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AUSTIN, TX -- Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) announced it received Cisco's 2023 Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Partner of the Year award. Cisco presented the distinguished award at its annual Supplier Appreciation Event (SAE), which celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of its supply chain partners. Flex was recognized for demonstrating exceptional business performance, responsiveness, and collaboration on key supply chain initiatives.

"Being honored with Cisco's prestigious EMS Partner of the Year award recognizes our close collaboration and longstanding partnership of over 25 years to manufacture and deliver technology innovations at scale around the world," said Rob Campbell, President, Communications, Enterprise, Cloud Business at Flex. "As the demand for advanced digital communications solutions continues to grow exponentially for key markets such as enterprise, service provider and cloud, we enable greater agility and resiliency through our advanced manufacturing services, extensive supply chain capabilities, and global fulfillment services. We look forward to our continued partnership with Cisco to further the advancement of their vision to create a truly connected future."

"Our suppliers and partners are essential in delivering the technology and innovation our customers depend on. This annual event is a unique opportunity to show our gratitude and align on our path forward together," said Marco De Martin, SVP of Global Supplier Management at Cisco. "Our theme this year was 'Adapt. Accelerate. Thrive.' which underscored the reality that we operate in an environment of constant change, and yet, our ongoing success depends on a collective understanding that we must treat challenges as opportunities, act with urgency, and seek solutions rooted in partnership. Cisco's supply chain, including its global network of suppliers and partners, will always build world-class products that enable Cisco to securely connect everything to make anything possible."

About Flex

Flex (Reg. No. 199002645H) is the manufacturing partner of choice that helps a diverse customer base design and build products that improve the world. Through the collective strength of a global workforce across 30 countries and responsible, sustainable operations, Flex delivers technology innovation, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions to diverse industries and end markets.

Newman Lake, WA (November 7, 2023) – Hentec Industries/RPS Automation, a leading manufacturer of selective soldering, lead tinning and solderability test equipment, is pleased to announce that Micropac Industries, Inc. has ordered a Pulsar solderability testing system. The Pulsar system 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 compared to 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.

About Micropac Industries

Headquartered in Garland, Texas, Micropac Industries, Inc. produces a wide range of optoelectronic components, electronic assemblies. and multi-chip microelectronic modules. Their product range includes power management, DC-DC converters, temperature control, hall effect sensors, and LED displays. For more information, please visit: www.micropac.com.

About Hentec Industries

Hentec Industries/RPS Automation is a manufacturer of automated selective soldering, component lead tinning, and solderability test equipment for electronics and electronic component manufacturing, assembly, and distribution. Hentec/RPS has been advancing automated soldering and lead finishing technology for defense, aerospace, automotive, contract manufacturers and micro-electronics component manufacturers since the early 90’s. All Hentec/RPS products are designed and manufactured in Newman Lake, Washington. For more information, please visit us at www.rpsautomation.com.

Indium Corporation® is proud to introduce a novel alloy technology that enables lower processing temperatures in preform soldering, at Productronica 2023, November 14-17, in Munich, Germany. Specifically developed for power module package-attach applications, Indalloy®301-LT is a bismuth-free alloy that prevents thermal defects in the module without sacrificing reliability like traditional bismuth-containing, low-temperature alloys.

Available in InFORMS® configurations, Indalloy®301-LT offers a solution for consistent bondline thickness and improved strength to enhance thermal and mechanical reliability of the solder joint while reducing processing temperature and energy input during manufacturing. This enables complementary Pb-free high-reliability alloy technologies such as Indalloy®276 to be used in power module die-attach, component-attach, or interconnects without the risk of re-melt and degraded performance. Indalloy®301-LT is also available in preforms and ribbon configurations and can be offered flux-free or with Indium Corporation’s flux coating technology.

“With increasing mission profile demands in power electronics applications, such as EV power module-cooler integration, preform soldering offers superior thermal and mechanical performance compared to traditional thermal interface materials,” said Product Manager Joe Hertline. “By leveraging this new alloy technology in package-attach applications, designers can prevent warpage, encapsulation breakdown and delamination issues by reducing processing temperature, making preform soldering a viable approach with robust thermal and mechanical reliability performance.”

Indalloy®301-LT features:

• Reduced reflow peak temperatures by 50°C compared to commonly used alloys in power electronics assembly

• Prevention of warpage and delamination in molded power module package-attach

• Ability to step-solder with Pb-free alloys

• Excellent thermal and electrical conductivity

• Solid reliability performance (TST -40°C–125°C)

• Reduced energy consumption

• Available in preforms, ribbon, and InFORMS®

For more information about Indium Corporation’s high-reliability alloy products, visit www.indium.com/products/solders/solder-alloys/ or contact Joe Hertline at jhertline@indium.com.

About Indium Corporation

Indium Corporation® is a premier materials refiner, smelter, manufacturer, and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil®. Founded in 1934, the company has global technical support and factories located in China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com or email jhuang@indium.com. You can also follow our experts, From One Engineer To Another® (#FOETA), at www.linkedin.com/company/indium-corporation/.

Eltville, 7 November 2023

Flux gels are frequently used for rework on assembled PCBs. In the past, this often meant relying on flux for hand soldering and repair soldering. These contained other activators, which were used for series production. The flux gels developed by Emil Otto are based on uniform activators contained in the previous electronic fluxes, thus avoiding cross-reactions. Emil Otto has now expanded this product portfolio with five additional gels.

"We are the only manufacturer that offers products on a uniform activator basis, from flux concentrate to finished flux and flux gel. Using the same activators avoids cross-reactions that can occur when using different activators from different manufacturers. Due to the high demand, we have now decided to develop further flux gels on the existing flux base," explains Markus Geßner, Marketing and Sales Manager at Emil Otto GmbH.

FLUX GEL EO-B-010 is based on the same activator and the same active ingredient as the comparable, alcohol-based electronic flux EO-B-010 and its variants EO-B-010 A-C and X. The flux gels are developed on the same principle. Other flux gels are also based on the same principle, using existing alcohol-based fluxes. FLUX GEL EO-B-013, for example, is manufactured with the electronic flux EO-B-013 and its variants EO-B-013/X and XS. The same applies to FLUX GEL PM-334, which is using flux PM-334 and the variants PM/EA-334, PM/EA-2234, and

FLUX GEL RS-4004 with flux RS-4004. All gels are highly concentrated and are characterized by high activity as well as good wetting and spreading. This also applies to FLUX GEL EO-Y-014. The gel is the only new product of the flux gels based on the alcohol-water-based hybrid flux EO-Y-014 as well as variants EO-Y-014 A-C.

All flux gels are "No Clean" gels. The gels achieve perfect soldering results and also reliably activate contaminated pads and component pins. No crystals are formed, and the gels remain homogeneous and stable throughout processing. Residue behavior is also impeccable. None of the gels leaves sticky residues on the assembly. For all products, the gel is applied from a metering syringe using metal needles. These enable precise application or positioning of the flux gel. The gels are also processed in the same way, using a hot air or soldering iron.

Emil Otto will be presenting the new flux gels and other product innovations at productronica in Munich from November 14 to 17 in Hall A4, Booth 315.

About Emil Otto

Since 1901 "Emil Otto" stands for top quality. As owner-managed company, Emil Otto is committed to the development and manufacturing of high-quality fluxing agents. In particular the fluxing agents for electronics production, strip tinning, cooler construction as well as for galvanizing are used by market leaders at home and abroad. Over the years, reliable products and a high level of customer care have become the signature. The manufacturing takes place in accordance with the latest standards, the quality- and environmental management system has been certified for many years. Emil Otto responds with high flexibility to customer requests. Special products or product adaptations are developed and implemented in collaboration with system manufacturers and institutes. More information: https://emilotto.de/?lang=en

AUSTIN, TX – The need for high interconnect bandwidth capacity and improved I/O power efficiency, especially in hyperscale datacenters, continues to drive the development of co-packaged optics (CPO). Optical interfaces can significantly improve I/O density by optimizing solutions along with packaging density, speed per lane, and number of wavelengths per channel. The CPO of the future will allow chip-to-chip photonic connections, which will help enable faster AI clusters. TechSearch International’s latest analysis describes the activities of key companies and research organizations and discusses challenges.

The electronics industry continues to burn through inventory, but this year’s decline in smartphone and PC shipments continues to make it a difficult year. OSAT financials are provided for the first half of the year. Projected recover in these sectors promises to improve the situation next year. Bright spots include Apple’s iPhone market share growth and Huawei’s introduction of its Mate 60 Pro with packages from many domestic Chinese suppliers.

An analysis of the panel fan-out market is provided with an overview of the key players and the markets served. A projection for demand by number of packages and panels is provided, along with a capacity analysis. The report also updates the status of microLEDs with an examination of applications and players. An update on the elimination of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is included in the report.

The latest Advanced Packaging Update is a 61-page report with full references and an accompanying set of ~70 PowerPoint slides.

MUNICH – Accelerating innovation has always been a touchstone of Seica’s approach to providing solutions to the electronics industry, so visitors to Seica’s booth at Productronica 2023 will see full alignment with this year’s theme in the latest, leading-edge, completely automated test solutions on display in Booth A1-445 as well as the fully automated selective soldering and optical inspection solutions on show at the Seica Automation Booth A3-335.

The PILOT VX test platform on display in Booth A1-445, is the new gold standard in terms of flying probe speed and performance. New, state-of-the-art mechanical architecture and motion controllers enable a reduction of up to 50% in test time, 12 multi-function test heads provide the capability for double-side probing of up to 44 points simultaneously and technologically advanced measurement hardware and a new microwave-based measurement technique provide unrivaled test performance. Optimized VIVA software management saves even more time by enabling the parallelization of different types of tests, and smart analysis capabilities together, with algorithms based on the principles of artificial intelligence can automatically optimize the test flow in run-time, while maintaining test coverage targets. The FlyPod option extends testing capability even more by specializing a single mobile probe to carry up to 14 channels, enabling access to boundary scan circuits and adding onboard programming capability without any external fixed cables and the Pilot VX platform includes options for testing flex circuits and the electrical and optical test of LEDs. In addition, the Pilot VX can also generate pressure/force topology maps of the device under test using the innovative FlyStrain™ option. Once a necessity for traditional fixture-based solutions, Seica has migrated these new tools to the flying prober where testing of ceramics, wafers and avionics and satellite boards requires delicate probing and traceability.

The Pilot VX is a tremendously powerful asset, deployable in every phase of today’s accelerated product lifecycle, from concept, to design, to prototype, to production: the intrinsic capability of the Pilot VX flying prober to give immediate, extremely precise access to all of the points on a first prototype board, coupled with an extensive suite of measurement hardware and software tools, including the PR boost feature with the capability to power the board (up to 2A per probe) with all of the 8 standard electrical probes enables the test and validation of prototypes quickly and with minimum effort without requiring deep specific training on the tester or generating a test programs. Once the design has been validated, the automatic generation of a complete test program starting from the board CAD is a fast, streamlined process using SEICA’s VIVA software platform, minimizing the setup time for pre-series and/or full production test. In fact, the dramatic improvements in speed and performance achieved in the Pilot VX platform, has now made flying probe test a key solution in many high-volume production environments with a high level of automation.

Visitors to Seica’s booth will also see the fully automated COMPACT SL 4J NEXT>. Designed to maximize configurability and customization, the Compact SL satisfies the full range of test requirements: from in-circuit, to functional, to combinational, as well as performing other tasks such as onboard programming (OBP) and has the speed and flexibility to meet todays’ demanding throughput targets As part of Seica’s COMPACT line of test solutions, the COMPACT SL allows the user to choose the most suitable configuration for today’s need, while ensuring scalability for future requirements. The test solution on display includes the new ATE BOOSTER module, the latest addition to the vast suite of performances available, designed to maximize LED test capability and OBP performances, while reducing costs by means of innovative optimization of the hardware resources required.

Seica’s MINI Line, also on display, a very useful and cost-effective platform to develop your customized test benchmark, providing a wide range of integrated instruments, switching matrices and user power supplies and, unlike most self-manufactured “rack and stack” test beds, Seica’s MINI test solution has the standard “core” VIVA Integrated Platform (VIP™) with complete user documentation and a self-diagnostic program, guaranteeing sustainability and maintainability over time, even in the case of resource turnover. The user has broad discretion in the choice of configuration and programming languages: Seica’s VIVA Integrated Platform (VIP™) allows easy integration of off-the shelf instrumentation, and test sequences can be developed using the VIVA Test Studio environment as well as a wide range of third-party software including LabView©, TestStand©, C, and Python. Moreover, the programs developed on the MINI are completely transportable to other SEICA systems which makes for fast and easy setup of the manufacturing test process.

In Hall A3 visitors to Seica Automation ’s booth A3-335 will be able to view Seica’s innovative solutions for board manufacturers together with the other automation solutions on display.

The DRAGONFLY Next > provides optical inspection of THT components: the combination of multi-colored LED lighting and color scan camera enables detailed inspection of the solder joint meniscus and shorts detection, while the full scan acquisition of the PCB surface and not only of the components allows the detection of solder balls. The DRAGONFLY Next > series also includes the configuration for conformal coating inspection of finished products, as well as for process control and setup. Configurable for single and double sided inspection of the board, its intuitive and streamlined management software environment enables the user to develop and deploy an application program in a few hours. The Firefly Next> is a technologically advanced automated selective soldering solution, with its perfect integration, on a single axis, of a high-efficiency LASER source, fully-programmable donut spot, vision system and temperature sensor. The Firefly redefines the levels of performance achievable in the selective soldering process in terms of flexibility, throughput, reliability, applicability and process traceability. The Firefly will be demonstrated in-line, using Seica Automation board handling modules and visitors will have the opportunity to see live demos of the soldering process directly at the booth.

All of the solutions on display include Seica’s VIVA NEXT software platform, which is able to provide intelligent integration with all aspects of the customer’s manufacturing processes – data collection, traceability, interaction with MES, repair operations – and all of the Next> series systems have Canavisia’s Industrial Monitoring solution on board, for remote monitoring of current and voltage consumption, mains supply, temperature, light indicators and other parameters useful to indicate correct operation, provide information for predictive maintenance and, in general, to render the systems compatible with today’s Industry 4.0 standards

Come visit us at Booth A1-445 and Booth A3-335 to see how our innovation can help accelerate yours!