Enjoying your free trial? Only 9 days left! Upgrade Now
Brand-New
Dashboard lnterface
ln the Making
We are proud to announce that we are developing a fresh new dashboard interface to improve user experience.
We invite you to preview our new dashboard and have a try. Some features will become unavailable, but they will be added in the future.
Don't hesitate to try it out as it's easy to switch back to the interface you're used to.
No, try later
Go to new dashboard
Published on Mar 16,2020
Like
Share
Download
Create a Flipbook Now
Read more
Published on Mar 16,2020
The 39th Issue of SMT Today Read More
Home Explore Issue 39 - March/April 2020 - SMT Today
Publications:
Followers:
Follow
Publications
Read Text Version
More from SMT Today Group
P:01

mar/apr bitron: 2020 issue experience that makes a smttoday.com difference MEXICO EDITION

P:02

Competition Low Quality Competition Stencil Roll Causes High Defects per PCB 0 Defects

P:03

The only Marketing Agency Dedicated to the Electronics Manufacturing Industry! Branding Website Design Trade Show Graphics Brochure Design Graphic Design Social Media Management Corporate Video & Animations T +44(0)1292 834 009 smt-marketing.com E [email protected] Part of the SMT Today Group

P:04

welco welcome to smt today EDITOR’S NOTES Editor Wendy Tindle [email protected] Welcome to the latest issue of SMT Today! global sales Firstly, I feel it prudent to mention the recent pandemic outbreak of the Coronavirus and Andrew Carpenter hope all our readers and contributors are spared and afforded good health. The virus [email protected] outbreak has unfortunately become one of the biggest threats to the global economy and financial markets, and no one knows how long this may last – we can only hope it is events & sales over soon! Stacey Bonnar However, we are springing forward this month with our very first ‘Focus on Mexico’ issue of the magazine - and with Mexico exporting over $80 billion annually in electronics products - [email protected] why not? The progression of manufacturing in Mexico over the last 50 years has increased tenfold, and we felt it was time to promote this booming hive of industry, highlighting some digital Marketing of the advantages of setting up business there, and successes in the country. Cameron Shaw We have started with an introduction to Manufacturing in Mexico, followed on by our front cover interview with Mr Manuel Mamone, who is the Plant Manager at Bitron De [email protected] Mexico Electronics Division in Queretaro. Manuel gives us an insight and history behind how Bitron (or Elbi as it was then) began with 3 brothers starting a small business to web & Marketing manufacture household appliance components, to 65 years later being a global leader Gordon Brown in the research, development and manufacturing of mechatronic devices and systems for the automotive, appliance, HVAC and energy industries, with 17 sales and technical [email protected] centres worldwide. We also have an interesting article from Mr Greg Benoit, Director of Business Development design for Cogiscan, who explains why near-shoring has become so prevalent in the industry and Lorna McClurg how this has caused a direct increase in Mexican OEMs and EMS providers requesting [email protected] traceability information and quotations for a traceability solution. Mr Brent Fischthal, Senior Marketing Manager for Koh Young America has submitted Published by a fantastic testimonial from one of their Mexican partners. They explain what they are looking for and expect when selecting a Supplier, or Partner as they prefer to describe them as, and how Koh Young have excelled in these areas. So, with these focus pieces on Mexico, along with other articles from Shenmao on contacts Meeting the Rising Reliability Demands in Automotive Electronics Applications and Part Analytics’ Cognitive Sourcing and Quoting Platform, our regular features of the latest SMT Today Ltd, 1 Dow Road, Industry News and Red Carpet celebrations – there is something for everyone. Prestwick International The next issue of SMT Today has an editorial deadline of 23rd March 2020. If you would like to advertise with us, contribute articles, news or high profile press releases, please Aerospace Park, Prestwick, contact us at [email protected]. Ayrshire, UK, KA9 2TU Tel:+44(0)1292 834 009 WWendEy NDYTakecare! Email: [email protected] All right reserved The content of smttoday is protected by copyright law, full details of which are available from the publisher. While great care has been taken in the receipt and handling of material, production and accuracy of the content in this magazine, the publisher will not accept any responsibility for any errors, loss or omissions which may occur. Page 4 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:05

ome inside content this issue... 6 Focus on Mexico 8 6. An Introduction to Mexico 12 Manufacturing Director Spotlight Interview with industry experts 8. Interview with Mr. Manuel Mamone, Plant Manager at Bitron de Mexico Electronics Division in Queretaro Technology Today Industry experts share their knowledge 12. M eeting the Rising Reliability Demands in Automotive Electronics Applications, Shenmao Technology Inc. 26. P orqué Trazabilidad?, Cogiscan 30. P art Analytics’ Cognitive Sourcing and Quoting Platform 34. A Partner, Not Just a Supplier - Bitron Chose Koh Young as their Inspection ‘Partner’ 14 Industry News 32 What’s happening in the world of electronics Red Carpet Out & about in the industry magazine contacts... Editorial & Advertising Enquiries To enquire about available advertising opportunities, please contact: [email protected] | smttoday.com NEXT EDITION May/June edition Deadline for content: 23rd March 2020 Page 5

P:06

manufactmeuxriicn Mexico’s entry to the manufacturing arena began more than 50 years ago. At its inception, the draw for foreign manufacturers was its low-cost labour rates. Today the manufacturing landscape and Mexico is much different; major industries in Mexico have attracted global manufacturing companies by proving the technical skills and capabilities to compete not only in North America, but on the world stage also. Over the years, simple assembly operations Device, Automotive  and Electronics.  Cities in Mexico have evolved into complex like Tijuana are growing hubs for manufacturing operations including manufacturing activities, with companies televisions, automobiles, industrial and such as Volkswagen, GM, Bombardier, Bose, personal products. Mexico attracts U.S. Eaton and other world class corporations all manufacturers that need low-cost solutions establishing themselves in country. near-by for higher value end products and According to Mexico’s Secretariat of the just-in-time components. Economy, manufacturing companies in Mexico from the same industries are grouped Products manufactured in Mexico reach far or “clustered” together in various geographic beyond simple assembly, it is common to locales. This enables them to support each find companies that design, develop and other’s production activities – a unique and manufacture some of the most complex effective concept. products in the marketplace in a variety Mexico, provides the best combination of of industries. Read: Products You Didn’t assets for sourcing your products or setting Realize Were Made in Mexico. up a manufacturing plant, having the most free trade agreements in the world, NAFTA/ Generally speaking, products manufactured USMCA (North America) and CPTPP gives in Mexico are high-mix, low-volume, such as manufacturers and suppliers tariff-free automotive and aerospace parts. This level access to 11 countries throughout the Asia- of product is more expensive to move from Pacific (Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, China to North America when compared Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, to shipping from Mexico. They also require Singapore and Vietnam). more engineering skills than many products Larger foreign firms with global experience manufactured in China, which trend toward can set up operations in Mexico readily. low-mix, high-volume, such as sunglasses Smaller companies are usually advised or clothing. to seek professional help from a qualified consulting firm or by working with a partner As a result of Mexico’s cost-effectiveness, in Mexico. global companies with a stake in the North Mexico’s low landed costs are attractive American market, including Nestle and the when considered in comparison to other BMW Group, have increased investments in developing country options. It is suited to their Mexican factories in recent months. In serve as a manufacturing venue for short 2014, Nestle planned a $1 billion investment to medium-run products that have a high over five years to build and expand three of its degree of engineered content. Its proximity factories in Mexico. And just last year, the BMW to the United States enables technical and Group announced its new automotive plant production personnel to coordinate activities in San Luis Potosi, Mexico as a boost to their to bridge temporary and physical distances. “regional production flexibility in the Americas.” The closeness to markets, as well as to the consumer base, fulfills the just-in-time Tijuana,  the most visited  border city  in requirements of both. Additionally, Mexico’s the globe  has become a manufacturing powerhouse for companies from all over the world pertaining to major industries in Mexico such as  Aerospace & Defense,  Medical Page 6 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:07

FACT: MEXICO EXPORTS OVER $80 BILLION ANNUALLY IN ELECTRONICS PRODUCTS efforts to enforce patent and intellectual manufacturers that already have foreign $ property laws are advanced compared with business relations with other countries may those in place in other low-cost nations. Political be less inclined to learn new processes and risk associated with the country is minimal. compliance measures necessary to operate in Although the average wage rate in Mexico is Mexico. For example, in Mexico, companies higher than in China and other emerging Asian maintain independent operational control. economies, the workforce in Mexico has a large Whereas, in China, manufacturers must partner pool of highly educated and skilled engineers. with a local company or investor, which can Also, freight charges from China has significantly lead to challenges regarding confidentiality and increased over the years, which make up for the bureaucratic decisions. difference in labor cost. Second, manufacturers can benefit from Mexico’s advantage today Mexico’s skilled trade workforce at a lower labor cost relative to the U.S. or, at times, China. For Manufacturers that have not expanded manufacturing positions specifically, the wages operations internationally or have previously have increased. looked to China as their sole trading partner In today’s dynamic manufacturing environment, have started to consider manufacturing in companies have several attractive options Mexico as an alternative. For enterprises to consider when expanding to a new considering such a move, it’s important to manufacturing location. Mexico is poised, understand the benefits and drawbacks of standing ready, willing and able to attract world expanding operations to Mexico as opposed class manufacturing companies to their shores. to China. US companies have been manufacturing in First, Mexico’s proximity to the U.S. means Mexico for 50 years, making now the right time lower shipping costs and the ability to work in to find out if you should be too! similar, or the same, time zones. Conversely, Page 7

P:08

SDPOIRTELCIGTOHRTSPDIORTELIC SMT Today had the pleasure of talking with Mr. Manuel Mamone, the Plant Manager at Bitron de Mexico Electronics Division in Queretaro. Bitron: SMT TODAY: MANUEL, THANK YOU Spain and then acquired Bitron, Experience VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US IN a manufacturer of video-entry that Makes OUR INAUGURAL MEXICO EDITION phones. The event marked its entry a Difference OF SMT TODAY. PLEASE TELL OUR into electronics. Throughout the 70s, READERS A LITTLE ABOUT BITRON? Bitron continued expansion and with Mr. Manuel MANUEL MAMONE: You are most diversification by establishing new Mamone, Plant welcome. Bitron is a privately held companies and acquiring others, whilst global company positioned as a leader staying focused on the automotive and Manager at Bitron de in the research, development, and appliance markets. Mexico Electronics manufacturing of mechatronic devices I’d like to specifically mention that in and systems for the automotive, 1975, Bitron moved into the automotive Division in Queretaro appliance, HVAC, and energy industries. market and became a supplier to FIAT. The Bitron Group has a global presence We have been working together with with 15 manufacturing plants and them for 25 years. This year we are development centers across Italy, celebrating the Silver anniversary of the Spain, Poland, Turkey, China, and two Fiat Bitron partnership! here in Mexico. There are an additional 17 sales & technical centers across We operate in markets Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, strictly related to China, Russia, Japan, Romania, the the environment. United States, and Mexico. We also Our strategy is to have our aftermarket support center contribute and in Italy. We operate in markets strictly improve it, together related to the environment. Our strategy is to contribute and improve it, together with our customers. with our customers. We believe that We believe that to to act responsibly and sustainably is act responsibly the only way to improve efficiency and and sustainably ensure quality, whilst reducing the is the only way to environmental impact. improve efficiency SMT TODAY: CAN YOU TELL US and ensure quality MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF while reducing the BITRON AND HOW THIS ALL CAME environmental impact. ABOUT? MANUEL MAMONE: Of course, it’s SMT TODAY: THAT IS REALLY QUITE a remarkable story! In August 1955, AMAZING, MANUEL. IT SEEMS THAT three brothers, Enrico, Giovanni, LASTING PARTNERSHIPS LIKE THIS and Carlo Bianco started a new ONE ARE EXCEEDINGLY business to manufacture household RARE NOWADAYS. appliance components near Turin, MANUEL MAMONE: Absolutely correct. Italy - and soon blossomed into Elbi Bitron works hard to earn and keep our International in 1960. Thanks to Carlo’s creative contributions and Giovanni’s commercial and manufacturing initiatives, Elbi International began producing and exporting solenoid valves and pressure switches. By 1965, Elbi reached 250 employees and within a year had nearly doubled the employee group, which prompted relocation to a new facility in Collegno. In 1968, Elbi expanded into Barcelona, Page 8 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:09

partnerships. It was during the 70s and early 80s, that the company really focused on developing automotive and appliance electronics for its customers, whilst still growing through acquisition. In 1985, the company set up EDB (or Elbi do Brazil), its first overseas plant for automotive and appliance components, to be closer to its end user. It was in 1990 that Bitron solidified its position as an Original Design In 2014, we unveiled Bitron de Manufacturer (or ODM), designing and building electronic products for Mexico here in Querétaro. major automotive and appliance manufacturers. In 1992, the world saw By 2016, we were in full the birth of the common corporate identity: BITRON. What’s more, we production mode. The growth began to strategically expand across the globe, in countries like Poland, was tremendous, and we quickly Turkey, Germany, and China. realized we needed a new, second plant. In 2002 we began offering contract manufacturing services (EMS). During the 2000s, Bitron grew rapidly with new and larger manufacturing Page 9 facilities across the world. For example, in 2006 Bitron developed its first HVAC electronics application, then in 2009 diversified into the energy market - with the design of the smart meters - then created the Bitron HVAC Division, to serve HVAC markets, in 2010. Now, here is where it gets even more exciting for me. In 2014, we unveiled Bitron de Mexico here in Querétaro. By 2016, we were in full production mode. The growth was tremendous, and we quickly realized we needed a new, second plant. In 2017, Bitron de Mexico opened a new dedicated electronics plant. Since then we have been running full steam ahead! SMT TODAY: WHAT ARE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND FOCUS OF BITRON? in 1975, Bitron MANUEL MAMONE: Well, in this moved into the era of rapid change, we believe that the only certain reference automotive point is mankind, with its market and extraordinary capability to adapt became a supplier and succeed. For this reason our to FIAT. We have employees - and the increasing been working community of stakeholders - are together with essential for our company to master economic, technological, them for and environmental challenges 25 years. successfully. We have long- This year we are standing experience in our celebrating the traditional markets and a Silver anniversary continuous improvement of the Fiat Bitron drive in technology and partnership! innovation, these facets enable us to meet this challenge. Our focus is trifold. Quality and innovation, combined with a strong focus on the supply chain, help us commit to product excellence and deliver the highest standard to our customers. SMT TODAY: WHICH OF YOUR CUSTOMERS SHARE THIS VIEW? MANUEL MAMONE: We have worked hard to build a customer list including the world’s best. It’s a “Who’s Who” list. Thanks in part to our focus on supplying mechatronic products for automotive interiors, powertrain and transmission for the commercial vehicle, motorcycle, and scooter industries. Bitron produces automotive devices and systems, including critical applications like safety and power systems - from the concept to the process - improving the R&D and technologies contribution to the OEM. Specifically, we are proud to call automotive and motorcycle giants like Audi, BMW, Daimler, Denso, Ducati, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, Husqvarna, KTM, Mahle, Mercedes Benz, MV Augusta, Piaggio, PSA (Peugeot, Citroen), Renault, Toyota, VW Group, Yamaha, and more, our customers! Beyond Automotive, we work closely with appliance and HVAC customers like Arcelik, Bosch, B/S/H, Candy, Daikin Group, Electrolux, General Electric, Grundfos, LG, Miele, Samsung, Vestel, Whirlpool/Indesit, and more. However, we prefer to think of them as partners. Together, we work to design and deliver exceptionally high-quality products. SMT TODAY: OF COURSE! WHAT GUIDES YOUR DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS? MANUEL MAMONE: Quality is one of the fundamental principles of the Bitron Group. Our plants are certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and where applicable, IATF 16949. Many of the plants

P:10

feactounrte. are certified OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001, and SMT TODAY: THAT IS AN IMPRESSIVE ISO 27001. With our continuous improvement EXPANSION. HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED mentality, we are working to certify the other TO SUPPORT AND GROW YOUR Bitron plants to these same exacting standards. CUSTOMER BASE? MANUEL MAMONE: We support our SMT TODAY: MANUEL, YOU ARE customers by working closely with them. THE PLANT MANAGER FOR THE Based on application requirements ELECTRONICS DIVISION HERE IN we help with product design to ensure QUERETARO. CAN YOU TELL ME manufacturability and stay with them A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT’S HISTORY? through project validation. We complement MANUEL MAMONE: Sure. As I mentioned this customer dedication with world-class before, Bitron Electronics started with video- electronics manufacturing which positions entry phones in 1969 and expanded with us as a reliable partner. More importantly, we IBM printers in 1980. By 1990 we were an work to build a strategic partnership aimed at ODM, designing and manufacturing electronic forming a longterm relationship, with mutual products for automotive and appliance satisfaction for us all. manufacturers. In 2002 we began offering electronics manufacturing services (EMS), SMT TODAY: THAT IS A VERY with a focus on the appliance market. Shortly COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH. thereafter, we began expanding operations: WHAT ARE THE MAIN INDUSTRIES Poland in 2005, China in 2007. The growth SERVED BY BITRON MEXICO? trajectory was impressive and Bitron formed MANUEL MAMONE: Our nearly 250 fulltime the Electronics Division in 2012. Bitron realized employees help support several markets, the strategic importance to the growth in primarily automotive, appliances and HVAC the electronics industry and underscored its and energy products. For the automotive importance by creating the Bitron Electronics customers, our focus is on instrument panels, Division. This new division merged three engine control units, seat memory ECU and electronics facilities to create greater efficiency lighting units. The appliance group of customers and integration of R&D, manufacturing, focuses on the main boards, brushless motor procurement, and logistics - and it worked. drives, user interfaces, sensors, and LED Since then we have opened new or additional lighting modules. The HVAC group focus on the operations in China, Romania, Italy, and of heating and water management products like course here in Mexico. brushless motor inverters and user interfaces, plus pump and booster inverters, and finally, Page 10 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:11

ournumbers2019 987m€ 6650 sales consolidated human resources 10% R&D (intercompany excluded) 15 17 manufacturing plants sales & technical & development centres support centres we focus our Energy group on Electric Vehicle Bitron realized the strategic wall box chargers. These are just a cross section important to the growth in of our products. We support all of these and future product designs with over 240 global R&D engineers, the electronics industry and dedicated to helping our customers turn any idea into underscored its importance a reliable product. by creating the Bitron Electronics Division. This SMT TODAY: WHAT TYPE OF PROCESS new division merged three TECHNOLOGIES HAVE YOU ADOPTED TO electronics facilities to SUPPORT MANUFACTURING SUCH A DIVERSE create greater efficiency PRODUCT MIX? and integration of R&D, MANUEL MAMONE: I mentioned our drive to set the highest level of quality Standards within Bitron - we manufacturing, procurement, want to exceed our commitment to our customers and logistics. And it worked. for every project , regardless of the industry or where the final product is used in the field. So, we build requiring companies to work even more close everything as if it were “mission critical.” We underpin together. Strategic alliances, new manufacturing this drive with total transparency, traceability, and plants in globally strategic locations, and a worldwide accountability for our partner customers. To that marketing and sales organization, ensure that Bitron end, we selected several partner suppliers to deliver is well-positioned to deliver quality, innovation, and complete inline printed circuit boards and final efficiency to our business partners. We have the assembly with testing. We have full traceability and experience that makes a difference to our partners, automatic moisture sensitivity control across our lines, ourselves, and our environment. Thank you for this which includes best-in-class 3D SPI and AOI systems, opportunity to share a little bit about Bitron. as well as other quality confirmation tools like In- SMT TODAY: YOU’RE WELCOME MANUEL. circuit Test and X-ray. Complementing the board HERE’S TO YOUR CONTINUED SUCCESS. assembly process, we have reconfigurable routers CHEERS! and mechanical assembly tools, accompanied by MANUEL MAMONE: A presto! multi-assembly cells that integrate automatic welding, testing, and packaging. All these systems and the www.bitron.net associated production results are monitored in real- time to maintain our quality standards. SMT TODAY: TRULY STATE-OF-THE-ART MANUFACTURING! DO YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS? MANUEL MAMONE: Globalization and shorter product life cycles mean faster time-to-market, Page 11

P:12

TECHNOTLOODGAYYTTOEDCAH While the future of autonomous vehicles is promising, demands and requirements continue increasing on automotive devices. Automotive devices are expected to be smaller, lighter, multifunctional and featuring with quick response communications. Reliability is emerging as a top priority since it related to safety of drivers and passengers. Reliability requirements for automotive are higher than for consuming electronic products while taking into consideration the impact of the extreme environment, season alternation and vibration while driving. As a result, extremely high-reliability devices are necessary. Thermal cycle test (TCT) is a method used to evaluate the reliability of electronic products. Thermal cycling is performed under harsh conditions of extreme high/low temperature cycling. The critical failure factor in TCT is thermal stress comes from coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch during the temperature cycle. The CTE mismatch within assembly structure is significant. Failures occur under continuous thermal impact of expansion and contraction. Solder joints play an important role connecting the package and the PCB, provide electrical and a mechanical bonding in between. The thermal stress from CTE mismatch also impacting solder joints: increase the solder strength to prevent thermal fatigue. Meeting the Rising The critical failure factor in TCT Reliability Demands is thermal stress comes from in Automotive coefficients of thermal expansion Electronics (CTE) mismatch during the temperature Applications cycle. The CTE mismatch within assembly By Watson Tseng, structure is significant. General Manager, SHENMAO America Inc. Page 12 Microstructure of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu There are two main ways to strengthen solder strength. The first is dispersion strengthening, which introducing a second phase like intermetallic compounds (IMC) through the addition of an alloying element such as Ag, Cu, etc. The Ag content affects solder mechanical properties. The higher in Ag content, the finer of dispersed Ag3Sn IMC and solder matrix grain size, result in high strength and fatigue resistance, and hence resulting in higher thermal cycle reliability. To date, Sn-Ag-Cu is the ideal lead-free solder alloy for most applications. Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu, also known as SAC405, is a popular candidate when thermal reliability is taken in consideration. The second method used to increase solder strength is solid solution strengthening, in which adding atoms of one element (additive) to the crystalline lattice of based element (Sn). The local nonuniformity in crystalline lattice, which induced by atom size difference of additive and Sn, make dislocations cannot easily move around this interruption. Larger differences in size create more distortion of the crystalline | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:13

Solid Solution Strengthening SHENMAO’s high-reliability solder alloys are able to meet the demands of automotive electronics devices. To keep pace with the requirements reliability than SAC405; similar soldering temperature to that of and demands of the automotive a typical SAC solder alloy and good soldering ability. electronics industry, Additionally, all hazardous substances like lead element must high-reliability lead-free alloys be avoided to meet all RoHS requirements. must be developed with the SHENMAO’s new high-reliability solder alloys meet all these goals of higher thermal cycle needs. SHENMAO’s PF916-S and PF918-S are solder alloys reliability than SAC405... with Ag, Bi and other minor additive, features a similar soldering temperature window to SnAgCu alloys, allowing for easy lattice, resulting in higher strength being obtained. Bi, In and adoption into existing packaging processes. Sb are common candidate of solid solution strengthening in PF918-S has higher thermal reliability performance than typical solder alloy. solder alloys such as SAC305 and SAC405, and is suitable To keep pace with the requirements and demands of the for use in automotive electronics applications. While PF918-S automotive electronics industry, high-reliability lead-free alloys provides improved thermal reliability, SHENMAO’s PF916-S, must be developed with the goals of higher thermal cycle which is doped by Sb, has the best performance in thermal cycle and mechanical shock. Both high-reliability alloys exhibit similar melting behavior to SAC405 as well as excellent tensile strength and ductility, making them ideal for use in high- reliability automotive soldering applications. www.shenmao.com Page 13

P:14

INDUNSETWRYS INDUSTRYNE hot off the press counterfeit devices screening. Quadra Tool, LLC as its newest representative 3 helps Absolute EMS to isolate for the SMT and Electronics Assembly defective product before it reaches Market throughout Kentucky, Absolute EMS, Inc. chooses their customers. Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi DAGE for high quality X-ray www.absolute-ems.com and Georgia. inspection for production line quality control CheckSum Establishes Dave Trail, VP, Electronics Segment of Absolute EMS, Inc. is pleased to New Distribution Agreement Critical Manufacturing commented: announce that it has purchased with Adaptsys “I’ve known the team at Process a Quadra™ 3 high quality X-ray CheckSum is pleased to announce that Automation & Tool for more than two inspection system from DAGE, part of it is partnering with the Adaptsys Group decades, and their professionalism, Nordson ELECTRONICS SOLUTIONS. to sell its full range of in-circuit test success and respect within their The Quadra 3 is specifically designed solutions, including Parallel Functional territory is unmatched. We are happy for high quality X-ray inspection in Test, to the European market. to be included in one of the strongest PCBA production applications. “As an established supplier into this line cards in the region, and I’m Doug Dow, Chief Operating Officer, important market, we are delighted confident that they will be successful commented: “Absolute EMS has a to make this strategic distribution in promoting and supporting the sophisticated customer base, working agreement with Adaptsys. Their sale of Critical Manufacturing’s most with micro-BGAs and leadless experienced sales and support team advanced, highly configurable MES componentry. Our objective is to have are a huge asset for our customers,” solution, created expressly to help our equipment sets remain in front of said James Holava Director of Global manufacturers leverage IIoT and our customers’ technical requirements Sales at CheckSum. advance towards Industry 4.0.” at all times. We are very excited to have Adaptsys, a major distributor to the donated our former X-ray equipment electronics manufacturing market in www.criticalmanufacturing.com and move forward with the state-of- Europe has built a successful track the-art Quadra 3.” record of supporting customers with www.processauto.us innovative solutions. Previously, performing X-ray inspection “Establishing this partnership with Hanwha Announces the at 0.95µm resolution could only be CheckSum allows us to broaden our ‘3 Kings’: Top Reps Who Build achieved using an open X-ray tube offering by delivering the benefits of the Brand containing a tungsten filament. their advanced parallel test solutions Hanwha Techwin Automation Americas These tubes require regular filament to our customers,” said James recently announced the ‘3 Kings’-three exchanges, often every 100 operational Cawkell Sales Director at Adaptsys. reps who go above and beyond to hours or so. Quadra 3 features the “CheckSum’s test solutions create support and build the brand. revolutionary QuadraNT™ sealed strong synergy with our current “We appreciate and value all our rep X-ray tube from Nordson DAGE, which offerings allowing us to support our partners, but this year Hanwha decided requires no regular maintenance. customers with flexible solutions for all to select the three top performing reps Absolute EMS now enjoys uninterrupted of their test and programming needs”. to rein as our three kings,” commented operation at 0.95µm. Additionally, www.checksum.com Jonny Nichols, Director of Sales & Quadra 3 is ideal for detecting a Marketing, Hanwha. “We made this wide range of manufacturing defects Critical Manufacturing announcement at our sales meeting including BGA, QFN and IGBT Enters Rep Agreement during IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego.” attachment, PTH filling, interfacial with Process Automation The three kings are: voiding, component cracking and & Tool, LLC Mr. Ron Torenko, of Torenko & Critical Manufacturing, an ASM PT Associates. Torenko & Associates has company, is pleased to announce the been specializing in capital equipment appointment of Process Automation & since 1977. This gives our principals the advantage of our people spending 100 percent of their time on selling equipment and not being diverted to consumables. Mr. Torenko has also been awarded Hanwha’s Top Gun rep award two consecutive years: 2018 and 2019. Page 14 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:15

INDUSTRYNE CHANGING THE FINANCIAL An In-Line depanelling machine that does NOT REQUIRE MODEL FOR the addition of PCB specific fixtures systems PCB ROUTING [email protected] | getecha.com

P:16

featurecont. Mr. Kurt Whitlock of Kurt Whitlock Associates. The MUST3 solderability tester offers the As part of the division’s senior leadership For the 40 years, Kurt Whitlock Associates has capability to measure down to 0.001mN. It team, Barber’s primary objectives will be to searched the world for cutting edge companies is THE most accurate and comprehensively partner with customers to develop technical to represent and distribute to electronics equipped test system of its type in the world. and manufacturing solutions to support assembly customers and potential markets. It has automatic component alignment and business growth. He will further strengthen Their array of companies provide unmatched testing, immediate pass/fail information on Inovar’s engineering and manufacturing in- solutions to meet high volume, high mix, and completion of each test, step and repeat house capabilities through the benefit of his mid to low volume requirements with the same function for multi-leaded devices, testing ability subject matter expertise in electronic design level of service and technical support. down to 0201 devices and more. and manufacturing. And last but not least, Mr. Murray Percival Jr. of www.horizonsales.com Barber stated, “I am very excited to be a part of the Murray Percival Company. Murray Percival the Inovar family. In my experience with Inovar Company is a third-generation family owned as a customer, I have watched the company business that is celebrating their 60th year become one of the premier EMS partners in business this year. They are currently the in the aerospace and defense marketplace, leading supplier to the Midwest’s electronics and I look forward to seeing what we can industry, offering thousands of capital and further improve to help our customers and the distribution products as well as the industry’s warfighter be successful.” leading process enabler. www.inovar-inc.com www.hanwhaprecisionmachinery.com Horizon Sales is pleased with sales Inovar, Inc. Strengthens Senior Four Industry Leaders Receive IPC activity as Gen3 product line Leadership Team by Appointing President’s Award builds momentum in North America Aerospace & Defense Industry Michael Ford, Dale Lee, Joe O’Neil Horizon Sales is pleased to announce that their Veteran Joe Barber and S. Manian Ramkumar honored initial efforts as the exclusive North American Inovar, Inc. is proud to announce that Joe for their on-going leadership in IPC distributor for the Gen3 product line have Barber has joined their senior leadership team and the electronics industry kicked off tremendously. Since the start of their as Chief Engineer of the Logan Aerospace & relationship with Gen3 at the beginning of 2020, Defense division. In recognition of their significant contributions Horizon has equipped their Brighton, Michigan Mr. Barber joins Inovar from Raytheon of time, talent and ongoing leadership in IPC demo room with several Gen3 products, and Corporation, where he held senior technical and the electronics industry, four IPC volunteers accomplished multiple customer visits to see and leadership roles in the electrical systems were presented with IPC President’s Awards at the machines in action. Some Gen3 products engineering and manufacturing organizations IPC APEX EXPO 2020. Award recipients were that have been extremely popular with their over a highly distinguished 40-year career. He Michael Ford, Aegis Software; Dale Lee, Plexus customer base are the Gensonic stencil was instrumental in the design, construction Corporation; Joe O’Neil, Green Circuits; and S cleaning system, the AutoSIR and the MUST3 and operation of state-of-the-art EMS factories Manian Ramkumar, Ph.D., Rochester Institute of solderability tester. around the world for Raytheon Corporation. Technology (RIT). Ford was honored for his thought leadership on The Gensonic Stencil Cleaning System is Barber brings great expertise and insights in Industry 4.0 and his considerable contributions especially good at removing solder paste from the design, manufacture and test of electronic to IPC industry standards, including the very small apertures as small as those used for assemblies, strong business acumen, and key Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) and IPC- 0201 components. It can be used either directly insights into the Aerospace & Defense market. 1782 traceability standard. An active participant on the stencil mounted on the printer or after the His experience in working with defense prime on more than a dozen IPC technical committees stencil has been removed. The Gensonic stencil contractors across numerous naval, air, land and and a sought-after speaker on software cleaner uses a 40khz ultrasonic generator that space platforms will help support Inovar on its solutions for assembly manufacturing, Ford cleans with great efficiency, especially in tough journey for excellence in customer satisfaction helps to promote and position IPC’s digital applications such as partially set glues. and profitable growth. manufacturing best practices by contributing “Joe is a very strategic addition to the Inovar articles, columns and blogs to several leading AutoSIR is used to measure changes in Surface family,” stated Craig Rupp (CEO). “We have industry publications. Insulation Resistance. The AutoSIR2+™ worked with Joe for the last 6 years as a Lee was recognized for his extensive system represents a dramatic improvement demanding customer. He is well respected knowledge in DFX analysis, root cause failure over existing SIR test alternatives, and its in the industry and will provide the technical analysis related to design, process and tooling shielded precision electronics allows state-of- guidance and subject matter expertise that is so impacts on manufacturing processes and the-art accuracy resistance measurements to critical to the long-term success of Inovar.” yields. Currently serving on more than 10 be made up to 1014 Ω. technical committees, including the PERM council, the land pattern subcommittee, the DFX standards subcommittee, and the ball grid array task group. O’Neil, recent immediate past Chairman of the IPC Board of Directors, was honored for his work on the V9-20 PCB President’s Management Council Steering Committee, the G-10 Government Relations Steering Committee, the G-11 IPC Department of Defense Task Force, the G-11A, Defense Road Map Task Group, and Page 16 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:17

Care for tomorrow Always master soldering, with cutting-edge solutions from Japan Unix – today, tomorrow, and under any circumstances. Headquarters: Global Offices in: www.japanunix.com 2-21-25 Akasaka, Minato, USA, Mexico, P.R. China, Tokyo 107-0052 Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia Page 17

P:18

SERVICE & SUPPORT IS KEY TO SUCCESS Besides the Koh Young Demo, Application and Training Centers across North and South America, Koh Young customers have access to a global network of service and support locations. TECHNICAL EXPERT KNOWLEDGE SERVICE SUPPORT RESOURCES BASE REQUESTS [email protected] Page 18 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:19

Contact our helpdesk: [email protected] or call +1-470-374-9254 As customers join the Koh Young family, we want to ensure their success with solid training, technical service, and applications support. Our new offices in Guadalajara and Atlanta allow us to provide unprecedented support. DEDICATION GLOBAL TEAMS EXCELLENCE RELIABILITY kohyoung.com Page 19

P:20

featurecont. the G-12, Government Relations Grassroots manufacturing supply chain in today’s Enthone, Alpha, Kester, and Compugraphics Participants committee. An active participant global markets. brands essential to advanced semiconductor in the IPC Cares program as well as IPC’s • Ramon Hernandez, for his role in “The packaging and the markets it enables, such Workforce Champions initiative, O’Neil was Eric Miscoll Show – Mexico Special”. The as 5G, mobile, smart automotive, high- one of a four-member IPC team presenting the panel tackles topics as diverse as politics, performance computing, augmented and virtual initiative to the U.S. White House in 2019. industry trends, digital transformation and the reality, and artificial intelligence (AI). Showcased Dr. Ramkumar was recognized for his frequent promotion of Mexico as a strong alternative will be the recently released STAYDRY Z20 instruction of courses for the electronics to Asia. Alongside host and EMSNOW film, a unique getter which employs an active packaging industry. A subject matter expert Publisher, Eric Miscoll, Ramon was joined by desiccant for water absorption dispersed in a in robotics, automated manufacturing Ivan Romo of SMarTsol and Philip Spagnoli flexible silicone polymer matrix. Also promoted and surface mount electronics assembly Stoten, Forbes contributor and founder will be the soon-to-be-released Systek UVF education and research, he was instrumental of SCOOP. 100; a 2-in1 RDL via filling technology for IC in establishing the advanced manufacturing Our nominees for best individual substrates. and electronics packaging laboratories at RIT. performance are: Dr. Kesheng Feng, Research Director for An active participant in technical conference • Quintin Armstrong for his performance in Metallization, will be presenting Embedded sessions at IPC APEX EXPO, Dr. Ramkumar his interview with Dick Crowe, on I-Connect Trace and RDL Copper Plating Process for has been a valued instructor on advanced 007’s Real Time with IPC APEX, as well as Panel Level Packaging Applications, on packaging, surface mount, soldering and his interview with EMSNOW’s Eric Miscoll, Tuesday, March 3 at 3:00pm. The presentation assembly process topics since 2002, discussing the important role played by Koh will discuss how MacDermid Alpha is helping educating hundreds of his industry peers at Young’s service and support network. advanced packaging suppliers address various workshops and conferences. • Juan Arango for his interview with challenges in fine line copper plating for panel “The contributions that Dale, Michael, Joe and EMSNOW’s Eric Miscoll, digging into the last level packaging designs. Ram have made to IPC and the electronics year’s successes and the latest developments MacDermid Alpha’s team of industry experts industry cannot be overstated,” said John within Koh Young Americas. from their Circuitry and Semiconductor divisions Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “Their A special award goes to best newcomer: will be available at booth #33/34 to discuss the leadership and willingness to share their time • MES Engineer, Ivan Aduna for his interview challenges the semiconductor manufacturing and expertise with us has been invaluable.” with EMSNOW’s Eric Miscoll, exploring the sector faces as technology continues to push www.IPC.org use of data in the manufacturing process and the limits of performance and miniaturization. the role of the Koh Young Ksmart software. www.MacDermidAlpha.com Spotlight on Koh Young at the IPC And finally, our nominees for best double APEX Expo 2020 act in a new show are: Naprotek, Inc. Recognized by In the week leading up to the Oscars, Koh • Juan Arango and Harald Eppinger, for Hanwha for 25 Years in Business Young was busy on the APEX 2020 red carpet, their entertaining performances in “That Naprotek, Inc. is pleased to announce it was making appearances in the various shows being SCOOPshow – A Koh Young Special”, presented with a congratulatory award from filmed on the expo floor. Here are a few of the hosted by Philip Spagnoli Stoten on the final partner Hanwha. The award marks Naprotek’s highlights, or as they say at the Oscars, here are day of the show. 25th year in business and was presented to this year’s nominees: It was, as always, a real pleasure to participate Naprotek’s CEO Najat El-Ayi Badriyeh by Mr. Our nominees for best performance in these videos and Koh Young are grateful to Jonny Nichols, Director of Sales & Marketing, in a supporting role are: the publications that supported us at the show. Hanwha North America, during the IPC APEX • Dr. Brian Kang, for his role in Global SMT & As the leader in our space, thought leadership is EXPO earlier this month. important to us, so it is always an honor to be Packaging’s panel discussion, entitled “Is AI asked to participate in these discussions. “I am thrilled that our customer Naprotek at the inspection level, a myth or a reality?”. The show was, once again, a great success for has reached this prestigious milestone,” Inspection systems are at the heart of the the whole team with many solid opportunities, commented Mr. Nichols. “I look forward to our Industry 4.0 revolution. We need positional underlining the fact that Koh Young continues continued partnership with Naprotek, and I accuracy that we can measure and digitize to lead this competitive space and that know that under the leadership of Ms. Badriyeh before we can pass instructions to production manufacturers – large and small – are finding the company will continue to succeed and equipment to take corrective action. Brian is real value and benefit in using our equipment grow for many years to come.” joined by other experts from the inspection and software solution. industry to answer the question, what role will www.kohyoung.com AI play in this? • Joel Scutchfield, for his role in WNIE’s MacDermid Alpha to Exhibit and panel discussion, entitled “What’s New Present at the Upcoming IMAPS in US electronics? Trends & emerging Device Packaging Conference technologies”. US-manufacturing is being MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions will transformed and disrupted by the same exhibit total process solutions for emerging forces transforming the rest of our industry. packaging at the IMAPS Conference, Fountain But what makes the US different and what Hills, AZ, March 3-5, 2020. does its future hold? This discussion, MacDermid Alpha will highlight their entire moderated by Kim Sauer, explores challenges portfolio of technologies from their MacDermid and opportunities faced by the US electronics Page 20 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:21

John Tobin BE MBA Managing Director Mexico IRELAND | MEXICO | CZECH | SLOVAKIA | HUNGARY | ROMANIA | UKRAINE | MACEDONIA Page 21 www.quiptech.com

P:22

featurecont. Founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Najat El-Ayi reliably at all temperatures. To verify this Badriyeh, Naprotek has provided electronic reliability, customers of Rehm Thermal Systems manufacturing services to startups and OEMs can use Securo systems. These systems heat in Silicon Valley and across the US. Naprotek or cool assemblies in order to prepare them evolved from a consigned-assembly business optimally for a hot or cold function test. to a full-suite service provider for printed circuit assemblies and box-build. Naprotek’s track record continues to benchmark quality, service and cost-effective solutions for its customers. www.naprotek.com PDR Offers IPC 7711/21C Rework Safe testing and measuring methods are Sigma offers many features to help eliminate and Repair Courses increasingly relevant and have already become errors and drive productivity: PDR is pleased to announce that it offers standard in analysing the resistance of electronic courses through its PDR Alliance Network components. In the aerospace industry, for • Computerized step-by-step work for the new IPC 7711/21C standard – The example, the sun-facing side of a spacecraft instructions, images and videos are Rework and Repair of Electronic Assemblies can become extremely hot, as in the vacuum displayed to the operator. – which includes focused infrared technology of space there is no air for cooling. However, as a method for the removal and replacement since the temperature in space is minus 270°C, • Optional motorized carousels automatically of components. the spacecraft is simultaneously exposed to present the correct component or tool. With multiple training, demonstration and field extreme cold. Despite this extreme temperature, support sites in the U.S.A. and abroad, PDR the technology must be completely reliable. For • LED indicators highlight the exact storage is able to provide firms with the education, such fields of application Rehm offers systems bin location. training and field support necessary to become that can accurately simulate these extreme successful with the rework and repair of environmental conditions by selectively heating • Supporting documentation is easily displayed. electronic assemblies. To schedule a course or and/or cooling the assembly. demonstration, visit www.pdr-rework.com or Rehm Thermal Systems developed the Securo • Data inputs such as measurement readings call 877-700-6085 toll free to learn more. Plus system for the hot function test and can be recorded at any step. Focused IR Rework Technology – Visible IR Securo Minus for the cold function test. The Rework is part of Rev. C of the IPC 7711/21C systems operate in normal air or in nitrogen • External inputs can conditionally alter the for managers and technicians responsible for atmospheres. To test the winter performance assembly procedure. the successful rework and repair of electronic of sensitive electronics, functional modules are assemblies. Focused IR technology is first cooled to temperatures of -45 °C. However, • Data signals can be output at any step to identified as generating visible heat energy that to simulate the installation environment in a drive external tools or machinery. is controlled by the use of an iris mechanism, vehicle, the modules are heated to between direct in-process IC thermal control, and does +80°C and +120°C. www.robotas.com/sigma not require air nozzles, i.e. laminar air flow. The Securo systems are highly compatible The technology is well-suited for high-mix with other measuring equipment. This allows Sanmina Expands Thailand Facility; applications, applications requiring advanced extensive function monitoring and secure quality Adds Custom Microelectronics and thermal control precision, and applications control. The best analysis and documentation Optical Assembly Capabilities to requiring the direct in-process control of the IC tools provide for transparent processes. Support High Growth Markets when undergoing temperature gradients. www.rehm-group.com www.pdr-rework.com Provides Advanced Custom Robotas Is Streamlining Manual Packaging and Assembly for Secure electronics despite heat Assembly Products across the Networking, and cold Robotas Technologies Ltd. is highlighting 5G, Data Center, Automotive/LIDAR Rehm develops the Securo Plus Sigma: streamlining virtually any assembly and Aerospace and Defense Markets and Securo Minus systems for process to boost productivity. functional testing of sensitive How do you take the laborious, error- Sanmina Corporation (Nasdaq: SANM) today electronics prone task of manual assembly and make it announced that it has expanded its facility Modern electronics are used nowadays in a straightforward, consistent and dependable? in Thailand. Augmenting its existing mission range of industries and are therefore exposed It’s easy, and it’s what Robotas has been critical products, the site now has advanced to the most widely varied temperatures. Most helping companies achieve around the world custom packaging and assembly capabilities notably, electronic assemblies in safety- for 30 years. to manufacture advanced optical, high speed related areas of application, such as medical Hand assembly procedures in every market and radio frequency (RF) microelectronic technology, the automotive industry and sector vary dramatically. What’s needed is a aerospace technology, must function 100% versatile solution to provide reliable, guided automation at every assembly step. Page 22 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:23

The first choice for AXI Performance, Speed and Precision techvalley-europe.com Page 23

P:24

featurecont. assemblies and products. This expansion The TR7700Q SII is equipped with TRI’s latest With factory-backed maintenance, repair, and supports rapid growth for new technology improved optical system that increases stability upgrade, Yamaha Motor delivers full lifecycle products across the networking, 5G, data and increases speed up to 25%, compared to support for growing customer base. center, automotive/LIDAR and aerospace and the last model. The TR7700Q SII has a Higher Yamaha Motor Europe FA Section has opened defense markets. Accuracy and improved Gauge R&R with Stop- a new Customer Service & Support function “A key priority at Sanmina is to leverage our and-Go Imaging Technology. to provide expert support for customers vertical integration capabilities to help customers throughout the European region. Based at the deliver innovative solutions that utilize the TRI’s 3D AOI technologies range from Depth Yamaha Motor Europe headquarters in Neuss, most advanced manufacturing methods and from Focus (DFF), 3D Blue Laser, and Moiré Germany, the Customer Service & Support technologies,” said Jeff Reece, EVP of Business projection for virtually Zero-escape Inspection. is ready to work with system integrators Development, Communications Networks The DFF 3D Technology is capable of 1µm and end users to provide factory-backed at Sanmina. “Extending our optical and RF Optical Resolution that Reduces Operator Re- maintenance, repair, and upgrade services for microelectronics expertise to Thailand enables Inspection, lowering the operational costs. deployed applications. us to develop new products and quickly ramp www.tri.com.tw/en/product/ “We started FA Section to bring Yamaha to volume production for customers across a product_detail-11-2-1534-1.html robot technology to Europe and in a short variety of markets.” time have helped many companies in diverse Weller’s Dyan Reagan to Lead West industry sectors transform processes such Key differentiators at Sanmina’s Thailand Region’s Field Sales Team as materials handling, production assembly, facility include: and packaging,” said Mr. Ryosuke Nakamura, Complete solution. Leveraging the core Weller Tools announces General Manager of Yamaha Motor Europe expertise of Sanmina engineering teams that that Dyan Reagan’s role FA Section. “The new service engineering specialize in RF, microelectronic and optical within the company department now augments our solution- development, the expanded capabilities in has been expanded to engineering capabilities to provide full lifecycle Thailand build on Sanmina’s global capabilities include the duties of the support for our growing customer base.” and integrated manufacturing services at West Regional Manager. The FA Section Service Engineer Department the chip, component, module and complete Dyan will report to is active from February.2020 and ready to book system level. Dave Hall, Sr. Director customer-service appointments. For further Updated state-of-the-art clean room. The of Sales, Americas. information please visit the Yamaha Motor clean room provides a sterile production In addition to her Europe FA Section website at https://www. environment required for key aspects of optical continued efforts to yamaha-motor-im.de/en/fa/. and microelectronics production. It is Class build Weller Tool’s key www.yamaha-motor-im.eu 1000 and Class 10,000 certified. account relationships, Water-based decoating New Sanmina-owned equipment. High- she will lead the West Region for the company’s of coating frames performance manufacturing equipment and field sales team. mirroring capabilities enables the facility to “I know Dyan is looking forward to ATRON® DC is the market’s first and only water- quickly ramp production, while minimizing collaboratively working with distribution, based decoater for conformal coating frames. delays and costs associated with consignment our agency partners, and driving end user Its unique formulation guarantees both a high of major manufacturing assets. engagement,” said Hall. level of worker safety and very strong cleaning Deep experience and wide range of services. Dyan added, “I am looking forward to working performance with good material compatibility Sanmina Thailand has been successfully with our Weller Agents and distributors to educate - both with cleaning systems and coating supporting its customers in the region across our end users on Professional Weller tools, fume frames or tools. ATRON® DC makes the use of a variety of complex markets for more than 30 extraction, and Erem cutters and tweezers.” aggressive stripper chemicals unnecessary and years. New customers can tap into a wide range www.weller-tools.com obsolete. It is designed to be used in ultrasonic of services from new product introduction and and immersion systems, but is able to work with logistics, to after-market services. AOI. Yamaha Motor Europe Robotics all common systems in your maintenance area. www.sanmina.com division establishes Customer www.zestron.com Service & Support Function for TRI presents New High Accuracy FA Section 3D AOI Solution Test Research, Inc. (TRI) is pleased to announce the release of the High Accuracy TR7700Q SII 3D AOI. Page 24 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:25

Meaningful DATA MANAGEMENT End to End MATERIAL AND PROCESS CONTROL 360° TRACEABILITY Advanced A N A LY T I C S EVERYTHING IS ACHIEVABLE peroCoNECTprimero cogiscan.com Page 25

P:26

TECHNOTLOODGAYY TTOEDCAHComplete and accurate traceability is no longer optional in electronics manufacturing. The nature of this ever- Porqué changing, fast paced, reactive environment requires Trazabilidad? a robust traceability solution to help manufacturers better manage the production environment by making By Greg Benoit, detailed material, product and process information Director of Business readily available. Development, Cogiscan And while a thorough traceability system should be required for every electronics manufacturer, it’s not something regulated industry wide. Rather, these requirements are currently customer-driven or specific to certain safety-critical markets such as products for the automotive or medical sectors. Near-Shoring In the past five years, a lot of electronics manufacturing has shifted to Mexico thanks to strong trade agreements, low cost of business, and close geographical proximity to the United States. In light of the recent coronavirus outbreak in China, near-shoring is getting another exponential surge from OEMs that can’t sacrifice any further impact to their bottom-line. While at APEX in San Diego, I had numerous discussions with customers and partners that are either actively quoting a new manufacturer or have already started moving production to a manufacturer in the Mexico region. This trend of “near-shoring” is favored by major corporations such as Samsung, Foxconn, Sharp, Intel, and many more. As these Tier I and Tier II manufacturers invest billions of dollars into the Mexican electronics manufacturing market, they’re also shifting the culture in manufacturing requirements raising the bar in terms of the types of capabilities they expect from their suppliers. They can’t risk widespread defects that result in large recalls with any of their products, so they tend to choose Mexican manufacturers that can offer and support detailed traceability. I’ve personally seen a direct increase in Mexican OEMs and EMS providers requesting traceability information and quotations for a traceability solution. Within the dynamic Mexican economy, many of my Mexico-based customers are asking for traceability to not only meet customer’s requirements, but to also protect the longevity of their business. Employee turnover is high. With the manufacturing economy booming, job candidates have more and more options – established plants are expanding, new plants are opening daily, and they’re all competing for talent in the same pool. To ensure a smooth-running plant day in and day out you need to know exactly how your products were built, and the right traceability solution creates a “single source of truth” for what happened to products during production. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll call it Truth (with a capital T). With the appropriate system defining the Truth for production, it no longer matters if Julian, a long-term employee of 5 years, or Enrique, hired one month ago, is running the line. The Truth will be automatically logged in the system for future reference so that you can know what happened when in the event of a failure or return, or if a recall is required. While at APEX in San Diego, I had numerous discussions with customers and partners that are either actively quoting a new manufacturer or have already started moving production to a manufacturer in the Mexico region. Why traceability? With billions of dollars of goods in the electronics manufacturing supply chain alone crossing the oceans and skies daily, we’re in a world where visibility and quality tracking is a given. As a consumer in your day to day purchasing, you automatically expect tracking and visibility of your Page 26 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:27

Within the dynamic Mexican process – who touched the product and when it was economy, many of my Mexico- in process, what operations and equipment it went based customers are asking through and how that process transpired, what materials for traceability to not only were used and where they came from – showing end- meet customer’s requirements, customers why they can trust in the quality produced. but to also protect the Anything less isn’t a complete traceability solution. longevity of their business. A robust traceability application proves a thorough quality management system – allowing end-users to online purchases. Why wouldn’t we expect the same for trust that the products they receive will work correctly. circuit board manufacturing? It’s only a matter of time Additionally, in the case of an unforeseen product before more and more end customers are requiring warranty claim, traceability data can help find, mitigate detailed traceability analysis of their product’s entire and correct the root cause issue. And crucially, in the production process. unfortunate event of a product recall, a strong traceability A leading EMS provider in Mexico recently conducted solution can narrow down the scope to necessary units, a survey of their customers to find out what they potentially saving an OEM millions of dollars. wanted. More than 70% of the respondents indicated they wanted a thorough quality management system With the manufacturing and traceability solution. This EMS provider currently economy booming, job uses Cogiscan’s Traceability application and uses this differentiator as a key selling point when talking to candidates have more and potential customers. more options – established What is traceability? plants are expanding, new plants are opening daily, and A misconception in our industry has focused on material they’re all competing for traceability alone. But material traceability isn’t all that’s required when we talk about traceability in SMT talent in the same pool. manufacturing. Without also verifying detailed process and product information, material traceability is a small Most importantly, a traceability solution protects both Band-Aid when a more rigorous healing regiment of a your business and your brand by mitigating the risk of full cast and physical therapy is needed. any type of recall. Keep your name out of the media for A proven traceability solution will equip manufacturers an embarrassing and public product recall! Remember with detailed reporting of the complete production the car manufacturer, Saturn? Probably not because they had too many unnecessary recalls. Page 27

P:28

featurecont. Traceability Data disagreements amongst management as to whether it would be better to buy a traceability solution from How a traceability solution is built and collects a trusted third-party provider, or to make a custom information is critical to the overall success. Anyone can traceability solution in-house. create aesthetically pleasing traceability reports to send I’ll keep this simple. From my direct experience – buy. to end-customers, but is the data accurate? Is it easy to To play devil’s advocate, let’s take an imaginary journey collect? Does it reflect what actually happened? Does it down building a traceability solution internally. Do you require an Engineer to review and make adjustments? have at least four full-time employees to dedicate to this A traceability solution should be powered by a strong project? Can you guarantee they will stick around to see connectivity and data management infrastructure. At this project to completion? Do they have IT/code writing the base level, connectivity to all of the machines used experience the skills necessary to develop a scalable in production should be completed is a necessity, and enterprise platform that will meet off of your current the system must be able to harvest this machine data and future needs? Do you have access to all of your in real-time to automatically record everything that machine data? In a format that’s readable? How about happens to the product. a reporting feature in a web-based application to easily Considering SMT manufacturing moves at such a fast- share with your customers? paced, ever-changing dynamic, all fed data should Developing a traceability solution in-house and from be managed by a reliable and scalable database that scratch is not only a major time and financial investment, quickly and efficiently processes, stores and shares but an additional liability risk to your company. The large volumes of data. With granular data automatically longer it takes to build a system internally, the more time fed into a traceability application, real-time reports of the lost to close deals with customers and expand market production process and materials used and consumed share. Furthermore, what if the system turns out to be will be available in a web-application with a single click less reliable than anticipated? A loss of traceability data of a button. will not only cause chaos to production and booked Traceability: Make or Buy? orders, but it could cause established customers to leave too. As mentioned earlier in this article, I’ve been fielding Off-the-shelf, proven solutions exist for traceability a lot of new requests for a thorough traceability in SMT manufacturing. Don’t waste your time trying solution from Mexico-based manufacturers. Many of these potential leads are facing internal company Page 28 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:29

What I especially like is that, with Cogiscan, we can adapt the solution to fit the needs of the customer – either by providing a complete traceability solution, or by simply filling the gaps that are present in the customers’ existing systems. I believe Cogiscan is the best solution for connected traceability as it has the largest library of off-the-shelf interfaces covering the majority of SMT equipment on the market in Mexico. Nestor Castro, Sr SMT Applications Engineer at Interlatin to reinvent the wheel. Leverage a modular and flexible solution that can be up and running in a matter of months, and that offers long-term support and maintenance. Consider a third-party vendor with a traceability offering that exists within a larger connectivity and data management ecosystem so you can easily expand to other products to improve manufacturing analytics and intelligence. Focus your internal talented resources on adding value instead of wasting energy on learning machine data code, and how to create complex databases and reports. In Conclusion Traceability is a requirement, not a nice-to-have, and it’s not as simple as tracking material. A complete traceability solution will include detailed and accurate tracking and reporting of the entire production process including material, product and process information. The perfect solution will also easily complement existing systems. Be wary of a complete overhaul – look for a third-party provider that’s willing to offer scalable and modular options to your manufacturing tools. Cogiscan was one of the first software companies in the SMT industry to offer traceability to electronics manufacturers. Now recognized and respected as one of the leading connectivity and track, trace and control providers, hundreds of plants across the globe rely on our Traceability application. While I may be biased, it’s one of the best traceability solutions I’ve come across in my twenty-year career in this industry. Recognizing the surge in Mexico-based SMT manufacturing, Cogiscan partnered with Interlatin in 2015. Interlatin is a sustainable and high-tech company offering intelligent and integral solutions for Mexico-based manufacturers by providing commercial and technical advice, software application development, as well as consulting and training. Our strong collaboration continues today and we’re currently working on a variety of projects geared toward connectivity, data management, and traceability. www.cogiscan.com Page 29

P:30

TECHNOTLOODGAYYTTOEDCAH Founded in 2019, Part Analytics is a Big Data Analytics company focused on bringing data-driven analytics to strategic procurement and engineering professionals. The company’s SaaS platform is designed to enrich users’ data with public and private data. Its analytics engine processes data to provide costed BOM for quotes along with visibility to compliance and availability risks. Part Analytics’ platform provides the ability to manage commodity spend by supplier, commodity type, business or product including actionable insights on cost and risk reduction opportunities. “We built this platform leveraging more than 25 years of our experience in engineering and procurement functions,” said Founder & CEO Jithendra Palasagaram. “Our predictive analytics SaaS platform enables smarter data-driven decision making to improve profit margin.” Palasagaram is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Part Analytics. He co-founded the Brookfield, WI-based company along with Jesil Pujara (Head of Product) after recognizing pain points in electronics procurement industry and designing effective systems to address them. Part Analytics’ Part Analytics’ Co-founders Jesil Pujara and Jithendra Cognitive Sourcing Palasagaram formed the company to provide efficient, effective procurement systems. and Quoting Prior to founding Part Analytics, Palasagaram spent 13 years in Platform engineering and procurement functions at GE Healthcare. He developed and executed strategy to digitize electronics spend management and By Jesil Pujara get better visibility and risk data across four different GE businesses and delivered $15MM in savings and proactively mitigated supply chain risk. Palasagaram is passionate about procurement and supply chain management and has a keen sense for how technology can disrupt traditional silo-based procurement and strategic sourcing. Pujara has 13 years of design engineering experience leading teams across large organizations such as Schneider Electric and GE Healthcare. He brings hardware technology depth to the team. Before Part Analytics, Jesil was leading a GE Healthcare wide effort on improving design and production efficiency at GEHC by leveraging data analytics to identify and execute on opportunities to standardize parts across divisions. These efforts led to $18MM in savings opportunities across the organization. Pujara is keen on developing tools that are intuitive, efficient and enable users to address their critical problems. Cognitive Sourcing & Quoting Part Analytics’ cloud-based software platform provides cognitive sourcing and quoting capabilities for electronics. This platform enables customers to realize up to 20 percent savings in direct material cost and reduces the time to get BOM costing from 1-2 weeks to less than 15 minutes. The tool also provides real-time monitoring of risks such as obsolescence and lead times. EMS companies that supply circuit boards to OEMs typically spend 1-2 weeks gathering information on pricing, lead time and availability of electronic components, slowing their response time to requests for quotes. At most OEMs, information about the risk and cost of electronic components used in their products is fragmented. With data in silos, Page 30 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:31

Part Analytics strives to bring data-driven analytics to strategic procurement and engineering professionals to improve its customers’ profit margins. understanding risks and identifying cost-saving • Category IQ: Enterprise-wide spend, savings, opportunities in the procurement process takes much opportunities and risk tracking; market and time and effort and requires technical, commercial and community benchmarking data to enable data driven domain experience. negotiations Part Analytics’ cloud-based • Executive IQ: Summary view of BOMs, spend, savings software platform enables and risk by product, business unit or enterprise level; customers to realize up to prioritized view of BOMs with highest savings and risk 20 percent savings in direct material cost and reduces EMS RFQ and Risk Management: Part Analytics the time to get BOM costing platform enables PCBA suppliers to generate quotes in from 1-2 weeks to less than minutes while proactively managing parts risks: 15 minutes. • Part IQ: Get in-depth technical and commercial Part Analytics’ SaaS-based platform addresses these overview of any part; where used information and challenges by integrating and enriching customers’ data impact to all customers due to risk to provide insights on cost and risk reduction opportunities • BOM IQ: Get BOM cost and risks along with mitigations within minutes for both OEMs and EMS companies. The in minutes; identify cost savings opportunities through platform has multiple modules to address different use alternates for your customers; real-time monitoring of cases and workflows for users. risks and savings opportunities OEM Spend & Risk Management: Part Analytics Part Analytics is a unique, innovative company that platform enables OEMs to manage their commodity provides numerous benefits to its customers including portfolio to proactively identify savings opportunities procurement, quote team and engineering. The and risks so that their teams can spend more time company’s platform provides real-time visibility to executing rather than discovering: risks such as compliance and availability along with • Part IQ: Enterprise-wide view of parts used with mitigation recommendations. It also can uncover cost savings opportunities at the component, BOM and commercial and technical data; search capability to business levels. Additionally, the company’s quote team promote part reuse across the enterprise can generate a quote for a PCBA BOM in minutes that • BOM IQ: Real-time insights on risks and savings gives insights on risks and cost savings opportunities. opportunities at BOM level. For new BOMs, get BOM Finally, the engineering team can get cost and risks cost and risks along with mitigations in minutes on a prototype BOM and provide visibility on existing components used within a customer’s company. Palasagaram concluded, “Part Analytics is here to help you improve your profit margin and work smarter by transforming your part selection, BOM management, spend management, commodity management, risk management and RFQ process.” www.partanalytics.com Page 31

P:32

RED the industry vips take a bow Page 32 Rehm Thermal Systems celebrates its 30th anniversary by hosting technology days Rehm Thermal Systems in April 1990: 30 years ago, everything began in a small garage in the middle of the Swabian Alps – with an idea and the courage to start something new. Rehm Thermal Systems is now a global enterprise, as well as a leader in technology and innovation in the thermal systems sector, in particular in the field of reflow soldering systems. Rehm Thermal Systems is celebrating its 30th anniversary by hosting technology days at the company headquarters in Blaubeuren-Seißen. These days will be held on Wednesday 7 October and Thursday 8 October 2020. The technology days will be followed by an open day on Friday 9 October, at which guests who are interested in finding out more can visit Rehm’s premises, including the new building which will be completed in the coming months. More information about the technology days and the open day will be available in due course at www.rehm-group.com | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:33

MIRTEC Presents Murray Percival Company with Award for 60th Year in Business! Murray Percival Company was pleased to accept an award from MIRTEC during IPC APEX EXPO 2020 in honor of their 60th year in business! “We are very proud of our partners at Murray Percival Company,” stated Brian D’Amico, President of MIRTEC’s North American Sales and Service Division. “Sixty years in business is quite an achievement, and Murray Percival Jr. and his family deserve all the success that they have earned by treating their Business Partners and Customers with integrity and respect.” The milestone anniversary was reached in January 2020 and the award was presented during IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego. “We wanted to show our appreciation to the entire team at Murray Percival Company for all the hard work and dedication they have demonstrated throughout the years,” continued D’Amico. “Thank you for being one of our most valued business partners!” www.mirtec.com | www.murraypercival.com KUKA receives Global Company of the Year Award 2020 for its Medical Robotics division Every year, the globally active consulting firm presents the award to a company that is a leader in its industry, particularly in innovation and growth. KUKA convinced Frost & Sullivan on these points. The Augsburg-based company accepted the award for the Medical Robotics division at a gala in London on 11 March. Frost & Sullivan considered KUKA’s complete product portfolio in the field of medical robotics when making its decision. This evaluation ranges from large robots for high payloads, which are used for example, to carry heavy radiation cannons for tumor treatment, to sensitive small robotics. “I am very pleased with this award. In the future, we will continue to contribute to the advancement of robotics in medicine, not only to support physicians in their work, but also to enable patients to receive the best possible diagnosis and treatment.” said Axel Weber, Vice President Medical Robotics. www.kuka.com Page 33

P:34

TECHNOTLOODGAYY TTOEDCAHSometimes you just need a supplier, someone who can deliver a product with the right quality at the right price, A Partner, Not install it and leave you to it. That’s ideal for your microwave Just a Supplier - oven or TV at home, or even the coffee machine in Bitron Chose Koh the office, but what about your SMT equipment? Not according to contract manufacturer Bitron, who decided Young as their very early on that mere suppliers were not the solution for Inspection ‘Partner’ the major investments they were making in technology. They recognized that they needed partners who could By Brent A. Fischthal, develop with them and help them achieve success and Sr Marketing Manager, leadership in their market. Koh Young America Partnership means different things to different people, but to Bitron those partners needed to possess some key traits and characteristics… Plant Manager for the Bitron Mexico Facility, Manuel Mamone, puts it perfectly, saying: “Everyone can be a vendor. Partnership is a different approach. Partnership means that you must grow with your customer, listen to your customer in terms of requirements, specific requirements. Also, in terms of support. Everyone can sell a machine and that’s it. It is a different thing to be always available for your customer to bring the support that each customer needs.” Think Global, Act Local Bitron is a global player headquartered in Turin, Italy, with fifteen factories around the world including sites in Italy, Poland, China and now Mexico. For that reason, they need partners with global distribution and support, with the ability to deliver and support solutions where Bitron are now, and wherever they might choose to be in the future. Bitron is a very customer focused business and strongly believes it needs to follow it’s customers, many of whom are in the automotive industry, and have global footprints. Having established a solid base in Europe and Asia, the Americas was the next natural step for Bitron, and they chose Querétaro in Mexico to locate a brand-new state-of- the-art facility on a green field site. Part and parcel of Bitron’s global success is the ability to move projects from site to site when the customers’ needs dictate. Using an identical equipment, software and consumables set makes this simple. As Manuel Mamone, puts it “with the global footprint that we have right now, the lines strategy that we have allows us to move all the product that we are currently assembling in one facility to another quickly and painlessly. Usually we only have to move raw material and tooling. The line is already set to be compliant with the product!” Selecting Partners The process of selecting Bitron’s partner for inspection started many years ago in Italy. Part of the selection team, Luca Bianchin, recalls, “We started our evaluation in the Bitron plant in Turin, Italy with three different brands. One of these was Koh Young. We were looking for the best solution for us, initially for the plant in Italy, but eventually for all the plants around the world.” He added, “we evaluated the ease of programming, and analyzed the best result after inspection. Koh Young had the best results. The machine has an exceptionally good first pass yield. We have very little false calls and the operator has Page 34 | MAR/APR 2020 ISSUE

P:35

Manuel Mamone, Plant Manager, Bitron Luca Bianchin, Production Manager, Bitron the time to change parameters in real time and to are unable to complete the support remotely, we have manage multiple AOI and SPI machines.” direct telephone access to the Koh Young technician, Ease of operation is becoming increasingly important with onsite presence and support if required.” This is for several reasons. Simplicity drives consistency as true in Mexico as it is anywhere in the world. and having something that is simple to use means Automotive Quality Regardless the same result can be achieved by every operator, of Product on every shift, in every facility, anywhere in the world. It also means that operators can be utilized better, Like many vendors, Bitron has a single quality supporting more lines and even supporting other standard. They set the bar at the highest level, machines. This is important in a competitive market delivering what their automotive customers expect where new operators are being added regularly, for every project, regardless of what that product is, sometimes as industry novices. or where it might be used. This means every product Deployed and Ready to Use in a Day is built as if it were mission critical, driving exceptional quality, along with the total transparency, traceability Since choosing Koh Young as their global inspection and accountability demanded by the world’s largest partner, Bitron have installed machines throughout and most prestigious car brands. Again, Koh Young their footprint in AOI (Automatic Optical Inspection) thrive here, with numerous automotive customers, and in SPI (Solder Paste Inspection). Quick, simple they can deliver the quality of data as well as the installation is essential and Bitron has achieved connectivity and reporting structure needed in these something surprisingly like a plug-and-play approach. ‘high reliability’ markets. As Luca says, “We usually spend one day, it is Partnerships That Thrive very quick, just levelling, plugging and review the calibration. Then we can start to debug the program.” Being a trusted partner for inspection solutions at Where Bitron have Koh Young trained operators, Bitron was just the start. “Inspection was step one, they’re good to go. Where they don’t, training is the second step was to use the closed loop with SPI. performed with Koh Young. “For AOI, we send With the 3rd step being to deploy and evaluate the technicians from Querétaro to Guadalajara for AOI KSmart features,” states Manual, adding that “right programming training, ensuring the high level of skill now we are working with Koh Young’s database of these technicians.” says Luca. Rapid deployment to collect data for AOI. We are using this data, not and training are key elements to the partnership only for productivity and rework, but also to improve Bitron and Koh Young enjoy. They allow Bitron to our process.” be agile and know that each installation will be as Bitron is investing heavily in Mexico and Manuel successful as the last. When companies are growing believes that there is an opportunity for their partners and deploying new lines at the speed that Bitron to grow with them. He sums things up perfectly when does, peace of mind is essential and delays and he says, “The partner doesn’t always have the answer, variability risk slowing down, or worse derailing, their but part of the partner’s job is growing and bringing growth plans. the solution that you need. The customization, the Global deployment needs global support and Bitron creativity in delivering a solution is what makes the depend on that everywhere they have Koh Young difference between a supplier and a partner.” He equipment. As Luca says, “We need to have the concludes, “For sure, Bitron can recommend Koh support locally and we need to solve any issue in the Young as a partner, not only as a supplier!” same day. We cannot stop production! Koh Young www.kohyoung.com support starts with a online ticket system, and if we Page 35

P:36

Those who demand more, demand Koh Young. SMART & DYNAMIC Introducing Koh Young America, Inc. the Zenith Alpha 1950 Evergreen Blvd., Ste 200 with a “Smart and Dynamic” feature Duluth, GA 30096 USA set focused on quality +1-470-374-9254 optimization technologies stemming from the True 3D [email protected] AOI expertise at Koh Young. The Zenith Alpha incorporates kohyoung.com proven technologies from the industry leader to concentrate our proficiency into a smart factory solution that increases process performance and reduces line downtime. Its inherent True 3D inspection capabilities help manufacturers methodically collect, analyze, and manage data in real-time to dynamically formulate a multifaced view of the assembly process. In turn, releasing optimized results that will transform the manufacturing floor into a smart factory with higher production yields.

Create a Flipbook Now
Explore more