iNEMI Releases 2019 Roadmap

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The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) is pleased to announce the release of the 2019 iNEMI Roadmap. For this cycle, roadmap chapters will be published in waves, with two to eight chapters included in each wave, released every two to three weeks.

The first wave, now available online, includes four chapters: smart manufacturing; modeling; simulation & design tools; sustainable electronics; and board assembly.

This year, iNEMI marks 25 years of roadmapping the needs of the electronics manufacturing industry. The consortium published its first roadmap in 1994 and, over the years, the number of technology areas covered has grown and changed, but the focus has always remained on providing insights into the technology requirements for success throughout the supply chain.

“Twenty-five years of roadmapping underscores the success of iNEMI’s methodology, which is founded on the participation of experts from industry and academia working together to forecast needs and gaps,” said Marc Benowitz, iNEMI CEO. “This collaborative activity helps enable the readiness of our evolving global electronics manufacturing industry. My sincere thanks to all the individuals and organizations who contributed to the development of the 2019 Roadmap.”

Chapter Highlights

Smart Manufacturing — This is the first year the iNEMI Roadmap has featured a chapter on smart manufacturing. This chapter highlights the challenges within the electronics manufacturing supply chain in terms of materials flow and conversion, data flow architecture, digital building blocks and security. It maps out the present capabilities and needs, both vertically and between the key manufacturing chain segments. It discusses and prioritizes areas that must be addressed to enable deployment readiness.

Modeling, Simulation & Design Tools — Projected growth in connected and smart devices presents evolving modeling, simulation and design tools (MS&DT) with challenges in related areas such as: infrastructure for connectivity, systems for managing and communicating “big data,” unique smart devices and unique connected devices. These trends shift the focus of MS&DT from component-level analysis to a system-level approach. In addition, the emergence of improved computing infrastructure and the rise of algorithms that take advantage of these systems (e.g., artificial intelligence and machine learning) provide a rich environment and opportunity for improvements in MS&DT.

Sustainable Electronics — The 2019 chapter underscores the value of balancing adaptation and mitigation with an emphasis on the circular economy. The chapter covers four main topics: Environmental Sustainability, Eco-Design, Materials and Value Recovery.

Board Assembly — Achieving low-cost, fine-line technology, and the increasing density of board designs and miniaturization are major themes for the 2019 Board Assembly roadmap. The chapter highlights the need for such technologies and processes as automated printing, dispensing, placement and rework equipment to handle fine-pitch requirements; rework and placement processes for larger body sizes; re-workable underfills to enable further adoption of larger packages and fine-pitch area array technology; and processes for reworking temperature-sensitive devices.

About iNEMI

The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative’s mission is to forecast and accelerate improvements in the electronics manufacturing industry for a sustainable future. The consortium is made up of more than 90 manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies, research institutes and universities. iNEMI roadmaps the needs of the electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, executes collaborative projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical) and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies. The consortium also works with government agencies, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives. iNEMI is based in Morrisville, North Carolina (in the Greater Raleigh/Research Triangle Park area). For additional information about iNEMI, visit http://www.inemi.org.