BANNOCKBURN, IL – The explosion in knockoff products – reportedly a $600 billion business worldwide – has sparked group of SMT equipment manufacturers to develop an anti-counterfeit tool kit.

Among the advice the SMEMA Council, a group of electronics assembly equipment OEMs, provides is an admonition to use only authorized channels for replacement parts and service. The group reminds assemblers that using non-authorized parts could void warranties on expensive surface mount production machines.

“[E]quipment and software warranty and support obligations should not apply where the customer has altered or modified equipment manufacturers' products without prior written approval, where damages have resulted from noncompliance with published operating procedures, or where the customer has used replacement parts or software not supplied by the manufacturer or authorized suppliers.”

The council urges users to “consider modification of their terms and conditions to emphasize that equipment manufacturers are not responsible for damage caused by counterfeit inferior reworked, refurbished, and cannibalized parts and illegally transferred or copied software and that use of such items will result in the warranty on the equipment being void.”

Juki Automation Systems president and CEO Bob Black notes, “Counterfeit parts, nozzles, and feeders fall far short of our required specifications and have caused millions of dollars of rework due to poor yields. In some cases, serious damage to the machines themselves has occurred.”

Council members are evaluating the possibility of increased cooperation with US Customs and Border Protection and monitoring auction sites.