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SMT/HYBRID/PACKAGING Exhibitor Spotlight
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Bigger and more international than ever, SMT/HYBRID/PACKAGING in Nuremberg, Germany, focused on the theme of automotive electronics. Vendors also used the venue for the European launch of products previously introduced to the market at North American and Asian events held earlier in the year.
While many European companies have resorted to virtual presentations when abroad in the past few years, due to the cost of shipping equipment, this show also afforded them the opportunity to display their platforms, from just one tool to entire production lines. Overall, 632 exhibitors and 87 represented companies occupied 29,600 sq.m. of exhibition space that was divided into three halls. Here's a sampling of what was going on in the SMT space.
W.C. Heraeus GmbH introduced an entire assembly materials package to the market that includes a printable solder paste, dispensable solder, rework flux, and solder wire. Anton Miric, business manager for Europe, Assembly Materials, explained that using the same flux base and same chemistry across the line allows the materials to work well together, increasing reliability and decreasing the danger of migration corrosion. The paste system features low flux residues, resulting in perfect cosmetics and improved performance with conformal coatings, he said. The paste demonstrates stable viscosity over a wide temperature range. Target applications are SMT, hybrids, and data copper bonding (DCB) for high power applications.
Peter Franklin, managing director of BTU Europe LTD., demonstrated the company's Pyramax solder reflow system designed to adapt to both SMT and advanced packaging markets. Specifications for the entire line of equipment are the same; each model indicates different heated lengths. Displayed at the show was the air-only system for SMT applications. A nitrogen-capable system or dual-air also are available.
BTU's strategy, according to Franklin, is to look to customers for guidance, and see what their roadmaps look like. He said the board assembly market is cost-driven, while the semiconductor packaging market is technology-driven, due to the high value of the products. Well established in Asia, BTU is now focusing efforts in North America and European markets. To that end, Franklin said the company is hoping introduce the Pyramax 75 during SEMICON West. "It's a good niche market machine," he said.
Tackling the REACH initiative by launching Kyzen Europe was Kyzen's overall message at their booth. Tom Forsythe, VP, explained that being incorporated in Europe allows the company to be its own importer of record to comply with REACH, European legislation that requires each product, and each chemical in that product, to be registered. The first step in the initiative is registration of the product. The second step will be to provide health and safety data to prove that what's being used in Europe is safe. The focus, according to Forsythe, is on imported products, not those developed in the EU. As Kyzen's customer base in Europe is growing, it made sense to incorporate there. The company is looking for a facility in northern Europe, and hopes to have it set up by the end of the year. They launched two products at the show targeted to the European market: Aquanox A45 and 241. They're designed for use in ultrasonic cleaning systems not yet big in the U.S., this is a popular process in the EU, where cleaning is dominated by small-batch operations, explained Forsythe. Europe and the U.S. provide a good market for cleaning, he added, because high-reliability operations are remaining there. "As things get smaller, yesterday's contaminate that was ok, today is not ok," he said. "More reliability is required, which means bigger business for cleaning."
REACH is not something ZESTRON Europe is overly concerned about, said Mark Cherubin of Zestron Europe. The company has an internal task force dedicated to issues that might affect it, and haven't experienced any problems this far in the registration phase. "We don't use hazardous materials," said Cherubin, "so no worries." Zestron Europe showcased FAST, the in-line cleaning system first introduced at Productronica. Other news was the progress of the company's new cleaning application center currently under construction in Ingolstadt. The center features equipment for customers to test cleaning processes.
Aqueous Technologies and Systronic, cleaning equipment providers, partnered to distribute Aqueous' equipment in Europe, and Systronic's in North America. Aqueous' board cleaning equipment is synergistic with Syntronics' spray-system stencil cleaning equipment, so it made sense to collaborate, noted both Ralf Körner, managing director of Systronics, and Chris Halliwell, European sales manager for Aqeuous, Both companies will have equipment in Zestron's Ingolstadt facility. Halliwell demonstrated Aqueous' equipment targeted to remove flux residue from assembled boards. The temperature and wash cycle times can be adjusted for delicate components, he said.
Also in the area of cleaning, TekNek showcased its Clean Machine, which uses a simple yet elegant system of polymer and tacky adhesive rollers to remove debris from substrates. While the tool serves several industries, in the SMT market its focus is on cleaning PCBs prior to solder screen printing. In the European automotive industry there's a 3000 euro penalty for defective parts, which is often a result of board contamination. Not only does this system remove debris from low-cost boards, improving the quality of the board itself, it can also serve as an auditing system by visualizing and measuring contamination on the adhesive roller.
Ovation's big news was the addition of Neil MacRaild, formerly of DEK, as president of the company. Fresh from a seven-month sabbatical climbing mountains in Tibet and other places, MacRaild was eager to get involved with a company starting from product innovation and taking it to market. Well-known for its Gridlock system, which can be found on screen and stencil printers from DEK, Ekra, MPM, and others, the company's latest offering is Stinger, a kit that converts a printer into a dispense machine.
For the SMT market, Viscom's offerings at the show focused on improvements to existing tools, rather than brand new developments. Volker Pape, president, talked about software enhancements and an automatic process to create a PCB inspection report from CAD data. This allows data to be generated from the bare board and creates a data library for component placement. He said the 3088-2 has been through a re-design in the last year, and now features a multi-camera head, color inspection, and on-demand high resolution. The ability to look from the top and sides allows for the detection of lifted leads and tombstoning, which require an angular view.
At the Smartec booth, German distributor for Europlacer, Stephen Farragher, international sales manager, presented the smart flex line, which consisted of a mix of equipment companies collaborating to offer a line that exhibits good ROI. An inneo stencil printer started off the line, followed by a Europlacer pick-and-place machine featuring an integral matrix tray allowing for placement of components ranging in size. from 01005s to 50 × 50 mm components. The tool's software allows information storage on a database to manage stock. Inventory control becomes dynamic. The end of the smart flex line was a phase convection reflow oven.
One step removed from assembly equipment itself was CeTaQ, who showcased their machine accuracy measurement system. Mathias Keil, Ph.D., managing director for CeTaQ, explained how the system is used on production lines to calibrate and check existing machines. With nine service locations and three in the U.S., the goal is to give suppliers valid technical data of the equipment in the field. Currently, CeTaQ's major market is Europe, but Keil says business is growing in the U.S. and Asia. He explained that the units are mobile and compact enough for technicians to travel with them. Latest capabilities include checking c-force measurement for pick-and-place tools, and checking the accuracy of wire bond systems. The units also double as housings for espresso makers, as was demonstrated to one tired editor at the company's booth, much to her appreciation.
Françoise von Trapp, contributing editor