2009 Show Report: APEX survives the downturn

(This report is also available as an audio file: Download the MP3.)

Given the economic climate, many had low expectations for this year’s APEX/IPC Expo in Las Vegas. The result was certainly a drop in visitor numbers, but those that did make the trip were serious buyers, and a number of vendors made sales from their booths.

There were a number of innovative new product introductions. My favourites were from Milara, Valor and Aqueous Technologies. Here is a selection from the booths I visited:

Valor launched two new modules for their V-Plan platform. The vManage is a dashboard style production monitoring system that offers a quick reference to all the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Valor also introduced a test module called vCheck. vCheck monitors the test data from AOI, AXI, ICT and functional test to produce an SPC log and supporting data that can be used for quality assurance.

Milara upgraded their existing Touchprint stencil printer. This is virtually a redesign from the ground up, and the manufacturers should have given it a new name. Touchprint TD2929 still retains all the unique features of the original—vibrating squeegee and ultrasonic under-stencil cleaner—but now it has linear motors and encoders for greater speed and accuracy, full AOI inspection using SimuTech™ technology and an Asymtek dispenser unit for dispensing glue dots or even solder paste.

Aqueous Technologies are never far behind in the innovation stakes as witnessed by their multiple industry awards. This year they introduced the fourth generation Trident Duo defluxing system. The process consists of up to five cycles including prewash, wash, rinse, cleanliness testing and drying. Prewash, if selected, may consist of a steam soak, high-pressure DI water spray, or chemical spray and soak. The wash cycle uses environmentally responsible defluxing solutions, neutralizing and solublizing flux and other residues. The rinse cycle is controlled by the built-in cleanliness tester in which rinse cycles are added or subtracted from the process automatically, based on the user’s selected cleanliness requirements. The dry cycle uses a unique combination of radiant and convection heat for rapid throughput. Aqueous also displayed a range of inline cleaners for the first time.

JUKI demonstrated their high-speed FX-3 placement machine. The 60,000 cph chipshooter is aggressively priced and comes with JUKI’s infamous three-year parts and labor warranty. JUKI also gave a sneak-peak at some tantalizing new technology in their ‘Secret Room.’ All will be revealed later this year.

BTU exhibited the Pyramax 100A. The eight-zone oven has a 100-inch conveyor and a maximum operating temperature of 350°C. BTU’s famous closed-loop system offers manufacturers the lowest cost of ownership.

Nihon Superior celebrated the 10th anniversary of their legendary SN100C lead free solder, which has become the world’s leading lead free solder. Available in bar, wire and paste formats, SN100C is distributed through a network of licensees, including FCT in the US, Balver Zinn in Germany, DKL in the United Kingdom and WKK in China.
VJ Electronix displayed the Vertex Series A x-ray system. Designed to handle large board sizes up to 20" x 24", the system can be configured with a range of different tubes and image intensifiers to suit the application.

MIRTEC unveiled a major upgrade to the popular MV-7L AOI system. The latest version is now fitted with five cameras, one 4-megapixel on the top and four side-mounted 2-megapixel cameras. This upgrade enables higher resolution and faster throughput of board test assemblies.

Everett Charles Technologies (ECT) are the world leaders in ICT, and this year they introduced a range of new bead probes. These micro-textured pogo pins are specifically designed to provide more accurate continuity data on the most difficult to reach interconnection areas. ECT announced that new Eliminator with combined AOI is due out soon.

Virtual Industries displayed a range of vacuum pickup tools that handle components down to 75 µm with a range of interchangeable tips.

Pillarhouse launched the Jade Handex selective soldering system. This mid-range system uses a turntable to manually load boards up to 18" x 20" and can use a range of nozzle tips up to a 4" mini-wave. The Jade Handex has a modular pump and bath assembly with preheated auto nozzle changeover. Pillarhouse also unveiled the Pillargen 40 Nitrogen Generator for use with selective soldering systems. The system produces 50 ppm purity nitrogen gas.

The focus for FCT Assembly in 2009 is to marry stencil technology with their advancing soldering technology. Their laser cut, fine foil stencils are designed for fast paste release. The company is also developing a range of water soluble and no-clean pastes.

Seika Machinery demonstrated the latest model of the SAYAKA PCB router, which they claim is the market leader in Asia with over 1,000 units in the field. All the debris is sucked away under the board into a dust collector. The system aligns through the board fiducials and has an easy to program GUI interface. The router can use a universal tooling jig or dedicated tooling.

Microscan is a new company formed by former Siemens USA CEO Jeff Timms. Having acquired the Siemens machine vision systems, Microscan can track materials and inventory by placing vision systems anywhere in the line without the need for expensive AOI systems.
RMD introduced the counterfeit detection capabilities of its LeadTracer™ XRF gun. Using a ‘Golden Component’ as a reference, the LeadTracer™ can reduce device testing to 20-30 seconds.

BPM Microsystems added a new lever socket actuator to its Flashstream programmer. The Flashstream programs devices at up to 12 times faster than other device programmers.
Polyonics displayed a new range of labels for black PCBs. The unique label uses light reflectance to display the label information.

Kyzen won three awards during the show for their innovative Aquanox 4241. The two-for-one chemistry cleans both stencils and board assemblies, offering a considerable cost benefit.

FINETECH unveiled a new website called ‘Xtreme Rework.’ The company claims this will be a solution-led site with a wide range of information on reworking grid-array packages.
R & D Technical Services launched the highly innovative vapor phase rework system at last year’s APEX. The unit has been greatly refined from the original model, delivering precise heat to the reworked device. The makers have now added a camera and placement system to the original unit.

The Cyberoptics SE500 solder paste inspection system just got faster by a factor of two. and the resolution now goes down to 15-20 µm. Using white light proferometry, the SE500 handles two sizes of boards 20" x 20" or 32" x 24". Cyberoptics have also upgraded their Flex Ultra HR to provide defect review inspection. The unit can be linked to the pick and place machine as a pre-reflow inspection system.

Techon have been one of the lesser-known names in fluid dispensing till recently. A division of OK International, the company produces a range of pumps and dispensers for materials ranging from adhesives to solder paste. Thirty percent of their business is OEM with 20% direct sales and 50% sold through distribution.

STI Electronics, who recently opened a massive 40,000 sq. ft factory in Huntsville, Alabama, seems to be bucking the recession by setting an all-time record for training projects through the month of March. STI are world leaders in IPC training programs and also do a range of training courses for NASA.

The Flex Conveyor from Bliss Industries was one of the neat new innovations at APEX this year. It’s difficult to imagine how you could make conveyors sexy or interesting, but Bliss have introduced a modular, quick-change system that requires no tools and can change factory configuration in hours, instead of days or weeks. The box build system is all mounted on wheels, and the company has just sold their first major order to Encore Systems.

Dage introduced the new XD7600NT at the show. Using Dage’s new tube and anti-vibration system, the new x-ray system can analyze samples such as cracks in wires down to 100 nm @ 4 watts in less than three minutes. The additional power also lets the XD7600NT penetrate heavy heatsinks and large multilayer boards.

YesTech introduced new 5-megapixel cameras into its top of the range AOI/x-ray system, giving a speed increase of 4x over its predecessor. The new camera also provides higher magnification to inspect 01005 components without any speed tradeoff. YesTech also introduced a new benchtop model. The B3 AOI system has a top camera and four side cameras.

Asymtek’s Spectrum 920 can inspect fiducials on the fly and measure the z height without stopping. This has resulted in a 5x increase in throughput. Another new addition at Asymtek is a 30° tilt on the coating head of the Select Coat 940E. This helps the coating head to navigate better around densely populated boards and create sharper line definitions.

Henkel displayed three new products. The Hysol UF3800 is a fast flowing, halogen-free, reworkable CSP/BGA underfill that cures at room temperature. The Multicore LF700 SAC alloy is a Pb-free solder paste with a high humidity resistance. And finally, from their new acquisition, Emerson & Cuming CF3366 isotropic conductive film. The film exhibits good adhesion at both room temperature and in high temperature environments.

Siemens introduced the new Multistar placement head. The 12 revolver heads can pick 12 components, then place 12 or it can pick odd-form components plus six chips in mixed mode, to maintain the line speed. This negates the need for a slow odd-form placement unit after the chipshooter and makes balancing the line easier. The Multistar offers a placement rate of 24,000cph.

Essemtec added to its wide inventory of printers and placement machines with the SP150V printer. The semi-automatic unit is competitively priced at under $30k.

ZESTRON introduced two new products. The Zestron Bath Analyzer Kit offers an alternative to refractive index for bath concentration monitoring. Their new neutral defluxing agent, the first of its kind, addresses the issue of compatability with materials that are on the components and assemblies.

Well, that wraps up the equipment and materials I saw at the show. I am sure there are some I missed, but these are the highlights. Recessions always drive innovation and we were not disappointed. A major emerging trend this year was the integration of SPI, AOI and dispensing into other equipment on the line (see my Editorial on in the May issue of Global SMT & Packaging).

APEX will be held in Las Vegas for one more year, next year. Let’s hope by then our economy and our industry will have returned to normal and we will all have survived the downturn.

—Trevor Galbraith.