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The Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA, Minneapolis, MN) is again co-locating its annual conference, SMTA International, with the Assembly Tech Expo (ATExpo) show this fall at the in Rosemont, IL, on Sept. 26-20.

As emerging technologies help to stimulate the recovering economy, the SMTA has once again organized an Emerging Technologies Summit to address the latest trends in electronics manufacturing and assembly. The summit will consist of three paper sessions and a concluding panel discussion.

The first session, MEMS Technology Trends and Reliability, will feature papers on Qualification and Reliability for MEMS and IC Packages; Hybrid RF MEMS Circuit Packaging; and Methodology for Prognosis of Electronics and MEMS Packaging.

The next session, Emerging IC and 3-D Packaging, will feature papers on Camera Module Packaging Technology; Sub 100nm Silicon - The Impact of Next Generation IC Packaging; and Development of 3D-Redistribution and Balling Technologies for Fabrication of Vertical Power Devices.

The last session, New Materials and Processes, will feature papers on Injection-Molded Packages; Joining Technology with Low Melting Solders and Heat Resistant Adhesives; Jet Dispensing Underfills for Stacked Die Applications; and Low Cost Air Cavity Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) Packaging.

Moderated by Steve Greathouse of Intel Corp., the panel discussion will feature key industry participants who will respond to audience and moderator questions.

http://www.smta.org/smtai/symposium.cfm

Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials (Jersey City, NJ) is launching a new ALPHA Cored Wire product series using Cookson's manufacturing methods to create consistent flux cores, assuring repeatability with a Cpk rating of 1.826. Available in 10 tin-lead and lead-free alloys, the new cored wire complies with J-STD-004, IPC-SF 818 and ISO 12224 and is offered in the following ALPHA brands: SMT Plus, Reliacore 15, Telecore Plus, Cleanline 7000, Energized Plus and Pure Core.

Cookson Electronics developed a layer winding process that ensures consistent smooth pay-out for manual and automatic solder rework. In addition, special attention was paid to packaging the new core wire line. New color-coded spools make identification of the flux chemistry easy, and thick flanges help reduce the risk of wire damage during transit. New color-coded labels also assist with product identification by flux type and alloy, and shrink-wrapping of the spools keeps the wire shiny and clean in transit and during storage.

Cookson EAM, a Cookson Electronics company, supplies a full line of solder paste, stencils, squeegee blades, stencil and printed circuit board cleaners, bar solder, cored wire solder, wave soldering fluxes and surface-mount device adhesives.

www.alphametals.com

The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI, Herndon, VA), an industry-led consortium focused on strengthening the global electronics manufacturing supply chain, is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its electronics manufacturing roadmap with a special banquet the evening of June 22 at NEMI headquarters. Featured speakers are Mauro Walker, chairman emeritus of NEMI, speaking on the NEMI legacy, and Dr. Iwona Turlik, corporate vice president for Motorola and director of the company's Physical Realization Research Center, who will discuss innovation through nanotechnology.

Walker was instrumental in the organization of NEMI and served as the consortium's founding chairman. He retired from Motorola in 1998, where he was senior vice president and director of manufacturing. Walker has had a long career of accomplishment in the advancement of electronic manufacturing and manufacturing technology in industry, academia and professional societies. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on the topic of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. He is a recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers' (IEEE's) Special Manufacturing Technology Award and the Society for Manufacturing Engineers' (SME's) Total Excellence in Electronic Manufacturing Award. Walker is an IEEE fellow and founder of the IEEE International Manufacturing Technology Symposium. He was instrumental in the formation of the MIT Leaders for Manufacturing program as well the Georgia Tech and University of Illinois Manufacturing Research Centers.

Turlik has worked in the electronics industry and academia for more than two decades. She has been with Motorola since 1994 and was previously director of Motorola's Corporate Manufacturing Research Center. Turlik received her M.S. degree in electrical engineering and her Ph.D. in technical science from the Technical University of Wroclaw, Poland, where she started her professional career as a tenured faculty member. She has worked with Bell Northern Research and MCNC and was a tenured professor with the Electrical Engineering Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She was named one of the 10 most influential people in the printed circuit board (PCB) industry by PC FAB magazine and ATOMIC29 (2001-2002), and is an IEEE fellow. Turlik is a member of the NEMI board of directors and serves on the advisory boards of several colleges and universities.

The first roadmap, published in December 1994, was spearheaded by Walker and Lance Glasser, then director of the Electronics Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). These two individuals helped organize the National Electronics Manufacturing Framework Committee to study the challenges facing the nation in electronics manufacturing and to develop technology roadmaps and policy options with which to address these challenges. The resulting roadmap was published by the American Electronics Association (now AeA) and the Electronic Industries Association (EIA, now the Electronic Industries Alliance). NEMI was incorporated the following year (1995), and the consortium has published a roadmap every other year since 1994.

The tenth anniversary banquet begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30. The roadmap workshop, which will review year-to-date progress on the 2004 NEMI Roadmap and solicit feedback and input from workshop participants, is scheduled for Wednesday, June 23.

For more information, visit: http://www.nemi.org/roadmapping/june_TWG.html.

www.nemi.org

Electronics manufacturing professionals convened at the 14^th annual NEPCON Shanghai/EMT China electronics manufacturing exhibition and conference in Shanghai from April 26-29. According to the joint organizers Reed Exhibitions and the CCPIT - Electronics Sub-Council, the show attracted 13,528 industry professionals, an increase of 10% from last year show.

In an exhibiting area of 32,000 sq. meters, 650 companies exhibited their latest electronics production technologies. The show attracted surface-mount technology equipment and materials, test and measurement, electronics components and other sub assembly suppliers. Industry groups from 21 countries and regions participated, including China, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, the UK and U.S.

According to organizers, 80% of the industry suppliers were represented at the show, including Agilent Technologies, American Tec, Assembleon, DEK, Electronic Scientific Engineering, FlexLink, Fuji, Gelec, Kasion, Hitachi Hi-Tech, Leeport, Mydata, Nutek, Omron, Siemens Dematic, Sun East, Teradyne, Universal Instruments and Yamazen. Nearly 40% of exhibitors have rebooked their space for next year's show 2005.

George Yang, China Marketing Manager of Siemens Dematic China Ltd said, "China is playing an important part of Siemens' global growth. We see Shanghai as a fast-developing business hub. The fair was excellent for us, both the number and the quality of the visitors. It was better than last year and definitely exceeded our expectations."

"Compared to last year, this show was bigger and there were a higher number of visitors, said Nithia Devan, Marketing Communications Manager of Assembleon, Asia Pacific. "We had several qualified visitors plus important customers asking questions and attending demos on our machines...[W]e feel that by attending this show, we are letting the market know that we are here to offer solutions."

www.reedexpo.com

Elcoteq Network Corp. (Espoo, Finland), a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) for the communications technology industry, will expand its operations to Bangalore, India during 2004. The company claims to be the first EMS company offering manufacturing services to infrastructure and handset original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India.

Elcoteq will establish operations in Bangalore, initially operating in rented manufacturing space. The plant is expected to be operational within six to nine months. When fully operational, the plant is estimated to employ approximately 1,000 people.

"We are very proud to be the first global EMS company in the communications technology sector offering electronics manufacturing services in the country," said Hannu Keinänen, President of Elcoteq Asia-Pacific. "India is one of the fastest growing markets for mobile telecommunications, and we see great opportunities for manufacturing services in the area."

India, with a population of over one billion people, is one of the fastest growing areas for both handset OEMs and EMS providers. The key drivers underlying Elcoteq's decision to enter India are the large domestic market for mobile communications and its growth prospects coupled with other important factors such as the availability of a highly educated labor force, an attractive customer base and favorable cost levels.

www.elcoteq.com

On May 25-26, Henkel Corp., Engent, KIC, Speedline Technologies and Siemens Dematic presented a two-day Hands-On Lead-Free Technology Workshop at Engent's facilities in Norcross, GA. The program provided participants with information concerning lead-free materials and an understanding of upcoming process requirements and changes.

Unlike other lead-free seminars, about half of the agenda included hands-on training on the production floor. Attendees had a chance to visit and tinker with lead-free assembly at stations set up for screen printing and placement; reflow profiling; wave soldering; rework; and analytical tools for process validation.

Brian Toleno of Henkel, Dr. Daniel Baldwin of Engent, MaryBeth Allen of KIC and Keith Howell of Speedline also gave detailed presentations covering the challenges that lead-free technology brings to reflow and wave solder profiling and oven setup; alloy and equipment selection; compatibility studies for underfills, chipbonders and conformal coatings; and materials and process validation.

Each attendee was able to bring home a lead-free board they built, learning firsthand the impact of lead free on setup, assembly and visual inspection.

The course appealed to electronics professionals on all levels. James Seagle, process engineer at Z-World, and his colleague, Guy Martindale, senior process engineer, came to the event with very different agendas. Seagle, who has spent 11 years in electronics assembly and has attended many lead-free seminars, wanted the chance to apply his understanding of lead-free manufacturing.

"The hands-on approach of this workshop was very beneficial to me," said Seagle. "While the technical data presented in other seminars has been good, this workshop let me test my knowledge and take it to another level on the production floor."

Martindale, on the other hand, came to Z-World from the board fabrication industry and, coincidentally, his first day on the job was spent in the lead-free workshop. "This is a crash-course for me," he said. "But, there is no better way to learn something than by experiencing it. I think the production aspect of this workshop was invaluable."

Details will be announced soon regarding the location of the next workshop in the fall. Those who are interested in attending can contact Doug Dixon: (626) 968-6511; doug.dixon@loctite.com.