Tribute to Dr Steven K. Case
Tribute to
Dr Steven K. Case
by Trevor Galbraith
T
he industry mourned the loss of place systems. But the list of technologies
Dr Steven K. Case last month. pioneered by Steve Case is impressive.
He was killed in a tragic accident In 1990, for example, four years before
while piloting a small plane in hazardous the LaserAlign®, he introduced the
conditions near his home town of industry’s first laser based, non-contact, 3D
Minneapolis. solder paste inspection system. In 1996,
Steve Case was founder and CEO of CyberOptics launched the first in-line non-
Cyberoptics Inc., a vision and inspection contact 3D solder paste inspection system.
company he launched in 1984 while Dr Case held twenty-eight patents in all for
professor of optical physics at the optical and laser devices.
University of Minnesota. He was a brilliant In one early encounter, Bob Black (JUKI
scientist and responsible for many of the Automation Systems) recalls Steve and a
technologies that have shaped vision systems colleague coming onto his trade booth at
and paste measurement today. Probably Nepcon East in 1984. Steve Case told Black
the most famous of his inventions was the that he heard JUKI was using a laser-based
LaserAlign® technology, the first non- alignment system, but his was better and he
contact, on-head component alignment should hand over the patent rights to him.
sensor for pick and place machines. It Bob Black told him it didn’t quite work that
is still used in many of today’s pick and way, but what did happen was the start of
a long and enduring partnership and close currently installed in many of the world’s
friendship. leading pick and place machines and stencil
“During his years
The company also continued to grow printers. John Hartner (president of Dover
through acquisition, acquiring Kestra Technologies DTG Group) recalls many
building CyberOptics,
Limited in 1999, which contributed some years of working closely with Steve Case
Steve was never far away
of the technologies that enabled them to and his Cyberoptics team while he was then
launch the successful SE 300™ 100% 3D president of DEK Printing Machines.
from the bench, where
paste inspection system in 2000. During his years building Cyberoptics
he was happiest.”
Another technology that was to become and even after he took it public in 1987
mainstream was a PCB fudicial recognition (NASDAQ: CYBE), Steve Case was never
system using a custom camera, which is far away from the bench, where he was
A personal remembrance
door, pounded on it, and yelled “It won’t
In the early days of CyberOptics, when
work Steve, come out and negotiate.”
it was in its second building still in
And sure enough Steve, and all of the
the University area of Minneapolis, we
employees who had been hiding with
were having negotiations between Juki,
him in the darkened building, came out
Zevatech, and Cyber on pricing for the
and opened the door. We had a great
early versions of LaserAlign. Juki had
laugh, and then we began our business.
asked me to negotiate on behalf of both
It was not the last practical joke that
Zevatech and Juki, so I arrived at Cyber
Steve engineered over the years at my
at about 9 AM in my rental car, ready
expense, but it was the first and the one
to have tough discussions on price. As
I remember most to this day. Nothing
I pulled in to the parking lot in front
has been able to dispel the dull ache
of the building, I realized the lot was
“OUT OF BUSINESS, SOLD SENSORS
I have felt since that terrible call early
completely empty and the building was
TOO CHEAP”.
Wednesday morning, but when I think
dark, with no lights on inside at all. I
For a couple of minutes I was
back on the many good times like this
parked in the visitor space, got out or the
floored, but then I walked to the side of
one, it doesn’t feel quite so bad.
car, and went to the front door. A chain
the building where I could see the rear
Rest well my friend, you were one in
with a large padlock was wrapped around
parking lot was jammed with cars, many
a million.
the door handles. On the door was a sign
double parked. I went back to the front
—Bob Black
28 – Global SMT & Packaging – August 2009 www.globalsmt.net
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