SILICON VALLEY, CA – Zero Defects International [ZDI] has announced their participation as an exhibitor at the SMTA Rocky Mountain Expo and Tech Forum. It will be held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. The date of this event is Wednesday, March 15. The address of the Sheraton is 1550 Court Place, Denver, Colorado.
Foremost among the PCBA test and inspection products to be shown will be Viscom's AOI, X-Ray and SPI inspection equipment. The Viscom display will include updates on the very latest enhancements for each of these products. Also, ZDI will have information on their flying-probe test services as well as reverse engineering and failure analysis services. Those in attendance include Michaela Brody, President and Paul Benke, CEO as well as Viscom sales management personnel, Barbara Koczera and Ed Moll. Other ZDI partners, for which information will be available, include Europlacer, Velan, Tagarno, Epoch International, and Arcadia.
CLINTON, NY – Indium Corporation’s Joe Hertline, Product Manager for Engineered Solder Materials (ESM)/Power Electronics, will host a webinar to discuss an emerging material technology which has the ability to provide robust tacking strength while reducing dependency on customized fixturing. The webinar, a part of the company’s InSIDER Series, will be held live at 8:30 a.m. (EST), Tuesday, February 28 and made available for on-demand viewing afterward.
Reliance on complex, costly alignment fixturing is growing as power module designers seek repeatable manufacturing and to achieve high-reliability performance. Flux-free soldering techniques are being deployed widely to meet the increasing requirements for quality, low voiding, and cleanliness driven by automotive/EV use cases. The emergence of sintering materials for SiC module applications are also a key consideration as manufacturers look at opportunities to scale processes and leverage high-performance properties.
In this webinar, Hertline will present how InTACK™ material technology can be applied during assembly to provide robust tacking strength and reduce dependency on customized fixturing. The absence of residue and contamination with InTACK™ make it a viable option for flux-free soldering and sintering applications where cleanliness directly influences reliability performance. Test data will be analyzed to evaluate material characteristics for dispensing, tack strength, and post-processing, and case studies will be reviewed to demonstrate opportunities for reduced process steps, cycle time, and overall cost of ownership in power module manufacturing.
You can register for Hertline’s webinar at: https://indium.news/InTackWebinar. The webinar link will be shared with registrants the day of the event. Registrants must use a company email account to avoid Indium Corporation’s spam filters. This is a first-come, first-served event.
Hertline is the Product Manager for ESM, focusing on power electronics applications. He is responsible for driving the growth of the power electronics product line through development and implementation of marketing strategies supported by customer experience, emerging technologies, and industry feedback. Hertline also collaborates with Indium Corporation's sales, technical support, R&D, production, and quality teams to serve existing customers and grow new business in his designated market. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Clarkson University and is a Certified SMT Process Engineer (CSMTPE).
NEWMAN LAKE, WA – Hentec Industries/RPS Automation, a leading manufacturer of selective soldering, lead tinning and solderability test equipment, is pleased to announce that APCT Corporation has purchased a Pulsar solderability testing system.
The Pulsar utilizes the highly proven dip-and-look test method that is a qualitative type test performed by comparative analysis after specimens are dipped in a bath of flux and molten solder. An advantage of the dip-and-look method is since it is based on comparative analysis it can be performed rapidly by shop floor personnel with minimal training as well as requiring significantly lower capital investment then a wetting balance test system. The Pulsar solderability testing system complies with all applicable solderability test standards including MIL-STD-883 Method 2003, IPC J-STD-002 and MIL-STD-202 Method 208.
NEW BRITAIN, CT – MicroCare today announced the promotion of Ernesto Pollano to General Sales Manager, Mexico / LATAM. The promotion speaks to the company’s strategy to continue to build upon its global expansion.
Pollano who joined MicroCare 2018 as Regional Sales Manager, Western Mexico, immediately distinguished himself for his keen problem-solving sales approach and customer relationship building abilities. His contributions to the success of MicroCare in the competitive Mexico market were recognized – and rewarded with today’s announcement.
In his new role, Pollano will lead MicroCare sales and marketing in Mexico and Latin America. He will develop and grow the sales organization, strengthen relationships with distributors and manufacturers representatives, develop key new partnerships to increase revenue across all MicroCare product platforms, and identify strategic opportunities to increase sales in Mexico. Pollano will also play a key part in developing the MicroCare strategy specifically for Costa Rica and Dominican Republic.
Vince Libercci, Electronics Commercial Sales Manager says, “Ernesto has successfully increased the MicroCare market share in Mexico in the four years he has been with the company. He has demonstrated leadership, team building and strategic business development skills and is deserving of this appointment. We will lean on Ernesto to be our point person in an area that has been a key pillar to our growth and will be an important part of our future success.”
“I’m excited to lead the way on our growth plan for Mexico / LATAM,” says Pollano, an alumnus of the Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara. “MicroCare is well positioned to grow in the critical cleaning market that it has called home for 40 years. Our unique offerings, including cleaning fluids and proprietary cleaning tools along with our strategic distributor partnerships worldwide, provide our clients with a value proposition that is unmatched in the industry.”
With more than 60 years of history, Kitron is an industrial partner supplying electronics manufacturing services. We also provide design and development, end-of-life, redesign, overhaul, and field services. The services we provide enable customers to focus on product development, market expansion, and product introduction. This is an attractive proposition for a growing number of customers.
In early 2022, we completed an acquisition of BB Electronics, another EMS company. This resulted in over 100 new customers and strong revenues in the field of residential energy solutions, fleet management, and other tracking applications, as well as supplying e-mobility components.
In addition, our existing business is strong, including new generations introduced by our customers and new program wins in the Connectivity and Electrification sectors. This has led to record revenue and order backlog.
Looking into the coming years, Kitron will continue to invest 2-3% of revenue in capacity and capability expansion. So far, in 2023, 6 new SMT lines will be up and running in 4 factories. In addition, new equipment will be added to existing lines to improve speed, efficiency, and cost.
By adding new machinery for coating, soldering, and installing a powerful and intelligent THT insertion machine, we will be able to handle more complex product lines. We also continue our journey toward automation. Significant steps have been taken over the past five years, and we’re ready to roll out industry-leading practices across more factories, like automated through-hole insertion lines, fully automated high-level assembly lines and utilization of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, rapidly adapting machines to various end products. For every type of product, we will utilize a highly flexible, expandable, and efficient machine that can make quick changes and deliver a strong return on investment.
“As a company, we look forward to further growth in the future," says Stian Haugen, CTO of Kitron Group. “Our goal is to support the demand of our customers and meet their capacity needs."
Kitron currently operates in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, India, China, and the United States. More than 2800 employees work in these facilities, which include 32+ fully automated production lines for electronics, and 3 lines for high-level assembly of end-customer products in more than 100 000 sq. m. of manufacturing area.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The SMTA is excited to introduce a new event for manufacturers in the high reliability sector which takes place on April 18, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The High Reliability: Strategic Technology Advancement Research Forum will be held at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.
Registration for the High Reliability: Strategic Technology Advancement Research (STAR) Forum is open. This event aims to share information on how manufacturing professionals deliver resilient products that tolerate extreme environments. The program will focus on all aspects of high reliability manufacturing including design, manufacturing, testing, assembly of box build, and how the customer uses the high reliability technology for future projects. The SMTA is still accepting abstracts for this event.
The newly renovated Kansas City Marriott Downtown provides an environment for attendees to learn and network while enjoying the historic charm of Kansas City. Discounted hotel rates are available when booking through the event website by March 27, 2023.
Sponsorship and Exhibiting opportunities are available for this event. View more details online.
If there are any questions, please call +1-952-920-7682 or email karlie@smta.org. For more information, visit https://smta.org/mpage/star/