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Nepcon West
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Nepcon West
NEPCON West 2000, February 29 through March 2, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif., boasted a full conference schedule, the Technology Advancement Center (TAC), pick-and-place evaluation center, special industry events, and product introductions and news. The show hosted a myriad of companies, representing electronics design through test equipment, from the United States and around the world.
The convention center offered new amenities, including luxurious conference rooms and carpeting in the show aisles. Computer terminals scattered throughout the show floor provided access to a product and exhibitor database, floor plans and access to the online show daily.
Technology Advancement Center
The TAC presented a state-of-the art, real-world series of manufacturing processes, allowing suppliers of machines, materials and services to demonstrate their products in an integrated working environment. The technologies shown represented current and future trends within the electronics manufacturing industry, aiding attendees in future planning of products, processes, equipment and facilities.
This year, the TAC included newly designed and developed assembly lines: Y2K line, lead-free high-density interconnect (HDI) line, area-array line and low-volume batch line.
The Y2K assembly line allowed attendees to witness component attachments at very low temperatures using alternatives to solder. The lead-free HDI assembly line demonstrated the attachment of surface mount devices (SMD), ball grid arrays (BGA), quad flat packs (QFP) and chip scale packages (CSP) using a lead-free solder, lead-free component metallizations and a lead-free printed circuit board (PCB) pad finish for the top- and bottomside attachment processes. The area-array line featured the assembly processes, materials and methods necessary for forming CSPs. The low-volume batch line demonstrated the processing of flip chips, CSPs and plastic BGAs (PBGA) in a production line using low-volume production and prototyping equipment.
Pick-and-place Evaluation
The pick-and-place evaluation center provided a strategic approach to evaluating assembly pick-and-place equipment. Placement machines were set up side-by-side with third-party technical experts providing in-use feedback and interpretation of manufacturers` published machine specifications for a comparison of attributes such as placement speed, accuracy and component handling. The evaluation was supplemented with a research report ranking the performance and overall reliability of a broad base of placement machine models, including a range of multifunctional and high-speed placers. The results of the technical report were only supplied to those who visited the evaluation center.
Special Events
NEPCON West featured many special events for attendees, including keynote addresses, sessions, forums and symposia covering numerous topics.
The keynote addresses featured a motivational speech by John Madden, sportscaster/analyst, and Buzz Aldrin, astronaut and proponent of making the space program part of everyday life. Both keynotes were well attended and well received.
Sessions held at the show focused on packaging and electrostatic discharge (ESD), and an international panel discussed the technology and processes that will shape the industry in the future. Symposia covered advanced packaging and contract manufacturing, and seminars were available on quality and interconnect.
Technology feature areas included the Environmental Issues Clinic, the Test Center, the Contract Manufacturing Center and the Microvia Pavilion.
Product Launches and News
More than 800 exhibitors debuted more than 300 new products covering all aspects of the SMT process. NEPCON organizers helped with the product launches by posting a buyers` guide on the NEPCON Web site (www.NEPCON.com), replete with information such as product descriptions and photographs, along with company address, phone, fax and e-mail address.
News events announced at the show included: Loctite`s acquisition of Multicore; the co-location of NEPCON Philadelphia 2000 and Assembly Northeast at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King Prussia, Pa., May 3 and 4, featuring products and services from more than 200 suppliers; Veeco Instruments signed a definitive merger agreement with CVC Inc.; GenRad and International Test Technologies revealed their new joint agreement for developing new functional test solutions for microprocessor-based boards; Brady Corp. will begin manufacturing operations in China; QuestLink Technology formed strategic alliances with Toolwire and Parametric Technology and announced a partnership with Misumi Corp. of Japan.; and onQ Technology opened a new 15,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and customer support facility in the Philippines.