By Phil Aponte, Siemens

With the majority of today’s consumer electronics being supplied from Asia, primarily through contract manufacturers which utilize a very high level of manual assembly labor, there is an increasing trend towards automation.   For example, as Chinese labor rates continue to escalate, in an instant replay of the Japan scenario of the 70’s and 80’s, more offshoring is being transferred to lower cost labor markets in Southeast Asia, particularly India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.  However, as these countries also seek experience a similar increase in labor cost, the need for higher level automation and use of collaborative robots will accelerate.  

[January 12, 2018 – Taipei, Taiwan] Test Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading test and inspection systems provider for the electronics manufacturing industry, announces its participation in Fuji’s ELF Standard for M2M in SMT Assembly.

Manassas, VA – March 8, 2018 ZESTRON, the globally leading provider of high precision cleaning products, services and training solutions in the electronics manufacturing and semiconductor industries, is pleased to announce that it will host “Should You Clean PCBs?” on Thursday, March 22nd, from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT. This is the first installment of ZESTRON Academy’s 2018 Cleaning Webinar Series, and will be presented by our industry expert, Umut Tosun, M.S.Ch.E, Application Technology Manager.

Zentech Fredericksburg (formerly Colonial Assembly and Design) has added over-molded cable assemblies manufacturing to its robust resume of capabilities.