ATLANTA – 3D technology can be utilized in manufacturing to improve a variety of processes, including design, prototyping, training, and quality control. Utilizing VR and 3D technology in manufacturing environment can help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a variety of manufacturing processes, while also helping to reduce costs, improve quality, and increase customer satisfaction.

Scanfil is piloting 3D technology in its Atlanta project

Scanfil has utilized 3D technology in its expansion project in Scanfil Atlanta. The decision to utilize the 3D technology stemmed from the need to address issues of misalignment and misinterpretation that arose due to team members located in multiple countries and working with 2D layout drawings.

“I had experience utilizing 3D tools in similar projects in the past, so I proposed making this a pilot project to gather some experiences and assess the benefits. This type of tool has not been utilized in our company before, so this is more like a pilot to gather experiences and opinions on the process,” explains Miikka Ahola, Director of Manufacturing Technology.

Using 3D technology aids in visualizing and bringing plans to fruition

The utilization of 3D technology has helped in the layout and planning stages of the project. The detailed plans created with 3D technology have allowed for better indication of needs and improved process flow.

The project has been moving forward quickly. It started in November 2022, and the team is planning to have first stage ready already in January 2023. According to Miikka, they are exploring the possibility of creating simulations of material flow in later stages.

The benefits of using 3D technology in the Atlanta expansion project have been clear. “We can easily go through the changes in plans remotely, so this reduces the need for travelling during the planning stage. Also, the marketing and even production operators, that don’t have deep knowledge of the machines, can easily understand the plans, and see the working environment we are setting up”, says Miikka.

The future of 3D in the manufacturing industry seems to be promising

After the pilot project, our team will share views on how this has affected our way of working and possible future benefits. “There is still a lot of potential to be utilized in the future with simulation and testing new technologies in a virtual environment,” says Miikka and continues “also, doing NPI and proto builds in a simulated virtual environment before having actual parts is an interesting concept”. Overall, the future of 3D in the manufacturing industry and in Scanfil appears to be very promising.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The SMTA is excited to announce they are currently accepting student applications for the JoAnn Stromberg Student Leader Scholarship by April 28, 2023.

The $3,000 JoAnn Stromberg Student Leader Scholarship is given in honor of the nearly 30 years of service dedicated by former Executive Administrator, JoAnn Stromberg. The scholarship was established after her retirement in 2015. The purpose of this award is to encourage students to take on more leadership opportunities and encourage more students to engage in the electronics industry.

The Stromberg Scholarship is awarded annually to a student pursuing a degree in electronics (or surrounding industry) and actively involved in the SMTA. The scholarship is intended for the purchase of technical books and research materials, for participation in conferences related to electronics assembly and packaging, and for living expenses if necessary.

For more information about the JoAnn Stromberg Student Leader Scholarship, contact Saniya Pilgaonkar at +1-952-920-7682 or saniya@smta.org.

MORRISVILLE, NC – iNEMI, along with several industry and academic partners, is developing the 5G/6G mmWave Materials and Electrical Test Technology Roadmap (5G/6G MAESTRO) as part of NIST’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology (MfgTech) Roadmap. The goal of MAESTRO is to create a foundation of knowledge and expertise in the U.S. to support the development and manufacturing of leading edge 5G and 6G products.

Join iNEMI, Georgia Institute of Technology and Florida International University on February 9 for an introduction to the roadmap creation and a status update from Urmi Ray (iNEMI), Principal Investigator, along with highlights of progress made to date:

• Identification of Next-Generation Materials and Testing Needs — a status report on dielectric properties together with suggestions about where work is needed to move into the 5G and 6G bands, presented by David Citrin (Georgia Institute of Technology).
• mmWave System Design Analysis/Trends and Recommendations — key advances in system architectures and package integration that will enable future mmWave systems, presented by Raj Pulugurtha (Florida International University).

Registration

Advance registration is required (see link below). If you have any questions or need additional information about MAESTRO, please contact Urmi Ray (urmi.ray@inemi.org) Get additional workshop details.

Thursday, February 9, 2023
9:00-10:30 a.m. PST (US)
12:00-1:30 p.m. EST (US)
6:00-7:30 p.m. CST (Europe)
Register for this webinar

FARNBOROUGH, UK – Gen3, Global leader in SIR, CAF, Solderability, Ionic Contamination & process optimisation equipment, is pleased to announce that it released its new Objective Evidence website during the 2023 IPC APEX EXPO.

Objective Evidence is the new/latest requirement from J-STD-001 – Cleaning and Residue Requirements – for qualifying a manufacturing process. The purpose is to demonstrate the reliability and robustness of your circuit assemblies.

Those who work according to IPC J-STD-001 will need to qualify your manufacturing process by producing data demonstrating compliance with the standard. Previously, the ROSE test identified the pass/fail limit. This test has now been removed and is no longer a requirement for quality. OE is the replacement.

The primary objective is to mitigate the phenomenon of Electro-Chemical Migration (ECM). ECM affects all board manufacturers whether they clean or not! There are two ways to achieve Objective Evidence:

The first part is to initially demonstrate that your assembly meets the requirements of OE. J- STD-001 states to use SIR or Ion Chromatography. The second part is to demonstrate that you are meeting your OE requirements continuously i.e every day of the week or every week of the year. For this, it is recommended to use Process Ionic Contamination Testing (PICT).

Being a specialist in Quality Assurance for electronic assembly with more than 100 years of combined electronics industry experience, Gen3 is ideally placed to help clients determine the most suitable process control for their production process. The company provides Training and Consultancy Services.

For more information about Gen3, visit www.gen3systems.com. To learn more about Objective Evidence, visit www.objectiveevidence.org