MacDermid Alpha to Present Four Technical Papers at IPC APEX EXPO

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MacDermid Alpha, a leading global supplier of integrated circuit, assembly and semiconductor solutions for the electronics design and manufacturing industries, will be highlighting their latest research on final finishes, lightweight bio-based polymers, solder alloy reliability for automotive applications, and brand new findings from test data on conformal coatings. The four separate technical presentations will take place at this year’s IPC APEX EXPO, January 24 – 26, at the San Diego Convention Center in California.

Authored by MacDermid Alpha’s leading industry experts, these papers will address various material challenges, testing methods, and new solutions that will help manufacturers of Automotive, 5G, Mobile, and other critical markets, to meet the increasing demands of reliability, performance, cost efficiency, and sustainability.

Two papers are scheduled under the High Reliability for Extreme Environments Track. Bethany Turner, Senior Technical Manager and Resins Specialist, will present the paper entitled “Expandable Bio-Based Polymers: A Lightweight Future for Electronics Ruggedization - Immersion Study”. Bethany’s presentation will take place on January 24, 10.30am-12pm, and will explore an important new manufacturing trend, known as “Lightweighting”.  Lightweight materials are not only ideal for portable devices, but are also valuable for other applications, such as mass transit and automotive systems.  Kennedy Fox, Reliability Failure Analysis Scientist, will present “Highly Accelerated Vibration Testing for the Evaluation of Solder Alloys in Automotive Applications” on January 24, 1:30-3pm. The paper analyses the performance of solder pastes and more specifically, how a paste’s resilience to vibration fatigue can influence the failure of an entire electronic unit in a vehicle.   

As part of the PCB Plating and Finishes Track, Frank Xu, Technology Manager Final Finishes, will present “Reassessing Surface Finish Performance for Next Generation Technology” on January 22, 8-11am. Finishes such as aImAg, ImSn, OSP, ENIG and ENEPIG are well established in the decision making process for PCB fabricators when considering cost and performance. 5G is growing in importance and requires increased data flow. One challenge is signal loss, especially at higher frequency bandwidth.. Fabricators are once again looking to the next generation surface finishes to resolve the issue of signal loss; this paper compares and contrasts performance attributes of a range of finishes.

Phil Kinner, Global Business and Technical Director for Coatings, will present “A New Approach To Conformal Coating Demonstrates Significantly Improved Ruggedization Performance” in the Cleaning and Coatings Track.  Phil will explore test data using the IPC-TR-587 technical report, ‘”Conformal Coating Material and Application ‘State of the Industry’’’ as the basis to compare the performance of assemblies coated with state-of-the-art materials as opposed to standard coatings used by manufacturers. In his presentation, which takes place on January 25, 3:30-5pm, Phil will examine the new findings from tests that show how a natural, slight shift in position of components during soldering could yield very different coating patterns and coating coverage, resulting in inconsistent protection from one board to the next.

The MacDermid Alpha team will also be welcoming visitors to Booth 1933 to discuss more about these subjects and our latest solutions that can deliver greater reliability and performance for today’s increasingly complex electronics assemblies.