doeS reShorIng Make SenSe for yoUr oUtSoUrCIng …... Global SMT & Packaging – February 2014 – 5intellectual Property & eMS the market seems to demand a much more fluid approach

Zoltàn SopsitsInterview Inside

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volume 14 number 2, february 2014ISSn 1474 - 0893

Global SMT & Packaging – February 2014 – 1www.globalsmt.net

Contents

Global SMT & Packagingis published monthlyby Trafalgar PublicationsLimited. The journal is FREE to qualified professionals and is available by subscription at a cost of $180 for the current volume (twelve issues).

Periodicals postage paid at Rahway NJ. Postmaster send address corrections to: Global SMT & Packaging, PO Box 7579, Naples, FL 34102.

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ISSN No. 1474-0893 © Trafalgar Publications LtdDesigned and Published by Trafalgar Publications LtdPrinted by Presstige Printing, Bonita Springs, FL

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Americas edition

Volume 14, No. 2

February 2014

ContentseDiTorial2 Get the big picture! Trevor Galbraith

TeChnoloGy FoCuS10 Does reshoring make sense for your outsourcing strategy? Alexandra Topp, Spectrum Assembly, Inc.14 Aerosol Jet® Printing of Conductive Epoxy for 3D Packaging Michael J. Renn, Ph.D., and Kurt Christenson,Ph.D., Optomec, Inc.

SPeCial FeaTureS28 Interview—Zoltàn Sopsits, Kirsten Soldering 26 2013 Global SMT Rep & Distributor Review

reGular ColuMnS4 Intellectual Property & EMS Philip Storn22 2013 ends on a high note Walt Custer and Jon Custer-Topai31 Multi-component IC packaging—Ushering in tomorrow’s products Sandra L. Winkler

6 Industry News30 Regional Spotlight34 New Products

35 International Diary36 Association News

oTher reGular FeaTureS

28

10

14

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2 – Global SMT & Packaging – February 2014 www.globalsmt.net

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editorial officesEuropeTrafalgar Publications Ltd.Globals SMT & PackagingCrown House, 72 Hammersmith Rd, Hammersmith, London, W14 8TH, UKTel: +44 (0) 207 559 1467 Fax: +44 (0) 207 559 1468E-mail: [email protected]: www.globalsmt.netUnited StatesTrafalgar Publications Ltd.Global SMT & PackagingPO Box 7579Naples, FL 34102, USATel: +1 (239) 245-9264Fax: (239) 236-4682AsiaTrafalgar Publications Group Pvt LtdM-161/1 G.L. House, Gautam NagarBehind India Oil BhawanNew Delhi – 110049Office: +86 351 652 3813Fax: +86 351 652 0409Editor-in-ChiefTrevor GalbraithTel: +1 (239) 245 9264 ext. 101UK Mobile: +44 (0)7584 072926German Handy: +49 (0)1573 278 4316US Cell: +1 (239) 287 5401Fax: +1 (239) 236 4682Skype: [email protected] EditorTel: +1 (239) 245-9264 [email protected] EditorLu [email protected] Asia Technical EditorDebasish [email protected]: +1 (239) 245-9264 [email protected] DeveloperTorrence GermanyTel: +1 (239) 245-9264 [email protected] advertisingEurope—Alex KlocksinTel: +49.1577.893.4884 (Ger.) [email protected] AmericaSandy DaneauTel: +1 [email protected] Asia—India, Singapore & MalaysiaDebasish ChoudhuryTel: +91 120 6453260Mobile: +91 [email protected] ChangTel: [email protected], Taiwan & Hong KongPaul ChenTel: +86 [email protected]

Trevor GalbraithEditor-in-Chief

editorial

get the big picture!As I write this Editorial, I have just come off a 17 hour flight from Japan—ugh!

That said, the trip was educational, entertaining and immensely gratifying. As a self-confessed technology geek, I was in Nirvana at the recent Internepcon Japan expo in Tokyo where I saw some really cool technologies that would otherwise never see the light of day outside the country.

The focus may have shifted to Apple, Google and the Koreans over the past few years, but make no mistake, there are some seriously clever people in the land of the rising sun and many of the technologies and materials employed in the latest smart-phones and tablets emanate from Japan. (see Internepcon Japan report on page 38).

The latest developments in the con-sumer world were on display in Las Vegas this month, giving us all a mouth-watering peak at some of the new gadgets and tech-nologies coming our way over the next 12 months. According to various reports, electronics manufacturing is on track to reestablish its customary 6% growth in 2014. Global semiconductor shipments, Productronica and now Internepcon Japan would all seem to support this fact.

However, consumer electronics exists in a peculiar bubble that is very different from other areas of electronics manufac-turing, such as medical, military and indus-trial automation. It is not only affected by fashion trends but also by the health of the economy. When governments mess up, which they do with nauseating regularity, the knock-on effect on consumer electron-ics can be brutal and instantaneous. If you want an extreme example, take a look at the

solar industry. It has suffered a debilitating oversupply situation for three years now, largely at the hands of one country (Spain) who reversed their feed-in tariff scheme, followed by a bunch of other, smaller European countries.

Reducing and, where possible, elimi-nating risk has become an increasing part of the “total landed cost” equation. My personal feeling is that this has driven part of the reshoring or near-shoring trend we have witnessed recently. Quite simply, the shorter your supply chain, the lower the risk of something interrupting it or going wrong. EMS companies would be wise to keep a closer look at the mix of manufac-turing segments they cover as part of their risk equation, and limit their exposure to consumer-based industries to a manage-able level.

Despite the optimism I predicted at the start of this Editorial, it is hard to under-stand how the United States is going to sus-tain the excessive multi-trillion dollar debt and what effect there would be on indus-try if we were to witness another crash or devaluation of the currency.

I certainly don’t want to pour cold water on our recent uptick, but let’s just say I am “cautiously optimistic.”

—Trevor Galbraith.Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]

Global SMT Productronics jade FP Ad 4 203x275 dec 2013 a.indd 1 17/12/2013 15:08:48


intellectual Property & eMS

The ownership of property is funda-mental to the way modern econo-mies work. People own things, they grow or make things, and they sell those things to make enough money to buy other things, and so it goes on…. The owner-ship of Intellectual Property (IP) is a little more obtuse, but also a fundamental cor-nerstone of capitalism and particularly consumerism. Without IP we would just make or grow things; with IP we research, we develop, and we invent things.

So, for this model to succeed and pro-tect the inventors of all the cool stuff, we need to be able to protect IP from theft or misuse, and we need to ensure the right people own it.

This was perhaps more straightforward when the people who invented also manu-factured. Now the people who invent often don’t manufacture and may even outsource much of the industrialization or even the entire design, save the really clever creative bit. And this is where the relationship that IP has with the EMS (electronics manufac-turing service) industry becomes pivotal.

Roll back to the early days of electron-ics outsourcing, where a kit was handed over and the outsourcing partner assem-bled that kit, delivered it back and charged for the service. No confusion there: the IP was safely in the hands of the OEM (original equipment maker). Then the EMS companies decided it could offer support in design to their customer base, perhaps looking to provide a more manufacturable product, or perhaps wishing to win some higher margin business in an adjacent part of the value chain. Next the EMS gains some expertise in a particular area, like cameras or power supplies, and decides it should develop product offerings that can be built into OEM products or even just rebranded or white-labeled for the OEM. Now the IP ownership is getting blurry and we find ourselves looking for names for such services like ODMs (original design manufacturers) or JDMs (joint design manufacturers). Then the final stage: the outsourced partner finds itself launching its own product on the market, and before you know where you are, the EMS has

become an OEM, with full IP control and responsibility.

the clues in the nameFor me the key is in the name and one par-ticular part of the name. If an EMS is an EMS the key word to remember is the one that begins with ‘S’—SERVICE. As a ser-vice provider you are selling time, expertise, use of equipment, use of labor. These com-panies that know that they are a service for their customers do not own IP and only develop IP on request of those customers. This is not to say they are not smart and do not have a great deal of process and manu-facturing expertise, but it does mean that their role starts at purchase order and ends at invoice payment.

kids in a sweet shopI understand the temptation—just like with the proverbial kid in a sweet shop, it is hard to ignore the opportunities that the ODM and OEM models offer, not least of which is higher margins. And sometimes

Philip Stoten

Intellectual Property & eMS

What does IP mean to the EMS industry and why is everyone so confused about

who should own it?

Read ListenWatch

Follow Philip on Twitter @philipstoten


intellectual Property & eMS

the market seems to demand a much more fluid approach to IP. For example, the power supply industry seems to be dominated by white-label or ODM vendors, and if you want to operate in this space that is probably the only model that can be applied. The digital camera and laptop markets have gone the same way: as companies without technical know-how or IP have sought to leverage their brand into these spaces, ODMs have developed solutions that allow them to select from a menu of tech-nology and develop a branded product offering that can be manufactured and delivered worldwide.

So, what is the role of the eMS? and can an eMS provide odM and even oeM products?Well if service is the key word, then service is what you pro-vide. This means you do what the order asks of you, and the only activity that is performed outside of customer projects is to develop and improve process or manufacturing and supply chain excellence. To me this is the purest form of EMS. Do they exist? I’m sure they do in the lower tiers, but probably not any more in tier one.

If the company really is an EMS and really is only about service, then the role it has in my IP is to protect it and to bring it to market quickly and effectively, allowing their cus-tomer, the OEM, to capitalize on the market window avail-able.

A wise and successful senior executive at a global EMS com-pany once told me “sometime the service demanded is a product.” I pondered long and hard on that statement and came to the conclusion that he was indeed wise and that a black and white approach to IP doesn’t serve anyone well. IP needs to move around the supply chain a little, and if an

OEM is to bring a product to market quickly—and more importantly before its competi-tors—it may need to work with a partner that has some IP that goes into that product. That could be a camera for a smart-phone or a control unit for a breaking system on a car.

So, do big eMS companies want to be oeMs? I don’t think so. They just want to leverage their manufactur-ing and supply chain excel-lence in the best way they can to serve an ever more complex marketplace.

and do oeMs want their suppliers to own IP? Well, yes, when it is appropriate and forms an integral part of the service offering that allows them to focus on what they’re good at and what will win them market share. What they really don’t want is to support a service industry that is in any danger of becoming a competi-tor!

Philip Stoten has spent half his career in the electronics manufacturing industry and the other half as a journalist covering it. You can find his work on YouTube and you can follow him on twitter @philipstoten.

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koch Industries, Inc. completes purchase of Molex Incorporated Koch Industries, Inc., has completed its $7.2 billion acquisition of Molex Incorporated, a global electronic components company. The acquisition was finalized through the merger of Koch Industries’ wholly owned subsidiary, Koch Connectors, Inc., with and into Molex. As a result of the merger, Molex is now an indirect wholly-owned subsid-iary of Koch Industries, Inc., retaining its name and headquarters in Lisle, Illinois. The company will continue to be operated by its current management team. www.kochind.com, www.molex.com

MIrtec corp reports over 17% growth in 2013MIRTEC Co. LTD, “The Global Leader in Inspection Technology”, reports contin-ued growth in sales revenue for its North American Sales and Service Division for 2013. “We are very pleased to announce that sales revenue for our North American Division has grown by over 17% with respect to 2012,” stated Brian D’Amico, President of MIRTEC Corp. of market share throughout North America.”www.mirtec.com

BtU International appoints fhP reps in SouthwestBTU International, Inc., announces the appointment of FHP Reps as its represen-tative in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. FHP is a manufacturers’ repre-sentative and distributor organization that provides best-in-class equipment, consum-ables and services to the electronics manu-facturing industry. Unlike many rep firms, FHP specializes in solutions as well as equipment and supplies. FHP will represent BTU’s complete line of advanced thermal processing equipment and processes for the electronics assembly industry throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.www.fhpreps.com, www.btu.com

Vitrox technologies’ V810 XXl aXI selected as finalist for 2014 “Best in test” AwardViTrox Technologies announces that its V810 XXL In-Line 3D Advanced X-ray Inspection System (AXI) has been selected as a finalist for the 2013 Best in Test Awards

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cogiscan and Speedline enter strategic oeM partnershipCogiscan and Speedline Technologies announced that the companies have entered an OEM relationship under which Cogiscan will provide software to harvest and report traceability data from Speedline printers. Under the agreement, the com-panies will develop a standard traceability package that Speedline will incorporate as part of its product portfolio and resell through its own channels. www.speedlinetech.com, www.cogiscan.com

alpha’s altoona facility certified as a compliant conflict-free smelter Alpha’s Altoona, PA, USA facility has received certification as a conflict-free minerals smelter by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, Incorporated (EICC) and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) Conflict-Free Smelter

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pass enhanced engineering, applications, sales, service, and support for its electron-ics manufacturing customers. Nordson’s Advanced Technology Systems operation manufactures precision dispensing, fluid management, test and inspection, and sur-

Industry newsindustry news

circuit technology Inc. opens training center in floridaCTI’s new IPC Master Training CenterCircuit Technology Inc. (CTI) announces that it has opened its newest training center in Melbourne, FL at 715 North Dr., Suite C. This state-of-the-art facility features the latest PCB soldering/repair equipment and microscope/inspection equipment. CTI will offer a full range of training classes at this new facility starting in January 2014.www.circuittechnology.com

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dfr Solutions intensifies government/military focusDfR Solutions announced that it is inten-sifying its Government/Military focus by teaming with Circuit Solutions. This col-laboration will provide greater access to DfR Solutions’ leading-edge electronics design and reliability services and testing to the Government/Military marketplace.www.dfrsolutions.com

Met opens a new facilityMET announces the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Melbourne, FL. MET, a stencil supplier headquartered in Lumberton, NJ and with production plants in Minnesota, North Carolina and New Hampshire, will produce precision stencils at 715 North Dr., Suite C in Melbourne. The plant boasts a state-of-the-art laser that will produce stencils for all framed and fra-meless variations. The facility will serve the entire Florida SMT marketplace. The plant boasts a state-of-the-art laser that will pro-duce stencils for all framed and frameless variations. www.metassocs.com eMemory and SMIc expand partnership in enVM technical developmenteMemory and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation today announced that they plan to expand the deployment of their current collabora-tion on SMIC’s eNVM platform develop-ment. The platform covers both One Time Programmable (OTP) and Multiple Times Programmable (MTP) eNVM technolo-gies, such as NeoBit, NeoFuse, NeoEE and NeoMTP, across a wide range of technol-ogy nodes ranging from 0.35um to 40nm.www.smics.com

ACL appoint new sales managerACL Staticide, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Bruno Jarzemski as ACL National Outbound Sales Manager effective immediately. Mr. Jarzemsky brings substantial industry experience to the ACL Staticide team in the areas of new business development, national account manage-ment, branch distribution lean operations, and outbound call center management.

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Milwaukee electronics Celebrates 60 years Milwaukee Electronics was founded in 1954. Over the last 60 years, it has continued to evolve as both an engineering firm and contract manufacturer. Under the leadership of President and CEO P. Michael Stoehr, the company has expanded from its regional focus to a global footprint with manufacturing facilities in Milwaukee, WI; Canby, OR; and Tecate, Mexico, plus an International Purchasing Office (IPO) in Singapore and a Tech Center in India. In addition to its track record of providing full service electronics manufacturing services (EMS) solutions to a diverse customer base, the company’s Screaming Circuits subsidiary has pioneered best-in-class practices for online ordering of prototypes. The company’s manufacturing operations are registered to ISO 9001:2008 and all U.S. facilities are ITAR-registered.

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Does reshoring make sense for your outsourcing strategy?

Determining which projects make sense to reshore and which are better left offshore requires careful analysis. Here are six cost factors to consider:

• Project volumes• Proximity between the product

team and production• Schedule flexibility• Greater use of systems and auto-

mation• Comprehensiveness of solution• Quality concerns

Project volumesIn a project with an annual run rate of a million or more units, small per unit cost savings translates to a large overall savings. However, for projects with run rates in the tens of thousands, the savings may not offset the total added costs. As costs have increased in China, lower volume projects with marginal cost savings are being re-evaluated and in many cases, coming back to the U.S.

Product team proximity to manufacturerDistance adds both time and complexity to outsourced produc-tion. Team travel costs and communication errors are one factor that can eliminate off-shore cost savings at lower volumes. There is also a speed factor,

both in New Product Introduction (NPI) and volume production. At the NPI level, teams using a regional production source can meet face-to-face quickly during the design and production qualification stages. At the volume production level, engineer-ing change orders (ECOs) are easier to implement rapidly since there is typically a short finished goods inventory pipeline. Finally, the hours associated with working in widely different time zones can drive personnel turnover. In low-to-medium production volumes, these drivers of hidden costs should be carefully evaluated as part of the sourcing decision.

Schedule flexibilityVariable demand is another element driv-ing reshoring home. While offshore suppli-ers can support variable demand, it tends to drive inefficiency, increase defects and concomitant higher cost. Companies off-shoring variable demand products typi-cally either incur the cost of warehousing of finished goods in close proximity to their end market or higher logistics costs for expedited shipments. Additionally, in countries with rigid import regulations, such as China, EMS customers may be required to “buy” forecasted, but unutilized

raw materials inventory on a quarterly basis, which negates a major advantage of outsourcing. A regional supplier equals greater schedule flexibil-ity since shipping lead-time drops out of the equa-tion and typically active inventory is carried by the contractor even when forecasts are not met. In Lean manufac-turing partner-ships, a regional supplier can also easily support their customers’ inventory reduc-tion goals. For example at SAI, a program man-ager teams with the customer to

The reshoring topic continues to make news, but is it truly a viable outsourcing solution? San Diego-based electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Spectrum Assembly, Inc., has seen growth attributable to the reshoring trend.

Alexandra Topp, Spectrum Assembly, Inc.

does reshoring make sense for your outsourcing strategy?

Read ListenWatch

NPI can be a challenge when working at a distance. SAI configures its NPI teams and project launch strategy to fill any gaps a customer may have in their engineering support. Each cus-tomer is paired with a highly trained staff member to help with outsourcing.


Title

develop a forecasting framework, set mate-rial bonds and determine required finished goods kanban.

greater use of systems and automationRegions with low cost labor often have inherent inefficiencies since manual pro-cessing is often cheaper than automation. Depending on the labor content, a highly efficient U.S. contractor may represent the lower total cost. Onshore manufacturers invest in developing low turnover work-force programs and using fewer employees to perform a wider variety of tasks. As an example, at SAI, over 50 percent of produc-tion operators have been with the company for over a decade.

Additionally, to enhance cost competi-tiveness, SAI has fostered a Lean culture focused on high quality, service and flex-

ibility combined with smart systems and efficient processes. Four principles guide SAI’s strategy:

• Configure equipment to support small lot sizes

• Minimize variation• Minimize waste created by poor

quality or inefficient operations• Minimize transport timeSAI migrated to a paperless factory

system that uses Aegis Manufacturing Operations software to address several of these areas. It reduces the time needed for NPI by electronically transferring documentation which is used to generate production documentation and program machines. This seamless approach reduces the personnel needed to support NPI and provides a centralized repository for docu-mentation control and also eliminates the potential for errors that is present in more manual methods. Work instructions are

displayed electronically on the produc-tion floor which speeds up changeover and eliminates the potential for mix-ups in paper documents. Quality data collection is also automated. The Company also uti-lizes equipment which is easy to program to facilitate faster changeovers and uses automated component towers for error-free point-of-use materials stocking.

SAI’s business strategy also focuses on minimizing variation and inefficiency. PCBA, cable and harness assembly, and box build operations are located under one roof. This level of vertical integration cuts time and cost by simplifying the supply chain.

Comprehensiveness of solutionProximity to customers makes it easier for teams at a regional EMS provider to

Automated processes eliminate the potential for defects. SAI uses component towers for point-of-use material stocking. The tower provides an ESD and humidity-controlled environment for component storage. Parts are scanned via a barcode that corresponds with the job number to decrease defects, as well.


Does reshoring make sense for your outsourcing strategy?

offer more comprehensive solutions since they can travel to the customer’s facility easily. This is also area where a high service approach can eliminate hidden costs by addressing common problems before they become problems.

SAI has developed specialized service packages to make it easy for customers to pick the right mix of support for their needs. For example, SAI’s TransferAssist service package assigns a team to help customers new to outsourcing more easily transfer production that may not be well documented or optimize the product for manufacturability and/or testability. SAI’s Total Lifecycle Control package provides customers with a menu of engineering, manufacturing and post-manufacturing services that can be tailored to support dif-ferent requirements at different stages in a product’s life.

Additionally, regional contractor are often more willing to invest in additional capabilities to support project require-ments. As an example, when one of its cus-tomers wished to divest its wire-bonding capability as part of a larger project, SAI added the capability.

Quality concernsMost OEMs audit to ensure an offshore contractor has acceptable levels of qual-ity. However, contractors in lower labor cost production regions are used to sub-stituting components wherever they can reduce costs, because it is an acceptable practice with their consumer and indus-trial customer bases. If this is not moni-tored, it can create significant issues for companies in regulated industries such as medical. Additionally, language and cul-tural issues can drive mistakes which cause both increase cost and production time. Reluctance of many suppliers in low cost labor markets to invest in the latest auto-mated inspection technology can impact quality. Conversely, U.S. manufacturers often find this investment pays for itself by minimizing production personnel.

Finally, industry- or application-spe-cific quality requirements may make it dif-ficult to source critical components or do final inspection offshore. For example, SAI had a customer whose products were used in the nuclear industry that could only use raw cable that met very rigid industry specifications. The only two suppliers of that type of raw cable were located in the

U.S. An offshore build required shipping raw cable to China, assembling the product and the shipping it back to the U.S. When the cost of air freight to support demand variations of a build-to-order product was factored in, a U.S. build was clearly the most cost effective option.

Outsourcing can be a complex process when done at a distance. At higher volumes, the internal costs associated with that level of complexity may make sense. However, in low-to-medium volumes, a high service, well-automated regional source may be the more cost competitive option when all costs are evaluated. Companies new to out-sourcing may be best served by a contrac-tor with a support infrastructure capable of addressing any gaps in the production transfer process. Companies with longer product lifecycles or those requiring spe-cialized solutions are also often better served onshore.

Alexandra Topp handles sales and mar-keting, at Spectrum Assembly, Inc. She can be reached at [email protected]. For more information on SAI, visit www.saicorp.com.

SAI’s SMT lines utilize equipment optimized for fast changeover, which reduces costs for high mix production. Equipment is set up to run com-pletely by machine from solder paste application through placement and reflow to decrease time and save costs.

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March 25-27, 2014See Us in Booth No.1217


aerosol Jet® Printing of Conductive epoxy for 3D Packaging

Various dispense technologies are com-mercially available including both con-tact- and non-contact approaches. Contact approaches include needle and valve dispense as well as screen printing. Non-contact approaches include jetting and ultrasonic deposition. The technologies are used to dispense a wide variety of mate-rial including conductors, insulators and adhesives and it is possible to fabricate multilayer circuitry by sequentially depos-iting conductors and insulators. However, because the dispensers require either phys-ical or near contact with the dispensing surface, the printed circuitry is generally limited to planar geometries. Furthermore, there are typically feature size limitations. Many of the jetting approach require low viscosity inks. These inks tend to spread

when printed which result in low aspect features. Similarly, needles and valves have clogging challenges as the orifice size gets smaller.

Most of these technologies have been applied to dispensing conductive adhesives, used for attaching chips to the PCB. As chip packages continue to shrink there is a con-tinuous need to reduce the dots size and volume of the adhesive dots. For example, the pad size on an 0201 SMT package is 0.2 mm x 0.1 mm which implies that a dot size of approximately 0.05 mm is needed for attaching the device to a PCB. This dot size is on the low end of what conventional technologies can achieve.

Aerosol Jet technology has been avail-able for several years and has mainly been used for dispensing of nanosilver inks for

Traditional dispensing technologies are typically limited to feature sizes above 100 μm and have limited 3D capability due to near- or direct-surface contact with the substrate. Corresponding conductive adhesives for these systems typically contain large metallic flakes which lead to inconsistent conductivity in small features such as dots. In this paper we combine a new, nanoflake conductive adhesive with Aerosol Jet dispensing and demonstrate non-contact printing over 3D surfaces and into recesses such as through silicon via (TSV), including, as demonstrated in the article, edge wrap-around connections printed with a tool standoff height of 7mm.

Michael J. Renn, Ph.D., and Kurt Christenson,Ph.D., Optomec, Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA

aerosol Jet® Printing of conductive epoxy for 3d Packaging

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Figure 1. Schematic diagram of an Aerosol-Jet based printing system.



photovoltaics, printed circuits, and printed antenna. One major advantage of this tech-nology is that fine feature printing, down to 10 µm features size, can be achieved with a surprisingly large standoff height (up to 10 mm). This capability allows for print-ing in recessed regions such as via, over step edges such as an SMT device, and over non-planar substrate such as populated boards. In contrast to other jetting tech-niques, the ink droplets in the aerosol jet system do not actually interact with the surfaces of the nozzle. This feature results in greatly reduced fre-quency of clogging and less sensitivity to specific ink rheologies, such as surface tension and solids loading.

One further consid-eration is that even with a more accurate, small volume dispenser, inho-mogeneity in the material itself becomes a factor at the smaller dot volumes. The conductive phase of many die attach epoxies consist of large flakes of silver (>5 µm). As the dot volume shrinks, the number of silver flakes in the dot becomes small enough that any fluctuations in the number of flakes lead to statistical variability in the conductivity. So even if the dispenser were dispensing per-fectly uniform dot volumes, fluctuations in

the amount of silver flake will lead to fluc-tuation in electrical connection and fluc-tuation in the contact resistance between the epoxy and the contact pad.

In this paper we describe efforts to improve both dispensability of small volume dots, but correspondingly to improve the consistency and conductivity of the materials. To that end, Optomec and Resin Designs have collaborated to develop a new nanosilver epoxy that can be aerosol jet printed to very fine features. The nano-epoxy is designed for high electrical and

thermal conductivity, excellent adhesion and shear strength, and low temperature curing. This paper will discuss results of the print properties of the material includ-ing dot size, volume, and consistency. The electrical properties under various sinter-ing conditions, including laser sintering, will be described as well as measurements of bond strength. Initial results toward chip

attach, printed circuits, and via fill will be described.

The geometrical restriction is affected by the ink droplet size and constraints on ink viscosity and surface tension. Commercially available inkjets can typi-cally dispense down to a 50 μm feature size. Various research labs are reporting a 20 μm feature size. Substantial and dra-matic reduction of the feature size appears to be daunting; one company reports a 10 year plan for reducing the feature size to 10 μm. In addition, an ink jet must over-come issues with reliability (clogging), and throughput (low solids loading). On the other hand, the Optomec Aerosol Jet printing system is different than ink-jet technology and it is not subject to the same constraints. The commercially avail-able printhead can already print feature sizes as small as 10 μm and is capable of depositing both low-viscosity, low solids content inks as well as high viscosity (5000 cP), high solids content (75 wt%) inks. This wide ranging materials compatibility is particularly important when both thick and thin features need to be printed on the same device. For example, thick film conductor layers are often needed for high current carrying capacity and connecting over long distances, but thin (



ing gas to the carrier. Within the print head, a second, co-flowing sheath gas focuses the droplets to a 10-100 µm diameter jet. The droplets exit the nozzle at velocities up to 100 m/s, which is sufficient for impaction on a target substrate. The droplets do not slow significantly over a distance of 5 mm and larger diameter jets can extend up to 10 mm from the nozzle. The print head and substrate motion are controlled by com-puter for high resolution patterning and alignment. The flow of droplets is gated with a high-speed shutter mechanism.

Aerosol Jet printing differs substan-tially from other dispensers. The aerosol-ization and aerodynamic step is unique. Once the droplets are created in the atom-izer, they do not contact any other surfaces until impaction on the target. This make the tool relatively clog free, robust, and material friendly. The droplets travel bal-listicly over several mm from the nozzle which allows flexible, non-contact depo-sition from a large standoff distance. The aerosol can be jetted into via, over 3D steps and across complex topography. Since the droplet size is so small, approximately 10 femptoliter, very small volume features can be dispensed with excellent uniformity. For example a 1 mil (25um) diameter dot 1 mil tall will consist of more than 40 individual droplets. The system print rate is scalable from 60 pL/min to 10 mL/min with a trad-eoff on the feature size.

Print moduleThe aerosol jet print engine is shown in Figure 2. In addition to the print head (6) described above, various other compo-nents are incorporated to allow integrated alignment, process visualization, and in situ material curing. The print head, (6) in Figure 2, is capable of printing lines onto virtually any surface with feature sizes as small as 10 µm. The aerosol stream from the atomizers provides the aerosol droplets that are used in the printing process. The aerosol stream is fed into the print head where the aerosol droplets are surrounded by a sheath gas stream that serves to focus and accelerate the droplets such that they are impacted onto the print surface. The focusing effect is known as aerodynamic focusing. As the head is scanned across the print surface, printed features can be cre-ated. A process shutter is used to interrupt the flow of focused aerosol stream to affect the printing process. A wide variety of materials can be printed using the aerosol jet printing technology including materials to produce electrical components such as conductors, resistors, insulators, ferrites, and polymers. The print head may be con-

figured with a tube heater to remove sol-vent from droplets prior to deposition.

Alignment system The vision system consists of an align-ment camera (1) and a print process view-ing camera (5). The alignment camera is used for substrate alignment (positioning) prior to toolpath execution. The alignment camera serves the following functions:

• Manual alignment of the toolpath to specific features on a substrate

• Imaging for semi-automated align-ment of the toolpath to the sub-strate

• Teaching tool offset values for system calibration

The image from the alignment camera is displayed on the computer moni-tor in a window of the AEROSOL JET® Workstation Control Software.

The Deposition Process Viewing Camera is used to observe the deposition process as it occurs. The image is displayed

on the Computer Monitor continuously during operation.

Laser module The Aerosol Jet system is optionally equipped with a laser system which is used to post-process material that has been printed. The laser module (3) is shown in Figure 2. The focal point of the laser beam is offset from the print head and so laser processing of printed material is per-formed in a subsequent step from printing. The laser allows materials printed onto low temperature substrates to be cured without damaging the underlying substrate.

The laser process viewing camera (4) is used to observe laser processing as it occurs. The image is displayed on the Computer Monitor via picture-in-picture but is not actually fed into the computer.

Inflight dryerThe tube heater (2) is used to preprocess the aerosol stream for materials which

Figure 3. CAD rendering of the AJ300 print system. Figure 3a. (inset) profiles of a bump pat-tern array measured with a Cybot Technologies CT100 optical profilometer.



contain volatile solvents. Heating of these types of inks can allow very high aspect ratio features to be printed.

A CAD rendering of the Aerosol Jet printing system is shown in Figure 3. The basic system includes the following com-ponents:

• System Base• Print Subsystem• Motion Control• Vision System• Optional Components include • System Enclosure

• Laser with Class I EnclosureThis system provides users with the

ability to produce components directly from CAD drawings of the desired cir-cuits. The base system includes cabinetry to house the system computer, PCM, Print subsystem, Motion and Vision systems. The system with the optional enclosure helps keep the work surface clean and is exhausted to extract and fumes or particles into a user-provided exhaust system. For systems equipped with a laser, the window on the door contains laser safe viewing

glass to provide a Class I laser enclosure. If equipped with an enclosure, the doors must be closed for the system to oper-ate. The Main Power Switch, Emergency Machine Override (EMO) and Reset button are located in a small breakout box to the left-hand side of the enclosure. A laser shutter indicator light and control pot for vision lighting are also located in the

Figure 4. Test coupon for determining DC resistivity of printed lines (left). Resistance of printed line of line length when cured at 150˚C for 1 hr. The trace resistance is linear with line length (right).

Figure 5: Resistivity as a function of cure time at 150C. Resistivity continues to decrease over several hours approaching and a symptomatic value 2x of bulk silver. SEM analysis shows that after an initial cure the silver flakes sinter and form an interconnected metallic network.



breakout panel.

Materials and printing qualityThe Resin Designs E8074 silver epoxy formulation consists of a homogeneous mixture of nanoparticle silver and propri-etary epoxy resin. The hardener is designed with a threshold reaction temperature of approximately 100˚C and full curing of the resin occurs at 150˚C in 60 minutes. The working life of the epoxy is greater than one week at room temperature and the storage life is six months at -10˚C.

E8074 silver epoxy is supplied at a vis-cosity of 100-200 cP with a carrier solvent of γ-butyrolactone to facilitate nebuliza-tion. During printing, the target substrate is heated to 60˚C to evaporate the added solvent. Since the threshold reaction tem-perature is set at 100˚C, the printed silver epoxy remains in an uncured state until the post-processing step.

Figure 3a shows profiles of a bump pattern array measured with a Cybot Technologies CT100 optical profilometer. Each dot in the array was dispensed by opening the shutter for 100 ms with the print head centered over the dot location. Subsequent dots are printed by shuttering the material flow and stepping at relatively high velocity to the next position. The 2D array is fabricated at a rate of 5 dots/sec. For this example the bump diameter at the base is 120 µm and the full width at half maximum is 60µm. The average height is 6.8 µm, the peak height is 10.3 µm and the volume is 40000 µm3(0.4 pL). The place-ment accuracy is better than 1 um in both x- and y- directions. It is possible to print dots as small as 1 mil (25 mm) diameter, but currently the volumetric variation is significantly higher than with larger dots.

Printed traces of variable lengths are used to test the linearity of resistance with

line length. Figure 4 shows an array of lines printed on an alumina plate that are termi-nated with large contact pads. The sample was cured at 150˚C for 60 minutes. The two point resistance measurements below show a linear increase in resistance with line length. The linearity suggests that the material has uniform resistivity and that the traces have a consistent cross section.

Oven curingFigure 5 shows the material resistivity of printed traces when cured for variable periods at 150˚C. The traces are profiled with a Dektak stylus profilometer to deter-mine the geometric cross section. Four-point resistance measurements along with geometric cross section data are used to derive the material resistivity through the relation: R=rL/A where R is the 4-point resistance, L is the trace length, A is the geometric cross section, and r is the mate-rial resistivity. As shown in Figure 5, the resistivity when cured at 150˚C in 1 hour is 1.6 mW-m or 100 times the resistivity of bulk silver. Although the epoxy resin is designed to cure at 150˚C in 60 minutes, we find that the resisitivity continues to drop with extended heat treatments. With a 2-hour cure the resistivity decreases another factor of 10. With extended curing the resistivity reaches an asymptotic value of 3 mW-cm (approximately 2x bulk silver). This value is substantially lower than traditional silver epoxy and is more comparable to sintered nanosilver inks.

Figure 6 shows cross section SEM micrographs of uncured and cured silver epoxy. The uncured micrograph shows dis-tinct, overlapping silver flakes. However, the micrograph of cured material clearly shows that the flakes are merging to form a connected metallic network. Consequently the increased conductivity observed with longer cure times may be a result of con-tinued merging and densification of the silver flake. The high silver content in the epoxy then suggests that the primary con-duction occurs through the metal network rather than by tunneling from particle to particle.

Laser curingSince extended curing schedules may not be acceptable for some applications, we have also examined laser assisted curing. Figure 7 shows a schematic of the laser curing technique used in the Optomec system as well as resistivity data. As men-tioned above, the focused CW laser beam acts as a point source of heat to rapidly cure material under the impinging spot.

Figure 6. Cross section SEM of uncured silver epoxy (left) and silver epoxy cured for 2 hrs at 150˚C (right). The individual plates merge over extended cure times.

Figure 7. Schematic diagram of laser sintering configuration (left). Resistivity of laser sintered silver epoxy compared to oven cured epoxy(right).



In this case, a 200 mW, 832 nm laser is focused to a spot size of 20 mm to give a peak intensity of 2x105 W/cm². The laser spot is scanned at a rate of 10 mm/s. Based on color changes observed while scanning the laser over a silver epoxy film, the heat affected zone is estimated to extend to 50 mm. In other words, even though the laser is focused to 20 mm, the lateral heat spread is sufficient to process a 50 mm spot. Printed features larger than 50 mm can be cured by scanning the laser in a raster pat-tern with a 50 mm pitch. A larger pitch and larger spot size would be possible with a more powerful laser.

While similar resistivity values are obtained, the laser process greatly reduces the overall cure time and can be performed without removing the substrate from the system for oven processing.

The resistivity data in Figure 7 com-pares the resistivity of laser cured silver epoxy to the resistivity of epoxy that was cured in an oven at 150˚C for 12 hours. The values are similar to within 30%. The advantage of the laser cure process is that high conductivity can be achieved within minutes of printing the ink, whereas the oven curing requires hours for the lowest

values. The laser curing can also be per-formed without removing the substrate

from the system, so it can reduce the number of steps required for printing mul-

Technical Devices Company

Figure 8: 15 mil Kovar tab bonded to gold coated alumina substrate using silver epoxy. The die shear strength is 3000 PSI which is comparable to standard die attach epoxies. This meets the MIL-STD-883, Method 2019 Requirement of 882 PSI. Cohesive failure is seen in all case. T

g ~ 100˚C



tiple layers of dissimilar materials. On the other hand, the laser requires a line of sight to the substrate, which is not always pos-sible, especially if the epoxy is used to bond between a chip and PCB.

Adhesive propertiesOne of the primary applications for dis-pensing nanosilver epoxy is for attaching chips to PCBs. Figure 8 shows images of 15 mil (375 μm) Kovar tabs attached to gold coated alumina. The epoxy pads are printed with a 20 mil (500 mm) width and 1 mil (25 mm) thickness. When the tabs are placed, the epoxy clearly wets the vertical edge and forms a fillet. Die shear measurements indicate that the highest

shear strength is obtained when the epoxy wets the sidewall in this way. The measured die shear strength is 2000 PSI which is comparable to standard die attach epox-ies and meets the MIL-STD-883, method 2019 minimum requirement of 882 PSI. Cohesive failure is seen in all cases. The glass transition temperature is approxi-mately 100˚C.

ApplicationsMultiple bond pads can be printed at high density for attaching multiple I/O chips. Figure 9 shows the attachment of 0402 SMT resistors to ceramic substrate and QFN devices to glass plates. As described above, the substrates are heated to 60˚C

when jetting the silver epoxy pads. This temperature is sufficient to evaporate residual solvents in the epoxy, but low enough that the epoxy does not cure. The printed epoxy remains uncured until sub-jected to elevated temperatures of 100˚C or higher. Consequently, it is possible to print a large number of bond pads sequentially and then attached the chips later. The chips shown in Figure 9 were manually placed with assistance of an optical microscope. The QFN sample also shows that the chips are physically connected to printed con-ductor lines.

Compared to conventional nanopar-ticle silver inks, the silver epoxy exhibits far less shrinkage during curing. After sol-vent evaporation, the measured volumetric shrinkage during curing is less than 2.5%. Consequently, the silver epoxy may be more effective at producing solid conduc-tive fills in confined geometries. One appli-cation where low shrinkage is required is in producing conductive via plugs in Through Silicon Via (TSV) die. Figure 10 shows an SEM cross section of a 50 mm diameter by 300 mm tall TSV, which con-tains jetted and cured silver epoxy. The fill process consists of several steps. The silver epoxy can be jetted into an open via, but there is substantial leakage from the bottom side. Consequently, the amount of time required to fill the open via becomes variable, depending on the amount of leakage. In this work, an adhesive tape is applied to the back side of the die to con-vert from an open via to a blind geometry. The next step is to fill the via completely by dispensing liquid, silver epoxy down the center of the via. The epoxy flows to the bottom of the via and fills from the bottom upward. When full, the liquid epoxy is flush with the top surface. The platen is heated to 60˚C to evaporate the solvent and in this drying process the top level of the epoxy recesses into the via. If needed, the filling step is repeated at least once more to return the liquid level to the top surface. Repeated partial fills can bring the dried epoxy level flush to the surface, but at the expense of additional process time. After filling and allowing the solvents to evaporate, the samples are fully cured at 150˚C. Since the dried epoxy has low shrinkage, highly dense metal plugs are achieved.

future workFuture development work is planned for measuring thermal conductivity of the silver epoxy. High thermal conductivity is important for attaching power devices and heat generating chips. Given the high

Figure 9. Images of attached SMT devices using printed silver epoxy. The 0402 resistor is attached to ceramic using 8 mil (200 mm) pads with an 8 mil (200 mm) gap between pads. The QFN chip (right) is attached to printed silver lines on glass substrate. Dots of epoxy have been printed on the ends of the lines and then the chip was placed manually with the as-sistance of a microscope.

Figure 10: SEM cross section of silicon via filled with silver epoxy. The cured silver epoxy ap-pears bright white and a sidewall coating of plated copper is also evident.



metal loading, the silver epoxy is expected to have an excel-lent thermal conductivity. Additional work is needed to determine contact resistance between the silver epoxy and various chip and board metalli-zations. Finally, a full character-ization die shear strength as a function of bond line thickness is under way.

conclusionsA new nanoflake silver epoxy has been developed for small feature, die attach applications. Using the Aerosol Jet tool, uni-form dot sizes as small as 1 mil (25 mm) can be dispensed. The epoxy is curable at 150˚C and at that temperature the die shear strength exceeds MIL-STD-883,

method 2019. The electrical resistivity is 100 times greater than bulk silver with a 1 hour cure, but can go down to 2 times greater with extended curing. Laser assisted curing results in similar resistance values but with dramatically shorter pro-cessing time. The Aerosol Jet dispensing system is capable of non-contact printing at high standoff heights. Consequently, the silver epoxy can be printed into recesses and over steps. This capability should enable various TSV and chip-on-chip configurations and support high density I/O packages.

acknowledgementsResin Designs, LLC: www.resindesigns.com Don Giroux: [email protected] Assembly Answers, LLC: www.assemblyanswers.com DanBlazej: [email protected]

references1. F. Bibelriether et al.,

Print the Printed Circuit Board - Inkjet Printing of Electronic Devices, Proc. NIP26, pg. 715. (2010).

2. N. Marjanovic et al., Digital Fabrication of - Oxide Electronics, Proc. NIP26, pg. 720. (2010).

3. D. Mager et al., On-Line Monitoring and Feedback Control of Inkjet Printed Capacitors Using the Modular Custom Made Printing Platform Microstack3D, Proc. NIP26, pg. 726. (2010).

4. Eagle PCB layout software information available at:

5. http://www.cadsoftusa.com6. Aerosol Jet technology

information available at:7. http://www.optomec.com8. M. Ha et al., “Printed,

Sub-3V Digital Circuits on Plastic from Aqueous Carbon Nanotube Inks,” ACSNano, 4, 4388 (2010).

9. M. O’Reilly and J. Leal, “Jetting Your Way to Fine-Pitch 3-D Interconnects,” Chip-Scale Review, 14, 18, (2010). Techspray Renew Eco-Stencil Batch Cleaners have been tested and

proven on the most difficult pastes and adhesives. Eco-Stencil cleaners easily scrub clean apertures, reducing misprints and allowing you to fully optimize your process. Compatible with common stencil and frame materials, including DEK protective nano coating. Techspray will do a complementary process analysis, including a free fill of Eco-Stencil batch cleaner. Our goal — reduce your overall cleaning cost 10-20%!

• High dilution & fast cleaning saves money• Eco-Stencil RF – rinse-free & ideal IPA replacement• Eco-Stencil AQ & AQ2 – lower cost alternative when rinse is available• Long bath life• Non-flammable• Low VOC & zero GWP• Halide-free• Compatible with DEK protective nano coating

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2013 ends on a high note

Although business conditions were weak for much of last year they “ended with a bang.”

Electronic equipment shipments were up 6% globally in December 2013 vs. December 2012 (Chart 1) driven by a strong year end surge in SE Asia. The normal winter seasonal slowing was not yet evident in December based upon equip-ment shipments.

Components (which “lead” electronic equipment by about month in the business cycle), did peak in November. Printed cir-cuit board sales edged down in December (Chart 2) and will likely continue to decline throughout the first quarter of this year.

Semiconductor shipments also finished last year on a positive note (Chart 3). They were up 6.8% on a 3-month average basis in November versus the same period in 2012 with shipments to N. America up a whop-ping 18.6%.

The N. American electronic supply chain finished 2013 on generally good terms. Chart 4 shows the annualized (12/12) and 3-month (3/12) growth rates for November vs. the same period a year earlier. A value of 100 indicates no change. Except for passive component orders and shipments and computer orders all other categories were growing. Domestic elec-tronic equipment orders rose 5.7% on a 3/12 basis in November 2013.

Thanks to our colleague Ed Henderson Charts 5 & 6 provide his latest forecasts for GDP and electronic equipment growth by region by year. At this point 2014 looks like a year of solid “single digit” growth. World• IT spending is on pace to grow 3.1% y/y

to $3.8 trillion in 2014.—Gartner• Technology sales reached $282 bil-

lion in China in 2013, surpassing North American, which purchased

$257 billion.—Consumer Electronics Association

• Technology spending will rise 6.2% y/y to US$2.22 trillion in 2014.—Forrester

• Regional• China smartphone sales will top 436

million units in 2014, with local hand-set suppliers shipping 279 million units.—Digitimes Research

• China-based makers are expected ship 575 million touch panels for smart-phones, 165 million units for tablets and 10 million units for notebooks in 2014.—Digitimes Research

Mobile communications worldwide com-bined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are pro-jected to grow 7.6% y/y to 2.5 billion units in 2014.—GartnerComputers&peripherals• PC shipments declined 6.9% y/y to 82.6

million units in 4Q13.—Gartner• Tablets shipments will increase from

141 million in 2012 to 243 million units in 2014 and 488 million in 2017. – HIS

• LCD monitor shipments will drop 5.1% y/y to 150 million units in 2014.—WitsView

Consumer electronics manufacturing rev-enue is forecast to fall 2% y/y to $250.0 bil-lion in 2014. – HISAutomotive • sales will rise 4% y/y to 87.4 million

light vehicles in 2014.—Deutsche Bank• TFT LCD shipments are expected to

grow from 65 million units in 2013 to more than 90 million units in 2017.—NPD DisplaySearch

• self-driving cars will grow from nearly 230 thousand in 2025 to 11.8 million in 2035.—IHS

Medicalelectronics • sales will grow 8% y/y to about $50.9

billion in 2014 after rising 3% y/y in 2013 to $47.3 billion.—IC Insights

• home healthcare applications sensor market to grow from $559M in 2013 to $1.2B by 2018.—Yole Développement

Militaryelectronics • land vehicle electronics market is fore-

cast to hit $3.3B in 2014.—Visiongain

Walt Custer and Jon Custer-Topai


World Electronic Equipment Monthly Shipments

Converted @ Constant 2012 Exchange Rates

Source: Custer Consulting Group & Electronic Outlook Corp

20140114

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Chart 1.

Read ListenWatch



• & Aerospace industry will grow 5% y/y to U.S. $1.4 billion in 2014.—Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Digitalcameras• module market will grow at a 19.7%

CAGR between 2013 and 2019 from US $12 billion in 2012 to US $43.06 billion in 2019.—Transparency Market Research

• compact sales are likely to fall more than 40% y/y to fewer than 59 million units in 2014.—IDC

Flatpaneldisplays• LCD TV shipments will grow 3% y/y

to 209.1 million units in 2014 after fall-ing 1.7% y/y to 203.1 million units in 2013.—WitsView

• 4K×2K TV shipments are expected to grow from 1.9 million units in 2013 to 12.7 million units in 2014.—NPD DisplaySearch

• TFT LCD area demand will increase 9%, from 141 million m² in 2013 to 154 million m² in 2014.—NPD DisplaySearch

• AMOLED light-emitting materials will expand from US$350 million in 2013

to US$445 million in 2014.—IHS LEDlighting• sales are expected to increase 15-20%

as prices drop 20% through 2015. – HIS• applications will increase from $3.6 bil-

lion in 2013 to $5.6 billion in 2014 and $7 billion by 2016. – HIS

RFID market will grow from $7.88 billion in 2013 to $9.2 billion in 2014.—Bharat Book BureauSmarttechnology• Internet of Things installed base will

grow to 26 billion units by 2020, with incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion.—Gartner

• gesture-sensing smart devices will expand nearly 70% y/y to nearly 330 million in 2015.—NPD DisplaySearch

• motion control product sales hit $12.2 billion in 2013.—IHS

• intelligent lighting sensors and net-work control gear will grow from $1.1 billion in 2013 to nearly $2.7 billion by 2020.—Navigant Research

Wearabledevices• for infotainment application shipments

will rise by 155% from 51.2 million in

2013 to 130.7 million units in 2018.—HIS

• for fitness market reached over $330 million in 2013.—NPD Group

• Video gaming market is forecast to grow 11.1% y/y from 53.9 billion Euros (US$73.8 billion) in 2013 to 82.1 bil-lion Euros in 2017.—IDATE

Electronicwaste weight will rise from 48.9 million tons in 2012 to 65.4 million tons in 2017, with most of the growth in develop-ing nations.—StEP

eMS, odM & related assembly activityNorthAmericaEMS growth is expected to decline 0.4% to $45.5 billion in 2014.—IHSTop five contract makers’ (Quanta, Compal Electronics, Wistron, Inventec and Pegatron) notebook shipments grew 4% q/q to 37.23 million units in 4Q13.—Morgan StanleyCicorElectronicSolutions and CicorAsiadivisions were merged into “Electronic Solutions” division.

World PCB Monthly ShipmentsConverted @ Fluctuating Exchange Rates

20140110

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00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14

N AmericaEuropeJapanTaiwan/ChinaRest of AsiaKorea

$ Billions

Source: Custer Consulting GroupCalendar Year

Chart 2.

11/12 11/13 % CH

Americas 5.02 5.95 +18.6%

Europe 2.80 3.11 +10.9%

Japan 3.41 3.11 - 8.8%

Asia Pacific 14.28 15.07 + 5.6%

Total 25.51 27.24 + 6.8%

Monthly Semiconductor Shipments$ Billions (3-month average)

SIA www.sia-online.org/

20140102

Chart 3.

Latest Annual 3-Month Month Growth Growth

Electronic Component $Rigid & Flex PCB Orders (N Amer) 11/13 98.9 101.3Rigid & Flex PCB Shipments (N Amer) 11/13 96.6 102.1Electronic Component Orders 11/13 97.8 97.8Electronic Component Shipments 11/13 97.3 99.4Semiconductor Shipments to N America 11/13 111.9 118.6

U.S. Electronic Equipment Orders $Computer & Related 11/13 92.7 91.8Communication 11/13 107.7 108.4Medical, Measurement & Control 11/13 96.3 108.6Search & Navigation 11/13 92.6 107.3Defense Capital Goods 11/13 101.4 103.0Military Electronics 11/13 90.6 108.4Total Electronic Equipment 11/13 97.4 105.7

U.S. Industrial Production 11/13 102.5 103.3

NOTE: 3 month growth rates compare most recent 3 months to same 3 months one year earlier

Present Growth Rates (%)20140114U.S. Economy & Electronics Industry

Chart 4.

World 2.5 2.4 3.2 3.9 3.7

USA 2.8 1.8 2.7 3.4 3.3

EU -0.4 -0.1 1.1 1.5 2.0

Japan 1.4 1.9 2.0 1.6 1.2

Four Tigers 1.9 2.5 3.6 4.0 3.8

China 7.7 7.6 7.9 8.4 7.7

Henderson Ventures 1/2014www.hendersonventures.com

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

GDP GrowthConstant $ Growth Rates Converted @ Constant Exchange Rates

20140114

Chart 5.



Computrol is celebrating its 30-year anni-versary in 2014.ConnectGroupobtained ISO 13485 medi-cal certificate for its facility in Poperinge Belgium.DfR Solutions entered government/mili-tary equipment collaboration with Circuit Solutions.ESCATEC Switzerland became a found-ing member of the professional group “Photonics” at SWISSMEM.ExpressManufacturingInc.• subsidiary, EMI Asia Limited received

EN/JISQ/ AS9100:2009.• added smaller packaging manufactur-

ing technologies and NPI program will shorten time-to-market for medical devices.

Foxconn/HonHai• is building a panel and touchscreen

technology R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

• launched investment fund will finance startups developing new kinds of wear-able computers.

• started operations at first store-factory complex in Quiyang, China.

• began production at its new demon-stration plant in Guiyang, China.

• plans to build a handset plant in Indonesia’s Jakarta or the Yogyakarta Special region.

• is moving 60-inch and 70-inch flat-screen TV manufacturing from Mexico to U.S.

Global-TechAdvancedInnovations ended EMS Business operations.Jabil sold its aftermarket services business to iQor for $725 million.

JJS manufacturing launched new website, www.jjsmanufacturing.com.Kimball International appointed Lonnie Nicholson, CIO and Timothy Jahnke to the Company’s Board of Directors.Kitron terminated plan to establish common distribution center.Lite-On Technology merged with Leotek Electronics, Lite-On Clean Energy Technology, MET opened a manufacturing facility in Melbourne, Florida.Michigan Manufacturing Internationalopened new HQ in Stevensville, Maryland.Microtek Labs opened new test facility in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.NATEL named Warren Dannelly, Director of Sales and Victor Yamauchi, VP of Continuous Improvement.Neways Electronics Production closed and transferred all Kassel, Germany produc-tion activities to other Neways operating companies.Nortech Systems appointed Richard Wasielewski, President and CEO.Pegatron chairman, TH Tung was named Taipei Computer Association Chairman.Permatech added a Siemens SIPLACE POE S27 pick and place machine.Sanmina appointed Michael Clarke and Eugene Delaney to Board of Directors.SMTC appointed Sushil Dhiman, President and CEO.STIElectronics opened new IPC approved training center in Houston, Texas.SurfaceMountTechnologies,Inc.teamed with Eruston to offer complete turnkey

manufacturing.SurfaceTechnologyInternationalreceived £11.5million financing package from Lloyds Bank Commercial BankingSymprotek added high performance production line from APEX Factory Automation which includes: SJ Inno Tech 3D printer, SJ Inno Tech HP-520SPI, cTS-Monvection reflow and Mirae Mx400L and Mx400LP placement machines.TTelectronics• relocated Werne, Germany manufac-

turing operations to lower cost regions.• IMS opened 50,000 SF manufacturing

facility in Timisoara, Romania.VirTex Enterprises acquired MTI Electronics.

PcB fabricationGlobal brand motherboard shipments fell from 80 million units in 2012 to 75 million units in 2013; Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology will aggres-sively compete for the number-one spot in 2014.—DigitimesTop5PCBmakers in 2013 that achieved sales revenues greater than $2 billion are: Nippon Mektron, Unimicron, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Young Poong Group and Zhen Ding Technology.—Dr. Hayao NakaharaADCOCircuitspurchased a second Ersa selective soldering machine.AT&S• appointed Karl Asamer, CFO.• closed its Klagenfurt, Austria facility.CircuitTechnologyInc. opened a training center in Melbourne, Florida.Compeq first-phase construction of new Chongqing, China plant is expected to be completed in mid-2014 with an installed capacity of 200,000-300,000 SF of HDI boards.Diagnosys appointed Sergio Moreno VP Sales, Latin America.Eagle Circuits received Integral Technology’s Zeta® certification.Greule filed for insolvency.GUHHoldings spent RM20mil to expand its Penang and Suzhou plants by about 50% to 807,000 SF.Ibiden is investing $400 million into a second HDI plant in Malaysia.Icape Group became fully compliant to “conflict-free minerals” regulations.Mitsubishi Material developed DBA printed circuit board with thick copper conductors for the next generation power modules.Nanya PCB invested NT$1.5 billion to expand FC CSP substrate capacity in 2013.NCABGroupGermany appointed Heinie von Michaelis, Managing Director

World 1.0 -2.6 4.8 6.0 5.8

USA -0.9 -3.4 3.0 5.0 5.2

W. Europe -3.4 -5.2 1.5 3.4 3.8

Japan -2.6 -8.6 3.5 4.4 3.6

Four Tigers -1.2 1.8 4.6 5.8 5.2

China 2.6 -2.3 6.4 7.1 6.5

Henderson Ventures 1/2014www.hendersonventures.com

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Electronic Equipment Production Growth

Constant $ Growth Rates Converted @ Constant Exchange Rates

20140114

Chart 6.

See Nordson ASYMTEK at IPC APEX Booth #1937



Panasonic will discontinue production of ALIVH boards in 2014.Q.P.I. Circuits and Q.P.I. ElectronicDesign Automatisation merged into new subsidiary, Q.P.I. Group B.V.RASP moved from South Glens Falls to 22,000 SF building in Moreau, New York.SchweizerElectronic• and Elekonta entered collaboration for

HDI, thick copper, HF and impedance-controlled PCBs.

• received EN 9100 aerospace industry certification.

SEMCO is building a new HDI plant in Vietnam.SpiritCircuitsacquired Lyncolec.TaiwanPCBTechvest expanded monthly production capacity in Chongqing, China to 900,000 SF in 2013.Tramonto Circuits named John Talbot, President.Twisted Traces moved to new facility in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.Unimicron is investing $500 million to build an IC substrate manufacturing plant in Kweishan, Taiwan.Unitech plans to increase its HDI board production capacity by removing bottle-necks in 2014.

Materials, process & test equipmentSMTequipmentmarket to reach a global value of $5.3 billion by 2018; Latin America will grow at a 7.2% CAGR of over the next five years.—Global Industry AnalystsAgilent Technologies named the elec-tronic measurement company it expects to spin off in early November 2014, Keysight Technologies.Air Products and Chemicals opened a manufacturing facility in Manatee County, Florida.Alpha’s Altoona, Pennsylvania, facility was certified as compliant conflict-free smelter.Atotech won patent infringement lawsuit in Taiwan for Stannatech® process and equipment.Camtek Board reappointed Rafi Amit, CEO.Cogiscan is celebrating 15-year anniver-sary.CyberOptics appointed Executive Chairman Subodh Kulkarni as interim CEO after Kathleen Iverson retired.Datest is commemorating 30 years in busi-ness in 2014.Dymax hired Paul Rachielles as Global Marketing Manager.ETI/NEA expanded its production floor by 40% at its Hudson, New Hampshire

facility.Eucon Holding ended laser drilling opera-tions.GOEPEL electronic and Teradyne devel-oped an extended Boundary Scan option for production In-Circuit Test/Functional Board Test of PCBs and the modular func-tional testers on VXI and PXI Express basis.Isola • transitioned manufacturing of its low-

loss, I-Speed material to Asia.• Suzhou plant received ISO/TS 16949

certification.JUKI unveiled optical inspection machine “RV-1” for component mounted circuit boards.Korean SMTSolutions began electronics equipment assembly distribution opera-tions for Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Moldova, Kazakhstan.LPKF acquired outstanding shares in Slovenian subsidiary LPKF Laser & Elektronika Naklo, Slovenia.Marubeni co-developed a new fine line printing process using sub-micron gold powder which is bondable at 200 degree C and heat resistant at 300 degree C.Niching Industrial spent NT$125 million (US$4.16 million) to purchase building to set up nano silver paste production lines.Nordson Advanced Technology Systems moved to new facility in New Taipei City, Taiwan.OK International appointed Christopher Larocca, President.Orbotech Korea employees were acquit-ted on charges of theft of corporate secrets from LG and Samsung.ToppanForms developed new silver print-ing process with very low firing tempera-ture (80˚C) using silver salt ink.

Semiconductors & other ComponentsGlobal semiconductor sales increased 4.9% to $317.9 billion in 2013.—IHS pre-liminary estimateDRAM chip production is expected to increase 32.5% y/y to US$35.2 billion in 2013, after contracting 24.6% in 2011 and 9.8% in 2012.—TrendForceFlip chip technology market is reached $20.1 billion in 2013.—BCC ResearchHigh-brightnessLED chip production will increase 129% y/y to US$12.743 billion in 2014. -DigitimesMagnetic sensors market revenues are forecast to grow from $1.66 billion in 2012 to $3.51 billion in 2019 on smartphone and automotive segments.—Frost & SullivanMicrocontroller market revenue will grow

15% y/y to US$17 billion in 2014 driven by internet of things, solar, smart-home, and electric vehicles.—EMITT SolutionsNAND Flash revenue will grow by 13% y/y to $28 billion in 2014.—DRAMeXchangePowersemiconductordiscretes and mod-ules revenue reached slightly less than $15 billion in 2013.—IHSPower semiconductors in the automo-tive industry will grow from $2.81 billion in 2012 to $5.28 billion in 2018.—Frost & Sullivan

Walt Custer is an independent consultant who monitors and offers a daily news service and market reports on the PCB and assembly automation and semiconductor industries. He can be contacted at [email protected] or visit www.custerconsulting.com.

Jon Custer-Topai is vice president of Custer Consulting Group and responsible for the corporation’s market research and news analysis activities. Jon can be contacted at [email protected].

®

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Title


Kirsten has just introduced a fascinating new modular wave system, the modula wave®. What can you tell us about it, Zoltàn?

This system was actually put on the mar-keting six years ago, but now we’ve come out with a new revision based on feedback from our customers. The changes we made were designed to make the user’s life easier.

First of all, we changed our conveyor system. Now we are using an adjustable-width pin chain conveyor that can accom-modate any size of industry-wide used frames, including those from most of our competitors, without any kind of changes. The frames can be identified with a label. When you put a new frame on the input conveyor, the software loads the appropri-ate program based on this identification label.

So you have a bar code reader mounted there.

That’s correct. It’s a standard feature for the machine. Based on the label, the software loads the production program and selects all the parameters for the product.

We also provide our customers with a feature to change to PCB manufacturing, on a raw PCB without a frame. In this case, you need to change to the finger conveyor, the conveyor system above the soldering module.

interview

Interview—Zoltàn Sopsits, kirsten SolderingAt Productronica, Trevor Galbraith got a thorough introduction to the latest upgrades made to Kirsten Soldering’s modula wave® system. Zoltàn Sopsits, East European Sales Manager for Kirsten Soldering AG, gave him the tour.


Title

With this system, every module has its independent conveyor system. That means the speed can be set indepen-dently for each module.

Right. You have five different stages on this demonstration model.

This is our minimum configuration. It includes an input conveyor, a flux module, a preheater, a solder module, and an output conveyor. So the program is loaded and the frame arrives at the fluxer. The fluxer speed and pressure and the conveyor speed are all calculated automatically by the software. The process engineer just has to enter into the software how much flux they want in the area. The rest is the software’s job.

On this demonstration system, we have a two-head spray fluxer. It represents two independent pump and pressure con-trol systems. So, without a changeover, two different types of flux can be used with a single fluxer module. The two tanks and pumps, each with its own pressure control, are accessed from this drawer at the front of the module.

These tanks can have the same flux or dif-ferent fluxes.

Yes, at the same time in the system, so that products and batches can be mixed. As I said, when the frames are identified the software decides which recipe to load into the software.

Moving on to the heating stage. Looking at it, you may say, What would these guys want with a 60-centimeter preheating that is good for nothing? And you’re absolutely right if you consider that the competitor’s machine has only one chain system. The conveyor speed in that situation must be fixed on the soldering speed. With those systems, you have to keep moving. Here not. You can stop. We can simulate in one module the complete preheating phase to reach the proper preheating temperature and activate the flux.

It’s an interesting way that you’re actu-ally applying the heat here. You’re using a new, patented system for it.

Our new system is quite close to reflow technology. We’ve got a mesh plate. We are pushing through the mesh plate high pres-sure air and creating a kind of convective heating. But how we are heating is different. We are heating only these smooth tiny steel plates above and below the conveyor with hundred of amps, heating it up to 450˚ to 500˚ C.

So it’s essentially just a steel plate.

It’s just a steel plate, there is no heater behind it. We are heating the plate itself. And since this has a very, very small ther-mal mass, the heating up and adjusting time is just minutes—seconds actually.

It’s a very fast ramp-up and accurate con-trol.

Exactly. That’s the aim of this construction. And this is really a brand-new construc-tion. We just patented it this year.

Finall

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doeS reShorIng Make SenSe for yoUr oUtSoUrCIng …... Global SMT & Packaging – February 2014 – 5intellectual Property & eMS the market seems to demand a much more fluid approach