{jumi: [mosaddphp/ca_digital_icon1.php]}

View the Digital Edition

FEATURES

• Industry Models
  What We Can Learn from Singapore
  A tour of seven facilities in the city-state opens the author’s eyes to an emerging government-industry infrastructure for responding to continually changing market conditions and business needs.
  By Susan Mucha
  

• Cover Story
  BGA Reballing Reliability
  During solder ball removal, a manual method using wicking braid resulted in fewer thermal stresses than would be encountered with a flowing solder bath. But a robust nickel layer on the component provides a very effective barrier against copper dissolution during the latter.
  By Ray Cirimele
  

• Alternative Energies
  Cell Efficiency is Key to Success of Photovoltaics
  Unlike semiconductors, there appear to be no technical barriers to the acceptance of new PV technologies. Photovoltaics will be governed more by economics than by any performance specifications, and the economics of these devices depend on little more than manufacturing cost and efficiency.
  By Alain Harrus and Jim Handy
  

• Reflow Profiling
  On the Use of 3 Thermocouples to Verify a PCB Profile During Reflow
  By simulating changes to the oven – performed by altering belt speeds and a temperature zone from the baseline profile – evidence shows that by putting tight specifications on the two response variables for the temperature profiles of the three T/Cs located on the surface of the laminate’s leading edge, one can effectively verify the board’s characterization profiles are still within specification.
  By Daryl L. Santos, Arun Ramasubramanian and Laurence A. Harvilchuck
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  America’s next top model?
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Global Sourcing
  Don’t let anger be your guide.
  Jennifer Read

TECH TALK

• Screen Printing
  Flexible systems are all the rage.
  Clive Ashmore

• Better Manufacturing
  How recession forces efficiency.
  Peter Grundy

• Test and Inspection
  AOI in the high-mix environment.
  Stacy Kalisz Johnson

• Tech Tips
  Giving fine-pitch a wedgie.
  American Competitiveness Institute

• Wave Soldering
  Turning up the (pre)heat.
  Ursula Marquez de Tino

• Wave Soldering Troubleshooting
  Bottom-side insufficients.
  Paul Lotosky

• Process Doctor
  Designing for SIR.
  Dr. Harald Wack

• The Defects Database
  Flux shorts on BGAs.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio

• Technical Abstracts

 

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Product Spotlight
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the Cover: A Pb-free flowing solder bath is expected to cause copper dissolution, but the nickel layer on some BGAs prevents solder from leaching.

{jumi: [mosaddphp/ca_digital_icon1.php]}

• Click here to view the Digital Edition
  

FEATURES

• Cover Story
  What is Halogen-Free Solder Paste?
  The assembly industry is being pushed in the direction of halogen-free materials. But many questions remain: What are the gauge R&Rs of the test procedures? How critical is 1500 ppm versus 900 ppm? Is this a test that represents the real impact of halogenated fire retardants? Should the halogen content only be tested on the final assembly? What are the impact and danger of the replacements? How pertinent is this to electronics assembly when the real issue is illegal dumping of e-waste? The results of the testing regarding this topic create more questions than answers.
  By Karl Seelig and Michael Burgess
  

• Apex Recap
  The Year of Survival
  In 2009’s first test of how the electronics manufacturing industry is holding up, the crowds mostly stayed home from the major North American trade show of the year. Travel bans at several major OEMs clearly dampened turnout, which was down 34% year-over-year. Sensing the pending void (and disgruntled over the inflated costs of the show), exhibitors scaled back on equipment and booth sizes and, in a few cases, pulled out altogether. But even the weight of the financial world couldn’t depress a few shining moments. Plus: Service Excellence and NPI Award winners.
  By Mike Buetow and Chelsey Drysdale
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Less green would be good.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Global Sourcing
  The gluttonous OEM.
  Jennifer Read

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  China is building its semiconductor capacity. Could we stand another “Bear” market?
  E. Jan Vardaman

• Screen Printing
  Choosing your blade.
  Dr. Rita Mohanty

• Better Manufacturing
  Replacing actives with bare die.
  Jeff Knight

• Reflow Soldering
  The art and science of profiling.
  Jon Silin and Ursula Marquez de Tino

• The Defects Database
  Broken traces near PBGAs.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio

• Getting Lean
  The Lean culture.
  Tony Bellitto and Patience Day

• Technical Abstracts

 

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Product Spotlight
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the Cover: Some OEMs want to regulate halogens, but critics claim there's no science behind the limits.

 

Click here to view the Digital Edition

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?