to use 3D inspection for any 

hidden joints. It was also advised to invest in error prevention tools, 

in order to regularly improve processes. 

The 2 nd LED meets SMT forum will take place October 24 th , 2019 in 

Regensburg, Germany. (cp) 

www.epp.industrie.de/led-meets-smt 


productronica Fast Forward platform for start-ups 

The innovation leaps in electronics are getting 

bigger and bigger, the cycles shorter and 

shorter. Start-ups and new players, in particular, 

are attracting attention. Together with 

Elektor, productronica offers a platform that 

brings together their ideas and prototypes 

with an international specialist audience. 

Companies can become involved as a sponsor—and 

benefit from that involvement. 

Innovators don‘t always have it easy: As a 

start-up or new company, they must gain a 

foothold in an agile business, sustainably establish 

their development and develop it in 

line with the market conditions. And that preferably 

on an international level right away. 

On the other hand, companies willing to support 

or interested in cooperation do not have 

an easy time: They must be able to recognize 

among the multitude of innovations what is 

only a short-term trend and what is a promising 

development. 

Fast Forward offers the following benefits to 

innovators: 

• productronica Fast Forward Award 

• productronica Fast Forward Booth 

• productronica Fast Forward Forum 

Sponsors benefit from positive marketing 

and image effects 

There are many marketing benefits that 

come with being a sponsor of Fast Forward. 

Moreover, companies position themselves 

as an innovation promoter and start-up supporter 

of the global electronic manufacturing 

industry. There are four sponsor packages 

that are available. However, the sponsorships 

are limited. 

productronica Fast Forward—the Award 

Which founder or developer can win over the 

jury with their innovative idea in a 5-minute 

pitch and bring home the award? 

Who is eligible to enter? 

National and international start-ups, that 

• have been on the market for less than six 

years. 

• have tangible products and prototypes that 

are reflected in the nomenclature. 

• have developed a scalable business model 

and a detailed business plan. 

• are looking for suitable financing and the 

corresponding funds. 

The prizes 

• First prize: A marketing package worth EUR 

25,000.00 from Elektor International Media 

including a trade fair stand at productronica 

2021. 

• Second prize: A media campaign by Elektor 

with a total value of EUR 15,000.00. 

• Third prize: A media campaign by Elektor 

with a total value of EUR 5,000.00. 

Participation deadline is October 1, 2019. 

productronica Fast Forward—the Booth 

The start-up platform is a joint stand in the 

middle of the trade fair. Participants have a 

chance to present their innovations to more 

than 250,000 Elektor community members, 

as well as 45,000 estimated productronica 

2019 visitors. The stand space will be given 

to the participants at a reduced price. 

productronica Fast Forward —the Forum 

The forum provides founders, developers and 

established companies with an ideal opportunity 

to make contacts and jointly promote 

Elektor and productronica will offer a platform for 

Start-ups that brings together their ideas and prototypes 

with an international specialist audience. 

forward-looking projects. The forum also 

hosts pitches, lectures and workshops. 

The program at a glance: 

Discover new business ideas: Are you an established 

company looking for fresh ideas for 

your business? Be there when creative 

minds present their ideas, prototypes and 

start-ups at the forum, which are evaluated 

by the jury. Here you have the opportunity to 

discover innovations from all over the world 

at an early stage. 

Consulting for young entrepreneurs: Get advice 

from experienced experts at the forum. 

In addition to the exchange with other 

founders and entrepreneurs, business angels 

and investors give valuable tips. What do the 

first steps of a company depend on? How is 

financing secured and what do I have to consider 

as a start-up? Listen to our presentations. 

Trends and interesting facts: What are the 

cultural differences between Old Economy 

and New Economy? How do they affect the 

cooperation between start-ups and corporations? 

What are the preferences of up-andcoming 

talent? Lectures in the forum will 

shed light on current trends and questions. 

www.elektor.com; www.productronica.com 


Exhibiting companies earn 2019 Innovation Awards 

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics 

Industries announced the winners of the 

this year‘s Innovation Awards at Apex, a 

celebration of forward thinkers who are 

changing the technological landscape of 

the electronics industry. 

A panel rated each product on: How innovative 

it is? How is it changing the manufacturing 

industry? What value will customers 

experience with this new product? 

The awards were presented to: 

• GreenSource Fabrication LLC for their 

PCB fabrication facility, the only fully 

automated and „green“ fabricator. 

• Meyer Burger (Netherlands) BV for an 

inkjet printer for PCB soldermask. It com- 

bines a dedicated production inkjet printing 

system based on their product line and 

Agfa’s unique DiPaMat solder mask ink. 

• Nordson Dage for Explorer one, an entry 

level, operator controlled, manual X-ray inspection 

(MXI) system for checking the 

quality in electronics assemblies. Open or 

bridged solder connections, BGA reflow 

quality and voiding can be checked easily. 

• Henkel Corporation for its Loctite Eccobond 

UF 1173, an underfill that can withstand 

harsh environments and the elevated 

operating temperatures inherent with 

smaller, higher-functioning devices. 

• Vayo (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. for its 

DFM Expert v5, a 3D DFA/DFM solution for 

electronics manufacturing. 

“The awards allow us to celebrate the innovators 

who are changing the technological 

landscape of the electronics industry,” 

said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. 

“This year, product and service submissions 

were certainly innovative, and 

the companies did an exceptional job in 

identifying their product’s unique value in 

the industry. They directly indicate the 

strength of the electronics industry and its 

ability to respond to new challenges resulting 

from emerging technologies in the 

electronics marketplace,” Mitchell added. 

www.ipcapexexpo.org 



Christian Koenen Technology Day 

Forward thinking ideas shape 

the future of tomorrow 

With the focus on “Innovative ideas for today, and for the demands of tomorrow”, Christian Koenen GmbH had 

an informative Technology Day at their headquarters in Ottobrunn, Germany. Managing Director, Michael Brianda, 

greeted about 75 attendees and started the day off with reviewing their goals and aspirations for the future 

and their clients. The company wants to continue to meet the growing demands of customers, while keeping the 

focus on quality, reliability, and expertise. Immediately following, a variety of presentations took place that was 

moderated by Frank Breer (Sales Manager) and the day concluded with a company tour. 

A 

live demonstration of the application center was one of the 

main highlights of this day. The team for the application center, 

Sebastian Bechmann and Daniel Rudolph, took the visitors around 

the center, with the help of representatives from partners, including 

Ekra, Asys, Koh Young, Ersa, Wagenbrett, kolb Cleaning Technology, 

and GMS. Opened since 2008, it was built and configured with the 

customer in mind. A variety of services are offered, to analyze and 

test theories, before bringing the results to a real production. Customers 

can take advantage of the resources it includes, target it to 

the needs of their specific processes in order to find optimal solutions, 

reduce costs, and increase quality. The team also assists 

customers with measurement of PCBs, pad and opening sizes, as 

well as, 3D measurement of deposits, and more. 

The center includes an X5 STS screen printer from Ekra, a PB46 

printing and balling machine from Wagenbrett, as well as a stencil 

printing and rework system Hybrid Rework 550 (S1) from Ersa. As 

part of the inline concept, a Series 5000 printer from Ekra, a SPI system 

8030–2 from Koh Young, and a board handling system from 

Asys can be found. On the same floor, a cleaning area is also part of 

this application center. For cleaning screens, stencils, and substrates, 

it is equipped with two fully automatic cleaning systems, a 

PS 300 from kolb Cleaning Technology and a MC4000 from GMS. 

Manual cleaners are also part of this area which supports 

smaller cleaning processes. 

Dr. Thomas Ahrens, Trainalytics GmbH 

DoE (Design of Experiment) as tool for paste 

printing optimization 

The goal is to always have an optimal manufacturing in 

an SMD assembly, establishing reliable solder joints. 

Especially with paste printing, it may become complex 

to find what works best, as there are a variety of 

different processes, techniques, trends, and materials 

that can be used. This is why a plan needs to be put in 

place to achieve these optimal steps towards productivity. In order 

to do this, testing needs to be done to find what works best. According 

to Dr. Thomas Ahrens, there are different ways to achieve 

this, which include different experimental tests. Trial and error or the 

best guess are methods frequently used can be methods used, although 

these may not be very accurate. Instead, he suggests to 

use Design of Experiment (DoE) techniques, which is the act of 

gathering as much information as possible based on influencing factors, 

to evaluate an experiment. 

The specific approach used will depend on the goal of the experimental 

design and the desired end results. For instance, which processes 

should be optimized, how big of an optimization is it, as well 

as, how much effort should be made into it should first be considered. 

By using the fully partial factorial design, will track all available 

combinations and bring more conclusive results, but this also increases 

the effort put in. However, the partial factorial design is best 

used for more complex experiments, as it reduces the scope to the 

strongest combinations, however it is not the most accurate. By 

using DoE, all parameters and combinations can be tested to find 

the best process to be used for an assembly, and everything is recorded 

for future use. 

www.trainalytics.de 


Dr. Thomas Ahrens, 

Trainalytics GmbH. 



The Managing Director, Michael Brianda, welcomed all visitors 

to the Technology Day. 

The Sales Manager, Frank Breer moderated and introduced each speaker, 

throughout the day. 


Christoph Hippin, Endress+Hauser SE+Co KG 

Stencil printing challenges for SOT and SOD components 

In recent years, miniaturization has been a prominent trend, and 

now consequences are starting to come about. There has been a 

higher demand for compact circuit boards and a more complex 

layout design, which has increased the requirements of stencil 

printing technology, especially when processing SOD and SOT designs. 

According to Christoph Hippin, this also affects the components, 

circuit board, layout, stencil, reliability, and rework. Ramifications 

can occur if these requirements are over looked, including 

locking gap, tilting, and twisting of the component. In order to have 

a reliable release of the solder paste from the stencil to the pad 

sizes, he believes that the openings should be 1:1. With this, due to 

the stencil opening being larger than the area of the top of the pad, 

a smaller adhesive is needed. The speaker also further discussed 

the benefits of using a brushing process versus electropolishing. It 

doesn’t create larger apertures, improves process stability, removes 

the least amount of material, keeps consistent thickness, and has 

lower edge rounding. Coating is also an important topic for stencil 

printing, as it reduces underside contamination and increases repeatability. 

Many benefits come with using the CK Plasma 3.0, including 

a longer stencil life with better process reliability and a 

better cleaning performance. Using the brushing process with the 

Plasma 3.0, creates a better filling, especially when it comes to 

miniaturization. 

www.de.endress.com/en 

Karsten Dierker, Tonfunk GmbH Ermsleben 

From prototyping to mass production- When the component 

mix ranges from 0402 to THR components 

The speaker first went through the company’s process. Starting 

with defining the template parameters, to adjusting the design of 

the stencil, applying adhesives dots to components, then describing 

the adhesive application, to its final step of reflow soldering and adhesive 

curing. The variety of the components that the company 

uses were then discussed, which in turn explained why a step tem- 

Karsten Dierker, Tonfunk GmbH Ermsleben, 



Christoph Hippin, 

Endress+Hauser SE+Co KG. 




Daniel Rudolph (Christian Koenen) and Torsten Vegelahn (Asys Group) in the 

application center at the headquarters of the company. 

The live demonstration of the application 

center was a highlight of the 

day, which gave the visitors more 

detail about the inline concept. 


plate from Christian Koenen was chosen. Once in use, advantages 

were seen especially when using the plasma coating for a secure 

printing process. Mr. Dierker gave specific examples of different 

components that needed stencil design adjustments to ensure high 

quality results and consequences that occurred prior to the change. 

These components included TSSOP 20, DFN 8, and X2SON. The 

reason for why 0402 and 0603 components need further adhesive 

dots and its benefits were also presented. The speaker then explained 

the different technologies used for their adhesive application, 

which included the DEK Stinger, which is ideal for partial fixation 

but not suitable for 0603 and 0402 adhesive dots. The stainless-steel 

screen printer is used for manual bonding and has no repeatability 

capabilities. For reflow soldering and SMT adhesive curing, 

the ASM Glue Feeder is used with Koki‘s adhesive. This flexible 

machine forms small adhesive dots, suitable for 0603 and 0402 

components, as well as, aids in centering components during processes. 

www.tonfunk.de/en 

Lukas Wüsteney, Trajectory Planning db018, TUfast Racing Team 

Autonomous driving- New challenges in cyber physical 

systems 

Autonomous vehicles are no longer a thought for the future, as with 

the progression of technology, it is now available today. A driverless 

automobile does not only put the vehicle in motion, it also includes 

planning the best trajectory, checking for motion control, collision 

control, and so much more. The team of TUfast e.V. built their first 

racecar in 2004, and has been competing in the worldwide Formula 

Lukas Wüsteney, 

TUfast Racing Team. 




As part of the application 

center, the cleaning area is 

equipped with two fully automatic 

cleaning systems, as 

well as, manual cleaners. 

Technology partners are involved 

in the application center, in order 

to meet all customers’ needs. 


Student competition. This competition is judged based on different 

categories, including specific dynamics: acceleration, handling 

(Skidpad), endurance, efficiency, and speed (autoX). It is also tested 

on statics, such as the business plan and its cost report. The engineering 

design is also evaluated, based on its skills, overall concept, 

and project management. Last year’s main focus of the competition 

and the racing team’s aspirations, was to build an autonomous car. 

With the help of Christian Koenen, they were able to make their 

dreams come true, with the db2018. The company sponsored this 

team with stencils for various electronics in the racecar, including 

emergency breaks, systems, and much more. With their help, they 

were also able to upgrade their racecar for this year, which included 

additional cameras, improved brake system, optimized aerodynamics, 

etc. They came first place in the last competition, with the 

hopes of winning the next one as well. 

www.tufast-racingteam.de 

www.ck.de 

Christian Koenen sponsors the TUfast e.V. 

racing team and their autonomous car. 




The future of electronics in Taiwan 

Hotbed for AIoT 

& IoT integration 

Hosted by Taiwan External Trade Development Council 

(TAITRA), 2018 marked the 44 th anniversary for the Taipei International 

Electronics show (Taitronics). Taking place at the Nangang 

Exhibition Center in Taiwan, the four-day show gave visitors 

a chance to see just how much the industry has changed 

since it first began. Throughout its existence, technology has 

evolved at a rapid pace. 

Taitronics and AIoT Taiwan took place at the Nangang Exhibition Center in 

Taipei throughout 4 days. 


The opening ceremony emphasized the importance of the collaboration of 

the two shows to prepare for future challenges. 

To encourage more innovation, 12 products were 

chosen for the smart innovation application 

award, based on their capabilities and reliability. 


Bringing out new trends, which impacted techniques and processes 

that were previously unheard of. The development of 

cell phones, electronic gadgets, automation, Industry 4.0, big data, 

and smart living has revolutionized the industry. Hardware is now no 

longer enough just by itself. Everything needs to be connected to 

one another, which means software and hardware integration is key. 

Therefore, Taiwan International AIoT show (AIoT Taiwan), organized 

by TAITRA and Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer’s Association 

(TEEMA), took place for the first time simultaneously. This 

collaboration gave extra value to the week, by not only focusing on 

parts, which is the first step towards the future. By focusing on 

smart integration, this makes smart applications, AI, and autonomous 

transportation more reliable, which can soon become the 

norm. Total solutions and stronger ecosystems are crucial towards a 

simpler future. As the country is a strong believer in this, they have 

made many efforts and put in a lot of resources to make a difference 

in the manufacturing of electronics. The goal is to move towards 

multi integration and communication of applications, as well as, customizable 

processes and services. 

Opening ceremony 

With the theme “Transforming for an innovative future”, more than 

350 exhibitors interacted with over 15,000 visitors, demonstrating 

their solutions and processes at 650 booths. At the opening ceremony, 

the show started off with speeches from Mr. Ming-Hsin 

Kung, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Mr. 

James C. F. Huang, Chairman of TAITRA, Mr. T. C. Gou, Chairman of 

TEEMA, and Mr. Pankaj Kumar, Additional Secretary of Ministry of 

Electronics & Information Technology, India. The history of Taiwan 

and its contributions to the industry were also discussed. Although 

the country has faced natural disasters and other challenges, the 

economy pushed forward with the help of investments, including 

the Apple supplier, TSMC and Amazon, just to name a few. 

The government has also been very supportive with the launch of 

the 2016 Asian Silicon Valley Development plan, which further 

helped the country make the shift from traditional industrials to digital 

markets. This also aided small businesses and startups be able to 

make their mark. Mr. Huang further discussed what the future 

brings for this market, and how important smart solution integration 

is to be able to face challenges of modern time. Mr. Gou explained 

that by combining the two tradeshows, it not only aids to prepare 

for impending challenges, but also to continue to expand the platform 

on the international market. 

It was TEEMA‘s 70 th anniversary, and as he exclaimed it is the Chinese 

belief that life starts at 70, so there is much more to come in 

the next years. 


Actively researching and expanding 

into emerging areas, including 

robotic processes, and machine 

intelligence, are just a few areas 

that the country is taking part in. 



Five pavilions were found at the show, depicting the most recent trends 

and innovative solutions, which included smart living, Artificial Intelligence, 

and cloud computing and IoT pavilion. 


This year’s show will take place on October 16–18, 2019, in Taipei. 

Forward thinking mindset 

The exhibition presented highly innovative solutions and an insight 

on what the future will bring, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, 

especially Artificial Intelligence of Things. As a highlight, a knowledge 

hub was created in a form of 5 pavilions. The energy storage 

pavilion focused on Taiwan’s parts and components manufacturing 

and integration solutions. The smart industrial parks pavilion was directed 

towards 5G and domestic information systems. The smart 

living and health care center pavilion demonstrated wearable devices 

and smart health technologies. The Artificial Intelligence pavilion 

concentrated on smart living solutions and AI learning. Lastly, 

the cloud computing and IoT pavilion exhibited cloud solutions. This 

also further explained the Cloud Computing Association (Taiwan AI 

Alliance) that has 145 members, which focuses on connecting IoT 

to the cloud. 

The smart innovation application award was also a great success at 

this show. Products were selected for their AIoT capability, and 

were assessed based on their innovation, technology, functionality, 

reliability, and contribution. This award is to encourage Taiwanese 

companies to become more innovative and successful. These 12 

winners include: 

• I-Ctrl Wi-Fi remote control box (Aifa Technology Corp.) 

• 3D projection mapping media server (Bruvis Multimedia Creative 

Co., Ltd.) 

• iCam intelligent camera (Chimei-Motor Electronics., Ltd.) 

• BoostFix Posture Detector (Compal Electronics, Inc.) 

• Smart auto liquid nano-material inspection system (Flowview Tek) 

• C-1200 LoRa tester (Good Will Instrument Co. Ltd.) 

• AI NVR image analysis system (Ironyun Inc. Taiwan) 

• NB-IOT/LoRa smart parking system (Nietzsche Enterprise Co Ltd.) 

• Dual-system smart home solution (Phytrex Technology Corp.) 

• CardiNova heart disease recorder (Singular Wings Medical Co. Ltd.) 

• Nursemaid (Sinopulsar Technology Inc.) 

• Caduceus smart surgical glasses (Taiwan main Orthopaedics Biotechnology 

Co. Ltd.) 

Forums, seminars, and workshops were also a success, which included 

professionals and experts discussing a variety of topics. This 

included subjects, such as semiconductor technologies, IoT integrated 

service center, AIoT development trends, design forums, 

smart home, and digital transformation. 

Throughout the show, the altogether feeling was how promising the 

future looks in Taiwan. Companies have a forward-thinking mindset, 

not only focusing on automating and optimizing all processes with 

intelligent and smart solutions, but also with guaranteeing efficient 

delivery time. Most promise international delivery time of 14 days, 

or the cost of airfare will be supplied. Many also had a sense of 

pride by supporting manufacturing in Taiwan, as most factories are 

based near Taipei. The ‘Made in Taiwan’ promise made for a supportive 

environment. 

There was a great focus on actively researching and expanding into 

emerging areas, including robotic processes, machine intelligence, 

and machine deep learning. Not to mention, continuing to prepare 

for Artificial Intelligence of Things, the next generation of IoT. As well 

as, emphasizing the significance and benefits of teaching software 

and applications, whether in a class room or professional setting. 

Throughout this show, it was evident that mass production and 

technology-oriented processes is no longer the trend. Integrated applications 

and customized production and services is what the future 

holds. Next year, Taitronics will take place on 16–18 October 

2019. (ch) 

www.taitronics.tw 




Fuji Innovation Days – All about Smart Factory 

What the digital age is all about 

The Innovation Day in Kelsterbach by Fuji Europe Corporation was innovative and varied with extensive topics. It 

took place at the company’s German headquarters, and began with presentations from Nobuyuki Soga, President, 

and Klaus Gross, Executive Director. They discussed their milestones, which included the opening of their German 

location, their official name change, and the recent celebration of their 60-year anniversary. The company is looking 

forward to the future this year and staying innovative as well as employee-oriented. With their recent accomplishments, 

they are looking to expand their team of experts to stay innovative for their customers. 

The Innovation Day, that took place at Fuji Europe headquarters in Germany, followed the 

theme of the Smart Factory. 


Philip Hall gave an overview of the 

company’s roadmap. 


With the theme “All about Smart Factory”, presentations from 

their partners focused on the digital age, automated digitalized 

processes, miniaturized component, high quality stenciling, 

and flexible, traceable manufacturing. A demonstration of the Fuji 

line also took place, as well as, an overview of their roadmap, which 

included details of their fast-forward technology. In the near future, 

the company is planning to release a variety of tools, including the 

handling of odd form components, optical verification capability, and 

the support of tray operation. Future projects on automation are 

also in the works, including automatic warehouses, automatic part 

suppliers, and automatic maintenance. 

Ulf Oestermann, Fraunhofer IZM 

Where is the research going for the digitized production 

process? 

The digitalized production process is an aspiration for the electronics 

industry. The dream is to have an autonomous production 

with a goal of being self-organized, from the very beginning of describing 

functions to the end of delivery. The most important parts, 

as circuit development, housing design and machine manufacturing, 


are already digitalized. Changes to work procedures, spatial restructuring, 

or product changes are first analyzed digitally before they are 

implemented, in order to identify and eliminate in advance any difficulties 

that may arise. This saves money and time. Smart, digital 

helpers support users to make work easier and optimize processes. 

This is only the beginning. In the future, every single processing 

step will be clearly traceable down to the smallest part for complete 

transparent traceability. 

Ulf Oestermann, 

Fraunhofer IZM. 



Stefan Lau, Wilo. 

Abderazzak Essanhaji, Fuji. 


Keynote speaker, Nicola Fritze. 


Stefan Lau, Wilo 

From digital transformation to smart factory 

With the Wilo Smart Factory, the production is equipped with new 

concepts. This primarily involves the consistent planning and control 

of customer orders in the digital age, in conjunction with the dynamic 

linking of production and logistics processes. This implements 

a 5 + 1 production, which means that the raw material cannot 

be more than five days in the production, to be manufactured in a 

maximum of one day, between the different production steps. With 

this, the customer can be supplied as quickly as possible despite individualized 

products. All processes are supported digitally where 

the networking enables a real-time check of the process data. The 

constant exchange of data allows flexible and demand-oriented responses 

to short-term changes. 

Jonas Ernst & Abderazzak Essanhaji, Fuji 

All about Nexim 

The presentation focused on new features and conversions to 

Nexim (Nexus Integrated Manufacturing System). With the three 

tools Plan, Do and See, the operator can easily create new parts and 

programs, as well as, use optimization tools. It also supports the 

connection to MES systems, the handling of luminaire class products, 

as well as, the control of MSL components, which can be connected 

to storage systems. With the clear user interface, the operator 

can find his way quickly and easily. Today, a customer can already 

have many tools included in the standard purchase, there is 

no production installation limitation. The standard functions of Fuji 

Flexa and Fujitrax as well as the possibility of other options, which 

are constantly being further developed, were discussed. 

same. Through participation, the audience was asked to take on 

challenges in a self-determined and trusting way, in order to break 

out of unfavorable thinking and behavioral routines. Only those who 

are able to motivate themselves, actually become motivated and 

can then develop their potential. 

Helge Schimanski, Fraunhofer ISIT 

Processing of discrete components 

Miniaturized component geometries combined with increased packing 

density present challenges for the manufacturing process. A 

systematic evaluation of the process parameters leads to processreliable 

application recommendations. The recommendation that 

was developed for the printed circuit board layout and printing process 

is based on what was then the state of the art and end user 

specifications, such as optically testable solder joints. High quality 

stencils can increase paste transfer efficiency and reduce the 

required area ratio. The danger of overpressure is caused by pad reduction. 

However, the 3D solder paste inspection provides a 

necessary quantitative control. Components of the metric assembly 

Nicola Fritze 

Just do it 

Failure to implement knowledge is due to a lack of courage to 

change. In her activating lecture, author and keynote speaker, Nicola 

Fritze, explained why and how this could be changed and emphasized 

that motivation is the key factor. Using extraordinary activities, 

she showed how thinking and perception can be set in motion. The 

goal was to take a step back from the comfort zone and avoid routines 

in the future, since 80 to 90 % of every day thoughts are the 

Helge Schimanski, Fraunhofer ISIT. 




A demonstration of the Fuji line took place demonstrating the Smart Factory capabilities. 


size 0402 require a nitrogen atmosphere for a secure soldering process. 

Basically, the process window for manageable and secure assembly 

production is the goal for the production of reliable electronics. 

Frank Breer, Christian Koenen 

Smarter service for error-free printing 

With the approach of barcode, data matrix code and RFID on the 

template, traceability is enabled in a networked production. A highquality 

stencil is no longer just a laser-cut metal sheet, it has to be 

refined, since the precision stencil or screen-printing tool has a high 

impact on the quality of SMT production. Attention should be paid 

to high-quality and specific basic materials as well as, coordinated 

and consistent control. Precision and know-how in production in 

conjunction with an optimal, product-specific layout is also important, 

as well as, a reliable and fast delivery and a partnership-based 

cooperation. Despite smaller components for improved functionality, 

the Plasma 2.0 solution provides a stable printing process, especially 

if IPC recommendations cannot be met. For more challenging 

applications, Plasma 3.0, laser photoplotter, or special step 

stencils for pin-in-paste technology without preforms were discussed. 

Wolfgang Runte, Koh Young Technology Europe 

Smart Production by Smart Data 

The presentation covered the company‘s KSmart solution, which 

implements process optimization of the complete line and provides 

a variety of useful tools. The analysis tool collects all the information 

from the measurement and inspection processes of each system, 

in order to control every step of the process within the machine. The 

3D SPI (printing system), Pre-Reflow AOI (placement system) and 

Post-Reflow AOI (soldering process) gives feedback and feedforward 

to each other, in order to communicate any process inconsistencies 

in real time. Through immediate intervention, the process 

can be optimized so no errors can occur. The 3D real-time measurement 

creates a complete reconstruction of an object, to be able to 

detect the height of the component or the entire structure of a 

printed circuit board. Other various tools were also discussed, in 

order to do justice to the Smart Factory. This included the Library 

Manager, Statistical Process Control, Offline Programming Optimizer, 

Real-time Monitoring, Remote Monitoring, and KSmart Process 

Optimization. 

Werner Kreibl, Asys Group 

Intelligent Factory – Next Steps 

In addition to complete transparency and traceability, holistic solutions 

are necessary for flexible production. In particular, the material 

flow is crucial for achieving planned production goals. This means 

that individual production stations, both inside and outside a line, 

are automatically supplied with material without interruption. Selforganizing, 

intelligent transport systems should autonomously 

transport the material from A to B. The so-called AIVs are very flex- 

Frank Breer, Christian Koenen. 


Wolfgang Runte, Koh Young Technology Europe. 


Werner Kreibl, Asys Group. 




Dr. Helmut Schweigart, Zestron Europe. 

Markus Ankenbrand, FAPS. 


ible and can be adapted to individual applications. Higher-level software 

virtually maps the production line, as well as, monitors and 

analyzes the current data and machine conditions. This also ensures 

controlled processes based on the data collected. The company is 

thus gradually approaching its vision, from manual to fully automated 

solutions for flexible production. 

Dr. Helmut Schweigart, Zestron Europe 

Underside cleaning in the printer 

The cleaner for the underside cleaning should not only have a good 

cleaning power and low fluid consumption, but it should also be 

compatible with the solder paste. This is because the cleaning 

agent can pass through the apertures during the cleaning and interact 

with the solder paste. Incompatible cleaning agents, such as isopropyl 

alcohol (IPA), change the viscosity of the solder paste, which 

can have a negative effect on the printing result in the next printing 

process. The company offers specially developed water- and solvent-based 

stencil cleaners which are suitable for cleaning typical 

steel stencils or nanocoated stencils in the printer. The cleaning of 

the underside of the stencil in the printer is important for an optimal 

and constantly good printing result, in addition to the mechanical 

stencil cleaning. 

Markus Ankenbrand, FAPS 

Additive manufacturing of mechatronically integrated circuit 

carriers 

By combining classic additive manufacturing processes with printed 

structures, the production of complex mechatronically integrated 

assemblies is realized. This not only aids to shorten production process 

chains and delivery times, but it can also implement customerspecific 

production and design freedom across all relevant economic 

sectors. Instead of semiconductor processes, printing processes 

for the additive processing of functional materials are used 

in printed electronics, with emphasis on simple and large-area electronic 

systems. While additive printing processes provide electrical 

functionality for a variety of applications based on different materials 

and technologies, digital printing processes can be used to create 

3D functional structures for high-frequency applications. The rapid 

developments in the field of printed electronics open new potential 

for the functionalization of components. 

www.fuji-euro.de 

Mastering electronics 

automation 

Make the switch to consistent output. 

From processing through assembly & test to final packaging. 

Stäubli’s range of clean, consistent high performance 

Robots provide flexible manufacturing solutions, even in the 

most sensitive electronic environments. 

Stäubli – Experts in Man and Machine 

www.staubli.com 

Stäubli Tec-Systems GmbH, Tel. +49 (0) 921 883 0, sales.robot@staubli.com 


COVER 

Capabilities and limitations of AXI and 3D AOI 

I 4.0 for inspection 

in the electronics 

industry 

In a connected smart factory, all machines and systems essentially become 

smart sensors, collecting all possible data from the production line and the 

boards themselves. It is obvious that the quality of the raw data is one of the 

core components. Therefore, the accuracy and sensitivity of those sensors is 

very critical, especially in quality control systems such as AOI and AXI. 

Without diminishing the strong characteristics of the in-line inspection 

equipment, these still need assistive technologies for the verification of some 

challenging faults that appear at the same pace as the miniaturization of 

electronic assemblies. 

Ragnar Vaga, Yxlon International GmbH, Germany 


COVER 

In recent years, Package on Package (POP) and Bottom 

Termination Components (BTCs) devices have become 

very important and widely used in the PCBA manufacturing 

process. Two of the most challenging PCBA process 

failures are component warpage and HoP defects. Therefore, 

achieving the best possible solder joint quality becomes 

an increasingly important consideration for the 

PCB assemblers. Most of the solder joints of a POP and 

BTC device are invisible by optical means, so X-ray inspection 

is the only way to examine the solder quality in a 

non-destructive way. At the same time, the only method 

for assessing the warpage and co-planarity issues of the 

component is 3D AOI. 

As a consequence, AXI and 3D AOI are more frequently 

used on the SMT lines. However, both these technologies 

have certain limitations that may need assistive 

technologies for the verification of possible false faults. 

The false-fault rate of the inspection system, one of the 

key items of the fault coverage, affects the overall efficiency 

of defect detection. Simply put, the more false 

faults you pass on to a repair station for validation, the 

more real defects could get missed. False faults generate 

costs. Each defect reported by AOI or AXI must be verified. 

If the reported defect turns out to be a false alarm, 

then its verification effort is a cost that could have been 

saved, because the verification did not create any real 

value. False-alarm verification costs include labor, capital 

equipment and other related costs such as factory overheads 

and panel handling. 

Due to the continuous miniaturization of SMT components 

and increasing complexity of the assemblies, false 

faults have not been eliminated so far and smart verification 

strategies should be implemented. 

Component warpage and Head on Pillow 

(HoP) 

Component warpage: For PoP packages, the warpage 

issue is always one of the most difficult for SMT process 

engineers, because it is easy to cause an open solder 

joint problem. The typical SMT defect modes, such as 

non-wet open, solder bridging, head and pillow, and noncontact 

open are applicable to both the joints between 

the PoP bottom package with the board and the PoP 

memory package. 

Package warpage is widely recognized as a primary factor 

in the formation of HoP. In fact, several industry consortia 

efforts are currently in progress to help characterize factors 

influencing package warpage behavior in an attempt 

to define mitigation measures. These include the iNEMI 

Package Warpage Qualification Criteria and the HDPUG 

FCBGA Package Warpage projects. 

Source: Yxlon 

Due to the continuous miniaturization of SMT components 

and increasing complexity of the assemblies, 

false faults have not been eliminated so far and smart 

verification strategies should be implemented. 


COVER 

Typical SMT defect modes. 

Source: Yxlon 

In the case of a BGA warping, the corners have the largest displacement 

causing bridges. 

Virtually all BGAs warp, certainly plastic ones and some ceramic, 

and particularly those that have a complex internal structure and are 

not thermally balanced. In the case of a BGA warping, the corners 

have the largest displacement causing open and, potentially, 

bridges due to warping up (concave) and lifting above the circuit 

board or warping down (convex) and pushing into the solder paste, 

therefore causing bridges. 

Once a solder is open, the board will fail in the function or reliability 

tests and will need to be reworked. In addition, the rework of PoP 

packages is a challenge compared to the normal, single BGA. It is 

therefore critical to avoid unnecessary rework, if the connection is 

still reliable despite the warpage of the component. 

HoP: Open circuit at the ball interface is an increasingly problematic 

failure mechanism, since BGA components have been converted to 

lead-free alloys, lead-free solder is the norm in assembly and higher 

reflow temperatures are needed. 

However, there is some confusion about this critical defect. Headon-pillow 

defects can often be attributed to a chain reaction of 

events that begins as the assembly reaches reflow temperatures. 

Components generally make contact with solder paste during initial 

placement, and they start to flex or warp during heating, which may 

cause some solder spheres to lift. This unprotected solder 

sphere forms a new oxide layer. As further heating takes place, the 

package may flatten out, again making contact with the initial solder 

paste deposit. When the solder reaches the liquidus phase, there is 

insufficient fluxing activity left to break down this new oxide layer, 

resulting in possible HoP defects. Warping of the PCB causes the 

same fault, as does insufficient solder paste and poor stencil aperture 

design. 

On the other hand, HiP defects are actually very rare and even 

harder to detect. In this case, the shape of the solder ball may not 

have changed. The solder paste has reflowed, wetting the pad and 

40 EPP EUROPE April 2019 

Source: Yxlon 

When the solder reaches the liquidus phase, there is insufficient fluxing activity 

left to break down this new oxide layer, resulting in possible HoP defects. 

molding around the solder sphere. This type of defect is also referred 

to as ‘ball-in-up’ and many other names. A HiP defect can appear 

if the preheat time is too long and/or the dwell temperature is 

lower than required and the flux exhausts its activation and cleaning 

capability. In both cases, due to the lack of solder joint strength or 

contamination, these components may fail with very little mechanical 

or thermal stress. Eventual separation of what was never a 

proper metallurgical bond can lead to late-stage manufacturing defects 

and even early-stage field return issues. 

This potentially costly defect is not usually detected in functional 

testing but can be detected by X-ray systems. If not detected, these 

only show up as failures in the field after the assembly has been exposed 

to some physical or thermal stress. 

3D AOI as a sensor 

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. 

References 

SMTA: BTC: Bottom Termination Component or Biggest Technical 

Challenge? Greg Caswell and Cheryl Tulkoff, ASQ CRE 

SMTA: Optimizing x-ray inspection with package on package: David A. 

Geiger, Zhen (Jane) Feng, Ph. D., Weifeng Liu, Ph.D., Hung Le, Tho Vu, 

Anwar Mohammed, Murad Kurwa 

SMTA: Collaboration between OEM and EMS to combat head on 

pillowing defects, Alex Chan, Paul Brown, Lars Bruno, Anne-Kathrine 

Knoph, Thilo Sack, David Geiger, David Mendez, Mulugeta Abtew, 

Iulia Muntele, And Michael Meilunas 

SMTA: Automated x-ray inspection: SMT process improvement tool, 

Zhen (Jane) Feng, Jacob Djaja, and Ronald Rocha 

Package-on-Package Warpage Characteristics and Requirements; 

Wei Keat Loh, Intel Malaysia, and Haley Fu, iNEMI 

Head-in-Pillow BGA Defects; Karl Seelig, AIM 

Source: Yxlon

Source: Yxlon 

A HiP defect can appear 

if the preheat time is too 

long and/or the dwell 

temperature is lower than 

required and the flux 

exhausts its activation and 

cleaning capability. 

Source: Yxlon 

User interface 

of 3D AOI. 

If the BGA ball is contaminated and does not wet, we get a result. 

For years, the Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) industry has relied 

solely upon two-dimensional (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, incorrect component orientation, insufficient 

solder, and solder bridges, there is an inherent limitation in the 

ability to inspect for co-planarity of ultra-miniature chips, leaded devices, 

BGA and LED packages. True co-planarity inspection of these 

challenging devices is an absolute necessity and requires the addition 

of a third dimension in inspection capability: 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 

co-planarity 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. 

The only limitation of 3D AOI is that it is an optical inspection system 

– it cannot see underneath any black devices, such as BGA, 

PoP, QFN, etc. Therefore, it does not allow the system to make a 

conclusive decision if the solder joints of the black devices are still 

acceptable, despite co-planarity or warpage issue. 

If one side of the BGA is lifted, it requires an additional verification in 

an off-line X-ray system or under a microscope. Manual inspection 

is always slower and more costly, but in many cases, it is the only 

way to verify the findings of the in line systems. In this particular 

case, the reason for co-planarity was one loose, small component 

underneath the BGA. 

Source: Yxlon 

Manual inspection is always slower and more costly but, in many 

cases, the only way to verify the findings of the in line systems. In 

this particular case, the reason for co-planarity was one loose, small 

component underneath the BGA. 

Source: Yxlon 

AXI as a sensor 

The use of AXI for printed circuit board inspection continues to grow 

in manufacturing, especially on high-density/high complexity 

boards. The AXI is an effective test tool for solder joint inspection, 

and it usually detects about 90 % of the total defects on a circuit 

board assembly. The AXI uses 3D X-ray testing to locate manufacturing 

defects; this is especially important to increase coverage on 

boards with limited access. The AXI pinpoints the exact location of 

defects, and thus repairs are both fast and inexpensive. The AXI is 

an ideal tool for testing high-reliability boards with medium-to-highcomplexity 

designs and components that have limited visual and 

electrical access. The AXI covers most of the process fault spectrum, 

including short, open, insufficient/excess solder, misaligned 

and missing components, reversed polarized capacitors, and even 

unreliable solder joints that might escape electrical tests. 

One of the challenges in AXI performance is to detect HoP and 

open defects for optically hidden solder joints, such as BGA, BTC, 

POP, and other advanced packages. The in-line X-ray inspection systems 

try to find HoP defects by looking at BGA balls in at least 3 different 

positions – the PCB Pad slice, the BGA Mid-ball slice and The 

Package Slice. The images are automatically analyzed with the original 

CAD-based designs and user definable settings. 

The advanced algorithms and adjustable magnification allow defining 

if the particular ball is smaller or bigger than its neighbors. With 

challenging components, the number of slices can even be increased, 

but then the required time also increases. However, most 

in-line X-ray inspection systems have rather high false-fail rates. 

False failure calls cannot be eliminated completely, but the rate 

must be reasonable for the production line. These findings should 

be confirmed either on a verification station or inspected again on a 

high-end at-line X-ray system. 

Source: Yxlon 


COVER 

Source: Yxlon 

Head on Pillow slices. 

Oblique view of BGA with 16bit DFP. 

Source: Yxlon 

Source: Yxlon 

BGA Overview: The advanced algorithms and adjustable 

magnification allow defining if the particular 

ball is smaller or bigger than its neighbors. 

Source: Yxlon 

The proper search of HoP defects requires 

high-resolution oblique view images. 

X-ray sources, and some can perform in 

three different modes – nanofocus, microfocus 

and high-power modes. Due to the 

mechanical design, an at-line system can 

also gain better

COVER 

Source: Yxlon 

An at-line x-ray system should 

become an additional high-end 

sensor that can compensate, for 

example, for the limitations of 

AXI or 3D AOI. 

Source: Yxlon 

A solution like smart factory can add value in different phases of production. 

Zusammenfassung 

Der Artikel zeigt, dass derzeit die beste intelligente Lösung für eine 

Qualitätskontrolle in der Elektronikproduktion die Kombination aus 

menschlicher Intelligenz und Algorithmen darstellt. 

Résumé 

L‘article indique qu‘à l‘heure actuelle, la solution la plus adapté 

pour le contrôle de qualité dans la production électronique est une 

combinaison d‘intelligence humaine et d‘algorithmes. 

Резюме 

В статье рассказывается о лучшем на текущий момент 

интеллектуальном решении для проведения контроля 

качества электронных продуктов, представляющем собой 

комбинацию человеческого интеллекта и алгоритмов. 

of settings and limits to ensure that the product produced remains 

within the optimum process window, yielding a potentially 100 % 

acceptable product coming off the line, at least in terms of assembly 

defects. It is also a big step towards “full automation” and, 

therefore, well worth embracing as a way of improving yields and 

reducing costs. 

Considering all this, an at-line X-ray system should become an additional 

high-end sensor that can compensate, for example, for the 

limitations of AXI or 3D AOI. 

An at-line system is essentially an off-line system that is linked to 

the production line and placed beside it, allowing real-time response 

to issues and making the X-ray system a tool of the production and 

QA teams and not simply a test machine in a lab, used by QC staff. 

This solution is simple to implement and, therefore, reliable. The atline 

X-ray can be connected to an in-line 3D AOI or in-line AXI inspection 

system directly where it becomes a smart verification tool, 

where only questionable and unsolved faults will be transferred for 

repeat inspection on a high-resolution at-line X-ray system. The inspection 

results can be stored on the system PC, but can also be 

exported to the customer’s MIS. 

The connectivity of the at-line system is based on Internet Protocol 

(IP) via Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Further use of data (collation 

and visualization of results from different inspection systems) 

will depend on the end customer’s demands and capabilities. The 

collected data allows us to understand what has happened in the 

past to make predictive analyses about future trends. The general 

task is to provide a dashboard view to the Process Manager who 

can track down the possible problem areas and initiate proactive 

measures to improve the quality of production, before rejects or 

scrap units are produced. 

Added value of smart factory 

The ultimate target for this solution is to increase production yield 

and reduce the manufacturing costs, including troubleshooting and 

rework. In high-reliability products, for instance aerospace, military 

and automotive, there is no room for uncertainties. All possible defects 

have to be verified and reworked. Conventional methods for 

troubleshooting are the ICT, microscope, etc. These are usually 

quite expensive and should be avoided at any costs. 

As a reference, we can use 700 USD as the hourly cost of the ICT 

method (incl. technology, labor and overheads). 400 USD per hour 

will be an average cost of a PCB rework. Obviously, these numbers 

vary from country to country but should reflect the industry standard. 

The value of this smart factory to the user will be on-demand 

locations scanned from 2 different inspection systems – 3D AOI and 

X-ray – which can be compared side-by-side so that the user can 

make an informed and conclusive decision on the defect calls. 

Conclusion 

Based on our studies, we conclude that the AXI and 3D AOI algorithm 

threshold settings are critical for detecting certain PCBA process 

failures. The AXI and 3D AOI program optimization is based on 

its measurement data analysis. Per current AXI and 3D AOI performance, 

it is beneficial to utilize the AXI or 3D AOI equipment jointly 

with an at-line X-ray system for verifying defective location for AXI 

and 3D AOI algorithms optimization process. A solution like smart 

factory can add value in different phases of production. The major 

value of smart factory comes from regular production, where a 

company with an average production yield of 90 % can increase it to 

99,5 %. At the moment, the best smart factory quality control solution 

is the combination of human brainpower and algorithms. 

www.yxlon.com 


PCB + ASSEMBLY 

EMS provider with a new innovative line concept 

Producing top quality 

up to 30 % faster 

Expert knowledge of highly complex product designs for chip verification (FPGA) that meet the toughest technical 

demands is the trademark of PRO Design Electronic GmbH. It’s why customers from all over the world come 

to the Bavarian EMS provider. And this in turn is reflected in the growing order books and the resulting need to 

further expand the company’s in-house SMT production. To do this, the company has added a new SMT line from 

ASM that consists of a stencil printer and three placement machines. During the evaluation process for the new 

equipment, the company placed great emphasis on its increased quality requirements as well as on high 

accuracy and flexibility for its high-mix environment. 

Source: ASM 

PRO Design Electronic in Bruckmühl is a full-service solution provider 

from the idea to the finished product. Its customers come 

predominantly from high-quality markets, such as the automotive, 

medical technology, aerospace and semiconductor industries. In addition 

to providing production services, the company offers its own 

Components of size 01005 are nothing special, and BGA pitches can be as 

small as 350 μ, all of which is no problem for the new DEK NeoHorizon and 

the Siplace SX machines. 

Left to right: Günter Herbold, ASM, with René Dösinger, Head of Production 

Planning at PRO Design Electronic, PRO Design CEO Gunnar Scholl, and Katrin 

August, Product Marketing Manager at PRO Design. 

Source: ASM 

family of “proFPGA” prototyping products. They do not just manufacture 

for others, but also focus on product development and 

layout. Over more than 30 years, the company has become known 

for its expertise in highly complex product designs that meet the 

highest technical requirements. To be ready for the future and to 

meet its rising order volume, the company decided last year to add 

a new production line to its SMT factory. At the end of the evaluation 

process, ASM came out as the winner. The new DEK NeoHorizon 

printer and the three new Siplace SX machines impressed the 

decision-makers with their high precision and reliability thanks to 

the state-of-the-art Siplace vision system. Quick with simple programming, 

the ease with which new components can be described, 

high feeder capacities and simple programming via a clear, Germanlanguage 

user interface were additional factors in favor of ASM. The 

line also features a new Rehm oven with vacuum technology for 

shrinkage-free soldering. 

High-mix production handles various components 

and FPGA chips 

With the company’s specialization in complex products designs, the 

jobs PRO Design Electronic runs in its internal SMT production and 

tend to be characterized by a high degree of component diversity 

and density. 400 different products are manufactured on two SMT 

lines, including circuit boards with up to 4,500 components and 200 

different component types. Components of size 01005 are nothing 

special, and BGA pitches can be as small as 350 μ. All of this is no 

problem for the printer and the placement machines. Since the installation 

of the new SMT line, the companies printing quality has 

increased significantly, and the new printer is much more flexible 

than the old equipment. “Our production is incredibly diverse. Our 

own products as well as those of our customers demand versatility 

and precision. Some of our jobs involve very expensive components, 

which is why the SMT line is not allowed to make mistakes. 

In addition, we need high feeder capacities, because our frequent 

setup changeovers require us to be quick and flexible. ASM’s line 

concept convinced us completely. The three Siplace SX machines 

provide roughly 360 feeder slots,” explains EMS provider CEO Gunnar 

Scholl. “High-volume components stay on the line, and fast 

setup changeovers can be executed with great flexibly thanks to the 

random setup capability of the company. Even 01005 components 

as well as exotic and unwieldy shapes can be handled with ease. 


PRO Design Electronic also builds its 

own line of “proFGPA” prototyping systems 

that are based on FGPA technologies. 

PRO Design Electronic GmbH 

Source: PRO Design Electronic 

With over 100 employees, PRO Design Electronic has manufactured 

electronics products for an international customer based in highquality 

markets like the automotive, medical technology and semiconductor 

industries for over 30 years. As an EMS provider, the company 

offers the complete spectrum of services for consulting, development, 

layout and prototyping and volume production. The company specializes 

in demanding designs with high component densities, complex 

shapes and diverse components ranging in size from 01005 to 

200 x 120 mm. The company also builds its own line of “proFGPA” 

prototyping systems that are based on FGPA technologies. The systems, 

which are used for testing new chip designs and their corresponding 

software, require the high-quality placement of especially 

expensive components. 

With its new production line consisting of a DEK NeoHorizon 03iX, 

three Siplace SX machines and two new Rehm reflow ovens with vacuum 

technology for shrinkage-free soldering, the company produces 

its jobs 30 percent faster than before with minimum downtime and 

zero placement errors. 

We can even get the stencils for our more complex boards from 

ASM. They meet all of our needs to the fullest.” 

Faster, minimal downtime, and a technology 

partner that is always available 

The flexibility of the new line was apparent from the start. Since the 

EMS provider was still building a new production hall for it at its 

plant in Bruckmuehl, its people could start training and run some initial 

products on a standalone solution with a two-gantry Siplace SX 

in its existing plant. As soon as the new building was completed, 

two more placement machines were added and the gantries reconfigured. 

The production could start right away. And since the second 

SMT line continued to operate, there were no production interruptions. 

“Switching to an entirely new system with the new machines was a 

challenge for our line staff, of course. But ASM safely supported us 

throughout the training process, and we are very happy and satisfied 

with the modern and speedy programming options for the 

printer and the placement machines,” says René Dösinger, Head of 

Production Planning at the EMS provider. “ASM’s support was also 

quite impressive. Having the SMT Center of Competence so close 

by in Munich was especially helpful. During our visits we learned a 

lot from their experts and were kept up-to-date on the latest technological 

and functional developments.” 

“The conversion to ASM was a complete success,” summarizes 

Scholl. “With a little more practice, our setup changeovers will become 

even faster in the future. But we can already state that the 

new line enables us to produce roughly 30 percent faster than before 

while meeting all our customers’ quality requirements. We do 

not regret our decision in favor of ASM.” 

For the future, the EMS provider plans to add high-performance 

computing to its business as a third segment. With its flexible gantry 

concept, the new line can easily accommodate this growth. Another 

project on the agenda: “Today all production steps are linked 

and affect each other. In a high-mix environment like ours, the material 

management must function seamlessly, which is why we 

want to take a look at the Material Manager and other options very 

soon. An integrated warehousing solution will give our productivity 

another significant boost,” says Dösinger. 


www.asm-smt.com; www.prodesign-europe.com 


Ein EMS-Dienstleister erweiterte seinen Maschinenpark um eine 

neue SMT-Linie mit Schablonendrucker sowie drei Bestückmaschinen 

desselben Herstellers. Der Fokus bei der Auswahl lag dabei 

auf gesteigerte Qualitätsansprüche, hohe Genauigkeit und Flexibilität 

bei einem vielfältigen Produktmix. 

Résumé 

Un prestataire de services EMS a élargi son parc de machines 

avec une nouvelle ligne SMT, qui contient une imprimante a stencil 

et trois machines de placement du même fabricant. La sélection 

s‘est concentrée sur un besoin d‘exigences accrues en qualité, 

précision et flexibilité, dans une gamme diversifiée de produits. 

Резюме 

Разработчик микроэлектронных схем расширил свой парк 

оборудования за счет новой линии поверхностного монтажа с 

трафаретным принтером, а также тремя автоматами для 

установки компонентов того же производителя. Выбор был 

обусловлен возросшими требованиями к качеству, высокой 

точностью и гибкостью при работе с широким спектром 

продукции. 



PRODUCT UPDATES 

Material manager for entire production process 

Asys is committed to the automation of manufacturing. 

This includes integrating intelligent 

software solutions into the production environment 

and processing the data streams 

generated there. In its latest software solution 

– the Material manager – the company uses 

this data to implement orderly and automatic 

order processing within production. 

The Material manager collects data on all elements 

of a production process– from AIVs 

to warehouse systems, process machines 

and modules installed in machines. It then 

evaluates this data and makes the right decisions 

based on it. It ensures that the right 

material arrives at the right place at the right 

time. “It takes into account important parameters 

such as floor lifetime and the availability 

of autonomous transport robots“, says 

Florian Ritter, Unit Director Software Solutions 

& New Business. 

In addition, the software independently determines 

a line’s material demands. It knows 

when a new order starts on a line and what 

material it requires. It automatically initiates a 

The Material manager looks after the entire process, ensuring the right materials arrive at the 

right place and at the right time. 

just-in-time supply to the line, avoiding downtimes. 

The Material Manager can also be used 

to map the entire movement of goods within 

production. “RFID technology allows material 

to be tracked at any time during production. 

Based on this data, paths and processes can 

be mapped, evaluated and optimized,” he describes 

this being the new way of meeting the 

traceability requirements in the production. 

In software topics, the company relies on 

openness from the beginning. For example, 

Pulse was able to establish itself on the mar- 

ket as the preferred assistance system within 

a very short time. They pursued the same concept 

with the OIC software (Overall Inline 

Communication) also to the material manager 

external systems can be connected. Ritter 

emphasizes: “Vendor independencies important 

to us. For example, we can integrate any 

placer system into the Material Manager, as 

well as various storage and robot systems.” 


www.asys-reinraum.de 

Source: Asys 

Primerless silicone encapsulant protects LED 

Dow, a provider of silicones, silicon-based 

technology and innovation, 

unveiled DOWSIL EI-2888 

primerless silicone encapsulant, 

an optically-clear silicone for professional 

LED lighting that cures 

at room temperature. This advanced 

silicone technology provides 

superb optical performance 

without compromise and 

offers unique rheological properties 

for use with light fixtures in a 

variety of shapes and forms. Designed 

for explosion proof and 

high ingress protection rated luminaries, 

the encapsulant is also 

cost-effective to buy and use as 

its patented composition does 

not contain platinum– unlike 

other silicone solutions currently 

available on the market. 

“LED luminaries in harsh environments 

need protective materials 

that are reliable, easy to 

apply, and that provide robustness 

of cure,” said Konstantin 

Sobolev, Strategic Marketing 

Manager. “DOWSIL EI-2888 primerless 

silicone encapsulant 

eliminates a time-consuming 

processing step and reduces 

waste that can occur if curing is 

compromised by surface contaminants 

or moisture. This lowviscosity 

silicone also dispenses 

readily and adheres reliably without 

sacrificing optical properties. 

It is an excellent choice for many 

professional applications, including 

explosion proof lighting, outdoor 

displays, and flexible and 

rigid LED strips.” 

A two-part protective material 

with a 1:1 mix ratio, DOWSIL 

EI-2888 cures at room temperature 

with optional heat acceleration. 

This UL 94 compliant, 100 

percent polydimethylsiloxane 

Source: Dow 

(PDMS) silicone provides even 

curing and is insensitive to inhibition, 

a typical issue for platinum 

catalysts; and material reversion, 

a traditional problem in 

enclosed spaces at high temperatures. 

It can be applied with 

automated static or dynamic metered 

mixing, manual mixing, or 

with flow, pour or needle dispensing 

equipment. This novel 

self-priming encapsulant adheres 

to a variety of substrates and 

supports the design of innovative 

LED luminaires in IP-rated enclosures. 

www.dow.com 

The primerless silicone 

encapsulant is an optically 

clear silicone for 

professional LED lighting 

that cures at room 

temperature. 


Flux remover chemistries to improve quality 

MicroCare Europe BVBA will 

showcase its popular cleaning 

chemistries at SMTconnect in 

Nuremberg. These products use 

formulations to help companies 

lower their PCB cleaning costs, 

improve product quality and 

meet increasingly stringent regulatory 

obligations. 

A product taking centre stage is 

the recently improved heavyduty 

flux remover – SuprClean 

fast drying and versatile, it delivers 

impressive cleaning even 

on the hardest jobs. Removing 

old-style rosin fluxes, as well as 

most acrylic and urethane conformal 

coatings, it eliminates 

white residue without rinsing or 

drying. Importantly it complies 

with the strict regulations and 

worker safety rules enforced by 

Europe. 

“The range of products we will 

be showcasing during SMTconnect 

are highly effective, longterm 

answers to the difficult 

cleaning issues facing production 

engineers in Europe today,” said 

Scott Wells, General Manager. 

“With cleaning chemistries to 

suit all applications, and contaminants, 

the company can offer a 

complete answer to specific 

cleaning requirements.” 

“We have evaluated our supply 

chain and will continue to maintain 

continuity of our products 

throughout Europe.” 

Another product being presented 

during the show, which 

also meets the European F-Gas 

regulations and is REACH, GHS, 

WEEE- and ROHS compliant is 

the general-purpose flux remover 

C. Suitable for all types of 

electronics, this flux remover can 

be used on a variety of components 

including through-hole 

PCBs and SMT boards, hybrids, 

cables and connectors. This 

powerful, non-flammable cleaner 

is fast drying and easy to use, effortlessly 

removing no-clean and 

rosin fluxes in benchtop cleaning 

applications. 

Joining the spotlight will be the 

slow-drying citrus flux remover. 

A natural, biodegradable, heavyduty 

flux remover and degreaser, 

it delivers impressive cleaning. 

Working on all types of fluxes, 

pastes, inks, oils, grease, acrylic, 

silicone conformal coatings and 

most glues, it is now a staple addition 

to the benchtop. 

Working in combination with all 

the company’s aerosol flux removers 

is the TriggerGrip dispensing 

tool. Using the Trigger Grip 

saves money by reducing solvent 

usage by 66 % and ensuring 

the can empties completely. It 

also enhances worker safety by 

limiting exposure to the cleaning 

fluid fumes. 


www.microcare.com 

Your partner for 

trailblazing 

inspection solutions 

in the SMT production 

Source: MicroCare Europe BVBA 

The range of products 

from MicroCare will be exhibited 

at the SMTconnect tradeshow. 

Viscom's trailblazing inspection systems make it the partner of choice for all your assembly inspection needs. 

Its full spectrum of 2D, 2.5D and 3D optical inspection solutions, as well as X-ray inspection, guarantees 

outstanding inspection depth and fast handling. Viscom solutions ensure sustainable process optimization. 

Come see us and discover your ideal inspection solution. 

Stand No. 4A, 120 

3D SPI 3D AOI 3D AXI 3D MXI 3D Bond CCI www.viscom.com 



Helping with continual path to improvement 

Consistent quality with robust 

design and process repeatability 

ACC Electronix has been providing electronics manufacturing services (EMS) to a diverse customer base for 

more than 40 years. It is an ISO 9001-2015 certified contract manufacturer that got its start in 1976 by providing 

quality equipment to the broadcast industry. In 1992, the company expanded on this foundation and began 

providing its electronic manufacturing and assembly services to other industries. Today, they serve customers 

in the industrial, agricultural, off-road, construction, mining, and medical markets. 

Curt Williams, ACC Electronix, Inc. 

ACC partnered with Ersa two years ago and has purchased two Versaflow 4/55 systems since then, to provide 

effective selective soldering solutions for customers. 

From prototypes to proven designs, ACC can help its customers 

achieve their goals for quality improvement, on-time delivery, inventory 

control, and cost reduction. Additionally, it develops a custom 

formula to assist in each customer’s success. Their process engineers 

work constantly to improve their manufacturing processes. 

Improvements range from selecting new manufacturing equipment 

to selecting solder with improved formulations. Other benefits of 

working with the company include design for manufacturability, design 

for testability, and manufacturing process selection. 

Two-sided mixed technology 

The company supports customers that have environmental concerns 

and need hardened electronic products (potting, conformal 

coating, adhesives, etc.). According to Mike Parker, Vice President 

Manufacturing, the enterprise has experienced tremendous growth 

over the past two years as top line revenue has grown over 2.5 

times. They have generated this growth by investing in the best 


equipment and capabilities, which add value 

for customers in terms of speed, quality and 

lower cost. Parker added: “We show no 

signs of slowing down in 2019 based on current 

new product launches, as well as, new 

customer demand.” 

To keep up with that type of growth, the 

company needed to purchase additional 

equipment. They looked to existing partner 

Kurtz Ersa. In 2017, the company purchased 

its first dual pot Versaflow 4/55. Based on its 

excellent performance, they purchased and 

installed a second machine 12 months later, 

in December 2018. Parker stated that they 

chose this same machine over any competitive 

systems because of Ersa’s long history 

in providing selective solder systems and its 

reputation for robust design and process repeatability. 

The company is already noticing measurable 

benefits from having these two systems in 

its facility. “Our customers’ need for twosided 

mixed technology with extremely tight 

component spacing has increasingly eliminated 

wave soldering as an effective process solution. The control 

and repeatability of our Versaflow machines allow our process engineering 

team to dial in the solder process for each joint, resulting 

in consistent quality,” said Parker. “Originally, we were concerned 

about throughput of the selective soldering process, but with the 

modular design of the Versaflow and its ability to have units at each 

stage of the process (flux, preheat, solder), we have been thrilled 

with the speed and quality output.” 

Keeping consistent quality 

Meeting customers’ needs while being flexible and providing high 

quality is an important part of ACC’s mission. From hand-built to 

prototypes to high-volume production, the company has the resources 

needed. Its production facility is designed to efficiently 

handle diverse customer production requirements, product testing 

and final product assembly. Additionally, the company views its customers 

as partners. Parker said that they act as an extension of their 




The company values its employees 

and provides regular 

training to help improve efficiency 

across the facility. 

electronics-manufacturing departments. “ACC’s personalized customer 

service is most effective when we are partnered with our 

customers,” Parker added. “By involving our manufacturing experts 

early in the design process, we can provide valuable assistance that 

will significantly reduce startup problems, increase quality and reduce 

cost. We will use our ISO-certified procedures to build customers’ 

product.” 

As a result, the company knows how important strong service is to 

the success of any partnership. Parker said that after the initial trip 

to Kurtz Ersa, they knew that it was going to be a good fit, and that 


Um dem rasanten Wachstum gerecht zu werden, investierte ein 

Elektronikfertigungsdienstleister (EMS) aufgrund der langen Geschichte 

in der Bereitstellung von Selektivlötsystemen und dem Ruf 

für robustes Design und Prozesswiederholbarkeit für dasselbe Selektivlötsystem, 

das bereits 12 Monate zuvor gekauft wurde. 

Résumé 

Grace a un système de soudage sélectif, acheté 12 mois plutôt, un 

fournisseur de services de fabrication électronique (EMS), pour répondre 

aux fortes demandes, a investi dans ce même système qui 

dans ce domaine avait une réputation de conception robuste et de 

répétabilité des processus de soudage sélectif. 

Резюме 

Чтобы соответствовать темпам развития компании, 

разработчик микроэлектронных схем принял решение 

инвестировать в систему селективной пайки, аналогичную той, 

что уже была приобретена год назад. При этом 

определяющими факторами был богатый опыт производителя 

оборудования в сфере систем селективной пайки, надежная 

конструкция и высокая повторяемость процессов. 

they were impressed not only with the equipment, but also with the 

people and support of the team. He added that ACC has received 

quick, informative responses to application questions whenever 

needed, and that the service has been excellent. 

The company’s facility is customized specifically for electronics 

manufacturing and runs updated programs to maximize quality and 

efficiency. Other facility features include high-efficiency lighting for 

maximum illumination in the hand assembly area, air locks and 

power humidifiers for temperature/humidity control, conductive 

floors for maximum ESD protection, and an ESD program in which 

foot/wrist straps and conductive jackets are worn to dissipate electro-static 

energy in a controlled manner into its conductive floors 

and work benches. Additionally, they use online work instructions to 

eliminate paperwork and control documents as well as cell workgroups 

to improve efficiency and quality by eliminating batch processing. 

Finally, all employees continually attend lean training to 

further improve efficiency. 

ACC provides a range of electronics manufacturing services. While 

full product assembly is its specialty, PCB assembly is core to 

everything built by them. This includes surface mount assembly as 

well as fine-pitch placement, BGA/LGA placement, through-hole assembly 

hand-built prototypes, product verification builds (pilot runs), 

high-volume production, in-circuit testing, functional testing, monitored 

burn-in, conformal coating, final assembly services (box 

builds), full-range manufacturing services and in-warranty/out-ofwarranty 

repair. As additional resources, the company provides design 

for manufacturability assistance and design for testability recommendations. 

Quality is another important aspect for the company, as they are 

ISO 9001-2015 certified and committed to the ISO concept of continuous 

improvement. They use IPC-A-610E as its soldering and assembly 

standard and, depending on customer need, solders to 

either IPC Class 2 or Class 3 industry standards. 

SMTconnect, Booth 4-111, 5-434B 

www.kurtzersa.com; www.accelectronix.com 



ADAS take advantage of the flexible, small form factor approach 

Solder paste attributes 

for SiP assembly 

Due to the rapid development of internet-of-things (IoT) edge devices, the industry has seen a surge in demand for 

system-in-package (SiP) assemblies, which are capable of increased functionality in a smaller package format 1) . The 

automotive industry has also started to take advantage of this flexible, small form factor approach in a variety of different 

system types—especially in advanced automated driver assistance (ADAS) applications. The SiP element places higher 

requirements on the assembly process, especially solder paste, fluxer chemistry, and reflow. 

Sze Pei Lim, Kenneth Thum, Dr. Andy C. Mackie, Indium Corporation 

Fine-feature solder paste printing for passive component sizes, 

from 01005 (0.4 mm x 0.2 mm) and now down to 008004 

(0.25 x 0.125 mm), has become more challenging in SiP assembly. 

Due to small stencil aperture designs, finer powder size solder 

pastes, typically type 5 (15 – 25 μm), type 6 (5 – 15 μm), and type 7 

(2 – 11 μm), are used for these applications. Since more components 

are being packed into a SiP, the rheology of the solder paste is an important 

attribute, as the gap between neighboring pads can be as 

close as 50 μm. Solder paste with minimal slump behavior will be 

required to minimize bridging in such designs. Consistency in solder 

paste printing transfer efficiency, stencil life, good wetting, graping 

resistance, and minimal voiding are other key attributes of solder 

paste for SiP assembly as well. 

Desire for zero failures 

As the trend toward miniaturization in SiP applications continues, 

from current 01005 components going down to 008004 (0201 m) or 

even 0050025 for next generation packages, the printing performance 

of solder paste becomes critical. The conventional SMT solder 

paste printing process using type 3 or type 4 powder size has 

evolved into a more complicated printing process for SiP, using 

types 5, 6, or even 7 powder size, with much smaller stencil apertures, 

thinner stencils, and more stringent requirements for allowed 

paste deposit variability. 

SiP, and similar forms of heterogeneous integration, are now being 

adopted in complex automotive systems where space is a premium. 

For many years there was confusion about the appropriate 

reliability testing for these packages, but the recent issuing of 

AEC-Q104 Failure Mechanism Based Stress Test Qualification for 

Multichip Modules (MCM) in Automotive Applications makes it clear 

that SiP can be covered within the main AEC-Q100 spec, SiP…. can 

be qualified within the scope of AEC-Q100 per Section 2.1. 

The desirability of zero failures for complex systems, ultimately 

driven by the desire for increased safety, and most especially by 

Powder size is classified by type according to IPC J-STD-005A. 

Source: Indium 


Comparison of the mentioned flux systems. 

Source: Indium Source: Indium 

Different solder powder sizes and their stencil requirements. 

Summary of the paste specimens. 



Test vehicle Practical 

Components board. 


ISO-26262:2018 (road vehicles: functional safety) has meant a dual 

approach for automotive system design engineers: design for reliability 

at the ppb level, and (unfortunately from a cost perspective) 

build-in redundancy for mission-critical subsystems. Consistent, 

low-voiding solder joints lead to enhanced reliability. It is the SiP assemblers’ 

task to create reliable miniature solder joints, even when 

dealing with fine-pitch solder paste at quantities of tonnes per year. 

In addition to printing a smaller and thinner solder paste deposit, the 

gap between neighboring pads is smaller, too. Some customers are 

already looking at a gap of 50 μm between pads. In order to achieve 

good and consistent printing performance under such challenging 

conditions, besides having good printer setup and appropriate stencil 

technology 2) 3) , the choice of correct powder size, flux system, 

rheology, and slump behavior of solder pastes is key. 

Solder powder 

Powder size is classified by type according to IPC J-STD-005A. The 

table outlines the different solder powder sizes available in the electronics 

and semiconductor industries. Although types 3 – 5 are increasingly 

in use for SMT, some OSATs (outsourced semiconductor 

assembly and test companies) and others are already using powder 

size type 6 for SiP with 01005 chips; for next generation packages 

with 008004 chips, both types 6 and 7 powder sizes are being considered. 

It is a general industry guideline that in order to achieve consistent 

solder paste printing performance, it is important to choose the correct 

powder size so that a minimum of 5 – 6 solder particles (the 

large particle size of the range) can be maintained across the aperture. 

According to this rule, there is a recommended minimum stencil 

aperture for each powder type. 

Another concern when choosing a smaller powder size is the increase 

in the powder surface area. As shown in the table, when 

powder size decreases from type 3 to type 7, the powder surface 


Different stencil designs were used. 

Pressure to wipe the stencil surface clean. 



Both vacuum support and carrier pallet are capable setups. 

The characteristics of the four tested soldering profiles. 






Soldering profile 1. Soldering profile 2. 

area increases significantly. This increased powder surface area will 

require more flux activation, or flux with a better oxidation barrier to 

protect the powder from surface oxidation 2) . Hence, it is important 

to both choose a correctly formulated flux that works with finer 

powder, as well as a solder powder with a low oxide level. These 

factors will enhance the stability of the fine-pitch solder paste in 

terms of shelf life, stencil life, and wetting or solderability performance. 

Excessive activator levels can also destabilize the paste, so 

flux formulation is complex. 

Flux system 

Different types of flux systems are typically available: water-soluble 

flux, standard no-clean flux, and more recently, the ultra-low residue 

(ULR) no-clean flux have seen widespread use, especially in semiconductor 

assembly applications 4) . 

Currently, most SiP applications use the water-soluble flux system, 

where the residue is cleaned away using water after reflow, followed 

by the drying and overmolding steps. As the miniaturization 

trend continues, some SiP applications will soon reach a point 

where effective cleaning with a very tight gap and standoff becomes 

challenging, and using an ultra-low residue no-clean paste 

will be necessary. This new class of solder paste enables all cleaning 

and chemicals process costs to be eliminated, while reducing 

both component warpage and cycle time. 

Acknowledgement 

Special thanks to Indium Corporation’s Suzhou Simulation Lab team – 

Ms. Wisdom Qu, Dr. Fiona Chen, and Leon Rao – for their help and 

support in performing the solder paste printing tests in their lab. First 

presented at IWLPC, October 2016, San Jose, California. 

Paste rheology 

Decreasing the powder size of the solder paste increases the viscosity, 

though, since the flux vehicle itself is thixotropic. The paste 

used in stencil printing is a shear-thinning thixotropic material 5) with 

a low yield stress, the rheology being governed by both the flux system 

and the solder powder. The paste rheology controls a variety of 

factors: paste aperture filling ability, transfer efficiency of paste from 

stencil onto substrate, and the shape of the paste deposit after 

printing. These are keys for good printing performance of a solder 

paste. 

Paste slump 

The term “slump” describes an x-y direction expansion of the solder 

paste deposit caused by gravity. A yield stress in the paste can prevent 

slump. A metal load that is too high can give the paste a very 

high yield stress and prevent the paste from filling and releasing 

from stencil apertures; therefore, optimizing the metal load for the 

printing process is important and is driven by several factors. 

Paste stencil life 

A solder paste with long stencil life is important to reduce print-toprint 

variability over time. Typically, a stencil life of at least 4 to 8 

hours will be required for a high-volume manufacturing environment. 

Printing experiment 

Several combinations of paste, tooling setup, and stencil aperture 

sizes were investigated, together with three solder paste specimens 

featuring different flux chemistries and different powder sizes. 

Also, a board support system of pallet and vacuum support were 

compared to investigate whether the use of a pallet alone could 

allow the printing process to achieve a comparable consistency. Finally, 

laser-cut and electroformed stencils were compared by printing 

different apertures sizes. 





Soldering profile 3. Soldering profile 4. 

Test vehicle 

A test vehicle was specially designed to mimic a typical substrate 

size of 237 mm in length, 62 mm in width, and 0.5 mm thick. There 

are two arrays of pads on the test vehicle. Each row has different 

pad sizes: 150 μm x 125 μm on row 1; 150 μm x 100 μm on row 2, and 

150 μm x 112.5 μm on row 3. Each column has a different gap distance 

between pads, i.e., 50 μm, 80 μm, 100 μm, 130 μm, and 

150 μm. Pads are arranged in horizontal and vertical positions such 

that different squeegee wiping directions could be simulated. The 

pad surface finishing is NiAu (ENIG, electroless nickel immersion 

gold ) and are non-solder mask defined (NSMD). The test vehicle 

also consists of 01005 pads, but it is not the focus. 

Paste specimens 

Three flux vehicles were chosen in this printing test: two water-soluble 

fluxes and one no-clean flux. These three fluxes were mixed 

with type 6 and 7 powders. As finer powders yield higher viscosity, 

a slight tweak in the metal load for type 7 pastes is needed to reduce 

the viscosity to about the same viscosity as the type 6 solder 

pastes. 

Stencil design 

Three stencils were prepared for this study: one 50 μm-thick lasercut 

stencil and two electroformed stencils with thicknesses of 

35 μm and 50 μm. The laser cut stencil has a 1-to-1 opening with the 

pad size on the test vehicle, while the left array of the electroformed 

stencil follows a 1-to-1 opening, and the right array has a smaller 

aperture. The two electroformed stencils have the same aperture 

designs but only differ in the stencil thicknesses. 

Equipment and tooling setup 

• DEK Horizon printer 

• Koh Young SPI machine 

• 12 “ squeegee at 60 ° wiping angle 

• Vacuum support 

• Carrier pallet 

Printing parameters 

Print speed was fixed in all experiments while the squeegee pressure 

was adjusted so that minimum pressure was used in each experiment, 

i.e., enough pressure to just wipe the stencil surface 

clean, see table. A minimum pressure is crucial in achieving consistent 

prints as excessive pressure could cause movement of the 

printing surface during the squeegee stroke. Cleaning frequency 

was set to three pieces, with a cleaning mode of wipe/vacuum/dry 

(W/V/D). 

Bridging between pads 

The comparison demonstrates a clear difference between tooling 

combinations. By using for the board support a carrier pallet, no 

bridging was observed down to an 80 μm gap distance when using 

a laser cut stencil. By using a vacuum support, the laser-cut stencil 

was able to achieve non-bridging at the 50 μm gap distance column. 

This suggests that the vacuum support provides a much better functionality 

with minimal gap between the stencil and PCB during printing. 

References 

1) Lim, Thum and Mackie: Meeting Solder Paste Printing Challenges 

for SiP in ‘Smart’ IoT Devices, Chip Scale Review magazine, Jul-Aug 

2016. 

2) Ed Briggs: Meeting Future Stencil Printing Challenges with Ultrafine 

Powder Solder Pastes, International Conference on Soldering and 

Reliability, Toronto, Canada, May 2014. 

3) Rita Mohanty Ph.D., S. Manian Ramkumar Ph.D., CEMA, Chris Anglin, 

Toshitake Oda: Effect of Nano-Coated Stencil on 01005 Printing, 

APEX 2011. 

4) Sze Pei Lim, Maria Durham, A. Mackie: No Clean Material For Advance 

Packaging Assembly, Semicon China, Feb 2016. 

5) Kravcik and Vehec: Study of the Rheological Behavior of Solder 

Pastes, Proc. Scientific Conference of Young Researchers 2010, FEI 

TU of Kovice. 




For the water-soluble solder paste, the voiding is affected by different profiles. 

However, with electroformed stencils, one array prints encountered 

bridging. The amount of bridging increased from column 1 (50 μm 

gap) to column 5 (150 μm gap). The increased transfer efficiency of 

the electroformed stencil is most likely the cause for this distinct 

difference in print performance. The other array with reduced apertures 

did not give any bridging. 

Comparison of solder pastes 

On the other array, the aspect ratio ranges from 0.40 to 0.45 only for 

a 50 μm thick stencil. However, a consistent print is still achievable 

for these pads. Comparing the deposit volume of the three pastes 

with different aspect ratios shows: paste C ranks the best among 

the three pastes; paste A ranks second; and paste B is third. Paste 

B has a tighter distribution compared to paste A and paste C; however, 

it has many more insufficient compared to the other two 

pastes. The rheology plays a big role in printing ultra-fine apertures, 

and good printability is achievable with both water-soluble and noclean 

flux chemistries. 

The 35 μm thickness stencil gave a higher aspect ratio, hence it was 

believed that the thinner stencil could yield better printings over the 

50 μm thick stencil. The aspect ratio improved from a range of 

0.40 – 0.45 to 0.57 – 0.64. The improvement was obvious by using 

paste sample C. The printing results of T6 and T7 pastes show that 

the standard deviation of T7 prints is smaller, so it has a lower variation. 

However, it was also observed that more bridges were seen. 

Process capability 

Cp, Cpk, and Ppk were calculated using Minitab software. The reference 

specification limit used was 40 % to 150 % to compare the 

paste performance. Both vacuum support and carrier pallet are capable 

setups, as the table reveals; however, vacuum support has a 

greater consistency as the Cpk and Ppk values are larger. The process 

capability of all pastes can be seen in the table, using various 

pad sizes and stencil thicknesses. The combinations of pad size and 

stencil thickness were represented as their respective aspect ratio. 

Reflow and test vehicle 

Reflow testing was done on one of the water-washable pastes that 

is being used in a high volume SiP application to study the void performance 

with different reflow profiles in air. The Practical Components 

test board was used, with pad and stencil apertures both of 

180 μm circles. The thickness of the stencil was 75 μm. Four different 

profiles were tested as shown in the diagrams. The actual profiles 

were recorded. 

Results and conclusions 

The results are summarized in table and figure. For this particular 

water-soluble solder paste, the voiding is affected by different profiles. 

The long profile with soak zone shows a lower void %. The relationship 

between the void performance and reflow profile should 

be adequately characterized for each solder paste, as different 

solder pastes may work best with different temperature profiles. 

In order to achieve consistently good fine-feature printing performance 

for SiP applications, solder paste attributes, i.e., powder size, 

flux system, rheology, slump behavior, and stencil life, are important 

and need to be taken into consideration. Solder paste with suitable 

rheology, mixed with the correct powder size and flux, should be 

evaluated and selected accordingly. The suitable stencil technology, 

design, and thickness, coupled with an appropriate board support 

system, are also keys for consistently good solder paste transfer efficiency. 

Reflow profiles need to be properly characterized in order 

to minimize voiding for different solder pastes. 


www.indium.com 


In der Automobilelektronik finden sich mit steigender Tendenz SiPs 

in den vielen Helfersystemen für die Fahrer – insbesondere in Systemen 

für die Advanced Automated Driver Assistance (ADAS). 

Doch stellen die SiP-Bausteine deutlich höhere Anforderungen an 

den Fertigungsprozess der Baugruppen, insbesondere an Lotpaste, 

Flussmittelchemie und Reflow. 

Résumé 

Dans l‘électronique automobile, les SiP se retrouvent de plus en 

plus dans les nombreux systèmes d‘assistance à la conduite, en 

particulier dans les systèmes d‘aide à la conduite automatique 

avancée (ADAS). Cependant, les composants SiP imposent une demande 

plus importante au processus de fabrication des assemblages, 

en particulier en ce qui concerne la pâte à souder, la 

chimie des flux et la refusion. 

Резюме 

В автомобильной электронике все чаще применяются корпуса 

с однорядным расположением выводов (SiP). В частности, это 

касается множества систем помощи водителю, например Advanced 

Automated Driver Assistance (ADAS). Однако при 

производстве к узлам SiP предъявляются более высокие 

требования. Речь идет о паяльной пасте, флюсе и системах 

пайки оплавлением. 



Importance of drying in printed-circuit board assemblies cleaning 

No moisture should be 

left beneath parts 

There are four steps to successfully clean printed circuit boards assemblies (PCBAs). The wet, scrub and rinse 

operations are obvious. Wet the board with a pure cleaning fluid. Scrub it using a good quality scrubbing 

brush. Then rinse it off with more clean fluid. However, the necessary dry step is often overlooked, or in some 

instances, completely left out of the PCBA cleaning plan. This article outlines the various techniques and tools 

used when drying electronics circuitry either in a vapor degreaser or at the benchtop. 

Sheri Pear, Marketing Communications Specialist, MicroCare Corporation 

PCBA in the basket of vapor degreaser 

system where it was immersed in the 

boiling cleaning fluid. 

There are different ways to dry PCBAs depending 

on the cleaning process used, including 

in-line aqueous cleaning, benchtop 

scrubbing or vapor degreasing. Whether 

using heat, vapor, wipes or compressed gas, 

there is a drying method available to ensure 

assembled circuit boards are not only clean, 

but also dry for optimum reliability and performance. 

For reliable performance, circuit boards must 

not only be clean, they must be dry in order 

to function properly. Leftover moisture on a 

PCB surface can lead to a host of problems 

including corrosion, electrochemical migration, 

delamination, dendrite growth, pin 

holes and blow holes and adhesion problems 

with conformal coatings later in production. 

Modern PCBAs often have bottom termination 

components like land grid arrays and 

QFNs (quad-flat no-leads) with very tight standoff heights. Moisture 

can get trapped under these components, making drying even 

more complicated. 

Batch cleaning & drying with vapor degreasing 

For bulk or batch drying PCBAs, convection ovens with air knives 

might be used. However, when using drying ovens, temperature 

and air flow are major concerns and care should be taken. For 

example, if the circulating air flow isn’t strong enough or if the temperature 

isn’t high enough, it might not reach the moisture hidden 

under low-mounted components. Or if the temperature is too high, 

Source: Microcare 

it may cause surface damage to the board itself or the components 

by baking on any residual contaminants left behind. 

Vapor degreasing is an affordable and convenient alternative to 

using drying ovens. The vapor-based procedure is an industrial 

cleaning process for PCBAs that is quick, consistent and affordable. 

The operation uses cleaning fluid immersion, combined with vapor 

rinsing and vapor drying, to remove all types of contaminates including 

fluxes, pastes, particulates and residue. 



Circuit boards immersed into the boiling degreaser cleaning fluid, 

usually between 40 ˚C/105 ˚F and 65 °C/165 °F. 


Manual cleaning by fluid and absorbing wipe. 


Cleaning and drying PCBAs employing the vapor degreasing 

method uses nonflammable cleaning fluids in special, engineered 

cleaning machines called vapor degreasers. Such equipment ranges 

in size from small benchtop models to huge floor systems. No 

matter the size of the vapor degreaser being used, the cleaning and 

drying processes are the same. The vapor degreaser boils a cleaning 

fluid at a relatively low temperature, usually between 

40 ˚C / 105 ˚F and 65 °C / 165 °F, to produce a pure, clear and dense 

vapor blanket. PCBAs are lowered into the boiling cleaning fluid in 

the boil sump to heat, loosen and remove the majority of the contamination. 

They then move to the rinse sump where any final vestige 

of contamination is rinsed away. Finally, the PCBAs are raised 

up and held inside the vapor blanket, allowing the parts to dry and 

cool. The entire process takes approximately 8–15 minutes per 

batch. 

The cleaning fluid has a low surface tension allowing it to permeate 

the entire board circuitry, including under and in-between tightlyspaced 

components to wash away oils, fluxes and other residue. 

Using a low temperature fluid minimizes the risk of damage to the 

PCBAs and since the cleaning fluid is ultra-pure, it leaves no residue 

behind. 

The vapor blanket dries the PCBAs extremely quickly. The vapor 

passes under the low-mounted components, so that the boards 

come out of the vapor degreaser completely dry, cool enough to 

handle and are immediately ready for packaging or the next step of 

manufacturing. 

Manual cleaning & drying with wipes and dusters 

One of the most commonly used methods technicians use to dry 

PCBAs during benchtop cleaning is a simple lint-free wipe. Whether 

using it to capture the excess spray of cleaning fluid on a circuit 

board or gently pushing the wipe under low-surface mounted components, 

wipes are a quick and effective way to dry the PCBA without 

leaving lint or fuzz behind. There are many factors to consider 

when selecting a lint-free drying wipe, including absorbency, material 

and packaging. 

The most important factor when choosing a drying wipe is the ability 

of the wipe to absorb the type of moisture encountered. For 

example, some wipes will absorb cleaning fluids, but they will not 

absorb water. The key is to match the type of wipe absorbency to 

the contamination to be removed. 

The material makeup or the type of fiber used to make the wipe is 

also important. Nonwoven wipes, since they are made without 

glues or binders, don’t leave residue on the surface being cleaned, 

resulting in a cleaner board. Another way to limit re-contamination 

to the PCBA is to choose pre-washed wipes or wipes with finished 

or heat-sealed edges. This eliminates loose fibers and dust, ultimately 

leaving the circuit board assembly cleaner. 

Packaging is also an important consideration when choosing a drying 

wipe. Some manufacturers require wipes to have static-dissipative 

properties and to be packaged in ESD-safe wrappers. These 

specialty ESD wipes not only limit dust attraction, but also limit the 

threat of static damage to the fragile electronic components. Other 

manufacturers may require clean room type wipes for maximum 

cleanliness. Clean room wipes are typically cut and packaged in a 

clean room environment to ensure their purity. 

For some benchtop post reflow (rework) assembly, a good drying 

method is to use a dust remover. A quick blast from a duster can be 

effective at blowing trapped moisture from underneath larger components 

that a wipe alone might not reach. The dust remover can be 

targeted to a very small area on the PCBA and works extremely well 

in getting into and under intricate and hard-to-reach nooks and crannies 

on the circuit board. Using a duster in combination with a wipe 

doubles the drying power and prevents the fluid from being pushed 

back onto the board and spread contaminant around. 



Manual drying of board assembly with lint-free wipe. 


Manual drying of board assembly by using a dust remover, 

for example, after rework. 


When selecting a duster to use for a drying application, safety is 

key. Inexpensive canned air is readily available from a number of retail 

outlets. However, many of these formulations may pose a hazard 

due to their high flammability ratings. A safer alternative is to select 

a dust remover that is made with nonflammable gas. A 360° 

type of dust remover also adds drying convenience since the can 

operates at any angle, even upside down, allowing operators the 

flexibility to quickly dry very complex or intricate PCBs. Using the 

duster may take a little bit of practice, but once the operator understands 

the velocity of the high-purity gas, the moisture can be 

blown away quickly and efficiently with no residue left behind. 

Stay dry before and after cleaning 

Moisture is a potential threat to board assemblies throughout the 

entire manufacturing process, not just during the cleaning phase. 

PCBAs can pull moisture out of the air at any stage, so it is important 

to keep them dry. Using climate control in your facility or designating 

an area for “dry” PCBA storage away from other manufacturing 

operations may help prevent this issue. Properly handling 

boards during pre-and-post cleaning storage and shipping helps protect 

moisture-sensitive components on the board. Finally, after the 

PCBAs are cleaned and dried, be sure to package and store the 

cleaned items with care to prevent any subsequent moisture infiltration 

before shipping to end users. 

Conclusion 

Moisture left on the today’s modern PCBAs may impact the function 

and the reliability of the circuitry. Water or cleaning fluid left behind 

after rinsing may cause a number of problems including corrosion, 

delamination, electrochemical migration and dendrite 

growth. To prevent these problems from occurring, it is imperative 

that PCBs are completely dry. 

No matter what drying method used, the goal is to ensure that 

PCBAs are not only clean, but also dry for optimum dependability 

and performance. It is recommended to work with a partner with 

specialized experience and expertise in electronics cleaning and 

drying to choose the best methods to use. 


www.microcare.com 


Für eine zuverlässige Funktion müssen Schaltungen sauber und 

auch trocken sein. Restfeuchte auf einer Leiterplattenoberfläche 

bzw. unter Komponenten kann zu einer Vielzahl von Problemen führen 

wie u. a. Korrosion, elektrochemische Migration, Delamination 

oder Dendritenwachstum sowie im späteren Fertigungsverlauf zu 

Haftungsprobleme von konformalen Beschichtungen. 

Résumé 

Pour un fonctionnement fiable, les circuits doivent être propres et 

secs. L‘humidité résiduelle sur la surface d‘une carte de circuit imprimé 

ou sous les composants peut entraîner une variété de problèmes 

tels que la corrosion, la migration électrochimique, la délamination 

ou la croissance de dendrite et, plus tard dans le processus 

de fabrication, des problèmes d‘adhérence avec les revêtements 

conformes. 

Резюме 

Надежная работа схем обеспечивается только в том случае, 

если они чистые и сухие. Остаточная влага на поверхности 

платы или под компонентами может привести к различным 

проблемам, например, коррозии, электрохимической 

миграции, расслаиванию, росту дендритов, а также 

проблемам с адгезией традиционных покрытий на 

последующих этапах производства. 




PCB and packaging for drives and assistance systems 

Source: AT&S 

AT&S expects growth in electromobility applications in the near future and is 

focusing on embedded power technologies. 

Electromobility and automated driving are 

the two defining trends in the automotive industry 

with high growth potential, but also 

technological challenges. For example, hybrid 

and/or electric powertrains require, among 

other things, efficient power electronics for 

the major subsystems such as inverters, onboard 

chargers or DC/DC converters. Finally, 

the implementation of electromobility also 

requires efficient, space-saving and reliable 

connection and packaging solutions. On the 

other hand, new high-performance sensor 

systems with sensor fusion and high-speed 

communication are required along the way to 

autonomous driving, all whilst maintaining 

functional safety and security. AT&S address- 

es all of these key 

automotive trends 

with innovative connection 

and packaging 

solutions. 

Efficient power 

Electromobility continues 

to make headway, 

driven by legal 

requirements in all 

key regions – led by 

China. To date in the 

EU, the target of 95 g 

CO 2 /km has been 

the fleet average for 2021. According to a recent 

EU compromise, new cars in the EU are 

to emit another 37.5 % less carbon dioxide by 

2030 than in the comparable year 2021. The 

company expects above-average growth in 

electromobility applications over the next 

few years and is focusing here amongst 

other things on embedded power technologies 

– in other words, the embedding of 

power semiconductors such as Mosfets in 

PCBs. Key benefits of ECP (embedded component 

packaging) over conventional PCB assembly 

include significant miniaturization 

thanks to higher integration, improved reliability 

and superior thermal performance. In 

addition, ECP facilitates integrated EMI 

shielding and supports the adaptation of different 

coefficients of thermal expansion 

(CTE) for rapid and easy system integration. 

As silicon-based solutions slowly reach their 

limits, the use of wide-band gap materials 

such as GaN promises more efficient power 

conversion, with higher efficiency and higher 

power density. 

The second megatrend in the automotive industry 

is automated driving. With the increasing 

degree of automation and thus more 

sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems 

(ADAS), the need for sensors and different 

sensor technologies is also increasing in 

cars. Whilst a combination of camera and 

radar systems is sufficient up to level 2, from 

level 3 lidar also plays a crucial role. 

Due to the ever-higher frequencies such as for 

the radar, the traces on the circuit boards 

must also be regarded as RF components and 

designed accordingly. The company is a 

specialist in this field and has developed PCBs 

that deliver the necessary and also cost-efficient 

performance in the frequency range up 

to 80 GHz. The company addresses all these 

aspects. By way of example, they are working 

on new materials to further reduce the dielectric 

constant and the loss factor. 

www.ats.net 

Smart manufacturing for electronics processes 

Siemens announced the introduction of 

Camstar Electronics Suite software, an innovative 

manufacturing execution system 

(MES) for electronics. Building on the successful 

enterprise-level platform for integrated 

circuit (IC) manufacturing, this powerful, 

configurable and scalable MES solution 

enables PCB and box assemblers to meet 

traceability requirements, improve efficiency 

levels and control manufacturing operations 

through direct IoT connectivity with machines 

and production lines. Expanding on 

their digital innovation platform, the MES 

system creates a true digital thread to empower 

electronics companies to further their 

digitalization strategy in line with Industry 

4.0. By closing the loop between engineering 

and the shop floor, and enabling quick reactions 

to design modifications, manufacturers 

can shorten product lifecycles, increase production 

complexities and improve quality 

across the entire manufacturing lifecycle. 

“Siemens made an important step towards 

helping electronics manufacturers improve 

operations performance when they acquired 

Camstar, but by adding capabilities from 

Mentor’s Valor Electronics Manufacturing 

Solutions software they can now drive a new 

level of productivity, throughput, and quality 

for both PCB, mechanical and box-build manufacturing,” 

said Greg Gorbach, Vice President, 

digitization and IoT, ARC Advisory Group. 

“With the Valor edge data acquisition technology 

and tight integration with Teamcenter to 

support a robust digital twin and digital thread, 

Source: Siemens 

the Camstar Electronics Suite now enables 

customers in the electronics industry to 

rapidly adapt to design changes and to speed 

production by directly connecting with 

specialized machines and production lines.” 

Siemens PLM Software continues to grow 

its digital innovation platform and look for 

new ways to expand on the most robust digital 

twin. The Suite activates the seamless 

flow of product and business data between 

product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise 

resource planning (ERP) and shop floor 

execution through an integrated digital 

thread, enabling faster and streamlined 

change cycles. Using this single data source, 

closed-loop feedbacks from production to design 

and engineering departments can result 

in improved quality levels and shorter new 

product introduction (NPI) processes and goto-market 

times. 

SMTconnect, Booth 5-434B 

www.siemens.com 


Fume extraction devices for manual workstations 

“Efficient capturing of airborne pollutants” is 

the central subject of ULT’s trade show appearance 

at SMTconnect 2019. 

The vendor of fume extraction solutions will 

demonstrate the influence of high-degree 

capturing of emissions, such as soldering 

fume, laser fume, vapors or gases, on the entire 

filtration process and, consequently, air 

cleaning procedure. 

At a specially designed experimental setup, 

visitors may experience an efficient air cleaning 

process from extraction to outlet. 

Moreover, the company will exhibit mobile 

fume extraction devices for small and medi- 

Source: ULT AG 

Mobile, solid soldering 

fume extraction unit LRA 160.1. 

um pollutant amounts – ideally configured for 

manual workstations (manual prototype 

placement, small batches, repair etc.) and integration 

into either production lines or processing 

plants, e.g. laser marking systems or 

automated soldering systems. 

The first-time introduction of the new LRA 

160.1 device series for soldering fume removal 

rounds off their trade show presence. 

In addition to the new, visually appealing design 

and improved device handling, users 

benefit in the system series by means of 

high filtration rates, extremely low-noise operation 

and an optimized price-performanceratio. 

Special module combinations within 

the LRA 160.1 system increase filter lives, resulting 

in significant cost savings for users. 

Visitors to the company’s exhibition stand 

get first-hand information on the air purification 

systems‘ high flexibility and variability, 

receiving concrete conclusions on potential 

applications as well as purchasing and maintenance 

cost savings. 

The fume extraction systems provide for 

clean air within the production processes. 

They protect employees, manufacturing 

plants and products from hazardous airborne 

contaminants, occurring during the utilization 

of laser systems, soldering equipment as 

well as in gluing, laminating and coating applications. 

SMTconnect, Booth 5–214 

www.ult.de 

Bond Tester by F&S BONDTEC 

>> Fully automatic pull- & sheartesting 

by using most modern 

Pattern-Recognition-Software 

>> Reproducible test results and 

precision within a few μm 

>> Automatically rotating and 

positioning of pull hooks and 

shear tools 

NEW & UNIQUE: 

Our BAMFIT 

BONDTEC Accelerated 

Mechanical Fatigue 

Interconnection Testing 

Revolutionary quick test for 

lifetime of heavy wire bonds 

Adds power cycling tests 

of power semiconductors, 

but in minutes instead of months 

Low residue fluxes for tabbing and stringing applications 

Source: MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions 

The Assembly division of MacDermid Alpha 

Electronics Solutions, a producer of electronic 

soldering and bonding materials, has 

recently introduced the Alpha 7 series low 

residue fluxes to meet the demanding 

requirements of the photovoltaic industry 

when higher peel strength is deemed 

necessary. 

There is minimum 

flux deposits that 

accumulates inside 

tabbing and stringing 

equipment and 

spray nozzles when 

using the Alpha 7 

series. 

“With the use of the latest flux chemistry 

and technology, Alpha 7 Series Low Residue 

Fluxes are designed so that minimum flux 

deposits accumulate inside tabbing and 

stringing equipment and spray nozzles, thus 

eliminating corrosion and clogging issues,“ 

said Eric Poh, Global Portfolio Manager for 

Non-PCB Assembly. “The unique chemistry 

provides excellent soldering with fast wetting 

in standard module assembly processes and 

methods that are used widely, such as preheat 

and soldering, for both spray or dipping 

application methods.“ 

These low solid fluxes also allow for an extended 

shelf life compared to many competitive 

fluxes in the industry. 

www.alphaassembly.com 

Visit us at SMTconnect 

07. – 09.05.2019 in Nürnberg; Hall 4A, Stand 430 

F&S BONDTEC Semiconductor GmbH 

Industriezeile 49a 

5280 Braunau am Inn 

Austria 

Phone: +43-7722-67052-8270 

Fax: +43-7722-67052-8272 

E-Mail: info@fsbondtec.at 

www.fsbondtec.at 



Process tracking and traceability across all lines 

Reflow quality and 

cost improvements 

Calsonic Kansei is a multinational automotive parts manufacturer with its own branded OEM products. Their main 

production focus is on quality, closely followed by cost effectiveness. This is no surprise when operating in the automotive 

industry and the highly competitive EMS business. The company, however, views quality and cost effectiveness as mutually 

reinforcing, in that poor quality is expensive, especially in the automotive segment where rework is quite undesirable 

for most, and altogether disallowed for certain processes. Implementing a solution for controlling and tracking the reflow 

process, while optimizing productivity through maximum equipment utilization was the reason for winning the regional 

process/quality improvement competition. This is their story. 

Rod Sampson, Process Engineer, Calsonic Kansei 

Process Engineer, Rod Sampson, 

is responsible for the 

thermal processes, which include 

reflow, wave, and selective 

wave soldering. For each new 

product introduction (NPI), Design 

of Experiment (DoE) is run 

to identify the “sweet spot” in 

the thermal process. This typically 

entails experimenting with 

machine settings that result in a 

process (profile) in the high, low, 

and center points of the process window. (The company’s HQ provides 

the appropriate process window.) When the best process is 

identified, it is locked in place, then tracked and verified daily. While 

defects are rarely attributed to the reflow process, the challenges 

that are encountered when defects that actually do occur are often 

more difficult to resolve. Quality is not something that should be 

weighted between the different processes, as weights are of little 

importance once an assembly has been rendered defective. In this 

case, all involved should go about their business as if their respective 

processes are the most crucial/vital from a quality standpoint. 

With this, the impact of internal and external defects can be minimized, 

positively driving overall factory productivity. 

The recent trend to aggressively reduce solder void has made process 

optimization and consistent soldering critical for success. Previously 

this work was time consuming, and although 

the quality was acceptable, productivity and cost effectiveness 

suffered due to the necessary line stoppage 

to perform the work. It was challenging due to 

the numerous generations of reflow ovens and wave 

solder machines. Not only do their thermal properties 

differ, but the older machines made performance 

tracking difficult. In today’s age with virtually unlimited 

information available via a click, the company’s 

method was outdated and inadequate. There had to 

be a better way. 

“We researched the market and found new technologies 

that seemed promising. One was a smart ther- 

60 EPP EUROPE April 2019 

mal profiler with predictive process 

optimization software that 

“With the smart profiler, 

automatic reflow process monitor, and allowed us to input the process 

window target, and immediately 

factory-level database software, identify the corresponding machine 

settings. This cut our process 

optimization time dramati- 

we automated quality assurance and 

cally, and it allowed us to find 

saved engineering and production 

more optimum process settings 

time,” exclaimed Rod Sampson. than in the past,” explained Rod 

Sampson. 

“Previously, we had relied on 

technicians performing manual process verifications on each line 

multiple times per day. This was less than optimum because such 

manual verification is not consistent, and it also reduced our productivity 

by stopping the entire line for 10 + minutes every time a verification 

profile was run on a reflow oven,” he further explained. Additional 

verification events were prompted by yield issues, preventive 

maintenance work, and unscheduled line stoppage. (Their procedures 

required running a profile if the line stoppage exceeds four 

hours.) A secondary concern was the lack of information on the thermal 

process during the production between the twice daily manual 

profiles. 

It was decided to invest in KIC’s automatic profiling systems for reflow 

that use permanently embedded sensors in the oven to calculate 

each PCB’s profile on the fly during production. The automatic 

profiling systems were retrofittable on all reflow ovens 

regardless of age, giving consistent process tracking 

and traceability across all lines. To test the non-contact 

profile accuracy and repeatability, changes were 

forced in the oven while verifying that the system did 

indeed correctly identify the resulting out-of-spec 

event. “I also found it interesting that we could stop a 

blower motor in the reflow oven without triggering an 

oven alarm or notification,” explained Mr. Sampson. 

“This probably is due to the temperature not chang- 

Source: Calsonic Kansei 

Calsonic‘s Rod Sampson said that KIC’s smart thermal 

profiler significantly cut process optimization time.

ing. But the convection rate had changed, causing the profile on the 

PCBs to change, which is what determines the in-spec production.” 

The automatic system allows for the reflow process to be controlled 

and documented. In addition to full thermal process traceability, the 

system instantly gives a notification for an out-of-spec event. It will 

also provide SPC charting with Cpk limits that provide early warning 

on an out-of-control reflow process. Hence, the company replaced 

manual verification profile spot checks with on-the-fly profiling of 

every PCB. 

However, it was challenging to make use of the thermal process 

data for trend analysis, yield troubleshooting, and other issues due 

to the sheer volume of data located on each reflow oven PC. “One 

of our use cases would be triggered by a negative trend in our production 

line yield. In the past, it could take me more than a day (accounting 

for the normal interruptions in a workplace) to put together 

a trend analysis report to gain the appropriate insight to take corrective 

action on yield issues. When we stop the production line, we 

are keenly aware that every second of downtime is expensive. SPI 

and AOI inspection are very helpful. And while sometimes the root 

cause of the problem is obvious, other times, it isn’t. Fortunately, 

Vantage, a new factory-level database software, became available 

that made accessing the relevant data quick and convenient. Now I 

can identify the thermal process for a specific PCB or time period 

with a deteriorating production line yield. We will quickly rule the 

thermal process in or out, reducing troubleshooting time. And 

should reflow be the problem, which happens quite infrequently, 

then the automatic profiling system points us to where and what in 

the oven needs to be adjusted,” he further added. 

“This progression made me realize that I had previously lacked 

timely reflow process data to make good decisions, and suddenly I 

had so much information that I was still not able to take corrective 

action quickly enough,” Mr. Sampson observed. The introduction of 

the Vantage factory-level database software changed that by moving 

from data to insight. It is similar to looking for information online. 


Ein multinationaler Automobilzulieferer mit Fokus auf Qualität und 

Effizienz beschloss, seinen Reflowprozess zu optimieren, und entschied 

sich dabei für ein automatisches Profilierungssystem, welches 

nachrüstbar war und eine lückenlose Prozessverfolgung sowie 

Rückverfolgbarkeit über alle Linien hinweg ermöglicht. 

Résumé 

Un fournisseur international dans l’industrie automobile, centré sur 

la qualité et l’efficacité, a décidé d’optimiser son processus de refusion, 

en optant pour un système de profilage automatique afin 

d‘assurer un suivi et une traçabilité transparents des processus 

sur toutes les lignes de production. 

Резюме 

Международный автоконцерн, уделяющий особое внимание 

качеству и эффективности, пожелал оптимизировать процесс 

пайки оплавлением, для чего принял решение о приобретении 

дооснащаемой автоматической системы профилирования, 

позволяющей внимательно отслеживать все этапы процессов, 

а также собирать весь объем информации об изделии на всех 

линиях. 

Source: Calsonic Kansei 

KIC’s Vantage database software helps Calsonic access the data it needs quickly. 

Collecting massive volumes of data can be easily captured, but a 

strong browser or analytical tool is needed to identify the relevant 

information or answers needed. Data is turned into insight, and insight 

is always quickly needed. 

A final dramatic use case, which improved the production line uptime 

by several hours for each event, was the occasional inability to 

run the profile verification due to broken thermocouples (TCs), damaged 

profile board or other. If such occurrences took place when 

the responsible process engineer was unavailable, for example on a 

night shift, then the line was shut down until a profile verification 

could be performed. Shutting the line down for several hours because 

of a broken profiler or a TC, may sound unheard of, but the 

top priority is quality. The company, however, is now no longer held 

hostage by such events. 

Every year, the company conducts an internal competition on improvements 

in two main categories: 

• Quality: improvements & assurance 

• Cost reduction: cost & time savings 

The regional Calsonic contest was won with the following results: 

• Defects due to out-of-spec profiles all but disappeared 

• Automatic verification of process adherence 

• Effective void reduction 

• Near elimination of periodic profiling downtime led to an increase 

of production time 

• Improved set-up time for new products (NPI) 

• Line utilization gains of multiple minutes for each of the following 

events: 

a. Preventive maintenance 

b. Troubleshooting yield issues 

c. Unscheduled stoppage 

• Full thermal process traceability for every produced PCB – 

customer satisfaction 

• Dramatic decrease of production stoppage due to inability 

to run manual profiles 

The future 

As a company, they have high aspirations of using technology to 

drive the core initiatives of quality and cost effectiveness. “Personally, 

I envision a factory with smart machines and processes, with 

real-time dashboards connected to an MES system. Where manual 

and inconsistent tasks can be replaced with automation for better 

process control as well as improved quality and production. Eventually, 

we will be able to use data, insight and automation to run our 

factory more effectively. Perhaps there is another competition, we 

can win soon,” added Mr. Sampson. 


www.kicthermal.com; www.calsonickansei.co.jp/en 




Increasing production with storage towers 

Whizz Systems, Inc. has improved operational 

technology and increased production 

by implementing an automated warehouse 

system supplied by Juki Automation Systems. 

Consisting of eight ISM 2000 Fortresses 

and an ISM 500 Intelligent Storage 

System, it replaces the company’s ware- 

Human-error is no longer an issue as it ensures 

correct parts are always available. 

Source: Whizz Systems, Inc. 

house consisting of shelving and racks while 

reducing the amount of space required. “We 

are always investing in enhancing our capabilities 

and value that we offer to our customers,” 

stated Muhammad Irfan, President. 

“This includes equipment and training. Whizz 

was the first adopter of Juki the Fortress and 

intelligent storage systems. It is a significant 

investment for companies of our size, but 

demonstrates our commitment to excellence 

and we have seen great improvements.” The 

Fortress is designed for optimal management 

of all reels, regardless of the reel diameter 

or thickness. Now, their automated 

warehouse will store all of the necessary material 

to run complex, high-mix, low volume, 

high-changeover, NPI type assemblies that 

the company manufactures regularly. 

Whizz Systems has improved efficiency by 

reducing the time and labor spent trying to 

locate parts, as well as realizing quality improvements 

by always picking the correct 

parts. With the Fortress, there is no longer 

the risk of any human-error selecting the incorrect 

part ensuring that the correct reel is 

available during production runs. 

Designed for the optimal management of all 

reels for production requirements, it offers 

the flexibility to support a combination of 7 “ 

reels from 8 mm to 16 mm in height, 

13 “/15 “ reels up to 88 mm in height as well 

as JEDEC trays. 

With the possibility of configuring up to 640 

different positions, in the ISM500 intelligent 

static warehouse, it is possible to insert 

7/13/15 “ reels, JEDEC trays, SMT and PTH 

tubes, screen-printing frames and foils, 

printed circuits, PTH components and more. 


ww.juki-smt.com; www.whizzsystems.com 

Source: Whizz Systems, Inc. 

The automated warehouse system has 

improved efficiency by reducing the time and 

labor spent trying to locate parts. 

Flexible XL rework and selective systems 

Kurtz Ersa Inc., a supplier of electronics production 

equipment, introduced the HR 600 

XL and the Versaflow 4XL with Versaflex. 

With the HR 600 XL, it is possible to professionally 

rework BTC components on big 

board assemblies. Boasting a heated area of 

24 x 24 inch and a PCB thickness of up to 

10 mm opens up rework capabilities in the 

segments of telecommunication, network 

and infrastructure. 

The HR 600 XL features a bottom-side IR Matrix 

heater with a total power of 15 kW that 

consists of 25 individually controllable heating 

elements. For each application the ideal 

heat distribution can be set. The highly efficient 

800 W hybrid heating head executes 

the component desoldering or installation 

from chip resistors to 60 x 60 mm 

(2.36 x 2.36 inch) BGAs or sockets. 

The Versaflow 4XL is designed for PCB sizes 

of up to 610 x 1,200 mm. This selective soldering 

system provides a flexibility and application 

variety – at the highest soldering 

quality. 

Printed circuit board (PCB) formats of up to 

these sizes can be soldered efficiently and 

safely with the Versaflow 4XL, making it a 

perfect system for large, highly integrated assemblies 

or LED applications. Featuring the 

Versaflux and Versaflex modules, the Versaflow 

4XL is flexible and manages most diverse 

solder jobs. 

Part of the company portfolio includes, the 

Versaflow 455 selective soldering system, 

Smartflow 2020 selective soldering system, 

N2 Generator, Hotflow 3/20 reflow oven, 

Source: Kurtz Ersa Inc. 

Powerflow Air, Versaprint Ultra with the latest 

measuring technology via 3D camera, and 

HR550 & HR600/2 rework systems. Additionally, 

automation solutions (conveyors, lifts, 

etc.), as well as, hand tools. 

SMTconnect, Booth 4-111, 5-434B 

www.ersa.com 

The Versaflow 4XL 

is a selective soldering 

system that 

is great for large, 

highly integrated 

assemblies or LED 

applications. 


Cleaning machines, cleaning agents and analytical support 

At SMTconnect, Zestron will be exhibiting a 

selection of cleaning machines from leading 

international manufacturers that will showcase 

a variety of innovative and proven technologies 

to trade show visitors looking for a 

Zestron will be exhibiting cleaning machines at this 

year’s SMTconnect show. 

Source: Zestron 

new cleaning machine. The company’s process 

engineers and technologists of the 

equipment manufacturers are available to 

answer questions about the technology as 

well as the compatible cleaning chemistry. 

Highlights of the cleaning chemistry are the 

latest pH-neutral and alkaline media of the 

Vigon PE series with a focus on power electronics, 

as well as, the innovative stencil 

cleaner Hydron SC 300. 

In addition to the selection of machines and 

cleaning agents, the focus is on process 

monitoring. Trade show visitors can get information 

about innovative test methods and 

measuring concepts that help to ensure the 

reliability of electronic assemblies and to optimize 

production processes. 


www.zestron.com 

 

 

European reveal of printer with automated changeovers 

Yamaha Motor Europe SMT section will 

showcase the latest innovations from its 

Total Line Solution for high-productivity surface-mount 

assembly, including the richly 

automated YSP10 screen printer, at 2019 

SMTconnect show, Nuremberg, May 7–9. 

Headlining at their booth, the YSP10 minimizes 

the most time-consuming part of the 

screen-print process with new features for 

fully automated changeovers. Automatic 

push-up pin exchange, stencil replacement, 

and solder-paste gathering for direct transfer 

to the new stencil cut human intervention to 

an all-time low. Cycle time is also 20 % faster, 

setting the world’s best tact time, and the enlarged 

standard maximum board size of 

510 mm x 510 mm handles large display-backlight 

panels, industrial boards, and more with 

ease. Alongside the advanced printer, the 

company will demonstrate precision solderpaste 

inspection with the YSi-SP. Proprietary 

high-speed algorithms accelerate the 2D and 

3D inspection modes, and switchable superhigh 

resolution gives extra accuracy where 

needed. YSi-SP captures the data needed for 

deeper insights into the print process that reveal 

new ways of boosting productivity, and 

integrates smoothly with other equipment in 

their Total Line Solution to put the results of 

analysis into action. 

Next on the booth, the YSM20R high-speed 

modular mounter combines the company’s 

one-head solution that minimizes reconfiguration 

stoppages with component recogni- 

tion on the move and placement of the latest 

0201 (0.25 mm x 0.125 mm) SMD chips to enhance 

capability and efficiency. Increased 

structural rigidity allows higher X-Y axis 

speeds, contributing to 5 % greater throughput 

compared to the YSM20. Auto-loading 

feeders and the auto tray sequencer for nonstop 

tray replacement make the most of the 

superior mounting speed of 95,000 cph. 

Bringing everything together, the YSi-V postplacement 

inspection system demonstrates 

the latest features including a full-HD LCD 

touch panel with enhanced navigation for 

programming and character-recognition algorithms 

to boost usability. The 12-Mpixel 

camera combines unbeatable performance 

with great value, consolidating 2D, 3D, and 

oblique-angled inspection for coplanarity and 

height as a single cost-effective unit. Also 

featuring the company’s exclusive image-capture 

technology, the YSi-V delivers more than 

double the inspection capability of ordinary 

inspection systems. 

With the Factory Tools 4.0 software suite, the 

most complete software solution for Industry 

4.0, completing the digital connection of machines, 

materials, humans, and method, the 

company will demonstrate how its True Total 

Line Solution fulfills production demands 

from entry level, through high-mix medium/ 

high-volume up to ultra-mass production. 


www.yamaha-motor-im.eu


Sensing the world’s needs 

Providing turnkey sensors to 

increase market share 

Comus International, founded in 1978 by President and CEO Robert P. Romano, began as a manufacturer of 

glass mercury tilt-switches for residential and commercial thermostats. Immediate success and rapid growth 

led to new product development and soon the metal mercury switch and, ultimately, the patented non-mercury 

switch were designed and offered to the market, which led to further success. 

Dhiran Rana, Chief Engineer, Comus International 

Today, the company is a manufacturer of tilt and tip-over 

switches, motion/vibration sensors, reed switches, reed relays, 

solid state relays, proximity sensors, float switches, and a wide variety 

of custom turnkey sensors. Its product growth and offering has 

been built with an excellent reputation for quality and service. 

Pick-and-place machine with local support 

The company has evolved into the design, development and manufacture 

of a wide variety of sensors and sensor-related products. Applications 

are found in market segments, such as medical, automotive, 

white goods, alarm and security, and military/aerospace. Products 

include reed switches, relays, proximity sensors, tilt switches/ 

Source: Combus International 

motion sensors, liquid level/pressure sensors, smart sensors and 

custom products. 

“Our lasting commitment is to meet the ever-changing necessities 

of our customers and the markets they serve,” said Romano. “We 

strive to continually improve our processes and our products and to 

pioneer developments and sensors that use less power while never 

sacrificing quality or function. Additionally, we work to expand our 

product knowledge and diversification, so that we may continue our 

mission of ‘sensing the world’s needs’.” 

To meet this mission and exceed customer needs, the company 

partners only with manufacturers that hold the same high standards. 

Essemtec is one such partner and has worked with them 

since 2011, with the original purchase of the Pantera line. Romano 

said, “We were amazed how the machines worked and the precision 

technology behind the line.” 

Since that time, the company upgraded to the Fox4 pick-and-place 

machine. They originally chose the Pantera because it allowed the 

company to realize its strategic vision of kitting and board products 

for customers, without worrying about deploying too much capital 

too soon in a fairly new market. Romano added, “Over time, we 

were able to add customers and products and increase our market 

share to the point where increasing capacity was the only way to 

ensure we could continue our success. The Essemtec team was 

great to work with and they were our logical first choice when it 

came time to make another investment.” 

The pick-and-place machine allows the company to scale its new 

business ventures with the assurance of not sacrificing quality. The 

Fox4 can place up to 18,800 cph on 4-axes at 50 μm, 3 sigma with a 

two-nozzle head. It has an 8 mm tape feeder capacity of 200 and 

features a footprint of 1 m 2 . Additionally, the system can handle 

component sizes up to 80 x 80 mm. The machine features quick 

changeover including nonstop production and nonstop, intelligent 

smart feeders. The platform is the first in its class to feature linear 

motors with a mineral cast frame, providing excellent speed, stability, 

accuracy, and making it perfectly suited for use in small to medium 

production environments. The motors also are maintenance-free 

and provide a long lifetime. 

The Fox4 placement machine helps Comus 

International keep up with new business 

ventures without sacrificing quality. 


In addition to quality, the company is provided with excellent service. 

Romano said Essemtec was first chosen seven years ago because 

local service and strong technical support are key. “Having 

access to local support during times of crisis is what keep customers 

in the long run. Having equipment that can work interchangeably 

with what we already have is also a big plus,” he added. Both companies 

are located in New Jersey, and Comus International likes 

knowing there is a local branch in the same state, if needed. 

He continued to say that their customer service has been great over 

the years. “All our questions and concerns are always addressed efficiently 

and comprehensively. We have professional help for technical 

troubleshooting in a matter of minutes. Additionally, the Fox4 installation 

was very well-organized and the training that was provided 

was excellent.” 

The company continues expanding its services and capabilities as 

its reputation continues growing. They now offer PCB design and 

packaged solutions to customers. It has a team of engineers and 

technicians for the highest quality of manufacturing and assembly. 

“We are proud to offer quick turnarounds and rapid prototyping for 

customers who require an expedited flow from design inception to 

conceptual testing and, finally, production scaling,” concluded Romano. 

Essemtec will be there for Comus International, working to 

help the company succeed by providing adaptive technology that 

grows with the company. 


www.essemtec.com; www.comus-intl.com 

CONTACT 

TECHNOLOGIES 

AT THE 

HIGHEST 

LEVEL 

Singapore Downtown, 

Viprobe® Card 

and Coaxial Probes. 

Best Contacts Worldwide. 


Das Angebot eines Maschinenherstellers an adaptiven, mit dem 

Unternehmen wachsenden Technologien, verhalf einem internationalen 

Produzenten von diversen Schaltern, Sensoren und Relais 

zum Erfolg, wie der Artikel zeigt. 

Résumé 

L‘article montre la gamme de technologies adaptatives offertes par 

un constructeur de machines, qui a contribué au succès d‘un fabricant 

international d‘interrupteurs, de capteurs et de relais divers. 

Резюме 

Адаптивные технологии для бурно развивающихся 

предприятий от производителя станков помогли 

международной компании, специализирующейся на 

производстве различных переключателей, датчиков и реле, 

добиться успеха. Более подробно об этом можно прочитать в 

статье. 

Yamaha True Total Line Solution is the industry leading portfolio in the market for entry level, 

high-mix low/medium-volume up to high-mix high-volume and ultra-mass production. 

The Yamaha Intelligent Factory Solutions offer the most complete software solution for Industry 4.0. 

In the Yamaha Intelligent Factory we focus on the 4M connection by digital technology inside 

electronics manufacturing: MACHINE – MATERIAL – HUMAN – METHOD. 

Maximize line productivity & factory efficiency with 4 x M2M connections: Machine to Machine, 

Material to Machine, Method to Machine and Machine to Human. 

07. – 09.05.2019, Nuremberg, Germany 

www.yamaha-motor-im.eu 

VISIT 

HALL EPP EUROPE 4 

US! 

April 2019 65 

STAND 319



System developments and optimizations for soldering 

Source: Rehm Thermal Systems 

Rehm product portfolio. 

Every year SMTconnect in Nuremberg (formerly 

SMT Hybrid Packaging) highlights current 

topics in the field of electronics manufacturing. 

Rehm Thermal Systems will be attending 

this year as well. 

“Look further, go beyond” is the motto that 

the company is using for its trade fair appearance 

this year. Their developers and designers 

are looking to the future and are paving the 

way in the development of electronics manufacturing 

with their additional developments 

and optimizations in system and process engineering. 

The company will be introducing the following 

systems: 

• VisionXP+: The system for reflow convection 

soldering with or without a vacuum is 

now even more efficient. The company will 

present its highlights, for example, the use 

of new EC fan motors, which are not only 

quieter and more sustainable, but also enable 

comprehensive production data collec- 

tion, a more effective cooling zone and design 

optimization. 

• CondensoXC: It has a compact structure 

thanks to the innovative processing 

chamber and is a high-performance device. 

Thanks to the patented injection principle, 

exactly the right quantity of Galden is supplied 

for optimal profiling. Thanks to the 

closed-loop filter system, the medium can 

be recovered and filtered at virtually 100 %. 

The system is fully suitable for vacuums and 

has an integrated process recorder for optimal 

traceability. 

• CondensoXS smart: These smart systems 

are based on the chamber design of the 

CondensoXC and thus ensure high process 

stability. An enlarged process chamber, 

boasting a significantly reduced footprint, 

enables higher throughput and thus shorter 

process times. 

• Nexus: The vacuum soldering system is 

ideal for pore-free and flux-free soldering at 

up to 450 °C with a variety of process gases. 

The wet-chemical activation with formic acid 

is available as an option. It is possible to use 

lead-free or lead-containing preforms and 

pastes. Contact soldering is used in advanced 

packaging and power electronics. 

• Securo Minus: The Securo range has developed 

to analyze the reliability of sensitive 

electronics under extreme temperatures. 

Securo Minus is deployed in the context of 

the cold function test to check the winter 

performance of electronic assembly groups 

for example. The electronic components are 

exposed to cold air or nitrogen at low temperatures 

of up to –55 °C in the system and 

thereby brought to the optimal temperature 

for checking. 

• ProtectoXP: This selective conformal coating 

system protects sensitive electronic assembly 

groups from damage by corrosion 

or other environmental influences such as 

humidity, chemicals or dust. The company 

will be presenting a variety of application 

methods for different deployment areas 

and materials at the trade fair. 

• ProtectoXC: Even with minimal throughput, 

the system guarantees reliable coating processes 

and can be integrated as a batch or 

line variation. It will present with ViCON 

system software at the trade fair for the 

first time. The new operating concept simplifies 

image creation for coating and includes 

numerous features for an easy-tocreate, 

reproducible coating result. 



Adhesives cure with UV light and moisture 

Panacol developed a variety of adhesive 

products with low ion content which cure 

with UV light and moisture. These products 

were specially formulated for applications in 

the electronics and consumer electronics industry, 

where heat sensitive parts must be 

assembled. Vitralit UD 8050 is a one-component 

acrylic adhesive, which can be used as 

an encapsulant to protect electronic components 

on PCBs. It can be cured with UV or 

visible light. Moisture post-curing ensures 

full cure in shadowed areas or deeper layers 

of the adhesive, which cannot be reached by 

light. For specific requirements several versions 

of the adhesive are available. The Vitralit 

UD 8050 MV F allows enhanced flow con- 

trol and focused dispensing on each component 

thanks to its shear-thinning behavior. Its 

low ion content prevents corrosion on electronic 

components. For superior process 

control, it contains a fluorescent marker. 

For jetting, the low viscosity version Vitrali 

UD 8050 LV is the perfect solution. Thanks to 

its easy dispensing and fast curing, it is very 

convenient for applications in the production 

of consumer electronics where a high 

throughput is needed. 

By default, the adhesive is transparent, but it 

is also available in blue or fluorescing versions. 

Other colors are available on request. 

www.panacol.de 

The adhesive products from Panacol cures 

with UV or visible light. 

Source: Panacol 


Visual virtual factories with the CFX standard 

Aegis Software, a provider of Manufacturing 

Execution Software (MES) announced that 

FactoryLogix is the first MES solution to 

natively leverage the power of the IPC Connected 

Factory Exchange (CFX) standard. The 

platform leverages CFX from data acquisition 

to analytics and process control automation. 

As a result, any manufacturer on this platform 

that purchases a CFX-compliant device, 

machine or system will instantly interpret, 

and leverage the critical information from 

those devices without the need for middleware 

or custom integration. The emergence 

of CFX combined with an MES that understands 

the data streams ushers in the era of 

true IIoT, which is an enterprise that is free of 

the need for custom middleware to get data 

from the factory floor. Now manufacturers of 

will be able to fast-track the actual realization 

and transformative benefits of Industry 4.0. 

“Until now, for manufacturers to truly capitalize 

on the promise of IIoT and Industry 4.0, 

middleware was required to reside between 

the device layer and the upper system layer. 

The use of middleware always meant additional 

costs and complexity. Additionally, as 

soon as a factory introduced a new machine 

or upgraded existing machines, more development 

resources and time would be 

needed to update existing adapters to leverage 

the machine information,” stated Jason 

Spera, CEO. “By updating the entire architecture 

of the FactoryLogix platform to fundamentally 

‘understand’ CFX data from acquisition 

up to analytics and process control automation, 

we have enabled it to natively support 

any CFX-enabled machine, device or system 

instantly and without the need for 

middleware or custom programming.” 

Driving factories forward 

FactoryLogix is a holistic and modular platform 

which delivers leading-edge technology 

with easily configurable modules to support 

and execute a discrete manufacturer’s strategy 

towards Industry 4.0. It manages the entire 

manufacturing lifecycle: from product 

launch to material logistics, through manufacturing 

execution and quality management, 

CFX standard was demonstrated at Apex this year 

with the help of Aegis’ FactoryLogix software. 

to powerful analytics and real-time dashboards. 

This end-to-end platform is helping 

companies accelerate product introductions, 

streamline processes, improve quality and 

traceability, reduce costs and gain greater 

visibility for competitive advantage and profitability. 


www.aiscorp.com 

Source: Aegis Software 

7-9 May 2019, Nuremberg 

Hall 4, Stand 339 

Invent & 

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Purpose Cleaning 

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Offering flexible and versatile 

types of dryers 

There are dryers, and there are “dryers” – especially in the electronics manufacturing industry. “Dryer” should 

be understood as an umbrella term for thermal systems in the electronics industry, which are not used to 

produce firmly bonded connections, i.e., neither soldered, sintered, nor diffusion-soldered. These can be real 

drying processes (e.g. the drying out of pastes), curing (e.g. of polymer coatings), burn-in processes (burn-in test 

for components to locate early defects) or, annealing (to produce special properties of connecting materials). 

This article focuses on three dryers from Rehm Thermal Systems. 

The headlights of a car ensure a safe journey day and night; the 

vehicle airbag saves lives no matter the conditions; the onboard 

computer and sensors in an aircraft provide reliable measurements, 

even at an altitude of 10 kilometres, to safely guide the aircraft in the 

sky and bring it back to the ground. Behind each one of these functions 

is a myriad of highly complex electronic assemblies and connections, 

which are produced using a dryer. 

In order to ensure the reliability of these sensitive electronic assemblies, 

even in the harshest environment, a coating layer is applied 

to the assembled circuit boards and then cured in a special 

drying system. The coating protects sensitive electronic components 

from damage through corrosion or other environmental influences, 

such as humidity, chemicals or dust. Additionally, it greatly 

increases the service life and quality of the product. Alternatively, 

complete assemblies can be potted and encapsulated. The company 

offers innovative drying and curing processes to suit any demands 

in this field – such as the vertical drying system Alteco, as 

well as a dryer that meanders horizontally or a continuous dryer that 

guarantees optimal drying and curing results thanks to reliable vertical 

looped transport system (Pramo). 

Vertical dryer 

One of the company’s latest developments is the vertical drying 

system Alteco, which offers maximum performance with minimum 

space requirements. All industries that utilise coating processes 

and work with sensitive flat assemblies with protective coating 

benefit from this system. In addition to the best temperature profiling 

possibilities and low energy consumption, the minimum space 

requirement was also successfully achieved in the implementation 

of this system. Thanks to vertical transport, the Alteco replaces a 

comparable 40-metre-long horizontal dryer with a system length of 

just 4 metres. With this innovative system concept, valuable space 

in the production hall can be saved, existing resources can be optimally 

used, and daily production can be optimised. Two process 

towers can be arranged according to the vertical stacking principle. 

The system is equipped with appropriate drip protection mechanisms 

in order to avoid soiling of the mechanics and undesirable contamination 

of the assemblies with e.g. coating drops. 

The space-saving vertical 

drying system Alteco for 

curing coated assemblies. 

Source: Rehm Thermal Systems GmbH 




Arrangement of the process 

towers according to the 

vertical stacking principle. 

An important aspect for every manufacturer of highly complex electronic 

assemblies is the flexibility of the equipment used. The company’s 

vertical drying system enables flexible, high-performance 

drying and curing processes for all protective coatings and casting 

compounds that can be cured with convection heat. In the furnace 

inlet the PCBs are loaded onto product carriers. These pass through 

the drying process in the system in a vertical direction and are 

stacked on top of each other during the curing process. The actual 

drying process is carried out in two process towers, which are each 

divided into several heating zones. 

The downstream, segmented cooling section ensures gentle and 

uniform cooling of the assemblies for subsequent production 

stages. Alternatively, the cooling section can also be integrated into 

the vertical system. This principle is ideally suitable for assemblies 

that require shorter process throughput times due to their lower 

mass, or which are not processed directly afterwards and can therefore 

cool down in downstream magazines. 

Two transport variants are available for the Alteco vertical dryer. 

Firstly, a fixed transport width in which the circulating product carriers 

are set to a fixed position, and secondly, a flexible transport 

width in which the circulating product carrier transport automatically 

adjusts to the respective assembly size. This allows simultaneous 

drying of different coated boards or boards of different sizes. This 

means that several coating lines can feed different products with a 

mix of different PCB transport widths to the Alteco. This is specially 

designed for the drying process of flat assemblies with a maximum 

height of 50 mm. 

A drying or curing process must meet important requirements. 

There are particular parameters, such as the maximum temperature, 

the process duration at this temperature, the temperature 

deviation from the maximum temperature, and the temperature homogeneity, 

e.g. over the entire surface of the goods carrier. As an 

example, a temperature profile for drying potted assemblies was 

created. For this application, a process time of 40 minutes was 

achieved at 80 °C. In addition, the profile only exhibits a small fluctuation 

in the temperature tolerance. 

The heating system based on the convection principle under air is 

the basis for this optimal temperature profiling. In order to react to 

temperature fluctuations as flexibly as possible, temperature and 

volume flow can be set separately in all heating zones. In addition, a 


An example of the meander system. 

specially developed air duct guarantees uniform heating of all assemblies. 

The exhaust air volume is also controlled separately for 

each zone. Thus, the system can be optimally adjusted to the 

amount of coating and the solvent throughput. 

Meander system 

Vertical dryers save space on the surface, but require sufficient 

height clearance in the production facilities. In addition, the natural 

thermals in a vertical process chamber are crucial for the process, 

as heat always rises. If very small tolerances in the reproducibility of 

the temperature-time profile are required, it may be technically 

more sensible to thermally process the products in a horizontal process 

chamber. 



Example of a temperature profile with 80 °C drying temperature and 40 minutes process time. 


With the RDS 45000 meander system, the company has developed 

a special solution that enables equally long product dwell times at a 

productivity of 3.5 units/min in a horizontal position. The products 

meander in 13 tracks through the process chamber, which has a 

maximum temperature of 130 °C and is equipped with 18 heating 

zones. The goods carrier transport can be loaded either manually or 

automatically, but always according to the first-in-first-out principle. 

The position of loading and unloading is variable. 

The meander system also features seamless traceability: the barcode 

of the individual assembly is read in, which enables an exact 

assignment of the process-related data. The time stamps for loading 

and unloading, as well as the heating temperature in the furnace 

or a single zone are also included. The supply air of the meander 

dryer is on one hand preheated by the reverse flow process and on 

the other filtered by a filter monitoring system. Due to the fact that 

each part runs through the same process, the system has high reproducibility. 

It is available in an oxygen or nitrogen model. A cooling 

section can be optionally integrated. However, if a cooling section is 

integrated, it can be ordered in an air-cooled or water-cooled model. 

Continuous dryer 

In the continuous dryer Pramo, the assemblies are transported 

through the system on goods carriers with “shuttle” supports. Within 

the dryer, they pass through several zones in which they are 

heated up to the appropriate temperature and then maintained at 

the set temperature for the drying/hardening process. The maximum 

temperature in the dryer is 150 °C. 

In order to harden the materials according to the specifications, the 

cycle time can be adjusted according to the necessary dwell time of 

the assemblies in the drying system. The flexible goods carrier receptors 

are interchangeable, which means various assemblies and 

also special forms can be guided safely and reliably through the sys- 

Info box 

The application or the product to be produced, as well as the expected 

throughput in production, determine the technical configuration of the 

dryer. In photovoltaics, for example, a throughput of


The Pramo is available as a 2-, 3 -, or 4-looped transport. 


tem at any time. The Pramo offers flexibility and security in the design 

and implementation of your testing tasks, also with regard to 

warm function testing. A stable circular product carrier transport ensures 

absolute process stability and safe transport of the assembly 

through the system. This gives the system sufficient capacity to reliably 

adhere to the desired test temperature, even when processing 

large parts in a short cycle time. In order to guarantee the removal 

of the assemblies at the appropriate temperature, the product 

carrier return is designed as an additional heating zone. 

A robot or handling system loads and unloads the assemblies into 

the product carriers. The gondolas/carrier boats are equipped with a 

clamping unit for automatic loading with a robot. Manual loading 

and unloading can be an alternative. The transport is carried out in 

loops in order to achieve the longest possible throughput times and 

process a high number of units. This reduces the surface area, as 

well as the height of the system, and saves space in the production 

facility. 

Depending on the number of product carriers, the Pramo is available 

as a 2-, 3-, or 4-looped transport. With a maximum size of 

1520 x 200 mm, the size of the goods carriers is identical in each of 

the available models. However, the number of goods carriers in the 

system varies between 27 and 58. The assemblies for downstream 

processes are cooled in the cooling section. This allows immediate 

further processing of the assemblies. Cooled air is blown onto the 

carrier with the assembly in each segment. The waste heat is transferred 

to the incoming fresh air via a heat exchanger and thus removed 

from the production room in an energy-saving way. Alternatively, 

a residual management system with two cooler/filter units 

for cold condensation is available instead of the heat exchanger. 

The cooler and filter units can be easily cleaned in an ultrasonic bath 

for maintenance purposes. If the parts are unloaded warm as part of 

a warm function test, the return line can be run as an additional 

heating zone. A measuring cable with prepared parts and a memory 

meter can be easily used via a quick-release fixing. The system is 

controlled by software via a touchscreen user interface. All relevant 

process parameters such as throughput time and temperature are 

documented via a barcode on the product carrier gondola and, if 

necessary, transferred to an MES system. SMEMA interfaces allow 

the integration of the system into any production line. 

A variety of basic physical principles of heat transfer are used and 

many technical designs are implemented to make drying processes 

as efficient as possible. Day by day, Rehm rises to the challenge of 

converting innovative technologies into series production-ready systems 

and can help to evaluate the optimum technology parameters 

with the customer, during the conception phase. 




Um die Zuverlässigkeit empfindlicher elektronischer Baugruppen 

auch unter härtesten Bedingungen zu gewährleisten, wird eine Beschichtungsschicht 

auf die bestückten Leiterplatten aufgebracht 

und anschließend in einem speziellen Trocknungssystem ausgehärtet. 

Im Mittelpunkt des Artikels stehen innovative Trocknersysteme 

und -verfahren für alle Anforderungen. 

Résumé 

Afin d‘assurer la fiabilité des assemblages électroniques sensibles, 

même dans les conditions les plus difficiles, une couche de revêtement 

est appliquée sur les cartes de circuits imprimés assemblées, 

puis durcie dans un système spécial de séchage. L‘article se 

concentre sur des systèmes et des procédés de séchage innovants 

pour satisfaire toutes demandes. 

Резюме 

Для обеспечения надежного функционирования 

чувствительных электронных узлов в самых суровых условиях 

эксплуатации на укомплектованные платы наносится слой 

защитного покрытия, отверждаемого в специальной системе 

сушки. В статье рассказывается об инновационных системах и 

методах сушки, удовлетворяющих различным требованиям. 



At the heart of production 

Surface-mount line to fulfil 

emerging market demands 

MI Elektronika is the first high-tech EMS in Slovenia to install the atom3 high-speed pick-and-place 

platform at the heart of a full line solution. The electronics assembly services specialist installed the highspeed 

surface-mount assembly line, supplied and supported by Europlacer, at its factory to accelerate 

growth in domestic and export markets. 

The Europlacer atom3 inline 

at the factory of MI Elektronika. 

The new line contains the first atom3 pick-and-place platform to 

be installed in Slovenia, which is tightly integrated with the latest 

printing, inspection, and reflow equipment from Speedprint, 

Cyberoptics, and Heller. Trusted by medical, automation, and consumer 

brands to build complex electronic assemblies for applications, 

such as laser surgery, industrial controls, and advanced 

home appliances, the company chose Europlacer’s flagship model 

to combine cutting-edge surface-mount capabilities with high speed 

and superior flexibility. 

More flexibility with an extra line 

Tomaž Zorko, Chief Technical Officer, explains the timing of the decision: 

“We aim to achieve our growth targets by meeting our current 

customers’ needs and winning new business. This requires boosting 

capacity, while at the same time increasing flexibility, to cost effectively 

fulfil small orders, as 

well as extend our capabilities to 

assemble the latest component 

types, including 01005 SMD 

chips and wafer-level IC packages. 

The atom3 at the heart of 

our new SMT line enables us to 

meet those demands and is fast, 

accurate, and extremely reliable.” 

The new line is the fourth to be 

installed at the Slovenian 

1400-square-metre factory. The 

three existing lines comprise of 

Europlacer iineo pick-and-place 

machines, Speedprint screen printers, Cyberoptics Solder Paste Inspection 

(SPI) and Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) stations, and 

Heller reflow ovens. They have delivered outstanding service for 

over 10 years. 

Source: MI Elektronika 

Simple integration with more support 

In addition to considering previous successful experiences with the 

brand and evaluating the new equipment’s performance, Tomaž 

Zorko and his team also considered how the new line would integrate 

with the established systems and practices. “Our current machines 

interoperate extremely smoothly together and with the Enterprise 

Resource Planning (ERP) system on which we run the business,” 

comments Zorko. “The new line communicates perfectly 

with our existing OT/IT infrastructure, giving us full control and access 

to the data we need without having to adapt our procedures.” 

The company has considered its investment carefully and planned 

every detail. From first extending the factory to house the new line, 

to identifying the most suitable equipment for handling the latest 

technologies, and scheduling the purchase optimally, ready to meet 

market demand, it’s the right equipment, for the right reasons, at 

the right time. 




The EP710 screen printer is also part of the lines at the Slovenian factory. 

The EP710 screen printer is also part of the lines at the Slovenian factory. 


The 1400-square-metre 

factory in Slovenia had to 

be extended to accommodate 

its 4 th line. 



Ein Hightech-EMS Dienstleister in Slowenien installierte in seinem 

Werk eine Hochgeschwindigkeits-SMD-Linie, um das Wachstum im 

In- und Ausland zu beschleunigen. Herzstück dieser Komplettlösung 

ist ein Highspeed-Bestückungssystem. 

Résumé 

En Slovénie, un prestataire de services EMS de haute technologie 

a installé une ligne de SMT à grande vitesse dans son usine pour 

accélérer la croissance nationale et internationale. Le cœur de 

cette solution complète est un système de placement à grande vitesse. 

Резюме 

Высокотехнологичный разработчик микроэлектронных схем 

установил на своем заводе высокоскоростную линию 

поверхностного монтажа с целью интенсификации роста как 

внутри страны, так и за ее пределами. Сердцем этого 

комплексного решения является высокоскоростная система 

для установки компонентов. 

Europlacer supports the company and its four SMT lines directly 

from its local office in Trieste, Italy, little more than 100km from the 

Brezovica factory. With that said, visits are few and mostly only for 

routine maintenance. “The equipment has always been extremely 

reliable and remote support provides effective answers to small 

questions over the Internet,” says Zorko. 

“Our four SMT lines are perfect for us right now,” he continues. 

“The speed and accuracy of our latest line, with the atom3, now 

positions us to tackle large and technically demanding projects. At 

the same time, we have retained our flexibility to help customers 

through new product introduction or building small batches, and always 

to win with the fastest turnaround time.” 


www.europlacer.com 




UV cure conformal coatings at thicknesses below 150 

microns, and can be cured with 

either 365 nm LED lamps or ‘D’ 

bulb microwave technology. 

The UVCL-X has also been developed, 

which shares the benefits 

of the plus version with resistance 

to thermal shock, immediate 

board handling with a guaranteed 

chemical cure in 6 hours 

due to the secondary chemical 

Electrolube launched seven new UV cure 

conformal coating products. These UV cure 

coatings offer a high level of protection for 

electronic circuitry with a fast processing 

time. The range features UVCL, a single component, 

medium-low viscosity dual cure 

coating with secondary moisture cure, for 

complete cure in shadow areas. Available in 

5L packaging, UVCL is VOC-free, non-flammable 

and demonstrates excellent electrical 

properties. The coating provides a wide operating 

temperature range and is ready to use 

for selective spray application. 

UVCL-P, the plus version, is a transparent, 

flexible coating which is resistant to thermal 

shock. Benefits include an improved coverage 

and protection, along with a guaranteed 

chemical cure in 6 hours thanks to its secondary 

cure mechanism. Selectively applied 

at 50–150 microns thickness, it has a higher 

level of condensation protection than UVCL 

when sprayed at the same thickness. It also 

has a maximum operating temperature of 

150 °C, meets the requirements of UL94V-0 

cure mechanism and exceptional coverage 

and protection. Reflecting its environmental 

credentials as well as increasing the ease of 

inspection, UVCL-X is a green-opaque coating 

that can be applied at up to 300 microns and 

has a maximum operating temperature of 

150 °C. It is a highly flexible coating that demonstrates 

thermal conductivity 0.7 Wm-1K-1 

for improved heat dissipation. The coating is 

also UL746 qualified and meets the requirements 

of UL94V-0 at thicknesses below 300 

microns. 

Other UV cure coating products include, 

UVCL-FC, a film coating product that enables 

even thinner coatings and faster curing line 

Electrolube launched seven UV 

cure conformal coating 

products. 

speeds. It is a low viscosity, fast-curing UV 

formulation for rapid processing. 

UV cure coating specifically for LED applications. 

The UVCL-LED coating is also a low 

viscosity coating that enables rapid cure with 

low energy 365 nm LED lamps. 

UVCL-HV is a high viscosity UV curable material, 

designed to provide better coverage of 

component leads and exposed metal surfaces 

during dispensing applications and the 

UVCL-Gel is a no-flow gel version, designed 

for sealing connectors and non-coated areas. 


www.electrolube.com 

Source: Electrolube

High-performance cleaning for electronics assembly materials 

Kyzen, a provider of innovative environmentally 

friendly cleaning chemistries, continually 

researches and develops the next generation 

of solutions. Recently, the company announced 

that the newest addition to its 

Aquanox line. 

When asked how to get consistent high-performance 

cleaning for all widely used electronics 

assembly materials, Vice President 

Tom Forsythe said: “You rely on the Aquanox 

family of solutions because each and every 

product in the line is the result of an arduous, 

continual improvement engineering protocol 

that stays ahead of rapidly evolving electronics 

manufacturing technologies– and is 

thoroughly tested on the manufacturing floor 

prior to release.” 

The company’s latest Aquanox release is the 

result of thousands of hours of laboratory 

tests and “live” beta site testing scientifically 

validating the outstanding rinsability, extended 

tank life and consistently reliable, 

long-term performance advantages. This 

stable chemistry is excellent on a wide variety 

of components, coating, labels and 

equipment. 


www.kyzen.com 

The newest addition to the Aquanox family of solutions 

was heavily tested to ensure its reliability and 

long term performance. 

Source: Kyzen 

Aqua scrub flux management technology 

Source: BTU International, Inc. 

BTU International, Inc., a supplier of advanced 

thermal processing equipment for 

the electronics manufacturing and alternative 

energy markets, has recently introduced the 

Aqua Scrub flux management technology installed 

on the Pyramex 150N. 

This solder reflow flux management system uses an 

aqueous-based scrubber that works well with most 

pastes and fluxes. 

Aqua Scrub technology is the company’s next 

generation solder reflow flux management 

system. The patent-pending design uses an 

aqueous-based scrubber technology compatible 

with most known paste and flux types. 

The flux and solution are automatically contained 

and packaged for disposal. 

“We’ve been working for a long time towards 

a total solution for flux management. 

One that realizes the goals of flux independence, 

and a has a truly clean, hands-off 

maintenance approach,” said Peter Tallian, 

General Manager. “With Aqua Scrub, we can 

say we’ve achieved these goals, which will 

ultimately result in a competitive advantage 

for our customers.” This technology has a 

very attractive cost of ownership and is designed 

to decrease operational cost by 4X 

over traditional condensation systems. Reduction 

in cost can be attributed to reduced 

downtime, labor and disposal costs. 

It is purpose-built as a stand-alone system 

that can be easily retrofitted on Pyramax reflow 

ovens already in the field as well as new 

ones. This self-contained unit mounts on the 

back side of the oven to minimize the impact 

on oven operation and factory floor space. 


www.btu.com


Encapsulation optimised for the LED market 

Outlook on transparent resin 

choices and applications 

The use of clear resins for electronics potting and encapsulation is growing as LED lighting and wearable 

electronics manufacturers seek quality finishes, as well as, reliable protection for their products. 

Such trends place new demands on these materials, as Electrolube’s Alistair Little explains. 

Clear resins are now used for 

protection, as well as, a surface finish, 

where the appearance is also 

important. 

Clear resins are now frequently used to provide, not simply protection, 

but a surface finish for certain electronics products. So, 

where such a resin may once have been used primarily as a protective 

medium, today’s clear resins now also have to perform aesthetically 

and hence their final appearance on cure is of prime consideration. 

Optimum resin results 

In the first instance, resin choice will likely be dictated by the device 

design as this will determine how the resin is introduced into those 

parts requiring encapsulation. For example, if an enclosure or housing 

is used and the components to be potted are flush with its top, 

how thick a layer of resin must be applied above these components 

to provide adequate protection, 

and how will the resin be held in 

place until it has cured in position? 

Further problems concerning 

resin retention will be posed 

if the components are actually 

proud of the enclosure top. 

One obvious solution to this is to 

consider recessing the components 

so that the resin’s surface 

remains flush with the top of the 

unit, enabling the cure to take 

place without risk of resin spill. If 

this is not possible, mounting a 

temporary mould over the enclosure 

will ensure that the desired 

surface profile is obtained 

every time. 

Another area of concern is the 

presence of protrusions or lips 

inside the housing or enclosure 

which might entrap air; sharp 

corners or angles are also potential 

air entrapment points. While avoiding these design ‘flaws’ in the 

first place will help mitigate the problem, choosing resins of lower 

viscosity, paying attention to how the resin components are mixed 

and maintaining the optimum temperature of both resin and encapsulation 

volume can all help prevent air bubble formation. 

Cleanliness is vital to achieving a satisfactory result. Metal enclosures, 

for example, must be thoroughly cleaned before resin application 

to remove any dirt, grease or metal working fluids that might 

be present, as these will reduce the resin’s ability to adhere to the 

metal surface. Similar precautions need to be taken with plastic 

moulded housings to remove any residual mould release agents. 

And should a temporary mould be used, as mentioned previously, 

care should be taken concerning the use of release agents, as these 

may leave a thin film on the surface of the moulded resin, giving a 

cloudy or hazy appearance. A point worth mentioning here is that 

Source: Electrolube 




Air entrapment points are concerns that could be avoided by using resins of lower viscosity and paying 

attention to how the resin components are mixed. 


After mixing components, the reservoirs should 

be placed upright to release any air that might 

have been entrapped during the process. 

The two component (2K) is ideal for LED potting and encapsulation due to its 

resistance to UV light and yellowing. 


some clear resins may present with a hazy/cloudy appearance 

when first dispensed. However, this will disappear on curing to provide 

the desired optical clarity. 

Two component mixture 

There are three main classes of resins: epoxy, polyurethane and silicone, 

all of which are available in optically clear versions. Polyurethane 

and silicone resins are particularly recommended for LED 

lighting units as epoxies tend to yellow over time due to a combination 

of UV and heat degradation. While LEDs are very efficient 

light sources, they do also produce heat, which must be taken into 

account when choosing an appropriate resin for this type of application. 

Clear resins are frequently supplied as two component (2K) systems 

in various packaging sizes comprising pre-weighed parts A and 

B. For the smaller pack sizes these can be mixed inside the pack and 

then dispensed. These types of packs help minimise air entrainment 

during mixing and are popular for prototyping and for low volume 

production runs. Larger kits are available for higher volume production 

runs and are designed for use in mixing and dispensing equipment. 

The Part A and Part B mix ratio is crucial: for machine mixing, the 

volume mix ratio is required, while for manual mixing the weight 

mix ratio is used. Manual mixing is generally not recommended as it 

is difficult to avoid air entrainment during the mixing process. Both 

parts should be poured carefully from the original containers into 

the mixing machine reservoirs and then allowed to stand, allowing 

any air that was entrained during the pouring process to be released. 

Once mixed, the resin must be carefully dispensed into the housing 

and around the components. Best practice is to dispense the resin 

slowly from one end or corner of the housing and then allow it to 

flow around the components; this will help displace any air from 

underneath and between the components. If component topography 

is tight, then it might be worth considering lowering the viscosity 

of the resin by increasing its temperature; however, this does 

have the downside of speeding up the curing process, reducing the 

resin’s gel time. 

Even with the most careful dispensing and application procedures, 

air bubbles can still form, but some further precautions can be taken 

to ensure a bubble free cured resin. When using polyurethanes, for 

example, the surface of the component, PCB and the housing that 



Alistair Little is the Global Business & Technical Director for 

Electrolube’s Resins Division. 

is to contain the resin must be both dry and dust free. Ambient conditions 

during the pour are also important, with temperature and humidity 

ideally being at 18–25 °C and 40–70 %RH respectively. 

Humidity is an important parameter, depending upon which type of 

resin is being mixed and dispensed. If epoxies are used, then the 

ambient humidity is generally not of concern; however, for silicones, 

maintaining a 50–70 %RH is desirable, particularly if the silicone is a 

moisture curing type. In the case of polyurethane and silicone resins, 

it will be necessary to protect both parts A and B from moisture, 

either by fitting desiccant traps to the product holding tanks or 

by flushing the tanks continuously with dry nitrogen. 

If the components that need to be encapsulated have a very complicated 

geometry, lots of tight windings, or there is a significant 

depth (> 10 mm) or volume of material to be used in a single unit, 

then it might be worth considering using vacuum potting as a 

method to ensure that all of the air is removed, both from the resin 

and the component surroundings. 

There are also several ‘housekeeping’ tasks to perform in order to 

minimise air entrainment. In particular, it is recommended that only 

a maximum of one typical day’s worth of resin and hardener consumption 

is placed into the dispensing machine reservoirs. Additionally, 

the pipe work from the reservoirs to the mixing head must 

be purged to ensure that there is no air left in the lines and that all of 

the connections are tight and leak-free. 

The parts A and B mix ratio must be checked at least once a day. 

This is done by removing the static mixer (or mix head in the case of 

a dynamic mixer) and weighing the output of parts A and B separately 

to ensure that the correct amount of each component is being 

dispensed. When completed, the static mixer is replaced back into 

the machine and purged to ensure that the correct mix volume is 

being dispensed and that it is being mixed correctly. 


LED lighting 

The exponential growth in LED lighting has seen a corresponding 

leap in demand for optically clear, UV stable resins that offer a variety 

of cured properties. Selecting an encapsulation resin to protect 

LEDs depends upon a number of different factors: the viscosity of 

the mixed system, useable life and gel time, as well as the hardness, 

density, colour and operating temperature of the cured resin. 

When directly protecting the LED elements, the cured resin must 

be optically clear and retain this property to preserve the light output 

and colour temperature of the LED array. 

The company has developed a number of encapsulation resins that 

cover a range of different property requirements and which have 

been optimised for the LED encapsulation market. Two component 

(2K), optically clear polyurethane and silicone resin systems offer 

the ease of handling and flow characteristics required to ensure that 

the liquid resin penetrates every part of the housing and around the 

LEDs, ultimately forming a cross-linked polymer on cure that is free 

of air bubbles and tough enough to protect against adverse environmental 

conditions. 

These optically clear resins are ideal for LED potting and encapsulation 

due to their resistance to UV light and yellowing. Two-part silicone 

resin systems are more flexible than polyurethanes and offer 

low viscosity for ease of application; they are particularly suited to 

applications where thin films are required thanks to their moisture 

cure nature. Moreover, cured silicone resins tolerate high operating 

temperatures and can be easily removed for rework or repair. 

It is always advisable to discuss with suppliers which type of optically 

clear resin is most appropriate for a particular application. The 

technical support teams of reputable suppliers have a wealth of experience 

to call upon and, should it become necessary, they have 

the expertise to modify chemical formulations, in order to meet particular 

application needs. 


www.electrolube.com 


Die Verwendung von klaren Harzen für die Vergusstechnik in der 

Elektronikindustrie nimmt zu, da LED-Beleuchtungen und Wearable-Elektronikhersteller 

neben hochwertigen Oberflächen auch einen 

zuverlässigen Schutz ihrer Produkte anstreben. Solche Trends 

stellen neue Anforderungen an diese Materialien. 

Résumé 

L‘utilisation de résines transparentes pour la technologie d‘encapsulation 

dans l‘industrie électronique est en augmentation, car les 

fabricants d‘éclairage LED et d‘électroniques portables cherchent 

à fournir une protection fiable pour leurs produits ainsi que des 

surfaces de haute qualité. Ces tendances imposent des nouvelles 

exigences à ces matériaux. 

Резюме 

Все чаще в электронной индустрии для заливки компонентов 

используется прозрачная смола. Причиной является 

стремление производителей светодиодных светильников и 

носимой электроники обеспечить наряду с идеальной 

поверхностью также надежную защиту для своих продуктов. 

Следствием этих тенденций являются постоянно 

возрастающие требования к этим материалам. 




Participating in the real-life production line 

IPTE will once again complete the “Future 

Packaging”, a fully operational production line 

at SMTconnect, which will start with bare 

boards to a working product. 

The company is supplying conveying equipment 

to interconnect with other process 

equipment. Components include bare board 

loader, conveyors, turn units, buffers, workstations 

and a multi magazine loader/unloader. 

The integration of a laser marker will 

also be shown. 

The programming and testing of a product 

will be shown by using the EasyTest Handler 

and the Multi-Functional Test Handler. The 

test handlers are setup as a parallel tester. A 

depaneling system will be also be presented. 

EasyLine 

The EasyLine program for board-handling of 

PCBs or ceramic substrate (Hybrid-) boards 

can be integrated into production lines and 

processes. Modules are available in 300 mm, 

500 mm or 600 mm. 

FlexMarker 

The FlexMarkerII has an integrated electrical 

flip unit with PCB thickness compensation 

(option) so a piece can be laser-marked on 

both surfaces. This automated compensation 

results in an always-in-focus laser beam – independent 

of the PCB thickness. A board 

warpage correction is also an option. Flipping 

of the PCB is done without prior moving of 

the laser, resulting in a handling time less 

than one second. 

Easy Test Handler 

In-Circuit- or functional- test as well as programming 

processes can be inline automated 

with the Easy Test Handler ETH. It is 

practical with single or multiple boards, as 

well as, corresponding carriers for circuit 

boards. Both, one- or double-sided fixtures 

can be realized. For parallel use of more than 

one handler, it can be equipped with a bypass-segment. 

This allows for a constant production 

process. 

Multi-Functional Test Handler 

This is a 19-in. rack-type handler for performing 

in-circuit and functional tests on PCBs 

that are routed through the handler on transport 

belts. Its modular design offers multifunctional 

possibilities for test handling. 

Multi magazine loader/unloader 

The board handling components MLL 3P and 

MLU 3P are designed as multi magazine 

loader/unloaders, which have a servo driven 

conveyor shuttle that can pick up or store a 

PCB from any slot in the magazines. The 

cycle time and maintenance is improved by 

removing movement of the magazines. 

EasyRouter 

The EasyRouter II is a depaneling system for 

off line use and is equipped with a productive 

milling tool featuring a speed of up to 

60 mm/s for the fast routing of circuit boards. 

New features include increased accuracy, operator 

indicator lights, noise level reduction 

and simulation of the tool route. 

SMTconnect, Booth 5–434B 

www.ipte.com 

PIEK Training & Certification 

IPC Training & Certification 

Consultancy 

Test Center PB’s & PBA’s 

Audit services 

IPC Validation Services 

piek.international



Flexible robotic reel handling system 

VJ Electronix, Inc., provider of rework technologies, 

X-ray inspection, and component 

counting systems, recently introduced a concept 

in reel handling automation for component 

counting. 

The company coupled its automatic component 

counting system with a high-speed, 

three axis robot to transfer reels from an 

input storage buffer, into the X-ray counting 

system, and back to an output storage buffer. 

The integrated bar code camera reads one or 

more barcodes at the input buffer, prior to 

loading. Labels may be applied at the output 

buffer. 

“Our new robot approach is truly flexible,” 

said Engineering Manager, Steve Bowler. 

“We can incorporate most any brand of 

robot, add multiple buffers, and/or integrate 

directly with commercial storage systems. I 

can imagine creation of a docking station for 

our customers’ AGVs.” 

Built in the company’s Chelmsford, MA factory, 

the robotic reel handling system is a collaborative 

effort between their Chelmsford 

and Suzhou China locations, as well as, their 

technology partner, AccuAssembly. 

www.vjelectronix.com 

Robot transfers reels from an input 

storage buffer, into the X-ray counting system, back 

to an output storage buffer. 

Source: VJ Electronix, Inc 

Large all-in-one platform for high-speed dispensing 

Source: Essemtec 

The large all-in-one platform from Essemtec 

can be used for the assembly of high-speed 

applications, rapid prototyping and highspeed 

dispensing. 

Fox 2 has a machine footprint of just 1 m 2 and 

can accept PCB sizes up to 16 x 12 “. Compo- 

Essemtec‘s Fox 2 systems 

have linear motors 

and a mineral 

cast frame, providing 

excellent speed, stability, 

accuracy. 

nents with sizes from 01005 up to 

1.3 x 3.1 “are placed. The machine achieves 

10,800 cph (IPC9850) at 50 μm, 3 sigma with 

a two nozzle head. It has linear motors and a 

mineral cast frame, providing speed, stability, 

accuracy, and suited for small to medium 

production environments. 

Puma is a high-speed pick-and-place solution 

that can be used in the ultra-flexible prototyping 

development sector. With an IPC assembly 

performance of 18,100 cph, it pushes 

into the mid-range field. It boasts up to 280 

feeder positions, which offers the highest 

number of feeders in relation to its foot print. 

The machine processes PCB sizes up to 

1,800 mm x 610 mm. 

Aside from handling the assembly processes, 

Puma also dispenses and jets in parallel 

up to 150,000 dots per hour. When all 

three axis are used for dispensing fluids, the 

platform is called Tarantula. There are five 

valve technologies to choose from, and with 

the plug-and-play method, all heads can be 

retrofitted or changed over on site. 

The linear motor technology paired with the 

material “Epument” for the mineral cast 

frame gives a speed increase of up to 

52.5 %. The updated vibration absorption 

through the mineral cast frame gives consistent 

accuracy. Replacing spindles and belts 

with the linear motor technology means the 

required maintenance is reduced. The assembly 

and dispensing processes are also 

displayed on the same X/Y system. 

The system’s software has been optimized. 

The structured interface on a large touch 

screen monitor is easy to operate. This enables 

the operator to process simple assembly 

groups and more complex projects 

with mixed processes, 2.5D applications and 

more, directly on the machine. 


www.essemtec-usa.com 

All-in-one smart device compatible with all profilers 

KIC, the market and technology provider of 

smart oven solutions, has recently introduced 

the SRA (Smart Reflow Analyzer). It is 

an integrated fixture and profiler specifically 

designed for collecting reflow oven related 

data to analyze and track machine stability 

from run to run, and over time. 

As it contains a built-in data collection module, 

it is an all-in-one smart fixture. This 

means that the SRA can be used no matter 

whose profiler you may currently have. 

The SRA has six embedded thermocouples – 

three Air TCs and three Mass TCs – which are 

used to calculate and display a variety of data 

for each oven zone, such as measured zone 

temperatures and side to side uniformity. 

With the use of the SRA, users also are able 

to identify changes in heat transfer in a zone 

over time, through the display of HTI (Heat 

Transfer Index). Additionally, it utilizes the latest 

in laser sensor technology to automatically 

measure the conveyor speed each time 

it is run through a machine. 

The device is used to routinely check the performance 

of a machine and identify changes 

over time. Using a variety of available specifications, 

the machine’s performance is 

measured each time a pass is made based 

on the selected Process Window. The included 

SPC charting feature allows for tracking 

of the performance of individual zones, as 

well as other key parameters, based on specifications 

selected. 


www.kicthermal.com 


Smart storage systems streamlining material handling systems 

Inovaxe is a supplier of lean material handling 

solutions to the electronics manufacturing industry. 

Their total production and inventory 

management solutions streamline material 

handling and accuracy issues. 

The Smart Srex stationary storage solution is 

designed to store and manage all inventory 

needs. As with the company’s reel storage 

system, the InoMechanical carts and racks 

utilize the InoAuto material management system. 

This system allows users to store and 

manage bagged parts, Jedec trays, PCB’s 

and more. This product comes in two models 

and a multitude of configurations. The first 

model is the SR140, which is a mobile smart 

cart that not only supports reels, but can support 

trays, bins, and other non-reel parts as 

well. This mobile smart cart can accommodate 

up to 7 rows of reel parts, or 14 rows of 

non-reel parts, or a combination of both. The 

Srex200 is a fixed smart storage system that 

allows all manufactures looking for storage 

and traceability of non-reel parts. Within the 

small and compact footprint solution, you can 

store and manage up to 264 unique part 

numbers. This can include bagged parts, 

Jedec tray parts, PCB‘s, and more. With 

these two additions to the family of smart 

storage solutions, it will allow users to manage 

every part in their inventory, not just reel 

parts. 

Additionally, part of the company‘s portfolio 

include the InoAuto Smart storage solutions, 

including reel storage, stencil storage, MSD 

storage and more. The ultra-lean material 

handling systems enable users to locate 

parts in less than four seconds and return a 

part in less than eight seconds. The carts are 

mobile or fixed, can store 560 reels in 

0.23 m 2 or 1120 reels in 0.42 m 2 , and the ROI 

is less than six months. The company has 

provided manufacturers with the capabilities 

to substantially streamline their material 

handling systems to achieve the following 

benefits: 

• More than 90 % labor reduction in pulling 

kits and returning parts 

• More than 90 % space reduction for storing 

SMT parts and kits 

• Reduction of set up time and increase in 

The InoMechanical carts and racks utilize a material 

management system that allow users to store and 

manage bagged parts, trays, PCB’s and more. 

machine up time 

• Reduction of operator travel time by 60 % 

• Eliminates paper for kit pull and feeder 

loading operation 

• Enhances inventory accuracy without 

counting parts 

• Reduces errors in the feeder set up operation 

• Typical ROI is less than three to six months 

www.inovaxe.com 

Source: Inovaxe Corp. 

Automated Optical Inspection 

2019 NEW 3D AOI Series launch at SMT!

TEST + QUALITY ASSURANCE 

Timely fault detection in tightest spaces 

An inspection system for THT 

component testing 

Written off for dead yet still alive and kicking: THT components (Through Hole Technology) simply can’t be replaced. 

This can be seen in the manufacturing of electronics by ebm-papst. Thanks to power electronics, the manufacturer of 

fans and electric motors uses THT components in a large portion of its printed circuit boards. Assemblies of this kind 

require reliable quality assurance, because it is often complicated and expensive to carry out repairs after soldering. 

The THT manual assembly stations, 

left, and the downstream inspection 

system MultiCam Line, right. 

Source: Göpel electronic 

ebm-papst has a vast product range. For the most part, it is 

centred around fans, blowers and pumps. Some products are 

just a few centimetres in size, with others measuring over a metre 

in diameter. They have one thing in common: they all need electronics. 

At its site in Mulfingen, Germany, the company manufactures 

approximately 650,000 assemblies per month, around half a 

million of which are THT assemblies – mathematically speaking, that 

means that three quarters of all assemblies have components that 

are soldered using through-hole technology. The fact that such a 

large number of assemblies also have to be tested is a logical consequence 

of this. There are various different systems from different 

manufacturers for automatic optical inspection (AOI), in particular 

for THT components. A special requirement for a new testing system 

for ebm-papst was ultimately what saw the contract awarded 

to the MultiCam Line from Göpel electronic: an exceptionally small 

system footprint, along with outstanding performance. 

High quality production 

At the production site, PCBs are assembled 

on a total of eight SMD lines and one THT 

line. The THT production line consists of 12 

manual assembly stations, where components 

are fitted to the PCB by hand. The assemblies 

are automatically transported into 

the line on a workpiece carrier and to the respective 

workstations. Each of the assemblies 

is then navigated to its assigned assembly 

stations using an RFID code. This is 

all fully automated, which at the same time 

ensures enormous efficiency when there are 

around 1,000 different product variants. 

Once the respective THT components have 

been mounted on the PCBs, which are already 

fitted with SMD components, the 

components are then soldered in a final step using wave soldering. 

At ebm-papst, an automatic inspection is carried out before soldering, 

however. For Tobias Brand, process developer in Mulfingen, the 

advantages of this are clear: “Repairing an incorrectly mounted THT 

component after soldering involves a great deal of effort. If you can 

identify the error early, that saves time and money.” When it came 

to installing an inspection system between manual assembly 

stations and the soldering furnace, however, the problem was one 

of a lack of space. Because the production line as it was had already 

reached its limits when it came to space, the MultiCam Line impressed 

with its ability to be integrated easily into the production 

line with a footprint of just 660 mm x 760 mm. The highlight of the 

whole thing is that the system manages without any kind of axis 

system for the camera module and thus operates completely wearfree. 

The solution is to save space 

The secret to saving space and zero maintenance is the image-capture 

module by the name of MultiEyeS. It consists of a matrix arrangement 

of multiple cameras. The image capture from all cameras 

takes place virtually simultaneously. The individual images are 


The MultiEyeS camera module with 28 cameras. 



High component clearance during image capture of 

assemblies on workpiece carriers. 



Die Leistungselektronik eines Herstellers von Ventilatoren und 

Elektromotoren benötigen THT-Komponenten. Baugruppen, die zuverlässige 

Qualitätssicherung erfordern, wozu ein System mit außergewöhnlichem 

kleinem Platzbedarf bei gleichzeitig hervorragender 

Leistung gesucht wurde. 

Résumé 

La puissance électronique pour des ventilateurs et des moteurs 

électriques nécessite des composants THT. La clientèle recherche 

des composants d’une qualité fiable et comprenant un système 

avec un encombrement adapté et des performances optimales. 

Резюме 

В силовой электронике производителя вентиляторов и 

электродвигателей активно применяются компоненты для 

сквозного монтажа в отверстия (THT). Эти узлы требуют 

серьезного контроля качества. Для этого производитель ищет 

компактную систему, обеспечивающую при этом высокий 

уровень производительности. 

Tobias Brand (ebm-papst) and Marius Otto (Göpel electronic) 

at the verification station. 

then automatically assembled to form an overall picture. This technology 

has now become common in smartphone cameras thanks to 

panorama features and is known as ‘stitching’. 

In the system software Pilot 6, the individual images are combined 

to form an overall picture using a stitching algorithm that is optimised 

for the application in question. This means that there are a total 

of 12,000 x 10,000 colour pixels, i.e. a total of 120 megapixels, available 

for image capture of the inspection area. Since the image capture 

of the cameras is performed as far as possible in parallel and 

the stitching algorithm is trimmed for speed, a full-surface image of 

an assembly measuring 490 mm x 390 mm can be captured and processed 

in less than 5 seconds. With a physical resolution of 40 μm, 

the MultiEyeS image-capture module is aimed in particular at inspection 

tasks for THT placement monitoring – for example presence, 

positional accuracy and polarity. Because THT components 

differ greatly in size, different focal planes can be set in the inspection 

process according to requirements. This can vary from 2 mm to 

100 mm, which means a high clearance height and at the same time 

a high degree of flexibility in the inspection. 

Looking back, Tobias Brand is very satisfied with the decision to 

choose the MultiCam Line for THT inspection. “Following the installation 

at our site in Mulfingen, we also added more systems at our 

production site in Hungary.” The test programs are created in Germany 

and transferred to Hungary. Because the production sites are 

networked, adjustments can be made to the test programs quickly 

and easily from Germany. The programming is carried out quickly, 

and the component library is now well stocked. “It takes little more 

than half an hour to create the test programs,” observes Tobias 

Brand in conclusion. With the high speed of programming and of 

the test procedure as well as its wear-free operation, the MultiCam 

Line at ebm-papst does exactly what it claims to do: it finds errors 

early, before it’s too late – and in the tightest spaces. 

www.goepel.com; www.ebmpapst.com 



Accelerated mechanical fatigue interconnect test 

Rapid test for reliability 

of heavy wire bonds 

In modern power electronics, an enormous number of heavy wire bonds are used, which ideally withstand high 

thermal alternating loads for many years. Therefore, special attention is paid to the quality of these bonds. The 

difficulty with quality assurance lies in the fact that the service life of the bond connection must be maximized, i.e. 

its reliability. However, this cannot easily be traced back to an abstract bond quality at the time of manufacture. 

Standard quality tests, such as pull and shear tests, are therefore first and foremost a makeshift solution designed 

primarily to ensure compliance with production quality. Conclusions about the service life of a bond connection 

require much more complex – and above all more time-consuming – test procedures in which typical load 

scenarios are simulated, as they will occur in actual use. 

Siegfried Seidl, F&S Bondtec Semiconductor GmbH, Dr. Bernhard Czerny, TU Vienna 

Bond tester 5600 by F&S Bondtec. 

Source: F&S Bondtec 

The most widely used such test is the Active-Power-Cycling-Test 

with active load cycles. The component is energized under 

quasi-real conditions until a defined temperature rise is observed; 

these load cycles are then repeated until the component fails. The 

main variables here are the temperature swing that occurs, the initial 

temperature and the cycle time, which is usually a few seconds. 

Due to the significantly different CTE (coefficients of thermal expansion) 

of bond wire (aluminum) and semiconductor chip (silicon), the 

heating generates a mechanical load that eventually causes cracks 

at the ends of the wire bond after many thousands of cycles. Over 

time, these cracks then travel through the entire bond until the connection 

lifts off and the component fails. 

Disadvantages of active cycle test 

It is obvious that such a cycle test is timeconsuming: 

even with a relatively short cycle 

time of 5 seconds and a service life of only 

100,000 cycles, the measurement takes almost 

6 days. For a component (or test scenario) 

with ten times the service life, the 

measuring time would then be almost 2 

months. It is therefore becoming increasingly 

difficult to develop components with ever 

longer service lives, because it can take several 

months just to decide between several 

process variants. Consequently, it is no solution 

either to further accelerate the tests by, 

for example, increasing the temperature stroke and thus the 

thermo-mechanical load. Although this usually leads to an earlier 

failure, the mechanism of fatigue can be different from that at a 

lower temperature swing – and the significance of the test is therefore 

limited. 

This is not even the only weakness of the PC test. As a quality control 

during production, or to ascertain that process changes, different 

component suppliers, etc. do not have a harmful effect, the long 

test duration bears the risk that, in the worst case, several weeks 

worth of production might have to be discarded or devalued. 

The magic solution, to the latter problem in particular, would be a 

rapid test that, like a kind of time machine, accelerates the test and 

allows at least semi-quantitative results or comparisons between 

different component batches. 



The clamping device controls the opening width and adapts it to 

the required space, so adjacent wires can also be gripped. 

Resonance tweezer clamp: FEM simulated preload, mode of 

vibration and manufactured clamp. 



The lifting of the bond wire directly after the fatigue test. 

Dr. Khatibi‘s research group at the Vienna University of Technology 

has developed such a rapid test, which has since been implemented 

on an automated Bond tester, the F&S Bondtec 5600C, in 

the framework of a Christian Doppler Laboratory with F&S Bondtec, 

Braunau/Austria, and is now available as standard commercial 

equipment. 

Straightforward rapid testing 

The process is based on a simple idea: during a temperature 

change, the aluminum bonding wire expands almost nine times as 

much as the silicon base of the chip – the wire tugs at the connection 

interface, so to speak. This tensile stress occurs mainly along 

the wire axis, because a heavy-wire bond is considerably longer 

than wide. Precisely this mechanical tension can be reproduced by 

gripping the bond wire at the bond foot with a clamp and pulling it 

back and forth along the wire direction. The movement amplitude 

must be as large as the expansion at the corresponding temperature 

stroke. 

This principle was implemented in the BAMFIT Bond tester (Bondtec 

Accelerated Mechanical Fatigue Interconnect Test), based on a 

heavy wire bonder. The crucial new technical development, now 

patented, is a forceps clamp which is mounted in place of the bond 

tool and can grip and clamp the bond foot. In addition, it functions 

exactly like a bond wedge, i.e. it is mechanically excited by an ultrasonic 

transducer at 60 kHz and vibrates in resonance. Made of 

special steel, it is pre-stressed inwards so that the tip closes with a 

constant and defined clamping force. It can be opened by an external 

mechanism so that it continues to work in resonance when 

closed. With this clamping device, the opening width can be freely 

controlled and adapted to the space required, so that closely adjacent 

wires can also be gripped. Each resonance tweezer clamp is 

specially dimensioned, and the clamping strength and tip size are 

adapted to the wire diameter and material to be tested. 

The entire process was realized on the platform of the Bondtec 

5600 automatic Bond tester. This device features interchangeable 

bond or test heads and allows programmable, automatic operation 

at any number of test positions, even with automatic image recognition 

for accurate and reproducible positioning. Other functions of 

the automatic tester, such as automatic height measurement with 

touchdown, have also been implemented. 



Fatigue fracture pattern on the chip side of a bond wire lifter (lift-off). 

The BAMFIT test head is simply exchanged for another bond or test 

head on the machine base, so that standard pull or shear tests can 

be carried out interchangeably. If the machine already has an ultrasonic 

generator, this is also used for the tests. The machine software 

is identical to that used for bonding or testing. The training effort 

for the new test procedure is therefore comfortably low. 

A test run is straightforward: First, both the position and direction of 

the wedge bond contact are precisely located, and the clamp is 

then opened so that the clamp tips move past the wire as they are 

being lowered. Touching the bond surface is detected by the touchdown 

sensor; the clamping tweezers are then raised to the programmed 

clamping height and closed. In this state, at a defined distance 

from the bond surface, the bond wire is mechanically connected 

to the 60 kHz transducer from both sides with a constant 

clamping force via the clamping jaws. 

These clamping jaws are slightly longer than the wedge bond foot 

so that they project beyond it and achieve the largest possible 

clamping surface. During the entire duration of the ultrasonic signal, 

the bond force device applies a small constant tensile preload in the 

Z direction to prevent the connection from frictional re-bonding. This 

upward pull is so small that no additional damage is caused. The 

height sensor now allows to determine the exact time of failure 

when the wire lifts off. 

Efficient process optimization 

The ultrasonic power at the transducer can be adjusted and is directly 

proportional to the oscillation at the tip of the clamp jaws. 

These cyclic deflections are well below 1 μm and are therefore 

much lower than for the actual bonding itself. Depending on the amplitude 

applied, the number of cycles until complete lift-off is in the 


range of about 10 4 to 10 8 and above. At an excitation frequency of 

60 kHz, 10,000 cycles correspond to a measurement time of approx. 

160 ms, which can still be clearly resolved at a measurement 

interval of approx. 15 ms. In a typical service life range of 10 to 100 

times more cycles, a very acceptable measurement time of approx. 

1.5 to 15 s is achieved. Thus, a rough lifetime prognosis is achieved 

simply by measuring the time from switching on the ultrasonic oscillation 

until the wire detachment. 

In this way, an entire layout can be programmed and tested automatically 

in a very short time. Start (source), middle (stitch) or end 

(destination) bonds can be gripped and tested in the same way, as 

long as they are accessible from above, similar to the bonding itself. 

For the precise positioning of already existing bonds, the program 

and the image recognition unit (PRU) of the Bond tester can be 

used advantageously for previously bonded wires. 

As a result, the number of load cycles until final lift-off is determined 

as a function of freely programmable oscillation amplitudes, which 

can be converted into shear stress values at the joint. There is a correlation 

between pure mechanical stress amplitudes and the reference 

junction temperature differences (∆ Tj) for PC tests. Finite element 

analyses can be used to convert between the thermally and 

mechanically induced stresses in the contact interface with great 

accuracy. The mechanically determined lifetime curves show remarkable 

good agreement with results from PC tests in the ∆ Tj 

range 50 to 160 K for the same failure pattern, a bond wire lift-off. 

The mentioned tester is already in series production with first 

manufacturers of power modules. It is expected to make a valuable 

contribution to efficient quality assurance and simpler process optimization 

for thick wire bonds. Further developments for the extension 

of the technology to copper heavy wire bonds as well as ball 

bonds with copper wire are already underway and are also showing 

very positive results. 

www.fsbondtec.at 


Bond-Drahtverbindungen müssen über mehrere Dekaden und unter 

hohen thermomechanischen Belastungen zuverlässig halten. Dafür 

sorgt ein Bondtester mit einem extrem schnellen automatischen 

Qualitätstest zur Lebensdauerbestimmung der Bond-Drahtverbindungen. 

Résumé 

Les connexions des fils de liaison doivent être fiables pendant plusieurs 

années et résister à des charges thermomécaniques fortes. 

Ceci est réalisé par un testeur de liaison dans lequel est incorporé 

un test de qualité automatique et rapide ; ceci afin de déterminer la 

durée de vie des connexions des fils de liaison. 

Резюме 

Контактные соединения с использованием гибких 

металлических проводников должны служить десятилетия в 

условиях серьезных термомеханических нагрузок. 

Качественное соединение можно обеспечить только при 

использовании высокоскоростного тестера, позволяющего в 

автоматическом режиме осуществлять контроль сварок. 




3D AOI and X-ray for high-volume production 

Viscom Inc. will exhibit their inspection systems 

at the SMTconnect tradeshow in Nuremberg, 

Germany. The company‘s portfolio 

include the S3088 ultra chrome, X7056-II 3D 

X-ray, and automatic inspection assignment. 

The S3088 ultra chrome is based on the company’s 

3D AOI technology, and combines accurate 

defect detection with high inspection 

speed. This makes the system the first 

choice for efficient SMT production. 

Some of its features include inspection 

speed of up to 65 cm 2 /s and 65 mega pixels 

of information in each 50 mm x 50 mm field of 

view. The resolution is switchable, and with 

10 μm per pixel even 03015 components can 

be reliably inspected. Together with the eight 

angled-view cameras, a virtually shadow-free 

3D inspection is one of the key advantages 

of the system. Along with the high-performance 

hardware, the company delivers excit- 

ing new software features that enable automatic 

3D program generation utilizing an extensive 

IPC compliant library, Gerber and 

centroid data to create a precise and comprehensive 

3D image. With the unique 360View 

capability, side views of electronic components 

can be rendered in True to Life images. 

Automatic 3D X-ray inspection 

The X7056-II automatic 3D X-ray inspection 

system features high throughput and superb 

image quality for the requirements in highend 

electronics production. 

This new AXI in-line system can ensure precise 

inspection of hidden solder joints and 

components in production, including μBGA 

HIP (head in pillow) defects on bumps down 

to 0.2 mm Ø. 

The system is equipped with the xFastFlow 

transport module, which cuts printed circuit 

board transfer times. With this feature, up to 

three boards can be processed at the same 

time. 

The company‘s portfolio also includes their 

3D SPI and Offline uCT X-ray systems. 


www.viscom.com 

Source: Viscom Inc. 

An advantage for the S3088 ultra chrome is its 

virtually shadow-free 3D inspection. 

Rapid test method to detect defects in protective coating 

The integrity of coatings of electronic assemblies 

to protect against interference, 

harsh climate conditions, and harmful gasses 

has a significant effect on the reliability of 

those assemblies. An inability to protect 

against such risks may lead to damages that 

result in an edge escape at connection contacts 

and pore channels in paint pooling 

areas, among other potential problems. By 

using the Coating Layer Test from Zestron, 

defects in protective coatings or non-closed 

layers in μ-coatings become visible via the 

appearance of black dyed indicators. 

This non-destructive test on closed and 

dense coating represents a significant upgrade 

from commonly used methods for 

coating thickness measurement. Therefore, 

the test can also be used during production 

for cost-effective sampling. 

www.zestron.com 

Zestron introduces rapid test method to detect defects 

in protective coating of electronic assemblies. 

Source: Zestron Europe 

Purity is Found 

in the Cold 

FR4 Laser Cutting without Carbonization 

The LPKF PicoLine 3000 and the new LPKF CleanCut 

Technology are defining all new standards for cutting printed 

circuit boards with a laser. www.lpkf.com/picoline-3000 

SMTconnect: 7 – 9 May, Hall 5, Booth 434B 




Software featuring live image overlay 

Inspectis AB’s new Pro and Pro-X software 

editions feature a live image overlay comparison 

function with auto image alignment, 

making inspection clearer and easier to use. 

This function is additional to the existing 

comparison functions that includes overlay of 

two saved images. 

In addition to other inspection and measurement 

functions, Live Overlay function can be 

used as a simple image comparator to assist 

in detecting differences between a live 

image and a saved reference image. The 

company’s software makes it easy to spot 

faults, such as incorrectly placed, badly 

placed and missing parts. 

A video demonstration of this powerful feature 

can be seen on the company‘s Youtube 

channel. 

The Pro and Pro-X Windows PC software is 

compatible with all of the company’s camera 

models, from the C12 to U30 Series, and all 

editions are built upon the same carefully-designed 

and developed user interface with 

clear and intuitive controls and tools. 

www.inspect-is.com 

The Live Overlay function can assist in detecting differences 

between a live image and saved reference. 

Source: Inspectis AB 

High multi-site automotive and industrial device testing 

Automotive 

power electronics 

ICs 

are complex 

and have 

stringent 

test requirements. 

This 

limits how many IC’s can be tested in parallel, 

and inhibits the cost-effectiveness of 

modern parallel manufacturing test strat- 

Source: Cohu Inc. 

The VI1x offers a solution for CAN 

and LIN bus testing, including 

specialized loads, detailed timing 

measurements, and high voltage 

leakage testing. 

egies. The Diamondx platform, with a range 

of power and automotive instrumentation 

featuring SmartMux, enables maximum efficiency. 

The VI1x from Xcerra, a Cohu company, 

has uncompromising measurement 

quality and high parallel test efficiency. 

Leveraging a discrete channel design, the 

VI1x delivers up to 100 mA in the ± 60V range 

and up to 300 mA in the ± 20V range, while 

offering force and measure current accuracy 

as low as 1.2 nA. With a 64 channel Smart- 

Mux topology, the platform dramatically reduces 

loadboard PCB complexity, speeding 

time to market and reducing cost and risk associated 

with leading-edge automotive and 

industrial power management devices. 

Christopher Lemoine, Product Marketing Director, 

notes: “The Diamondx already offers 

an impressive range of automotive and industrial 

instrumentation products, and the 

VI1x is the latest member of this family. 

Coupled with the AT1x instrument, it offers a 

complete solution for CAN and LIN bus testing, 

including specialized loads, detailed timing 

measurements, and high voltage leakage 

testing. The HPVIx and FPVIx handle high 

power devices up to ± 100V and up to 5A, respectively, 

with the ability to combine instruments 

for higher current or voltage. All of 

these instruments feature SmartMux technology, 

to enable higher multi-site and uptime, 

and faster time to market. The benefits 

are higher yield, lower cost, and better responsiveness 

to a fast-changing market.” 

www.cohu.com 

Expansion of product portfolio for the semicon industry 

Yxlon International, a division of the Swiss 

Comet Group, has launched a range of X-ray 

inspection systems dedicated to the semicon 

industry. They offer advanced automated 2D 

and 3D inspection of bumps and filled vias to 

locate, identify and measure failures, including 

non-wetted bumps, voiding and misalignments. 

In terms of resolution, these systems 

are among the best in the market. 

The FF70 CL and FF65 CL series are fully 

automated analysis systems offering ultrahigh 

resolution and magnification for the 

smallest semiconductor defect detection. 

These systems provide automated analysis of 

TSVs, C4 bumps, 3D packages and MEMS at 

wafer, strip or component level. Lastlyk, the 

The FF70 CL has a computed laminography for 

ultra-high volume resolution and has defect 

inspection capability at a micron level. 

FF65 IL with its integrated loader is designed 

to meet the needs of volume manufacturing 

whilst maintaining market leading features 

and benefits. They were developed under collaboration 

with Nagoya Electric Works. 

“Our customers in the semicon industry 

require analyzing continuously smaller features 

at higher speed. Classical electrical 

Source: Yxlon International 

testing and optical inspection are coming to 

their limits, especially in complex 3D packaging”, 

states Eike Frühbrodt, Vice President 

Product and Project Management. “The 

FF70 CL with its computed laminography for 

ultra-high volume resolution can handle this 

challenge easily. An air-suspended high precision 

manipulator, anti-vibration mechanics 

and 7 tons of machine weight make it an 

ideal choice for defect inspection at micron 

level. And when speed is more an issue than 

ultra-high resolution, the FF65 CL and FF65 

IL will deliver. All three systems are an excellent 

complimentary range to our existing 

product portfolio for the electronics market 

with Cougar and Cheetah EVO, as well as 

FF20 CT and FF35 CT.” 

www.yxlon.com 


Latest range of AOI technology 

A challenge when programming AOI systems 

is the detection of all non-conforming 

placements, especially those related to 

solder joints, without creating ‘’false calls’’. 

This commonly results in long debugging 

time and complex programming. 

Implementing a new AOI system can take 

several months and the ongoing creation of 

new programmes to increase its reliability is 

labour intensive. A programmer can override 

programs and instruct a machine to accept all 

boards or reject all components and solder 

joints, depending on the settings. 

Mek offers a line of inspection equipment for 

maximized defects coverage, with minimum 

human interaction. The benefits of ISO-Spector 

M1A include: 

• Engineer independent, exceptionally fast, 

automatic programming 

• Self-learning algorithms for solder-joint inspection 

using Artificial Intelligence 

• Dramatically reduced programming time 

• Less ‘’false calls’’ and debugging time 

• More reliable inspection results 

The full 3D ISO-Spector M1A delivers 

a self-learning algorithm for 

solder joint inspection that will 

detect deviation outside the expected 

standard appearance of a 

solder joint. A proprietary solution 

with Artificial Intelligence 

monitors production and adjusts 

hundreds of tolerance values 

where needed to maximize detection. 

The programmer does not have to specify inspection 

locations, light settings or acceptance 

criteria. This reduces programming time 

and removes human variable to ensure reliable 

inspection results. Overruling settings 

is still doable, but experience has proven that 

it is rarely needed. Typically programming a 

new part number requires 1-2 minutes and 

part numbers can be stored in the library to 

reduce programming time for future NPI’s. 

Also the desktop PowerSpector GTAz 520 is 

designed for maximum defect coverage with 

short programming times. It is equipped 

with 9 cameras: 1 top and 8 side cameras. 

Mek offers a line of inspection equipment 

for maximized defects coverage, with 

minimum human interaction. 

Source: Mek 

The optical unit is configurable to fit all needs 

of today. 

The SpectorBOX GTAz 550 “Bottom Up/Top 

Down” system is engineered to accommodate 

solder frames on return and/or feed conveyors. 

The system offers bottom top, or dual 

side inspection, deploying up to 18 cameras, 

Z axis positioning and auto-focus. The design 

is for the inspection of THT components to 

identify defects such as presence/absence, 

wrong polarity, type, and bent pins. Integration 

alternatives are enhanced by its slim, 

compact mechanical design. 

www.marantz-electronics.com 

Smart Manufacturing capabilities for inspection 

As ‘Your Partner for Smart Factory 

Realization,’ Koh Young Technology 

has true 3D solutions 

with expanded capabilities that 

improve production throughput 

and yield. 

Leveraging its core strengths in 

robotics and true 3D measurement, 

the company brought the 

next generation of accuracy to 

the pin inspection, machined 

parts, and semiconductor inspection 

markets. The KY-P3 delivers 

true 3D inspection data for 

single array, forked, press-fit, and 

other pin configurations for Final 

Optical Inspection (FOI) with applications 

like engine control 

units. The system also measures 

pin height, solder height, and pin 

tip separation with the highest 

accuracy and repeatability. 

The latest Machining Optical Inspection 

(MOI) system was also 

appealing for visitors. Developed 

around its core 3D measurement 

technologies, the MOI system 

inspects metal case surfaces for 

scratches, cracks, and stains, 

along with height, diameter, vol- 

ume, and more. Committed to 

bringing about “Smart Manufacturing” 

innovations, the system 

delivers both visual and process 

inspection simultaneously, which 

improves process yield and reduces 

false calls. 

Beyond pin and machined part inspection 

capabilities, the latest 

Meister D solution focuses on 

the SiP (System-in-Package) assembly 

process. This machine 

improves production yields on 

high density modules comprised 

of bare die and passives by integrating 

defect analysis and metrology 

software. With small 

sized component inspection 

down to 008004 inch, the system 

overcomes challenges in 

semiconductor packaging, which 

are compounded by chip stacking 

and wafer thinning. What’s 

more, the system also allows 

machine learning-based crack inspection. 

SMTconnect, Booth 4A-233, 

4A-231 

www.kohyoung.com 


ADVERTISERS 

Advertisers / Editorials 

ACC Electronix 48 

Aegis Software 67 

AIM Metals & Alloys LP 47 

ALL Circuits 12 

ASM 44 

ASSCON Systemtechnik- 

Elektronik GmbH 75 

Asys 46 

AT&S 58 

Bayern Innovativ Ges. f. Innovation 17 

BJZ GmbH & Co. KG 92 

BTU International, Inc 75 

Calsonic Kansei 60 

Christian Koenen 14 

Christian Koenen GmbH 28 

Cohu 88 

Comus International 64 

Dow 46 

ebm-papst 82 

Electrolube 67, 74, 76 

Elektor 27 

EMA Design Automation 16 

ERSA GmbH, Wertheim 3 

Essemtec 64, 80 

Europlacer 72 

FEINMETALL GmbH 65 

F&S Bondtec 59, 84 

Fuji Europe Corporation 34 

Göpel electronic 82 

IBL-Löttechnik GmbH 89 

Inertec Löttechnik GmbH 63 

Inovaxe 81 

Inspectis AB 88 

IPC 6, 20, 27 

IPTE 5, 22, 79 

ITW EAE – Speedline World 

Headquarters 9 

Juki Automation Systems. 62 

KIC 17, 60, 80 

Koh Young Technology 2, 89 

Kurtz Ersa 48 

Kurtz Ersa Inc 62 

Kyzen 75 

LPKF Laser & Electronics AG 87 

MacDermid Alpha Electronics 

Solutions 59 

Mek 89 

Mentor 58 

Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH 18 

Messe München 24 

MI Elektronika 72 

MicroCare 55 

MicroCare Europe BVBA 47 

Musashi Engineering 

Europe GmbH 13 

Panacol 66 

Pemtron Europe GmbH 83 

PIEK International Education 

Centre (I.E.C.) GmbH 79 

PRO Design Electronic 44 

productronica 27 

Rehm Thermal Systems 15, 17, 66, 68 

Siemens 58 

Speedprint Technology 14 

Super Dry Totech 14 

Stäubli Tec-Systems GmbH 

Robotics, 37 

TAC Software AG 17 

Taiwan Electrical and Electronic 

Manufacturer’s Association 32 

Taiwan External Trade Development 

Council 32 

TopLine 16 

ULT 15, 59 

Viscom Inc. 47, 87 

VJ Electronix, Inc. 80 

Whizz Systems, Inc 62 

Yamaha Motor Europe 65, 63 

Yxlon International 1, 38, 88 

Zestron 63, 87 

ZEVATRON Löttechnik GmbH 46 

ISSN 1618–5587 

Trade journal for all fields of production in the 

electronics industry, manufacturing equipment, 

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Publisher: Katja Kohlhammer 

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© 2018 by Konradin-Verlag Robert Kolhammer GmbH, 

Leinfelden-Echterdingen 


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