On January 1, 2015, nine months from APEX 2014, the production and use restrictions on HCFC-225 will be in effect throughout the United States. This phase out is encompassing in scope. This phase out will have significant technical, performance, and economic implications for the electronics industry. The regulatory situation remains fluid. A number of alternative solvents have been or are in the process of being developed. We discuss the options for assemblers and component manufacturers. »»»
On its 40th anniversary, productronica featured plenty of innovations including augmented reality, robotics in electronics manufacturing and the productronica innovation award. Some 38,000 visitors from nearly 80 countries took part in the World's Leading Trade Fair for Electronics Development and Production. The share of visitors from Asia was up considerably.
This Year's Highlights:
We were proud to present American companies under the American flag in the USA Pavilion!
The first productronica innovation award was bestowed on the first day of the show. An independent panel of judges selected the most innovative products and solutions in five different categories. Of the more than 70 submissions, awards were presented to the following winners in five cluster categories: Fuji Machine in the PCB & EMS cluster, Rehm Thermal in the SMT cluster, F&K Delvotec in the Semiconductors cluster, Schleuniger in the Cables, Coils & Hybrids cluster, and Asys in the Future Markets cluster.
The premiere of IT2Industry took place parallel to productronica. 2.800 visitors informed themselves about the Industrial Internet of Things. The next IT2Industry will be held in Munich as part of AUTOMATICA from June 21 to 24, 2016.
Some 38,000 visitors from nearly 80 countries attended the trade fair in Munich, roughly the same high level as in previous years. According to a survey by market research institute TNS Infratest, visitor satisfaction is very high: 97 percent of visitors gave the fair a rating of good to excellent.
The sharpest increase in attendance was the number of visitors from Asia and from China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore in particular. After Germany, the countries with the largest number of visitors were as follows (in this order): Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation and Great Britain.
Save the date for 2016 and 2017!
The trade fairs productronica and electronica are held in alternating years, making Munich the most important place for the electronics industry to meet. The next electronica takes place from November 8 to 11, 2016, and the next productronica takes place in Munich from November 14 to 17, 2017.
"During the past four days of the fair, we have experienced the industry's unbelievable innovative strength. That underscores productronica's position as an international industry gathering for electronics development and production." - Falk Senger, Managing Director at Messe München.
"There are so many opportunities to drive our business forward. Industry 4.0 is a new market with a great deal of growth potential. And in automotive electronics, all the driver assistance systems are giving electronics production a considerable boost." - Rainer Kurtz, Chairman of productronica's Technical Advisory Board, CEO of kurtz ersa and Chairman of the VDMA Electronics, Micro and Nano Technologies (EMINT) Association.
"Given global competition, it is important to further strengthen machine manufacturers, material producers and information technology suppliers in Europe. productronica and the brand new productronica innovation award play an important role for the economy, but also for the scientific sector, and they strengthen horizontal and vertical cooperation. In doing so, they satisfy a key prerequisite for rapid implementation in system development and the user industry." - Prof. Lothar Pfitzner, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB.
SMTA - Surface Mount Technology Association is a non-profit international association of companies and individuals (totalling 4,000) involved in all aspects of advanced electronics assembly, surface mount and related technologies.
IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries is a US-based trade association dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its nearly 2,600 member companies which represent all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, including design, printed wiring board manufacturing and electronics assembly.