FEATURES

• America’s Next Model?
  New Opportunities in Electronics Manufacturing
  The offshore model was built on extremely high volumes with high operating rates, thin margins, and an abusive relationship between customer and vendor. The trend, however, is toward high-mix/low-volume and flexible response. Implementing MEMS, HDI and embedded components requires significant investment and a change in the way the factory floor is run, but could mean more stable business relationships, technology partnerships, and significantly improved margins and yields.
  By Matthew Holzmann
  

• Cover Story
  Near-Term Opportunities for Large Area Flexible Electronics
  Large area flexible electronics is expected to become a multi-billion dollar clean-tech industry that will revolutionize how society interacts with intelligent and responsive electronics-based systems.
  By Daniel Gamota

• Workcell Design
  The In-House Micro Facility
  EMS firms employ dedicated manufacturing cells and teams of dedicated multi-skilled technicians and assemblers – akin to mini factories within the factory. Each cell is optimally designed to support an individual product build process, and focuses exclusively on that customer or project. Assembly equipment in cells is located within close proximity to minimize product transportation and to maintain continuous flow with zero inventory between operations. This eliminates risk and increases predictability for the OEM and the assembler.
  By Dave Fahey
  

• STI Electronics
  A Return to Roots
  A recent plant opening took Circuits Assembly to Huntsville, AL, the cradle of the EMS industry, where a soldering pioneer is now engaged in the unusual – but successful – combination of assembly engineering, distribution and training.
  By Mike Buetow

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  The defense shouldn’t rest.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Global Sourcing
  Greed is not good.
  Jennifer Read

TECH TALK

Screen Printing
No taste for no paste.
Clive Ashmore

Better Manufacturing
Vapor phase reflow rematerializes.
Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall

Pb-Free Lessons Learned
Excess copper dissolution.
Chrys Shea

Reflow Soldering
Processing SnCuNi.
Ursula Marquez de Tino

Test and Inspection
‘Reworking’ the concept of test.
Stacy Kalisz Johnson

Process Doctor
Refractive reaction.
Dr. Harald Wack

Solar Technologies
Is there room for EMS firms?
Darren Brown

The Defects Database
Lead contamination.
Dr. Davide Di Maio

Wave Soldering Troubleshooting
Root causes for insufficients.
Paul Lotosky

Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Product Spotlight
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the Cover: The next paradigm shift?