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We are reminded that inspiration is not the domain of the biggest companies.

Another Apex has come and gone, and what have we learned? That the industry is busier today than it was a year ago. That most - but not all - companies expect another solid year in 2006. That the buzz over Pb-free shows no sign of abating. That suppliers should be thinking now about what to do once that buzz does abate. That in ongoing Pb-free evaluations, the affect on component placement is being overlooked. That traceability is starting to take center stage, but there is no clear standard industry solution yet (and we need one). That materials suppliers big (Henkel, Cookson, etc.) and smaller (Indium, Electrolube) are looking to provide full solutions, not discrete products. That the decision by IPC to move the show to Los Angeles for the next three years has made exhibitors either really grumpy or downright mad.

Life After Pb-Free

There have been changes at the top at Alpha Metals, as the company is already looking ahead to the day when Pb-free soldering is no longer the hottest thing going.

In an interview with Circuits Assembly, the chief executive of Alpha's parent company predicted smaller components would become mainstream and that he sees a need to prepare the solder materials giant for that time. "The lead-free music is going to stop," said Steve Corbett, CEO of Cookson Electronics (cooksonelectronics.com). "So how do we avoid the post-game price war?"

One need only look to Japan, Corbett said, to realize that smaller components are becoming commonplace. To meet customer needs that may come in as soon as 12 months, he said Alpha needs to "go back to the basics of powder," adding that the company must be able to make leading-edge Type 4, 5 and 6 powders to sustain its margins.

In some cases, avoiding the price war means Cookson will attempt to leverage its expertise in other areas, including surface finishes through its Enthone (enthone.com) division, to present customers will a complete materials solution. "OEM selling is a huge global strategy for us," Corbett said.

The company is also pouring resources into R&D, with about 10% of its total research spend going to the so-called high-end science projects. Much of that research is taking place at Cookson's labs in Bangalore.

Meanwhile, Alpha's longtime president, David Zerfoss, left the company in January. For the time being Corbett has assumed the role.

Finally, the sale of Cookson's Polyclad Laminates unit is expected to close early this month. From a CEO standpoint, the divestitures are done, Corbett said, while not ruling out potential acquisitions down the road. – Mike Buetow

Almost every company we spoke to at Apex said they expect to grow in 2006, in some cases well into the double-digits, and those who forecast a flat year noted that sales in 2005 blew the doors off. Most said that activity in Mexico and South America has been strong of late. The floor was livelier than past years, with attendance appearing to be up a bit. Another new element: A handful of Chinese and Taiwanese exhibitors.

In the opening day keynote, Sanmina-SCI chairman and CEO Jure Sola argued that customers need to wake up to the fact that electronics manufacturing is a huge cash generator but profit-poor industry. "The average operating margin over the past five years is 2%," he said. "Customers need to realize this, that we can't deliver the technology they want" without improved profitability. "The biggest mistake is that customers think they can do better by beating up their suppliers."

Sola was upfront about Sanmina-SCI's problems, saying that the company is "not as efficient in Asia" as it needs to be (for which he blames the tremendous migration there over the last two years). "Most of us are not good at 'copy exact,' " he said, referring to the method of building identical product in any location. "When we transition to China we start over."

And he sees distinct differences between the emerging markets of India and Brazil. The former, he says, needs a better infrastructure and is held back (relative to China) because the wheels of democracy move slowly, but the nation represents a "huge opportunity." On the other hand, Brazil's market is attractive but it is not meeting the company's expectations and lacks the potential of India.

On to the products. Most of what we saw had been introduced in past years or at other shows. Attendees we spoke with pointed to improvements in software, particularly for placement machines. Also noted: Turret-style chipshooters are giving way to more flexible setups.

In this magazine's humble opinion, the star was the MS2 surfactant from P. Kay Metal (pkaymetal.com). The dross-eating surfactant is like an elixir for electronics soldering. Several mega-OEMs are showing great results with it, the company said. (Read Circuits Assembly's interview with P. Kay Metal president Larry Kay at circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2854/95/.)

Speaking of dross reduction, Tamura (tamura-ha.com) showed its Flip (flat linear induction pump) solder bath, which is said to reduce oxidation and cut dross by up to 40%.

Vitronics Soltec's (vitronics-soltec.com) André Myny made two cogent points. First, he noted that although selective soldering is gaining momentum (and Vitronics expects to factor heavily in that market), industry is not yet designing boards to be selectively soldered. Also, he remarked that poor design and component choice are leading causes of defects.

ACE Production Technologies (ace-protech.com) showed a selective soldering machine whose miniature (38 sq. in) footprint belied its 18 x 24" board capability. The machine, sans optional spray fluxer, priced at $39,000.

BTU International (btui.com) announced the asset purchase of Radiant Technology Corp. and hinted at other acquisitions as well, most likely in the energy sector.

Heraeus (4cmd.com) launched its sixth generation of no-clean Pb-free solder pastes, the F640 series, for which it touts "near SnPB" voiding levels. The company recently merged its backend materials and circuit materials divisions.

Indium (indium.com) announced a comprehensive program that includes pastes, preforms, no-flow underfills and thermal interface materials (used between "hot" components and heatsinks) aimed at solving everything from barrel fill and joint cracking to CSP printing and thermal performance. The program, dubbed Reliability, offers applications help, an online interactive technology database and Pb-Free readiness assessment software.

ERSA (ersa.de) debuted six products, two of which are already patented. Of most interest was its innovative AOI+R machine (discussed in the February issue of Circuits Assembly), but perhaps the biggest splash will be made by the iTool soldering iron, a 150W iron with exchangeable tips ($7) that reaches temperature within 2 sec., and is about the size of a pen. The iron has three patents pending. Also new: a full-tunnel N2 wave (president and COO Mark Cannon said ERSA has seen a "tremendous shift" to full tunnel machines).

Finetech's (finetechusa.com) Fineplacer CRS 10 rework system has added a top heater for more power for Pb-free applications. Their easy-to-use (we tried it) rework and bonding tool could perform individual ball removal (to 0.4 mm) without contacting other balls.

Juki Automation (jas-smt.com) is coming off a record January and says bookings are very strong. "The industry seems good," said president Bob Black. The company will soon roll out a low-cost flip chip bonder, retailing at about $200,000. He noted that while most companies have roughly one selective soldering machine per factory today, he expects the ratio could reach one per line.

We saw a new laser diode based system for selective soldering at ProMation (pro-mation-inc.com) aimed at the lower volume market. The single nozzle system has a bottom-side x-y gantry, an exchangeable pot, multiple cameras and automatic spray fluxing.

Thanks to an improved transport system, DEK's (dek.com) Europa printer has an improved (4 sec. cycle time) beat rate. It can now do 100% inspection, too. General manager Neil MacRaild said 35% of the orders for stencils are for its VectorGuard frameless version, and the company projects that will reach 60% by year-end.

Asymtek (asymtek.com) showed an innovative metal shield through which it could dispense a stream of underfill just 100 µm thick for components or stacked die. While vision is a limiter, the shield cuts one reflow operation and in case studies throughput rose as much as six times. The company forecasts flat sales in 2006, but only because it is coming off a year in which revenues rose 40%.

Known for its advanced placement machines, Samsung Techwin and its U.S. distributor, Dynatech Technology (dynatechsmt.com), were among the companies that showed end-to-end solutions (others included Sony and Essemtec). In addition to the placement gear, Samsung showed a 2-D vision screen printer (SP 450V) and a 10-zone, 110" (with two more optional) N₂-ready reflow oven (RF 30102). Dynatech president Isaac Robinson said the company has installed 700 to 800 of each worldwide and will continue to roll out new machines but will not get into the specialized printer or oven markets.

Essemtec (essemtec-usa.com) showed a variety of ultra-flexible placement machines capable handling of boards up to 23.5 x 31.5" and placement rates of 4200 cph per IPC standards. The company is working on better traceability, tracking part numbers, date codes and other aspects, and performing feeder setup, job planning, inventory control. The firm was readying a new demo lab, due to open last month, and has hired equipment veteran Jeff Stong, formerly of the American Competitiveness Institute and Quad Systems.

As is becoming its norm, Tyco Electronics (tycoelectronics.com) rolled out several machines. Most impressive was a laser depaneler, which uses a 200W CO₂ laser to saw boards up to 0.093" thick. It currently handles FR-4 boards, and the company is looking at modifications that could accommodate flex and ceramic. The first sale was to Siemens, Tyco said. Tyco also displayed the Champion 8300 for dispensing underfill or adhesive for RFIDs on paper, polyester or polyimide. The machine handles materials up to 20" wide, while the die can come in all media (wafflepacks, trays, etc.)

BP Micro (bpmicro.com) is now producing a programmer that can handle devices from MSOP8 to PLCC44. Over 100 of the machines have been sold in Japan already.

It's getting hard to move on the show floor without running into an AOI or x-ray tester of some kind. Hepco (hepcoblue.com) had a benchtop XRF tester called LeadHound that in demos was very quick. The machine retails for about $45,000.

DigitalTest (digitaltest.de) noted that business is looking up in Europe. The company has installed 1200 machines in the avionics and military sectors, and showcased its Condor flying probe tester, a second-generation system that debuted at Productronica.

ViTechnology (vitechnology.com) was among those who introduced improved software to ease programming and data sharing. The company is still building its machines in Europe, but is looking to move some operations to Asia soon. The company emphasized the benefits of closed-loop AOM (automated optical measurement), its attempt to go beyond defect inspection and incorporate process control.

FocalSpot (focalspot.com) is targeting small companies looking to perform BGA rework. The Den-on RD-500 Series II and SD-3000M rework stations include new software for controlling preheat temperature setpoints and auto-profile settings. The firm also showed an x-ray (Verifier FSX-080/090) with 5 µm resolution that sells for $45,000.

When it comes to automation software, electronics manufacturing is "the most underserviced segment imaginable," claims Valor Inc. (valor.com), adding that the time has come for more than just "point solutions" for MES and ERP systems.

You can still count on most of the industry leaders showing up at Apex. For instance, Henkel Electronics Group (henkel.com/electronics) president Pat Trippel said the materials maker is reaching the point where it can offer a full product line for IC and board assembly, and claims to be the only company that can offer all the materials needed for SiP on a global basis. Another differentiator: Henkel has invested heavily in field support, and is hiring technical process personnel in the Americas and Europe. (Read the full interview with Trippel at circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2836/95/.)

Jim McElroy, executive director of iNEMI, said the consortium (inemi.org) will seek more international participation for its latest roadmap. The 2007 edition will for the first time include a chapter on organics for ICs. Also launched: working groups for heat transfer, medical electronics (Guidant and Medtronic are now iNEMI members), and system-in-package (SiP). McElroy also predicted a more proactive stance on environmental issues. "We now have several members who are saying, Maybe we need to be more forward thinking, so if new regulations come at us we will be ready." To that end, a project on brominated flame retardants is planned.

IPC inducted a pair of respected veterans into its Hall of Fame. "Don't just be a taker," inductee Vern Solberg advised. "Take part in the planning, the reviews, the tests, the discussions. You'll get your rewards." Likewise, fellow inductee Gene Weiner, who has been an IPC member for almost 48 years, said, "Become an agent for change, not a victim." (Read Circuits Assembly's interviews with Solberg and Weiner at circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2855/95/ and circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2857/95/, respectively.)

This year's Apex was the last for a pair of familiar faces, at least in their current jobs. DEK president Rich Heimsch has left the company, and Valor Inc. president Chuck Feingold has moved to the company's board.

This was also the last time the show will be in Anaheim. Its home for the next three years will be the Los Angeles Convention Center, a move that was met with frowns by most asked because of the site's location (near the intersection of two densely trafficked roads) and lack of nearby hotels.

Mike Buetow is editor in chief of Circuits Assembly. Robin Norvell is associate editor.