Bittele Electronics Inc., a Toronto-based PCB manufacturer specializing in prototype and small-to-mid volume printed circuit board assembly, announced the expansion of its Markham, Ontario, PCB assembly facility. Bittele has expanded its component warehouse to provide more storage space for consigned inventory since extended part lead times still plague the component market.

“With the expanded warehouse, we can store consigned parts for ongoing and upcoming orders,” says Ben Yang, CEO of Bittele Electronics. “We also offer the option of purchasing and stocking critical items from a customer’s BOM upon request.”

In addition to the expansion of its component warehouse, Bittele has also installed a new Soltec wave soldering machine, which will be utilized for larger-volume, through-hole assembly. The new wave soldering machine will complement its current Ersa selective soldering machine and will be operational later this summer.

Bittele’s Markham facility offers quick-turn prototype to mid-volume production focusing on its North American customers and features fully automated printed circuit board (PCB) loading, solder paste printing, component placement, reflow and inspection.

PCB West: The leading technical conference and exhibition for electronics engineers. Coming Oct. 4-7 to the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. pcbwest.com

Since partnering with Heller Industries last year, Altus Group, a leading supplier of capital equipment for the electronics industry, has seen growing interest in the company’s reflow oven technology including its latest innovation, the MK7.

Altus has introduced Heller Industries equipment to a wide variety of customers as it supports all production requirements from entry level NPI volumes, to the fastest throughput needed in automotive environments.

As an innovator in convection reflow and in-line continuous curing applications, Heller Industries MK7 Reflow Oven is one of the world’s best SMT convection reflow oven for high-throughput applications.

Joe Booth, Altus said: “Heller Industries are leaders in their field, having pioneered convection reflow soldering since the 1980s. Because they have many years of in-depth knowledge and understanding of reflow oven technology, we were thrilled to add them to the Altus portfolio. The addition of the MK7 Reflow Oven has enabled us to introduce their technology to even more of our customers because of its game changing benefits and massive energy-based ROI.

“Mk7 is designed with lower Delta T for superior thermal uniformity. It also has reduced nitrogen consumption of up to 40% and a new low height package that makes it easy to see across the production floor. There is also a flux collection system included trapping flux in collection jars that are easily removed and replaced while the oven is still running, so there is no downtime for changes.

“Another important feature is the energy management software. Energy saving is a hot topic at the moment and one which we are often asked about when it comes to new equipment. The MK7 software allows users to optimise energy consumption during the various production times, whether during heavy use or even when idle. With optimal airflow, uniformity and double insulation on all its skins there is at least a 20% energy saving when compared to the MK5 which was already comparable to others in the field.

It is not just software that makes this unit so energy efficient. Heller has modified the design of the heating zones to remove overall mass and reduce the distance from the fans to the product. This means that the oven requires less energy to heat up and less ongoing energy consumption to remain hot. This means that the oven warm up is faster (25%) and the oven is more reactive when reflowing higher thermal mass products, which helps keep the internal zone temperatures as uniform as possible to their set temperatures and in doing so, increases profile accuracy.

PCB West: The leading technical conference and exhibition for electronics engineers. Coming Oct. 4-7 to the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. pcbwest.com

Cranston, Rhode Island USA – AIM Solder, a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is pleased to announce the expansion of its Business Development group with the promotion of Petr Bettinec to the position of Business Development Manager, Europe.

In this position, Petr will develop the company’s efforts at large multi-site, multi- national electronics producers in the critical European electronics marketplace. By focusing on this key region, he will bring knowledge regarding the requirements of the industry to all of AIM’s efforts, enabling the company to develop and promote products effectively in the EU and globally, now and into the future.

"Petr’s broad experience, including his proven success as Eastern Europe Sales Manager with AIM, has earned him this new position,” said AIM’s Vice President – Business Development, Andy Dolan. “We look forward to the positive impact he will have while expanding our business in this very important region."

Petr will continue to be based in the Czech Republic and can be reached at pbettinec@aimsolder.com.

PCB West: The leading technical conference and exhibition for electronics engineers. Coming Oct. 4-7 to the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. pcbwest.com

Yamaha Motor Robotics FA Section will show visitors to Motek 2022 its family of compact, affordable industrial robots boost the productivity of common component-handling and product-assembly processes.

Topical demonstrations at Yamaha’s booth, 7515 in hall 7, will present SCARA, cartesian, and single-axis robots, and the LCMR200 linear conveyor module, highlighting their speed, accuracy, and flexibility.

The LCMR200, which has programmable direction, speed, acceleration, and stop positions, solves workpiece-transport challenges in robot assembly cells as well as manual production lines. At Motek, Yamaha will combine LCMR200 units with a cartesian robot to show how parts can be quickly moved between processes. The LCMR200 allows robots to work on items without first removing them from the module, which can save engineering costs and reduce cycle time.

Yamaha LCMR200

Also at Motek this year, an automated bonding demonstration will show SCARA and cartesian robots working together to accelerate adhesive deposition and ensure precision assembly. In addition, single-axis robots from the Yamaha Robonity series will show how they can address numerous applications for transport, feeding, and general process automation throughout today’s factories. The slim units are designed with high rigidity and a low centre of gravity for rock-solid automation and highly repeatable positioning. The Robonity lineup includes models with up to 1100mm stroke length and up to 2400mm/s excursion speed.

Yamaha’s affordable YK-XE SCARA range, which allows a low cost of entry into flexible automation, will also be on display. The smallest YK-XE model has arm length of just 400mm, with 4kg maximum load handling, for moving and assembling small items with high positional accuracy. Three further models offer arm length up to 710mm and up to 10kg maximum load. The demonstration will combine the YK-XE robot with an Asycube bulk-parts sorter to assist with picking. The Asycube interface leverages software developed by Yamaha to integrate and coordinate the two systems.

Visitors can also see the software packages available to help select, simulate, and program robots in standalone or group configurations. They include the RCX-Studio 2020 for programming SCARA, cartesian, and LCMR200 systems, and a software toolkit for RCX3 series controllers. In addition, the Robonity controller and software tools for offline configuration and real-time performance monitoring ensure the best performance from single-axis robots.

Motek, the trade fair for automation in production and assembly, is in Stuttgart from October 4-7. Yamaha’s industrial robot experts will be available throughout the show to discuss the demonstrations and any further questions about applying advanced robots to solve today’s automation challenges.

For further information, please visit https://fa.yamaha-motor-im.de/.

ABOUT YAMAHA Robotics FA Section

Yamaha Factory Automation Section (FA Section), a subdivision of Yamaha Motor Robotics Business Unit in Yamaha Motor Corporation, is focused on delivering flexible, high-accuracy industrial robots for precision automation challenges.

With its roots in the introduction of robot technology to Yamaha motorcycle assembly activities, the division has over 40 years’ experience solving automation challenges from factory-scale to micron-level. Yamaha’s industrial robots are now trusted by leading corporations worldwide, in activities as diverse as semiconductor fabrication and assembling electronic products, domestic appliances, automotive components, and large liquid-crystal panels.

Yamaha Motor FA Section offers a unified range of solutions for robotic assembly, including single-axis robots, SCARA, cartesian, and articulated robots. Innovations such as the LCMR200 linear conveyor module; a smoother, space-saving and more versatile successor to conventional belt and roller conveyors continue to set the pace in factory automation. Core robotic technologies as well as key components and complete robot systems are all produced in-house, ensuring consistent quality and control over lead-times.

Headquartered in Neuss, Germany, Yamaha FA Section serves customers in all Europe.

https://fa.yamaha-motor-robotics.eu