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Micro Care Corp. (New Britain, CT) has announced two new technologies for cleaning fiber optic connectors. The first innovation is a new Fiber Optic Connector Solvent in a pump-spray canister. The second is a family of swabs specifically designed for cleaning inside tiny fiber optic connectors.

The communications industry has long been bedeviled by the difficulty of cleaning fiber optic connectors. Exacerbating this problem is the continuing trend towards thinner, higher-capacity fiber optic cables and connectors. The labor cost inherent in installing thousands of perfectly clean male and female connectors is becoming a major factor in every large fiber optic installation. Traditional alcohol wipes have failed to deliver the consistent cleaning required.

The cleaning solvent is a nonflammable, environmentally safe, residue-free solvent formulated to clean fiber connector end-faces. The new product, based on a patented azeotrope of Vertrel specialty solvents from DuPont, is SNAP-approved, plastic-safe and double-filtered to 0.2 microns during packaging. It dissolves light oils, salts, grime and uncured epoxies, and—since it also is mildly hygroscopic—it will absorb small amounts of moisture while cleaning. The cleaner can remove the messy but vital silicone pastes used inside the fiber optic cables.

The solvent is packaged in a unique nonaerosol pump spray which is even permitted on board commercial aircraft. Since the container is hermetically sealed, cross-contamination cannot occur, ensuring that clean, pure cleaning fluid is used on every cleaning job. The compact size fits easy in the hand, and makes it easy to fit in tool kits, instrument cases and inspection packages.

Micro Care also has developed a proprietary cleaning swab for fiber optic connectors. The new cleaning sticks are made of a synthetic, extruded polyester. The cleaning sticks come in three sizes, each engineered to fit the most popular sizes of connectors, including the troublesome 0.0125 connectors favored on military projects, and can clean both male and female shaped connectors.

No fibers, binders, adhesives or outgassing contaminates the connector. Since recleaning is rarely required, the cleaning sticks offer time-savings in a complex optical installation.

Manufactured by Micro Care, the products are marketed exclusively by AFL Telecommunications under the Noyes brand.

www.AFLtele.com

www.MicroCare.com

The monthly order index compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association (ECA, Arlington, VA) moved upward in January, confirming industry optimism during the last four months.

"The index has been moving up steadily," said Bob Willis, ECA president. "It's not the meteoric boom of the late 1990s, but we might never see that again. This is nice, manageable growth that looks like it will be sustained throughout the year."

Willis says recent news substantiates the upward trend that has been seen in the ECA order index during the last four months. For instance, ECA members, such as Vishay Intertechnology, Littelfuse and KEMET, have reported substantial revenue increases in Q4 2003 compared to Q4 2002. Also, Reuters reports that major electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies are seeing stronger demand in 2004, helped by an improving economy and a trend to outsource personal computers, servers, cell phones, handheld computers and other electronics gear.

The ECA represents manufacturers and producers of passive and active electronic components, component arrays and assemblies, and materials and support services. It is a sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance, comprising more than 2,100 members that reportedly represent 80% of the U.S. electronics industry.

www.ec-central.org

AEGIS Industrial Software Corp. (Horsham, PA) and Cogiscan Inc. (Bromont, Quebec, Canada) have announced that they will demonstrate integration between their products as the Cogiscan material tracking and line control technology is integrated to Aegis' real-time machine monitoring and data acquisition systems.

The combined solution offers control of business processes from the preparation of design and bill of matrials data, to line setup validation, execution and the gathering and analysis of process data. It then yields traceability—effectively closing the informational loop. The technical integration creates the first solution offering the Aegis NPI and MES solutions with the materials and process control solutions offered from Cogiscan.

"When Aegis and Cogiscan solutions combine to create closed loop manufacturing control, it yields more than just an extended range of functions," said Jason Spera, chief executive officer of Aegis, "It delivers new depth of information management through the entire process from end-to-end. It is a platform-independent solution free of proprietary and machine-specific elements to make deployment and scalability simple."

www.aiscorp.com

www.cogiscan.com

Universal Instruments Corp. (Binghamton, NY) and CyberOptics Corp. (Minneapolis, MN) have signed an agreement to integrate the new Embedded Process Verification (EPV) inspection technology from CyberOptics into Universal's electronic component placement systems.

Universal will offer the EPV sensor system as a feature on its recently released platform placement machines that incorporate its new placement head. Introduction of the sensor is currently planned for the second half of 2004.

Ian McEvoy, president of Universal, said, "To achieve the challenging quality goal of less than 10 defects per million for surface-mount circuit board assembly, you have to verify each component placement. The CyberOptics' EPV is the first sensing system to enable this within the placement machine."

Steven Case, CyberOptics' chairman and founder said, "Unlike traditional inspection systems that are positioned after the placement machine in an electronics assembly line, EPV puts the inspection process right at the point of action, inside the pick-and-place machine. Ultimately, defects detected by the EPV sensor may be corrected while the circuit board is still within the placement machine."

Universal Instruments is an electronics productivity specialist, providing circuit, semiconductor and back-end assembly technologies and equipment, integrated system solutions and process expertise to manufacturers in every sector of the electronics industry.

CyberOptics Corp., specializing in optical technology, designs and manufactures a growing range of yield and through-put enhancement tools for the surface-mount electronic assembly equipment and semiconductor fabrication equipment markets.

www.uic.com

www.cyberoptics.com

Tyco Electronics (Willow Grove, PA), a business segment of Tyco International Ltd., will highlight the Opus 3 Selective Soldering System at this year's upcoming APEX show in Anaheim, CA.

The system is a four-axis Cartesian robot designed for selectively soldering through-hole and odd-form components into surface-mount and mixed-technology printed circuit boards (PCB) from the bottom side without inverting the PCB. It is a completely tool-less system for almost any soldering application.

The system is suited for applications where the product is delivered in small lot quantities and high product mix. The machine also functions well in high speed manufacturing environments when configured with site-specific solder nozzles. The optional tilt axis provides the peel-back found on conventional wave solder systems to insure bridge-free terminations.

The soldering system features the patent pending FlexSite miniature Gaussian solder wave, allowing for a 1-mm keep-out and increased thermal capability. The system features an adjustable board holder, spray fluxer, solder module and vision assist video for set up and process monitoring.

The system is ideal for accessing sites instead of assembly cases or sites shadowed by obstructions. Additionally, topside surface-mount components do not have to be reflowed when soldering only a few joints. The system is configured for bottom-side processing and uses process-specific subroutines for varying thermal demands, such as flow volume, solder temperature, emersion depth, travel speed and dwell. Featuring intelligent spray fluxing, the selective soldering system is designed for pass-through conveyor or batch operation, and is easy to program with instant changeover.

www.tycoelectronics.com

Metcal (Menlo Park, CA), a division of OK International, has introduced a compact, portable two-arm fume extraction system that combines strong fan performance with efficient filtration and quiet operation. Metcal enlisted the fume extraction expertise of Impell, another OK International division, to develop the system.

Building on Metcal's existing single arm system, the new unit features the same motor as the single-armed model, but has a one-stage impeller design that provides more than double the total free-blowing airflow. A proprietary impeller was chosen to maximize performance while keeping size and weight to a minimum. The result is a unit that can be easily transported by one person without strain.

Maximum free-blowing airflow is rated at 250m3/h, with maximum suction force at 850Pa. The 850Pa rating provides capability to handle any clogging that occurs during normal filter life.

The system's pre-filter is the best in class for this type of portable fume extraction system, while the main filter offers HEPA efficiency of more than 99.5% and an activated carbon filter.

The filtration system features a significant amount of activated carbon and a large filter area, to provide a long filter life and protection against clogging. The activated carbon makes the unit efficient at filtering gases.

The filter system has been designed to allow the pre- and main filters to be changed individually. The filters can be changed by undoing a latch on the side of the unit.

In operation, the stand-alone unit does not require a separate compressor or external ducting; it only needs to be plugged into a power source to be ready for use. The unit is designed for a universal power supply ranging from 100 to 240 VAC and 50 or 60Hz.

The unit is compact enough to be located under, or next to, the workbench. It can be used with either two 2-in. (50-mm) diameter hoses and BVX arms, or one 2.5-in. (67-mm) hose and an Omniflex arm. The single arm offers a 50% higher airflow than one of the smaller arms, with airflows per arm rated at 75m3/h and 110m3/h respectively.