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American Competitiveness Institute Technology Sharing
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
By Michelle M. Boisvert, managing editor
PHILADELPHIA The American Competitiveness Institute may be one of the "best-kept secrets" in the surface mount assembly industry so secret that even some military agencies don't know all that it has to offer. Part of the Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility (EMPF), which is tasked with helping the electronics manufacturing industry improve manufacturing processes required for military systems, the ACI is a research corporation for the Department of Defense (DOD) and industry. ACI also runs the U.S. Navy's Center of Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing and the U.S. Army's Electronics Sustainment Center (AESC). What many people do not know about the ACI is its full extent of offerings for contract manufacturers (CMs) and EMS providers, as well as capital equipment manufacturers.
With two full SMT production lines, the ACI offers manufacturing services, analytical services in its failure analysis (FA) lab, and training for both commercial and military markets. Currently, the ACI is rearranging the production floor to highlight a "premier line from large equipment suppliers," says Ken Friedman, Equipment Advisory Board (EAB) coordinator, ACI. This line will feature stencil printers from EXERRA, pick-and-place systems from Samsung, a reflow oven from BTU, a dispensing system from Henkel, a Dage XD7600 X-ray inspection system, Fischerscope X-ray fluorescence (XRF) system, an inline cleaner from Technical Devices, and others. Each company provides ACI with this equipment for a year at no cost. This allows manufacturers to troubleshoot production issues on equipment alongside technical process engineers knowledgeable on that particular system, or use equipment that is not on their facility's production line. It's also beneficial to OEMs because ACI will pass along sales leads. If a CM comes in showing an interest in a particular piece of SMT equipment, ACI passes that information to a company rep. "Manufacturers want to get the sales leads, and ACI benefits in this ongoing sharing of technology," says Friedman. The institute also offers a reliable second source for prototyping, materials and process evaluation, or assistance in setting up a successful and productive line.
In addition to this "virtual showroom," ACI's FA lab performs materials analysis, electrical characterization, and device integrity tests. They also offer environmental stress screening and harsh environment testing with an in-house salt-fog machine, thermal chamber, and highly accelerated stress testing (HAST) chamber. For larger applications requiring harsh environmental testing, ACI partners with nearby companies such as Rockwell-Collins. "The failure analysis lab not only tells manufacturers the problem," says Friedman, "it will also explain how to fix it." All testing at the ACI is conducted according to IPC, JEDEC, ASTM, Belcore, and MIL-STD specifications. The Institute also offers counterfeit analysis for components getting results back to the customer within a two-day turnaround. This ensures that components are analyzed and documented. ACI also makes its conference facilities available to manufacturers looking to hold meetings, trainings, or seminars. ACI is building a cleanroom for chip development, which should be completed next month.
Because traditional equipment demonstrations have occurred mainly at tradeshows, captive demonstration centers, and suppliers' applications labs in the past, notes Mike Foster, director of sales, Dynatech/Samsung, potential buyers didn't have a chance to see real-life examples of machines in action. "ACI's facility emulates manufacturing environments from a credible standpoint," says Foster. "It gives manufacturers a view of how machines play with other systems." This is important to Samsung, adds Foster, as the company stresses its equipment's actual speeds, which, in some cases, is different than those derived from IPC standards. Dynatech/Samsung, of nearby Horsham, Pa., has partnered with the American Competitiveness Institute since the late-1990s. Currently, Samsung showcases its SM321 pick-and-place system on the facility's premier SMT line. Because of Dynatech/Samsung's close proximity to ACI and its collection of experienced factory engineers, the support staff spends more time at the ACI facility than their own. Larry Groves, technical service manager, Dynatech/Samsung, was on-site that day, working with a SM321 customer to solve a process problem centered on solder paste selection and reflow issues.
The capital equipment market is certainly a competitive, often cyclical, one. Purchasing a new piece of equipment is expensive, and manufacturers want to be sure that they see a return on their investment. When electronics manufacturers and capital equipment suppliers partner with an organization such as the American Competitiveness Institute, it levels the playing field for that competition, giving vendors the opportunity to prove their equipments' and technicians' capabilities real-time, in real-life situations. For more information on the American Competitiveness Institute, visit www.aciusa.org, or call (610) 362-1200. Manufacturers can also contact the EMPF Helpline at (610) 362-1320 to speak with an experienced staff of engineers and technicians to solve manufacturing issues, answer questions on equipment, and inform callers on current processes and materials. The Helpline is available Monday-Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information on Dynatech/Samsung, visit www.dynatechsmt.com. SMT