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Real Time with... productronica 2023: MKS' Atotech Brings New Features to Horizontal Plating

Roger Massey gives an update on Atotech's newest generation of their Uniplate® line. If you were unable to attend productronica 2023, don't worry. We're bringing you coverage of many of the week's events in Munich.

Recent Practices in PCB Fab Registration System Architecture

The registration of copper features, both to interconnects and to each other, is a topic about which documented cases in the public space are less than abundant, other than individual supplier marketing with minimal back-up data. Traditionally, this area is known to individual fabs as it involves multiple processes with a lot of variation in equipment makes/models, and even base materials between different shops. This article endeavors to document the current Pareto frontier of registration system design architecture for use by PCB fab engineers.

A Conversation With Industry Icon Pete Starkey

After spending a week at productronica 2023 with Pete Starkey, it became quite clear that Pete is something of an icon in the printed circuit board industry. I knew I had to spend some time talking to him specifically about the history, progress, and future of the bare printed circuit board. It was fascinating, humbling, and very educational. I think you’ll agree.

ASC and Sunstone: The Art of the Zipper Merge

We’ve all been there when two traffic lanes need to merge into one: Chaos ensues. It’s most often because some folks simply choose not to cooperate with fellow drivers. But when the so-called zipper merge works correctly, traffic flows smoothly. The same can happen when bringing two separate companies together; for some pairings, it’s a battle, while for others, the merging is as smooth as a zipper. American Standard Circuits and Sunstone Circuits have been integrating their business merger for about six months, and we checked in with Anaya Vardya and Matt Stevenson to see how the integration is proceeding. There are simple lessons to be learned from hearing their stories and applying them to your own situation.

Amitron's Leap Into the AI Frontier

In a conversation with Aidan Salvi, Amitron’s chief transformation officer, he spoke of the interaction of machine learning on registration. Amitron has been modernizing much of its manufacturing equipment, and Aidan points out that improving registration is a key objective. He sees registration as a holistic system. To make smart improvements, you need data. To get data, you need equipment and sensors which capture the data. To make sense of the data, you need analysis and, eventually, predictive tools.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Schmoll Maschinen Brings Precision and Adaptability to Laser Drilling

Schmoll's Dr. Stefan Rung shares features of the Pico laser drill, designed to meet the growing requirements of IC substrates. Kurt Palmer discusses Burkle North America's team of specialists committed to supporting this technology.

Meet the IPS Workforce: Inoa Wahinehookae

As the workforce continues shifting to the next generation and the lack of appeal for manufacturing careers persists, we feel it’s important to share the voices of those who have chosen manufacturing as their career. We believe this will raise awareness and inspire others to consider manufacturing as a strong and viable career path.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Every year, companies in the consumer electronics segment look forward to the Christmas season. Some of these companies make almost half of their revenue in November and December. What are the hottest electronics gadgets this year? According to the Consumer Reviews Guide, these are the top sellers in the electronic gadget market this holiday season. Do any of these gadgets strike your fancy, as my grandmother used to say? Check them out.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: MivaTek Global Advances Technology With High-res Imaging System

MivaTek's Brendan Hogan talks about how the company employs Digitally Adaptive Rasterization Technology (DART) in their high-res imaging equipment. He also shares how the blurred line between semiconductors and microelectronics is driving broader application of the imaging process.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Electra Polymers Celebrates 40 Years With Ambitious Growth Plan

Ashley Steers, Electra Polymers, updates Pete Starkey on the company's future, including a new manufacturing facility dedicated to producing inkjet solder mask.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: MKS Atotech Offers IIoT Solutions

Pete Starkey Interviews Dr. Giovanni Obino From MKS Atotech. Real-time feedback and two points of view are just some of the features of Atotech's IIoT platform.

EPOCH Celebrates 30-Year Anniversary

Recently, EPOCH celebrated the company’s 30th anniversary. The I-Connect007 China team covered the event, captured a conversation with EPOCH CEO Foad Ghalili during the celebration, and filed this video report.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Optimizing the Lamination Process Through Automation

Lino Souza outlines how Pluritec has automated the nine steps of lamination in a continuous Pluritec line, resulting in process times as much as 33% of traditional manual methods, all with increased accuracy and quality. Souza states that, if you do 50-75 panels a day or more, the ROI will pay for itself through saved labor alone.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Ventec Now Also an Equipment Supplier

Mark Goodwin announces that Ventec is now in the equipment business, as it were, now offering equipment under representation as well as equipment Ventec is now building. The equipment line matches up well with Ventec’s core. Some equipment includes: Legend/solder paste, via fill, press plates, and more. These new offerings just demonstrate how Ventec continues to be a value-add supplier.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Taiyo America's Many Shades of Green

John Fix discusses principal challenges in North America and Europe. Environmental concerns are very high visibility in Europe. Fix provides details on melamine mitigation in Taiyo America’s products, as well as other environmentally tricky chemicals and wasteful packaging.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

This week’s news items taught me a few things I didn’t know. For instance, there’s news about the new equipment for THT work, governmental support for advanced packaging technologies, an upcoming webinar from iNEMI on counterfeits, an interview with U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, one of the sponsors of the bipartisan Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act, and columnist Tim Haag, using Star Trek to illustrate why simplicity is, ahem, paramount.

Amitron Progressing Toward a Factory 5.0 Future

Aidan Salvi, chief transformation officer, updates Nolan Johnson on the modernization activity under way at Amitron. Aidan shares that Amitron has added 62 different pieces of new equipment on their production floor, and shares details on what that means for Amitron’s production capabilities, data management, and progress toward a Factory 5.0 future.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: ATG's a9a Tester Delivers Flexibility

Peter Brandt gives Pete Starkey a tour of atg’s latest addition to the a9 line of equipment, the a9a tester for routed boards up to 25 x 21 inches in size. Small and medium size customers requiring small quantity flexibility, or advance technology testing, are atg’s target customers for the a9a.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Jayda Tool Brings More Capability to Ucamco's Product Portfolio

Karel Tavernier and Pete Starkey reconnect to discuss the new tool, Jayda, and how it complements Ucamco’s Integr8tor workflow system to optimize CAM processes.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Aismalibar Poised to Meet Thermal Management Challenges

Technical Editor Pete Starkey and Aismalibar's Eduardo Benmayor reflect on opportunities and challenges for thermal management and the battery industry and discusses Aismalibar's product solutions.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Dennis Pusch Shares Features of Schmoll's Direct Imaging System

In this interview, Pete Starkey speaks with Dennis Pusch of Schmoll Maschinen and Kurt Palmer of Burkle North America about Schmoll's newest DI system. Dedicated to fineline imaging, Schmoll’s MDI Ultra supports PCB manufacturers moving into IC substrate manufacturing.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: Altix, MGI Team Up for Inkjet Solution

Pete Starkey speaks with Frederic Soulier and Damien Boureau from Altix and MGI Digital Technology. The combined expertise of two innovative companies lead to a radically simplified digital solution for solder mask and additive processes in one machine.

Real Time with... productronica 2023: TSK Finds Benefits in Vacuum Etching

Marc Aicheler and Pete Starkey discuss TSK’s horizontal vacuum systems, including vacuum etching process equipment. Aicheler details the benefits of a vacuum etch in managing challenges such as etchant puddling, etc. Aicheler also teases at a vacuum alkaline etchant systems as well.

Registration: From Raw Data to Intelligent Manufacturing 

While previous industrial revolutions have introduced factories, mass production, and computer-controlled systems, the advent of Industry 4.0 and the concept of the Smart factory have ushered in a new era in PCB manufacturing. For the PCB industry it is a very ambitious and aspirational objective to evolve from disconnected processes to an integrated system with automated data capture, real-time data analysis, process visualization, autonomous control, and self-correcting processes. 

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

I learned to cook late in life, and Allrecipes.com is my go-to recipe source. Their recipes are peer-reviewed, you might say, and they’re always dead-on. So, this week, I present my top five recipes for traditional Thanksgiving dishes; these will also work well for Christmas dinner, or any big family gathering. Enjoy!
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