TT electronics’ BI Technologies SMT Division has released a series of planar heater products with ratings up to 50W for military, computing, telecommunications, medical and commercial applications.
 
According to Jim Rieley, sales director, the company has developed surface mount, through-hole and custom-profiled planar resistive heaters. “Because they are available in a power rating range of 2 to 50W, they can be used for a wide variety of applications,” Rieley explained. “For example, by spreading our 2W surface mount heaters over PC boards, heat is targeted to where it’s needed to maintain optimum operating temperature in severe cold weather conditions.  Engineers can also position our through-hole planar heaters (3 to 50W) adjacent to individual modules. This targets the heat, rather than heating the complete inside of enclosures, making this method of heating much more energy efficient.”
 
The company also provides profiled heaters for outdoor computer accessories such as keypads, LCD displays, disk drives, card readers and various drive mechanisms. 
 
Thermal measurement components may be placed directly onto the substrate-heating element to provide an accurate interface to the control electronics. Additional applications include military systems, parking meters, medical equipment, telecom repeaters, external cameras, drive mechanisms and printers, as well as baby bottle warmers, domestic irons, hair straighteners, fish tank heaters, hair dryers, air fresheners and bug-free vapor atomizers etc.
 
Printed on ceramic substrates, resistance ranges from 0.1Ω to 100KΩ, with tolerances to ±1%, TCRs to ±100ppm/°C and operating temperature of -55° to +155°C. Maximum operating voltage is 250V.
 
BI Technologies, bitechnologies.com/power

MatriX Technologies is a new company specialising in x-ray inspection systems. The company focuses on the electronics and automotive industries, e.g. specialised applications for assembly production and the inspection of airbag components. It will introduce its automatic x-ray inspection platform at Productronica.
 
Prior to founding MatriX Technologies, Eckhard Sperschneider was the managing director of Macrotron Process Technology for over eight years. Before that he led the division Inspection & PCB Production Systems at the pan-European distributor Macrotron Systems (now MSE).
 
"In recent years, major progress has been made in the area of inspection performance for AOI systems. However, in the case of automatic x-ray inspection there has been little innovation since the year 2000. In particular, assembly manufacturing users, who often have to guarantee 100% solder joint inspection, have been waiting for a technology leap. Compared to AOI testing, real-time x-ray technology – e.g. for covered solder joints – has clear advantages that enable superior test coverage. MatriX Technologies' high-speed AXI line represents a new benchmark. Our goal is to significantly improve test efficiency through the consistent application of new technologies on double-sided PCB assemblies and, above all, to eliminate time-consuming application programming,” said Sperschneider.
 
MatriX Technologies will soon open an office in the U.S..
 

MatriX Technologies, m-xt.com
Booth A1, 339

WBC series of wire bondable chip resistors feature self-passivating tantalum nitride thin film technology on silicon substrates.
 

 Absolute tolerance ranges are down to ±0.1%, with absolute TCRs to ±25ppm/°C.
 

 
TT electronics IRC Advanced Film Division, irctt.com

Servo-Flo 505 Fixed-Ratio Meter System is for automated, robotic or manual dispensing applications. This single-servomotor dispensing system allows fixed and variable dispense rates while providing on-ratio materials that meet suppliers’ specifications.
 
Three levels of operator interface controls are available; these quickly set output flow rates and adjust material volume settings. The automation or the operator can select different stored flow and volume programs.
 
Has positive rod displacement metering, dispenses precise bead profiles or precision volumetric shots. Flow rates are varied on-ratio during the dispense cycle to provide different shot flows, bead diameters and tip speeds.
 
Accepts low- to high-viscosity materials and is supplied by pumps or pressure tanks. Meter, control panel and supply can be floor-mounted, portable-cart mounted or enclosed in a cabinet.
 

The effectiveness of board level EMI/RFI shielding depends on many factors: the design of the shielding can, material choice, thickness, venting, method of attachment and the ‘maximum linear dimension’ (the longest contiguous hole or slot). This maximum opening size is a function of the frequency spectrum of the device being shielded and of the attenuation you are trying to achieve.
 
Profiled and folded shielding cans offer many benefits, including bespoke design, exceptional co-planarity, low tooling costs etc., but one drawbacks is the corner seam, which can act as an emitter antenna if it is not folded and mounted with care. This corner seam can be soldered for complete integrity in high frequency applications but much of the time, the need is simply to reduce the maximum linear dimension.
 
A new finger joint arrangement on the corner seam allows two adjacent walls to interlock along the corner seam.
 

Ultrasonic Systems will demonstrate the Optima Fluxing System at Productronica next month, in Hall A4 Booth 158.  A new Ultra-Spray head produces a more vertical spray pattern, ensuring through-hole penetration when using water-based VOC-free fluxes.
 
Ultrasonically atomizes VOC-free flux into a fine mist, and then traverses the spray under the circuit at programmable speeds, ensuring flux penetration of the plated-through holes. 
 
Can process circuit boards up to 24” (61 cm) wide and 0.250” (6.35 mm) thick, with plated through holes of 0.015” (0.381 mm) in diameter. 
 
Optima Fluxing System, ultraspray.com.
 

Micro-Line Digital Dispensing Head consists of a high-speed liquid metering valve and a precision nozzle.
 
Applies conformal coatings in precise lines or dots down to 1 mm with the liquid flow rate set electronically with the Prism software.  The coating is applied at a distance from 5 to 15 mm between the nozzle tip and the substrate.  The technology is said to be more effective than conventional needle dispensing.
 
Ultrasonic Systems, ultraspray.com

GETEK HR high speed, low loss laminates and prepregs are CAF resistant, lead-free assembly compatible materials said to deliver enhanced thermal performance and high reliability, while enabling PWB fabricators to experience substantially improved FR-4 processability.
 
Has low dielectric constant, low loss and low z-axis expansion. 
 
“GETEK HR, with its low z-axis expansion and high decomposition temperature, is well suited for thick multilayer PWBs requiring improved electrical performance, as well as high speed and low loss products that will be assembled in a lead-free process compliant with the EU’s RoHS directive.” said Ed Kelley, director of OEM marketing.
 
With manufacturing in both the U.S. and Taiwan, is readily available in prototype to high-volume quantities.  Customers UL approval for manufacturing with GETEK will also be able to use GETEK HR.
 
Used for a broad range of applications that include telecommunications equipment, high speed computing and storage, test and measurement equipment, medical electronics, IC substrates, and RF and wireless electronics. 
 
Polyclad Laminates, polyclad.com
 

Intellect software release 1.2 for DVT vision sensors features improvements to the intuitive user interface, making inspection, precision measurement, counting and object location applications easier.
 
“The new Intellect software has a user-friendly interface that incorporates the familiar Windows look and feel,” said Kris Nelson, senior VP, Vision Sensors. “This simplified user interface will help customers get DVT vision sensors up and running faster and easier.”
 
The release increases object sorting efficiency by allowing a single tool to identify and count multiple shapes or colors; it also includes faster image updates, a new OCV tool, custom drivers for robotic applications and a preconfigured tool for label position and gross defect inspection. Communications enhancements simplify data and image transfer and provide browser accessibility and tight integration with HMI and other industrial software packages.
 
A free download is available: cognex.com/dvt
 

 
BI Technologies, bitechnologies.com/products/single_trim.htm