Next Issue Focus: PCB and


Components Plan Your 2022 Editorial


See Our Editorial Calendar on Page 100


VOLUME 36 - NUMBER 10


Product Preview: The ASSEMBLY Show, IMAPS, SMTAI, productronica


October, 2021


Absolute EMS Integrates Insituware’s Handheld Materials Control


By Jayne Carthy, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Absolute EMS


Janome highlights selection of desktop robotic platforms. Product previews begin on...


Page 66 EM Services


Scanfil partners with med - tech companies to bring new products to market. EMS section begins on...


Page 18 EM Products FKN Systek launches new


benchtop depaneling router. EM products begin on...


Page 26 This Month’s Focus:


Assembly and Inspection


According to Absolute EMS’ Dao Tran, the Vision MARK-1 is a game changing process investment.


3D Nano-Inks Blur Industry Boundaries


HOUGHTON, MI — Mechanical engineering researchers at Michigan Technological Univer- sity have created a way to make a 3D-printable nanocomposite polymeric ink that uses carbon nanotubes (CNTs) — known for their high tensile strength and lightness. This revolutionary ink could replace epoxies, and under- standing why its properties are so fantastic is a first step toward its mass use.


3D Printed Electronics 3D printing, also known as


An exclusive interview


with ASM general manager Jeff Timms begins on....


Page 52


additive manufacturing, is more versatile and efficient than cast- ing. It adds a material with preci- sion, often in complex geometries, with considerably less excess to cut away. Adding low-dimension- al nanomaterials such as CNTs, graphene, metal nanoparticles


and quantum dots allows 3D- printed materials to adapt to ex- ternal stimuli, giving them fea- tures such as electrical and ther- mal conductance, magnetism and electrochemical storage. But 3D printing using plas-


tic, metal or something else en- tirely isn’t new. What Tech re- searchers have done differently is use polymer nanocomposites (made of epoxy, carbon nanotubes and nano-clay) and a printing process that doesn’t sacrifice func- tionality. The junction of material type and morphology — size, shape, structure — in polymer nanocomposite inks is the ulti- mate in form meeting function. The exploration of process,


morphology and properties of polymeric inks is the subject of an article recently published in the


Continued on page 8


SANTA CLARA, CA — A bad lot of solder paste on the manufac- turing floor can have disastrous results, leading to voids, yield defects, additional handling of the product, rework and/or missed customer schedules. In a typical environment, re-


frigerated solder paste is con- trolled via FIFO management


systems and traceability with log in/out processes to avoid unnec- essary exposure out of a chilled environment. The responsibility falls to the operator to determine if there is a bad lot of paste. The decision is based 100-percent on the experience of the operator. Now, using the Vision MARK-1 handheld materials


control solution from Insituware, Absolute EMS can measure the fitness for use of its materials, in minutes, on the shop floor.


Immediate Results The Vision MARK-1 has


changed the daily world of con- tract manufacturing and brought quality control to a new level by providing clear indicators if ma- terials are good or bad. Insituware’s technology,


however, takes the guesswork out of the decision. Absolute EMS runs multiple lines with multiple types of solder paste. Using Insituware’s Vision MARK-1 to test and validate sol- der paste is now part of the com- pany’s daily routine. The device is user-friendly


and a green “pass” or red “fail” banner is clearly shown on the screen after each measurement. Continued on page 6


Novel Beamforming Networks for


PCB Design TOKYO, JAPAN — Wireless technology is responsible for en- abling pivotal innovations such as radio and satellite communi- cation. Central to these systems are antennas that can transmit and receive signals. As the scope of wireless technology continues to grow, the next generation of wireless systems requires multi- beam antennas that are capable of efficiently handling multiple beams. To maintain stable and reli-


able connections between trans- mitters and receivers, these multibeam antennas use beam- forming networks (BFNs) like the Butler and Nolen matrices. These BFNs control and direct output signals using a combina- tion of electrical components in-


Continued on page 8


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