Technical Library | 2023-08-16 18:48:50.0
One of our aerospace customers was looking to automate a few manual operations and asked for suggestions. This customer specializes in assemblies for inflight connectivity for commercial airlines and low orbit satellites. The dispensing process included the application of bonding to the sides of large and small components (4-axis) and the ability to cope with the changing viscosity during processing. The material used was EC-2216 B/A Two Part Epoxy and the largest board size was 12"x10"
Technical Library | 2010-08-19 17:50:32.0
This article looks at each of the roles of the engineer and PCB designer, considers the traditional design process, and makes suggestions on how the designer can contribute significantly to improving a design’s overall signal integrity while simultaneousl
Technical Library | 2015-12-14 13:40:04.0
A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is a software program that manages and monitors production work in a factory. The MES controls and monitors all manufacturing data in real time, so there is no guesswork as to the status of any given job, machine, operator, etc. The focus is on short-interval scheduling (shift or day) with an emphasis on optimizing the distribution of work orders. Larger manufacturers have employed MES’s for years but many small to medium sized enterprises (SME’s) have yet to adopt such systems. The benefits of using an MES are many. Looking forward, I predict that even the smallest manufacturing companies will employ MES systems in the future.
Technical Library | 2018-03-05 11:17:31.0
In order to comply with RoHS and WEEE directives, many circuit assemblers are transitioning some or all of their soldering processes from tin-lead to lead-free within the upcoming year. There are no drop-in replacement alloys for tin-lead solder, which is driving a fundamental technology change. This change is forcing manufacturers to take a closer look at everything associated with the assembly process: board and component materials, logistics and materials management, solder alloys and processing chemistries, and even soldering methods. Do not expect a dramatic change in soldering behavior when moving to lead-free solders. The melting points of the alloys are higher, but at molten temperatures the different alloys show similar behaviors in a number of respects. Expect subtler changes, especially near the edges of a process window that is assumed based on tin-lead experience rather than defined through lead-free experimentation. These small changes, many of them yet to be identified and understood, will manifest themselves with lower assembly yields. The key to keeping yields up during the transition to lead-free is quickly learning what and where the subtle distinctions are, and tuning the process to accommodate them.
Technical Library | 2015-06-18 12:42:57.0
In the recent past, the Light Emitting Diode (LED) was hailed as the new energy efficient light source that would never have to be replaced. There were claims of 50,000+ hrs lifetime for the humble LED. That story has changed over the last few years as the number and diversity of the LED based products has increased. This is not to say that the original evidence was incorrect, but the initial enthusiastic estimates from the labs did not match the ultimate test, customers. As a result of poor quality products affecting the overall opinion of LED based products, it is critical that manufacturers can be confident in the quality of their product. In current times we want to have products certified, checked and ensure that we have the best quality. For the purposes of this paper we will look at one aspect of LED product, and this is the Lumen maintenance and estimated lifetime. The method described here does not seek to replace using high quality rating labs, but hopefully will allow the manufacturer to know with confidence that their prototype product, upon going to certification labs will be of a high enough quality that no expensive re-designs are required.
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