New From I-007e Micro Webinars: Part 2 in ‘Coatings Uncoated!’ Series

Got five minutes? Watch Phil Kinner's the latest segment, Never Underestimate the Importance of the Application Process, which examines the pivotal role that application plays in the overall success of coating, and presents a great opportunity to grasp the importance of the process.

New From I-007e Micro Webinars: The 5-Minute Webinar Series

I-Connect007 takes the on-demand webinar to a new level. A perfect companion to our I-007 Micro eBook series, these bite-sized webinars are released weekly, exclusively at I-Connect007, and are also available all at once for those who can’t wait for the next installment.

Updates on Cleaning Standards and Committees

Graham Naisbitt of Gen3 discusses the changes he's seeing in cleaning, including how the WP-019 white paper has caused a closer look at electrochemical reliability. As a long-time head of committees, Graham also breaks down many of the topics he hopes are addressed at this year’s IPC APEX EXPO.

What’s the SCOOP: Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year really is an amazing celebration with millions of workers returning to their families for the celebrations. But with the shutdown and mass migration come stress on infrastructure, supply chain and the whole manufacturing and fulfillment ecosystem. I asked a few Industry experts what they thought the key issues are and what advice they’d offer.

Clean vs. No-clean: A Generational Difference

Tom Forsythe, executive VP of KYZEN, discusses what readers should know about cleaning as reliability expectations continue to increase. He also explains what is driving the new interest in cleaning and why engineers from the no-clean generation may not even realize they need to learn more about cleaning.

CyberOptics Sensors: So Good That Their Rivals Use Them

Editor Nolan Johnson and Subodh discuss CyberOptics’ latest precision 3D systems, such as the SQ3000, which offers AOI, SPI and CMM functionalities. The inline CMM system includes top-of-the-line software for metrology grade measurements of critical points. Subodh points out that some of his competitors even utilize CyberOptics sensors in their equipment.

Accurate, Uniform Data With KIC’s Smart Reflow Analyzer

Editor Nolan Johnson and Miles discuss KIC’s newest system, the SRA, a smart reflow analyzer that can provide the customer with information about their machines: Is the airflow adequate? Is there proper heat transfer to the product? Is this data uniform from week to week and month to month? Miles explains how the SRA uses the latest in laser technology to track conveyor speed and heat transfer more accurately than ever.

Mirtec's Approach to Raw Data: The 'Sushi Principle'

Editor Pete Starkey and Brian D’Amico discuss the company’s new Alpha system, designed for the automotive market. D’Amico explains why Mirtec is focusing on providing customers with raw data instead of “cooked” data, what he terms the “sushi principle.” He says that the system is able to pick up tiny defects that would otherwise be filtered away if the system were not using raw data. D’Amico also discusses their use of artificial intelligence, and some of the possible benefits from using AI going forward.

Supply Chain Update and the Impact of 5G

I caught up with Stephanie Martin, senior VP of global supply at Vexos, to talk about the current landscape of the industry from an EMS perspective. Stephanie describes an ongoing technology shift occurring with the industry’s move to smaller case sizes and why it’s in the customer’s best interest to look at the design cycle and go as small as they can on components.

André Bodegom on European Challenges, Automation, and Automotive

Editor Pete Starkey speaks with André Bodegom, managing director for Adeon Technologies in the Netherlands, about changes he has seen over the years in major industry sectors, challenges in the European market, and other areas of growth.

David Meyers on Digital Twin and ‘Cobots’

With over 30+ years in the industry, David Meyers recently took on a new role at Siemens as a global solutions director in the Electronics Industry team of Siemens Digital Industries Software, working on improving communications between CMs and their OEM partners. In a conversation with Nolan Johnson and Happy Holden, David speaks on the digital twin and virtual environment software that should help establish that communication early in the process.

Is Your EMS Partner Up to Speed With WEEE 'Open Scope?'

E-waste encompasses a myriad of "unseen" metals, semi-metals, and chemical compounds that are found inside circuit boards, wires, and electrical connections. If not handled correctly, chemicals—such as cadmium, barium, lithium, lead, mercury, and beryllium—can present a significant health risk through direct contact, the inhalation of toxic fumes, or the build-up of toxins in water, soil, and food products.

How Electronics Manufacturers Can Reduce Their Environmental Impact

With OEMs demanding ever greater value for money from their suppliers, EMS providers can find themselves facing increasing pressure on every front. To remain competitive, there's a growing recognition of the need to continually improve, adapt, and evolve the manufacturing process.

Real Time with...SMTAI 2018 Coverage Now Available

The I-Connect007 team traveled to Rosemont, Illinois this week to cover the SMTA International 2018 conference and exhibition. Video interviews of key executives and leaders of our industry are now available for viewing. Also check out the photo gallery for snapshots of the exhibition floor and the conference as well as the after-hours festivities.

Will You Be RoHS 2-Compliant by 22 July 2017?

The year 2011 saw the legal initiation of the RoHS 2 recast and an update of the RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, subsequently transpiring into UK law. The initiative granted transition periods of varying time scales to different categories of electrical and electronic equipment products. Now, 2017 sees the end of the transition period for EEE products that fall into one of the subsections of category nine – industrial monitoring and control instruments.

Conflict Minerals – A Mixed Message?

While the EU is taking a more considered but arguably progressive approach towards banning conflict minerals, the US, in contrast, looks to be heading towards a relaxation or even abandonment of its rules.

Saline Lectronics Invests in the Millennial Generation

You're heard all the knocks against millennials: they're flaky job-hoppers and they're tough to motivate. But Saline Lectronics has a larger presence of these younger employees, and they find quite a few advantages to hiring staff who are far from retirement age. Saline's Jason Sciberra explains how he manages and motivates these young people.

IPC APEX EXPO: IPC's Fern Abrams Provides Updates on RoHS, REACH Directives

Fern Abrams, director of regulatory affairs and government relations at IPC, discusses with I-Connect007's Stephen Las Marias the latest updates on the changes happening in the RoHS and REACH directives this year, as well as IPC's new initiatives and advocacies.

Reducing Risks to Employees’ Health with Extraction and Filtration Technology

Occupational health and safety in manufacturing companies have become increasingly important in recent years. As manufacturing processes gain in complexity, the resulting pollutants have become smaller and particularly more exotic. These factors lead to a rising demand for extraction and filtration technology, which reliably protects equipment and employee health, and furthermore, takes account of changing process parameters.

A Greener, Money-saving Approach to Dealing with Waste

EMS firm Sanmina has a high technology manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama, where it produces state of the art PCBAs on several advanced SMT lines, for some of the world’s leading medical and defense companies. Here's how the company was able to manage its hazardous waste disposal and be certified by ADEM, one of the strictest state regulatory agencies in the country.

Assembly with Solder - An Unblinking Look at

While soldering holds many benefits in terms of offering a means of mass assembly of components to PCBs and is fundamentally simple, its application is much more complex and fraught with opportunity for defects to be generated, but it is also the demon we have elected to live with, for as the old saying suggests: "Better is the devil we know."

Sustainability: What and Why?

Joe Fjelstad writes, "The resources of our planet are limited and thus are diminishing as we continue to unleash and ramp-up a seemingly never-ending flow of products to both serve and amuse us with output of the global electronics industry likely to be nearing the top of the list of 'offenders.' In that regard, we are becoming victims of our own success, to one degree or another."

Tombstoning Reduction Via Phased-reflow Soldering

A drop-in replacement for standard lead alloys, whereby a small amount of Sn62 wets both sides of the termination before the Sn63 melting point is reached. The lower melting point on sn62 tack solders parts to the board and virtually eliminates this common defect.