Regardless of whether it is a vertical or horizontal process, and regardless of the brand of the equipment used, the main challenge in operating a HASL process is the same. During the operation of the process, the copper content increases and consequently the temperature of the solder bath must be increased. In this first contribution to this series on PCB production & test, lead-free solder expert Thomas Berger explains how the ‘copper problem’ can be solved cost effectively and the HASL process optimised by capturing and removing the copper. As an example he uses a tin-copper-nickel alloy that is the solder most widely used in the lead-free HASL process. Read
more...
ERSA has arguably the widest range of soldering, printing and inspection solutions in the industry. Andy Kellard visited the €70M German powerhouse to speak with COO Bernd Schenker. Read
more...
The Indian Electronics Industry is witnessing dynamic times, the fact that India has emerged as an important destination for electronics manufacturing coupled with the exponential growth in telecom, defence, power, IT and electrical electronics is fuelling the major growth for the industry. Further the burgeoning demand for consumer and white goods from an ever growing appetite and hunger for the latest technologies from the huge young middle class of over 350 million people is creating new areas of investments in the electronics manufacturing sector. The industry which is today pegged at USD 16-18 Billion is set to explode in growth within a short span of 7-8 years to USD 360 Billion by the year 2015. The "made in India" brand is now more and more readily accepted and even much in demand in certain sectors of electronics design, manufacturing and production. These are truly exciting times and surely the indian electronics industry a great place to be for the entrepreneur and global businessman. Read more...
New Essemtec website
Whoever searches for a specific Essemtec product will appreciate the extremely fast product and application finder and the overview of new and used machines.
Inside the July 2008 issue
of
Global SMT & Packaging magazine:
"Understanding hidden reactions and the importance of profile in reflow soldering, part 1" by Dr. S. Manian Ramkumar, Anand Kannabiran, Aarthi Baskaran, Dr. Viswam Puligandla, Bjorn Dahle
"PCB production & test: Tips from pros on lead-free processes, part 1—issues in hot air solder levelling (HASL)" by Thomas Berger
Case Study: Solder dross recycling: Tried, tested and proven at Kimball Electronics
Case Study: Electronic design & engineering firm expands sales by automating PCB assembly
Interview: Bernd Schenker—ERSA GmbH
"Your Questions Answered at SMT Nuremberg 2008" by Bob Willis (European edition)
"Challenging times ahead... Component orders may be exceeding end market demand" by
Walt Custer and Jon Custer-Topai
Wear-out system reliability with multiple components and load levels" by
Werner Engelmaier
Do you have a technical solution
for the industry?
Global SMT & Packaging is currently accepting submissions
of original, previously unpublished technical articles, industry-related
book reviews, and articles that offer insight into industry trends
and developments. For more information, or to submit a query,
contact Trevor Galbraith at editor@globalsmt.net.
