Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Current

Press Releases

HALFMOON, NY – PVA, a global supplier of automated dispensing and coating equipment, is pleased to announce its participation in Electric Vehicle Asia (EV Asia) 2024. The event will take place July 3-5, 2024 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Bangkok, Thailand. PVA will be co-exhibiting with its distributor, TKT Technology, in SIP Technology's booth, B1.

Paul Kim, Regional Sales Manager of PVA Asia, will be in attendance to engage with industry professionals, partners, and potential clients. Mr. Kim will be available to discuss PVA's latest advancements in fluid dispensing solutions, coating, and custom automation systems tailored for the electric vehicle industry.

Electric Vehicle Asia is a premier event that brings together leaders, innovators, and stakeholders from the electric vehicle industry. The exhibition focuses on the latest technologies, innovations, and solutions that are driving the future of electric mobility.

PVA is renowned for its high-quality dispensing and coating solutions used in various industries, including automotive, electronics, aerospace, and medical devices. The company is a trusted partner in precision automation and fluid dispensing technologies. TKT Technology, PVA's distributor in the region, shares a strong partnership with SIP Technology. This collaboration enhances PVA's reach and service capabilities in the Asian market. Visitors to the SIP Technology booth (B1) will have the opportunity to learn more about how PVA's solutions can be integrated into electric vehicle manufacturing processes.

PVA invites all attendees of Electric Vehicle Asia 2024 to visit booth B1 to meet with Paul Kim and the TKT Technology team. Learn how PVA’s cutting-edge solutions can enhance your manufacturing processes and support the evolving needs of the electric vehicle industry.

For more information about PVA, please contact PVA at info@pva.net or (518) 371-2684.

IWATA – Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) is pleased to announce that it will exhibit various products and services under the new concept Perfect Fit Automation for Surface Mount Technology (SMT) at the comprehensive exhibition of electronic component mounting technology, JISSO PROTEC 2024 (organized by the Japan Robot Industry Association), to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from June 12th (Wednesday) to June 14th (Friday).

Perfect Fit Automation is a concept that proposes optimal automation tailored to customer's site conditions across all processes of the SMT production process, from upstream to downstream. By providing automation proposals for each process, Yamaha Motor aims to realize a smart factory that optimizes the entire facility by appropriately integrating a variety of equipment and systems, thus achieving the embodiment of a smart factory.

The Yamaha Motor booth will showcase specific examples embodying the Perfect Fit Automation concept, including a vision of future production floors that achieve long hours of unmanned and uninterrupted operation. The company will also introduce its long-standing proposal of a high-efficiency, high-quality production line through the 1stop Smart Solution.

Innovation Concept - Perfect Fit Automation

In recent times, with trends towards miniaturization, high-density, increased functionality, and diversification, product cycles in manufacturing have accelerated. From high-speed mass production to high-mix low-volume production, spanning applications from automotive electronics to household appliances, computers, and mobile phones, the demands on SMT production equipment vary widely among customers.

Especially in large-scale production environments, where specialists manage SMT production processes individually and a variety of production equipment from multiple manufacturers coexist, seamless integration and optimization are crucial. Yamaha Motor offers a lineup of key equipment and systems for SMT production floors, providing optimal automation proposals tailored to each process based on individual circumstances. This approach has now been re-defined as Perfect Fit Automation.

In contrast, in small to medium-sized production sites where labor reduction and skill simplification are strongly demanded, Yamaha Motor promotes the conventional '1stop Smart Solution' concept of achieving advanced production with our full product lineup. The company aims to create highly efficient implementation factories, termed 'Intelligent Factories,' characterized by 'non-stop,' 'zero defects,' and 'operator-free' operations.

Booth Overview

(1) Perfect Fit Automation Corner - Experience Reduced Steps and Automation Solutions in Each SMT Process
Here, the company explains its new SMT concept, Perfect Fit Automation, with specific examples. Across the six processes of SMT production - from production planning and data creation to production preparation, in-production, troubleshooting, maintenance, and inspection - Yamaha Motor proposes solutions that seamlessly integrate with existing equipment and systems, regardless of production scale. This enables optimal automation and autonomy for customers, addressing challenges in production processes to optimize the entire production system and contribute to increased profitability. Yamaha's extensive range of key equipment in SMT production allows for product selection tailored to various environments and conditions.

(2) SMT Production Floor Automation Concept Exhibition - Towards Unmanned SMT Production Floors with a Focus on Parts Replenishment
Yamaha Motor highlights a glimpse of the future envisioned by Perfect Fit Automation. Using Automation Mounter for automatic components replenishment, Delivery Station which pre-stores feeders with scheduled components and automatically retrieves the next feeder needed for replenishment, and Changer for feeder transport and exchange operations (all shown for reference), Yamaha proposes solutions aimed at automating the most labor-intensive components replenishment tasks on SMT production floors. This ensures uninterrupted lines with no delays due to components replenishment issues.

(3) 1 Stop Smart Solution (New Generation YR Series) Line Exhibition - Lineup Reaching the Summit
Our long-standing 1stop Smart Solution leverages a wide range of our products such as surface mounter, solder-paste printer, dispenser, inspection system, etc., facilitating smooth and advanced inter-device cooperation without black boxes. This comprehensive approach achieves high efficiency in SMT production processes. We will showcase concrete examples of the Intelligent Factory realized with our product line, featuring premium printers like YRP10, premium high-efficiency modular YRM20 x2, and 3D hybrid optical inspection system YRi-V.

WALTHAM, MA – Nano Dimension Ltd. (Nasdaq: NNDM) (“Nano Dimension” or the “Company”), a leading supplier of Additively Manufactured Electronics (“AME”) and multi-dimensional polymer, metal and ceramic Additive Manufacturing (“AM”) 3D printing solutions, today announced a major enhancement to its Additive Electronics (“AE”) offering from its Essemtec product group (“Essemtec Product Group”) that has introduced a new jet-on-the-fly capability, significantly enhancing the speed of additive electronics dispensing by up to 3x, marking a major advancement in AME.

The breakthrough comes from Nano Dimension’s Essemtec Product Group, which develops robotics systems critical for highly specialized and variable electronics manufacturing requirements. The jet-on-the-fly capability enables the precise dispensing of solder paste dots ranging from 250µm to larger sizes, even within tight spaces such as cavities. This ensures exceptional accuracy, repeatability, and reliability throughout the manufacturing process. This enhancement revolutionizes additive electronics manufacturing by significantly boosting efficiency and speed with an average expected speed of approximately 180,000 dots per hour (“DPH”) per board, and specific packages like BGA reaching up to 400,000 DPH. This process is expected to improve the unit economics and therefore the adoption of the Company’s systems.

Nano Dimension is poised to leverage this advanced capability to expand its footprint in the AE market, addressing the increasing demand from manufacturers for faster dispensing speeds in production settings. Notably, this enhancement will be available to existing customers, ensuring they can seamlessly integrate and benefit from this cutting-edge technology.

Olivier Carnal, General Manager of Nano Dimension’s Essemtec Product Group, expressed his excitement: “We are thrilled to introduce this groundbreaking jet-on-the-fly technology, which promises immediate performance improvements for both existing and new customers. This advancement signifies a remarkable leap forward in the industry, driving substantial change and empowering manufacturers with enhanced capabilities.”

Yoav Stern, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Nano Dimension, added: “Our development in our AE product with jet-on-the-fly technology is a crucial demonstration of how Nano Dimension is pushing the limits of electronics manufacturing. In increasing speed up to 3x, our systems will provide better unit economics, which in turn will open up more opportunities for our systems to be used in advanced manufacturing of electronics.”

CRANSTON, RI – AIM Solder, a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mhanny Aguillo as the Southeast Asia Technical Sales Manager. With over 15 years of experience at AIM Solder, Mhanny brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his new role.

In this position, Mhanny will lead the growing technical sales team in Southeast Asia, alongside other recent additions, including Technical Sales Engineers Henry Colina, Wei Jye Lim, and Xuan Tung Le, as well as a new factory in Malaysia. This highlights our commitment to this vital and rapidly growing region. His extensive background in various roles within the company positions him to excel in this challenging role and drive significant growth for AIM Solder.

“We are excited to have Mhanny take on this new role," said David Suraski, Executive Vice President, Assembly Materials Division, "His dedication, deep understanding of the industry, and proven track record at AIM Solder make him the ideal candidate to lead our efforts in Southeast Asia. We are confident that under his leadership, we will continue to strengthen our presence and achieve our strategic goals in the region."

AIM Solder remains committed to providing superior products and unparalleled technical support, ensuring customers' success across the globe. This appointment is a testament to AIM's dedication to fostering talent from within and its commitment to maintaining its position as a market leader in solder assembly materials.

Mhanny Aguillo can be reached at maguillo@aimsolder.com

Manassas, VA – ZESTRON, the leading global provider of high-precision cleaning products, services, and training solutions in the electronics manufacturing and semiconductor industries, is pleased to announce an upcoming webinar titled "Tackling Flux Residues: Best Practices for Cleaning Power Electronics Components." This informative session will be held on June 11, 2024, at 2:00 PM EDT.

Residues from flux pose a significant obstacle in cleaning power electronics components, potentially leading to corrosion, electrical shorts, and reliability issues that can adversely impact component performance and lifespan. Understanding and implementing optimal cleaning practices is critical in overcoming these challenges and ensuring the longevity and reliability of power electronics.

Join Ravi Parthasarathy, Senior Application Engineer at ZESTRON Americas, as he shares his expertise on the evolution of power electronics and offers insights into selecting the appropriate cleaning methods for these critical components. Ravi will cover essential topics, including:

Evolution of Power Electronics: An overview of how power electronics have advanced and the increasing importance of effective cleaning.
Cleaning Method Selection: Guidance on choosing the proper cleaning methods to ensure compatibility with various power electronics components.
Validation of Cleaning Effectiveness: Techniques for confirming that cleaning processes achieve the desired cleanliness level.

This webinar is an excellent opportunity for professionals in the electronics manufacturing and semiconductor industries to enhance their understanding of best practices for cleaning power electronics components and to learn from real-life case studies demonstrating effective solutions.

Registration for the webinar is now open. Interested participants can reserve their spot by visiting here.

CAMBRIDGE, UK – Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are increasingly adopted, with the market size expected to exceed US$8 billion by 2034. Thermal fillers play a crucial role in TIMs as they directly affect properties such as thermal conductivity, viscosity, cost, abrasiveness, and several other factors. TIM fillers typically stand as the most expensive ingredient in TIM formulations; therefore, the selection of TIM fillers needs to find a balance between good thermal conductivity, decent mechanical properties, and an acceptable price.

There is a variety of TIM fillers, including alumina, aluminum hydroxide (ATH), aluminum nitride (AlN), zinc oxide (ZnO), magnesium oxide (MgO), and boron nitride (BN). Depending on the target applications and requirements, the filler materials, particle size, and filler mixing are proprietary to TIM formulators. Below are a few interesting findings based on the comparison of different fillers, with more in-depth analysis covered in IDTechEx’s new market research report, “Thermal Interface Materials 2024-2034: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts”.

Alumina fillers are the most commonly used in the current market. They are effective for increasing thermal conductivity in epoxies at a low cost (USD 5.5-6.5/kg with the potential to go as low as USD 2-3/kg). It is worth noting that prices are largely dependent on filler size, grade, geometry, and order volume. In addition to thermal conductivity, alumina fillers also present low electrical conductivity, making them ideal for electronics applications. However, despite their benefits, alumina fillers come with several limitations, such as relatively low thermal conductivity compared with other high-performance fillers, abrasiveness, and low viscosity at high loading percentages. Alumina fillers can be broadly split into spherical alumina and ground alumina fillers, spherical alumina typically has higher costs than ground alumina. According to IDTechEx’s research, ground alumina can reduce costs by around 50% compared to spherical alumina. However, ground alumina, due to their edgy geometries, often have a much lower loading percentage.

An interesting trend in TIMs for electric vehicle (EV) batteries is the transition from using alumina fillers to ATH fillers. ATH fillers have significantly lower costs compared to alumina (20% to 40% lower, depending on volume, suppliers, and many other factors), but they also lead to lower thermal conductivity. Nevertheless, driven by the battery pack configuration transition from modular design to cell-to-pack design and even cell-to-pack 3.0 design by CATL, IDTechEx believes that the thermal conductivity required for TIMs in EV batteries is expected to decrease from around 3.5 W/mK previously to around 2.5 W/mK in the future. This lowering of thermal conductivity opens the possibility of using ATH fillers for EV manufacturers to further reduce costs. Additionally, ATH fillers also have flame retardancy as they can decompose endothermically, releasing approximately 35% of their weight as water vapor, thereby absorbing heat and reducing thermal runaway. More details on how EV battery pack configuration will affect thermal conductivity and TIMs employed in EV batteries are covered in the IDTechEx report, “Thermal Interface Materials 2024-2034: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts”.

In addition to low-cost thermal fillers, some applications also need high-performance TIMs. Commonly used higher-performance TIMs include boron nitride fillers and AlN fillers. However, high performance comes with high costs. For instance, BN fillers can cost 10 times more than alumina fillers. Therefore, to balance thermal conductivity performance and cost, TIM formulators typically mix fillers where primary fillers are low-cost alumina, and secondary fillers are high-cost BN fillers or others. Additionally, TIM fillers with various particle sizes are also commonly used. Larger fillers can reduce specific surface area and interfacial thermal resistance, improving thermal conductivity. However, large fillers lead to high defect density, which can impede heat transfer. Hence, smaller fillers are employed as additives to reduce defect density.

Besides the fillers mentioned above, there are also opportunities for other fillers such as MgO, ZnO, and several others, although each presents its own challenges, such as toxicity and high costs. For more details on the benchmark comparison of TIM fillers, please refer to IDTechEx’s new report, “Thermal Interface Materials 2024-2034: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts”.