Five IPC APEX EXPO Exhibitors Earn 2019 Innovation Awards

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IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries has announced the winners of the IPC APEX EXPO 2019 Innovation Awards, a celebration of the innovators and forward thinkers who are changing the technological landscape of the electronics industry.

A panel of industry experts rated and scored each product and assigned a numerical value to each submitted product based on the following criteria: How is this product innovative? How is this product changing the manufacturing industry? What value will customers experience with this new product?

The IPC APEX EXPO Best of Innovation Awards will be presented on Tuesday, January 29 during the opening keynote to the following companies:

• GreenSource Fabrication LLC for their printed circuit board fabrication facility, the only fully automated and "green" PCB fabricator of its kind. All chemicals and water are reclaimed and reused, and the facility’s daily water consumption is 500 gallons regardless of factory load.
• Meyer Burger (Netherlands) BV for an inkjet printer for PCB soldermask. This novel inkjet-printed solder mask solution for PCBs, combines a dedicated production inkjet printing system based on Meyer Burger’s PiXDRO product line, Agfa’s unique DiPaMat solder mask ink, and advanced printing strategies for optimized layer deposition.
• Nordson DAGE for Explorer one, an entry level, operator controlled, manual X-ray inspection (MXI) system for checking manufacturing quality in electronics assemblies. Common manufacturing defects such as open or bridged solder connections, BGA reflow quality and voiding can be checked quickly and easily on a high mix of product types across a PCB.
• Henkel Corporation for its LOCTITE ECCOBOND UF 1173, a novel underfill that can withstand harsh environments and the elevated operating temperatures inherent with smaller, higher-functioning devices. In addition to its performance benefits, the product prioritizes health and safety.
• Vayo (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. for its DFM Expert v5, a unique 3D DFA/DFM solution for electronics manufacturing.

“The IPC APEX EXPO Innovation Awards allow us to celebrate the innovators and forward thinkers who are changing the technological landscape of the electronics industry,” said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “This year, product and service submissions were certainly innovative and the companies did an exceptional job in identifying their product’s unique value in the industry. The innovative submissions directly indicate the strength of the electronics industry and its ability to respond to new challenges resulting from emerging technologies in the electronics marketplace,” Mitchell added.

Members of the award review board include: Dave Geiger, Flex; Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Carsten Salewski, Viscom Inc.; Martin Goetz, Northrop Grumman Corporation; and Terry Kocour, Lockheed Martin Corporation.

About IPC

IPC is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 4,900 member-company sites which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Brussels, Belgium; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore and New Delhi, India; Bangkok, Thailand; and Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing, China.