WALTHAM, MA – Earlier this year, Essemtec AG reached a milestone with the delivery its 40th machine to EMS provider Zollner Elektronik AG. Zollner and Essemtec have been working together for more than a decade. The order of the first adhesive dispenser Scorpion marked the start of a successful collaboration for both partners.

"We at Essemtec are honored by the trust of Zollner Elektronik in our technology and the close collaboration which enabled further development of SMT equipment to better fit Zollner’s needs. Both companies are well known for their customer focus and agility to deliver electronics manufacturing solutions of the future.” says Olivier Carnal, General Manager of Essemtec in a press release

Numerous Essemtec dispensers, with Spider being the latest generation equipment, have been supplied since then; an now Essemtec has delivered its 40th machine to the EMS provider.

"We are very pleased to have recently celebrated at our company site a milestone of our cooperation. The partnership with Essemtec is based on a high level of mutual trust and respect. Essemtec's flexibility is particularly significant for us - as the cycle time requirements for products became shorter and shorter, they always offered us suitable and flexible solutions thanks to the modularity of the equipment. We will continue to work together on interesting topics in the future and will be tackling Industry 4.0, for example. We are therefore looking forward to a continued successful partnership - to the next decade together" adds Martin Zistler, Vice President Global Engineering at Zollner.

CRANSTON, RI – AIM Solder, a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is pleased to announce the signing of Solder Connection for distribution in Ireland. Committed to quality, customer satisfaction, and sustainability, Solder Connection aligns perfectly with AIM Solder’s values.

Founded in 1989, Solder Connection has established itself as a premier technical supplier of soldering materials in the Electronic and Industrial sectors. With over three decades of experience, their reputation for service and a deep understanding of the manufacturing process complements AIM’s mission to deliver superior solder solutions.

“We are excited about this new partnership with Solder Connection,” said David Suraski, AIM Solder Executive VP of Assembly Materials. “Together, we look forward to delivering enhanced value and support to our customers, fostering success and innovation.”

Solder Connection’s offerings include a full range of soldering products and consumables, aimed at being a 'one-stop shop' for all soldering needs. This partnership is expected to strengthen the availability and technical support for AIM Solder’s products, reinforcing our shared dedication to the electronics industry's evolving needs.

PORTO, PORTUGAL – Critical Manufacturing, a global leader in next-level automation and manufacturing execution systems (MES), is pleased to announce its participation in the upcoming 2024 IPC APEX EXPO, taking place April 9-11, 2024 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Critical Manufacturing invites attendees to experience the future of MES in ASMPT SMT booth 1436 under the theme "Expect More from Your MES." Critical Manufacturing will once again join forces with ASMPT SMT, leveraging this platform to showcase its modern manufacturing execution systems (MES) and its crucial role for the Intelligent Factory to unleash SMT and plant-wide optimization.

“By providing seamless integration, real-time data insights, and operational optimization, MES technology empowers manufacturers to navigate the complexities of modern SMT production environments with ease,” said Dante Dominguez, Director of Sales for SMT, Noth America, at Critical Manufacturing. “We are excited to showcase our cutting-edge MES solution at APEX, demonstrating how it can revolutionize manufacturing processes and drive sustainable growth for businesses worldwide."

MES excellence takes center stage

The electronics industry continues to bring forth unique challenges, including dynamic supply chains, fluctuating demands, slimming margins, and rapid changes in product lifecycles. In response to these challenges, Critical Manufacturing has designed a top-tier MES tailored to meet the demands of the electronics and SMT industry. It surpasses mere automation, providing comprehensive control and real-time adaptability to navigate production challenges in any circumstance.

Why MES for SMT

Critical Manufacturing MES addresses the specific SMT operation needs with out-of-the-box features for each part of the process. It optimizes SMT production by streamlining the flow of information, allowing for precise control and traceability over material serialization, solder paste application, component placement, soldering, test and inspection processes. This level of control helps in reducing defects, minimizing downtime, and ensuring compliance with quality standards. Being an IPC-CFX ready MES with a rich library of drivers, equipment integration is seamless with SMT lines, ensuring machine and other software connectivity all over the plant. 

Going beyond SMT lines

Critical Manufacturing MES is an integral component of the SMT and electronics manufacturing operation management (MOM) system, to boost efficiency throughout the factory. It manages the entire production process sand material traceability through adaptable workflows. The MES customizes quality checks for each product, reducing costs, enhancing quality, and provides advanced analytics for issue detection and prevention, minimizing unplanned downtime to allow higher levels of overall equipment efficiency (OEE).

Moreover, the Critical Manufacturing MES serves as a robust data platform for seamless collection of machine data and essential information from other systems. Context is added automatically, enabling advanced Industry 4.0 use cases such as predictive maintenance, and the native integration makes these capabilities easy and fast to implement. The Critical Manufacturing IoT Data Platform delivers contextual intelligence from MES, empowers manufacturers to derive transformative insights, and enhances performance, efficiency, and innovation across operations.

Modular for flexibility

The core strength of Critical Manufacturing MES lies in its adaptability. The modular architecture ensures a smooth integration into existing workflows. The MES offers diverse deployment options, including on-premises, cloud, or hybrid, empowering manufacturers to customize the MES to align with their unique requirements.

As the industry eagerly anticipates the 2024 IPC APEX EXPO, Critical Manufacturing extends an invitation to attendees to explore the next level of electronics/SMT manufacturing. Join the future of the Intelligent Factory at ASMPT booth 1436.

Book your demo/meeting

To see Critical Manufacturing MES in action, schedule your demonstration at the 2024 IPC APEX Expo in advance and meet with the MES experts. Book here!

CLINTON, NY – Indium Corporation® will feature an array of its innovative thermal management solutions at SEMI-THERM, March 25‒28, in San Jose, CA.

Indium Corporation’s Heat-Spring® solutions, ideal for TIM2 applications, is a compressible, non-reflow metal TIM. These indium-containing TIMs offer superior thermal conductivity over non-metals—with pure indium metal delivering 86W/mK in all planes. Because of its solid metal state, Heat-Spring avoids pump-out and bake-out problems. It also offers a sustainable solution due to Indium Corporation’s reclaim and recycle program.

The GalliTHERM® portfolio of gallium-based liquid metal solutions draws on Indium Corporation’s more than 60 years of experience in manufacturing gallium-based liquid metals. These liquid metal TIMs are designed for both TIM1 and TIM2 applications. Liquid metal TIMs offer:

• High thermal conductivity for end-product longevity and reliability
• Low interfacial resistance against most surfaces, ensuring rapid heat dissipation
• Extraordinary wetting ability to both metallic and non-metallic surfaces

Based on the company’s proprietary manufacturing process, Indium Corporation will also be featuring solder thermal interface material (sTIM) for ball grid array (BGA) packages, specifically its indium-silver (InAg) alloys which offer lower voiding compared to pure indium for BGA packages that undergo multiple SAC reflows after the initial TIM-assembly.

To learn more about Indium Corporation’s thermal management solutions, visit our experts at SEMI-THERM.