Vitor Barros, General Manager, KIC Europe   It seems like everybody is talking about the “Smart factory”/“Industry 4.0”/“IIoT”/“Made in China 2025”/“IOM” these days. But is anybody actually doing anything? The tier 1 EMS companies certainly are investing heavily in smart technologies; but, really, how relevant is this for the average electronics manufacturer? The first question
Read more…

Roy Akber, CEO, RUSH PCB   The ever-increasing use of high-power LEDs for lighting and power electronics is driving the expanding use of Metal Clad Printed Circuit Boards (MCPCBs). MCPCBs offer better thermal management (dissipation) from heat-generating SMT components such as LEDs than do ordinary epoxy/glass FR-4 substrate materials. MCPCBs are typically supplied with a
Read more…

By Tom MItchell, North American Business Manager, Conecsus LLC   Sanmina, one of the world’s leading contract manufacturers and EMS companies, is recognized in around the world as a ‘green’ company, and one that uses state of the art processing for waste treatment. But their high-volume, high technology PCB manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama, which
Read more…

Phil Kinner, Global Business and Technical Director of Electrolube’s Conformal Coatings Division   From your perspective, how has the automotive electronics industry evolved over the past decade, and what major changes have you witnessed? The automotive electronics industry has evolved rapidly during the last decade.  The most striking aspect is the way that the use
Read more…

Edward Nauss, Global Account Manager, Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA   Spinnaker Contract Manufacturing Inc., a growing EMS in Tilton, New Hampshire, USA has recently seen an upturn in demand for quick turns for both production and prototypes. To meet this growing demand effectively, Spinnaker had to build more flexibility into their operation to provide customers
Read more…

Stefan Meissner, Head Corporate Communication with ULT AG   How to protect values in electronics manufacturing by the utilisation of technology for air purification. The value-added chain – what is this actually? “The idea of the value chain is based on the process view of organizations, the idea of seeing a manufacturing (or service) organization
Read more…

Roy Akber, CEO. RUSH PCB, Inc.   Most PCB designers and fabricators worldwide follow the Gerber RS-274X as the established standard. But despite its universal popularity, Gerber has a few practical limitations that can create problems when fabricating PCBs. A Brief History of the Gerber File Format Gerber Systems Corporation (later acquired by Barco ETS,
Read more…

By Michael L. Martel, Contributing Editor   Pennsylvania-based, respected solder manufacturer for a quarter century emerges on the SMT/PCB scene; Offers a wide range of products and services including BALVER ZINN COBAR solders and waste recycling programs Whether small or large, a company in the U.S. getting into the SMT/PCB electronics assembly industry begins with
Read more…

By Shupha Varghese, Business Development Manager   Founded in 1998, Optimal Electronics Corporation was established to deliver advanced production optimization capabilities for electronics manufacturers. Designing solutions for world-class manufacturers such as Rockwell Automation, Continental, National Instruments, Magna Electronics, Rockwell Collins, 3M, BAE Systems, Banner Engineering and Digi International, etc., Optimal Electronics developed integrated MES solutions
Read more…

Roy Akber, CEO, RUSH PCB   When designing an RF circuit, one must choose the most appropriate Printed Circuit Board (PCB) material for the application. In this context, modern Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) simulation tools help engineers by predicting the electrical performance of circuits on different types of PCB materials. These tools use material parameters
Read more…