APEX Show Preview

Yes, it’s that time again. APEX 2020 has loads of new features, and networking opportunities. San Diego is beautiful and the 2020 program and exhibition are the best ones yet. So brush those SuperBowl LIV nacho chips off your laptop and let’s get going!

What’s new?

APEXThe Fundamentals Program is a new option for those attending the Technical Conference. Geared toward adding value to the attendee experience, the program provides curated content covering the many facets of the electronics industry. Attendees will gain a broader view of the industry and will learn important terminology and background as preparation for content on new studies and technologies presented at the technical conference. Sessions will include topics presented by subject matter industry experts, interactive panel sessions, and opportunities for attendees to learn the secrets of success from our valued presenters.

Available when you register, the Technical Conference Single Session Pass will get you admission to one technical conference session. It’s perfect for seeing a friend’s presentation, getting the latest information on your favorite topic, or meeting subject matter experts on a specific issue.

SESSIONS@The IntersectionWhether at the intersection of business and engineering or the intersection of two industry organizations, these sessions are free to all attendees and will address the hottest industry topics you need to know about today! Here are some of those topics:

  • Semi-Additive Processes for Building Circuits
  • E-textiles Developments
  • Why Your Supply Chain Needs Diversity (in conjunction with WBENC)
  • PCB Challenges and Needs for Emerging Applications (in conjunction with iNEMi)
  • interACTION: Weak Microvia Interfaces Update Panel
  • interACTION: Best Practices for Strategic Board Procurement
  • interACTION: Conscientious Engineering (Environmental, Social, and Future Technology Ethics)

Women in Electronics Reception

This popular event provides a unique and relaxed opportunity to connect with female industry peers, build your network, share experiences and have a few laughs. We’re extra excited this year to welcome guest speaker jet dragster driver for Larsen Motorsports and Florida Institute of Technology, Elaine Larsen!

Keynote Speaker: Burt Rutan

Aerospace entrepreneur and Virgin Galactic spacecraft designer Burt Rutan was described by Newsweek as “the man responsible for more innovations in modern aviation than any living engineer.” A bold visionary with a passion for the advancement of technology, he founded the aerospace research firm Scaled Composites and was named one of “the world’s 100 most influential people” by TIME.

Rutan designed the legendary Voyager, the first aircraft to circle the world nonstop without refueling. He also created SpaceShipOne, the world’s first privately funded spacecraft, which won the $10 million Ansari X Prize, offered in an effort to spur the development of affordable space tourism.

In a joint venture with Virgin’s Richard Branson, Rutan formed “The Spaceship Company” to manufacture and market spaceships for the new commercial space-flight industry. He retired from Scaled Composites as Chief Technical Officer in 2011, and now assumes the title of founder and Chairman Emeritus.

Rutan is currently working  on two projects: the Stratolaunch — part airplane, part spaceship — with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and the SkiGull, an amphibious aircraft that runs on the same gas we use for cars and boats.

Keynote Speaker: John Mitchell, IPC President and CEO

An IPC Vision of the Future – As the electronics manufacturing industry continues to face wave after wave of disruption – and as it contributes to disruption in other industries – IPC President and CEO John Mitchell will present IPC’s vision of the future of the electronics manufacturing industry, covering the forces that are reshaping the industry, workforce and supply chain.

Exhibition 2020

Here are some examples of the amazing technology that will be demonstrated at APEX 2020:

Aegis will be highlighting how their zero-code IIoT-based MES platform, FactoryLogix®, is uniquely architected to remove the complexity & costs of collecting and contextualizing massive volumes of independent data points. With an enterprise-wide and interpretive lens, FactoryLogix instantly turns raw, meaningless data into visual data relationships that become meaningful, useful, and actionable.

APEX Banner xMany IIoT & MES solutions have a method of collecting data, usually through IoT vendors and middleware. However, data alone is not useful until it is made meaningful. That is where FactoryLogix showcases a disruptive approach to analytics. The first MES built on a proven IoT engine with thousands of machine adapters that extract that data from all the machines, people, and systems but relates this data to the CAD design, the product data, and the process context in real-time in order to make sense of it and drive intelligent decisions. FactoryLogix advances the usefulness of this data beyond the factory as well. An unprecedented multi-site data aggregation solution provides fail-safe factory operation even when inter-factory connections and cloud connections fail, enables high-speed factory control, and at the same time delivering efficient multi-site analytics.

 Aegis’ FactoryLogix platform answers the “So What?” by leveraging a differentiated approach, ultimately removing the traditional time and resource constraints, associated with data, that are holding so many manufacturers back from growth, differentiation and ultimate survival. Stop by Booth #2119 at IPC APEX EXPO to learn more.

 

NEW Zenith Alpha 3D AOI from Koh Young

Koh Young Zenith AlphaKoh Young proudly introduces its latest True 3D AOI platform – Zenith Alpha. Leveraging its award-winning technologies, the Zenith Alpha fits myriad applications and manufacturers of all sizes. It incorporates a “Smart and Dynamic” feature set with AI-powered quality optimization technologies. This new system concentrates the technological insight to increase process performance and reduce line downtime. At the same time, its inherent True 3D inspection capabilities help manufacturers methodically collect, analyze, and manage data in real-time to dynamically formulate a multifaced view of the assembly process.

Additionally, Koh Young will showcase advanced Artificial Intelligence-based inspection solutions covering solder paste, pins, machined cases, and even transparent material. What’s more, Koh Young will display Industry 4.0 solutions, including the latest KSMART solutions with autonomous process control across the line. Just visit the IPC CFX are to see Koh Young SPI and AOI featured in the line. Show attendees can see additional connectivity examples in the Universal Instruments ( booth 1837) and Panasonic ( booth 1301) who will also feature Koh Young inspection systems.

Experience the latest advancements in inspection and understand why demanding customers demand Koh Young with us at IPC APEX Expo in booth 2336.

 

PP PA Durafuse LTIndium Corporation will feature its new, innovative high-performance, high-reliability alloy technologies at IPC APEX Expo.

Durafuse™ LT is a novel, low-temperature alloy system designed to provide high-reliability in low-temperature applications with reflow below 210°C. Where traditional low-temperature solders can produce brittle solder joints that are susceptible to drop shock failures, Durafuse™ LT offers improved drop shock resilience, outclassing BiSn or BiSnAg alloys, and performs better than SAC305 with optimum process setup.

Indalloy®292 is an innovative alloy engineered to provide advanced reliability for high-performance applications. It has excellent thermal cycling performance at -40–150°C conditions, high shear strength, and low solder joint cracking. Additionally, the alloy eliminates pinholes to improve joint appearance. When paired with Indium8.9HF Solder Paste, Indalloy®292 provides outstanding printability, stability, and enhanced SIR.

To learn more about Indium Corporation’s innovative low-temperature technology, stop by the company’s booth at APEX (#1037).

 

 

ASYMTEK Vortik Progressive Cavity PumpThe latest in fluid dispensing and conformal coating equipment, software, and technology will be showcased at the ASYMTEK booth #1611 at the IPC APEX EXPO. New products include the ASYMTEK Vortik™ family of progressive cavity pumps with the smallest depositions possible on the market today. Its Advanced Calibration Assist, with patent-pending ARC™ Technology, ensures high volumetric dispense accuracy for one- and two-component applications. ASYMTEK Qadence™ Closed-Loop Flow Control System, in ASYMTEK EasyCoat® 6 software, maintains a stable flow rate by volume for high-quality conformal coating by automatically compensating for viscosity changes related to temperature, humidity, and batch-to-batch variation. The ASYMTEK Panorama C-Line  for advanced process control in conformal coating combines components that fit seamlessly together to deliver a complete, turnkey solution for coating and curing, with closed-loop controls and data to fuel continuous process improvement. The ASYMTEK Forte Series dispensing platform with Forte MAX real-time skew correction includes a dual-simultaneous dispense head with two high-frequency ASYMTEK IntelliJet® Jetting Systems that dispense at the same time to further boost UPH and quality outcomes. Plus, application engineers ready to assist with your dispensing and coating needs. Visit the booth to experience a 360° virtual reality tour of the Panorama conformal coating line.

 

Saki Corporation’s combination 3D AOI/SPI system, AXI system, self-programming software with self-tuning, and advanced M2M capabilities will be demonstrated at IPC APEX booth 2025.

spi aoi axi total solutionSaki’s combination AOI/SPI system fits NPI, high-mix/low-volume, and high-volume applications, enabling companies to use both SPI and AOI to ensure the quality of their manufacturing process and products, even for 01005 and 0201 components and board sizes to 27”x24”. Multiple sensors of 7μm, 12μm, and 18μm accommodate inspection needs of most manufacturing operations. Easy and intuitive programming takes minutes not hours. A common software and user interface enable Saki’s SPI, API, and AXI results to be viewed together.

Saki’s 3Xi-M110 3D-CT AXI machine ensures the quality of hidden solder joints for bottom-electrode packages and provides precise volumetric measurements and shape reconstruction to find voids, head-in-pillow, and other defects. The X-ray tube reduces X-ray exposure up to 70% by powering the X-rays on only at the moment of image capture. The tube doesn’t need periodic maintenance or spare parts and the system reports when the tube needs replacing. This system delivers high-resolution from 1μm- 29μm and offers selectable stop-and-go or on-the-fly scanning. It is 40% lighter and 25% smaller. Image capture speed is increased by 30%, reducing production-line takt time.

 

ttc go screensAs part of Cogiscan’s ongoing commitment to our industry-leading suite of Material Control and other TTC Applications, we are proud to show TTC Go! for the first time in America at APEX 2020. This new application is a major upgrade to the already widely used Portable Operator Interface. Operators require simple and intuitive tools to run production. This new application is completely redesigned to take full advantage of Android 7+ supported mobile devices.

The new TTC GO! Is Modern, Intuitive & Simple:

  • Simplify production tasks with a modern and user-friendly handheld interface with intuitive navigation features
  • Leverage flexibility by downloading the free app on any Android supported device
  • Upgrade outdated technology that will no longer be supported by PDA vendors
  • Save hardware costs by utilizing modern, reliable, and less expensive devices that can be easily upgraded

“With the introduction of TTC GO, we break a paradigm in how manufacturing software user interfaces are designed.  The context driven interface is very intuitive and easy to use as it guides the user to achieve simple tasks with as little clicks, data entry or scanning steps as possible,” stated André Corriveau, CTO at Cogiscan. “Built on state-of-the-art technologies, it runs over Windows and Android platforms, including smart phones.”

Cogiscan POI users can download & upgrade for FREE​ with a valid service contract. Come see the new TTC GO! At Cogiscan’s Booth #1737.

SEHO to Show Solutions for Cost-Efficient High-Mix Production at APEX

SEHO AutomaticWaveHeightControlSEHO North America, Inc. will highlight innovative solutions for cost-efficient high-mix production in SEHO’s Booth #1451 at the IPC APEX EXPO.

New pulsar emitters combined with precise PCB pass-monitoring allows remarkably higher flexibility in the preheat area. This new preheating concept of SEHO’s wave soldering system MWS 2300 allows for the cost-efficient manufacture of large series as well as a batch size of one.

SEHO’s new automatic solder nozzle height adjustment provides higher flexibility in the soldering area if a large number of different variants are to be manufactured. The height of the solder nozzles can be adjusted via the software, which allows creating the optimal product-specific distance between the PCB and solder nozzle. This new function thus provides independence from the workpiece carrier design and allows a component-specific defined solder peel-off.

SEHO also presents the first automatic wave height control, built into the soldering section of the MWS 2300. This feature is based on a contact measurement that produces reliable results and processes for laminar as well as turbulent solder waves. It ensures the same height across the entire wave width at any time.

 

Failure is not an option!

zestronZESTRON offers cleanliness assessments to meet and exceed IPC standards and other specifications using a variety of test techniques. Visit us at Zestron’s booth #1319 to find out more about how our cleanliness assessment options can benefit your company.

Plus, stop by booth #1319 and be entered to win valuable prizes like an Echo Dot or Tile key finder. IPC APEX Expo 2020 will be held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA on February 4-6th.

 

Jigar Patel, M.S.Ch.E., Senior Application Engineer, will present “Solder Mask and Low Standoff Component Cleaning – A Connection?”

Today, printed circuit boards used within electronic assemblies for high reliability applications are typically subjected to cleaning or defluxing processes. As assembly complexity has increased, that is, more densely populated with greater use of stacked and leadless components and with ever reducing standoff heights, effective defluxing is increasingly challenged.

The author’s purpose in conducting this study was to assess the under-component cleanliness as impacted by different solder mask options which are used to protect the copper traces and pads integral to PCB design. The solder mask specifications used in this study included: Solder Mask Defined (SMD) and Non-Solder Mask Defined (NSMD). No Solder Mask (NoSM) was also tested for comparative purposes.

Jigar Patel will present the Design of Experiment and key results during the Cleaning track on Thursday, February 6th, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. For more information, please visit www.ipcapexexpo.org.