SAN DIEGO – CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY and PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB magazines today announced the winners of the 2012 New Product Introduction Award for electronics assembly equipment, materials and software, and PCB fabrication.

The NPI Award, in its fifth year, recognizes leading new products during the past 12 months. An independent panel of practicing industry engineers, each with at least 20 years experience, selected the recipients.

The winners are:

Process Control Tools:  Cognex (DataMan 500)
Screen/Stencil Printing Equipment: Speedprint (Speedprint SP700avi)
Screen/Stencil Printing Peripherals: Seika Machinery (Sawa Ultrasonic Stencil Cleaner SC-AH100F-LV Low-VOC Model)
Cleaning Equipment: Aqueous Technologies (Trident XLD)
Device Programming: Data I/O Corp. (RoadRunner 3 with FIS)
Dispensing Equipment: GPD Global (PCD Dispensing on MAX Series Platform)
Test & Inspection – AOI: CyberOptics Corp. (QX100)
Test & Inspection – ICT: Datest (SPEA 4060 Flying Probe Tester with Goepel Boundary Scan)
Test & Inspection – Functional Test: Agilent Technologies (Agilent TS-8900)
Test & Inspection – AXI: ViTrox Technologies (V810 In-Line 3D AXI)    
Soldering Materials: AIM (NC259 Solder Paste)
Automation Tools: LPKF Laser & Electronics (LPKF MicroLine 1120 P)
Component Placement – Multifunction: Assembléon America (iFlex)    
Component Placement – High-Speed: Juki Corp. (Sentry)
Soldering – Reflow: Speedline Technologies (Closed Loop Nitrogen Control)
Soldering – Selective: SEHO Systems (AOI System to be embedded in Selective Soldering Machine)
Cleaning Materials: Kyzen Corp. (Aquanox A4638)
Labeling Equipment: Cogiscan (LabelScan Automated Vision System)
Software – Production: Juki Corp. (Juki IS NPI+ Bundle)    
Software – Process Control: Microscan (AutoVISION Machine Vision Software)
Soldering – Other: EVS (EVS 7000LFHS Solder Recovery System Redesign)
Cored Wire: Nihon Superior (SN100C (551CT) Lead-Free Flux-Cored Solder Wire)
Coatings/Encapsulants: Semblant Inc. (SPF (Semblant Plasma Finish))
Rework & Repair Tools: Christopher Associates (Magnus HD Trend)
Soldering – Wave: KIC (KIC 24/7 Wave)
Surface Treatment: Dow Electronic Materials (Circuposit Hole Prep 4126 Sweller)

The awards were presented during a special ceremony during the IPC Apex trade show in San Diego.

“We had tremendous interest in the NPI Award this year, and close races in several categories,” said Mike Buetow, editor-in-chief of PCD&F and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY. “We value having this opportunity to recognize the best new products of the past year.”

Discuss this year's IPC Apex Expo with Mike Buetow at PCB Chat on March 2 from 2 to 3 pm EST.