IPC APEX EXPO, the largest trade show for electronics manufacturing in North America, welcomed a 50 percent increase in event participants and a 33 percent increase in exhibitors in 2023.

“With more than 13,000 tradeshows held annually each year in the United States, this is such an honor for IPC APEX EXPO to be named as one of the Top 50 tradeshows, and we couldn’t be prouder,” said Alicia Balonek, IPC senior director, trade shows and events. “This year’s event, just weeks away is also seeing positive growth, proving IPC APEX EXPO is the industry’s premier event to make new connections and to build relationships. We can’t wait to welcome everyone to Anaheim next month.”

According to Trade Show Executive, the Fastest 50 are ranked in three categories: By Net Square Feet, By Exhibiting Companies, and By Total Attendance. The Class of 2023 represents more than 15 million net square feet of paid exhibit space, 48,517 exhibiting companies, and more than 1.4 million attendees.

This year, IPC APEX EXPO will feature more than 400 exhibitors from every step in the electronics manufacturing supply chain including the industry’s leading equipment manufacturers, suppliers and product innovators who provide services to help attendees gain greater efficiency while improving their bottom lines.

To view a complete list of companies exhibiting at IPC APEX EXPO, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/exhibitors. For more information about the show or to register, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org.

Event essentials registration is free to individuals who pre-register online ($50 on-site). To maximize event experience, individuals can take advantage of the All-Access Package which includes all technical conference sessions; five half-day professional development courses; the EMS Leadership Summit, IPC luncheons, and more.

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“Our customers are tasked with improving throughput and quality, but are also challenged to find and retain qualified personnel,” explains ASMPT Americas Marketing Manager, Mark Ogden. “This strains traditional working models and highlights the necessity for reliable, open automation, simplified interfaces, and at-your-fingertips data. ASMPT has all aspects covered, which is why our APEX exhibit was standing room only and the event an overwhelming success for our company.”

Software ingenuity steals the show

While intrigued by market-leading placement and printing hardware solutions, ASMPT show delegates also unanimously expressed their requirement for open communication protocols, intelligent production line oversight, actionable data analytics, and on-the-fly assistance. Visitors were treated to several new offers in these areas. The company’s WORKS shop floor/line level management suite allows customizable and scalable integration, enabling manufacturers to add features as needed. Among the newest additions is WORKS Material Demand Calculation (MDC), which dynamically assesses materials required on the line, and adapts to changing conditions in real-time instead of supplying to static, pre-production expectations.

Other sought-after software solutions at APEX were newly-launched Virtual Assist and SMT Analytics. SMT Analytics provides deep data collection and analysis for actionable manufacturing improvements, leveraging ASMPT equipment data and correlating it using a Critical Manufacturing MES module.

When operational troubleshooting or maintenance instruction is required, Virtual Assist uses voice recognition to deliver relevant video and documentation assistance for ASMPT equipment. This new technology integrates with the company’s online Academy training platform.

Award-winning, uninterrupted operation

Before the show’s opening, ASMPT’s DEK TQ L stencil printer was already logging wins. The brand-new platform secured a first-place finish in Circuits Assembly magazine’s NPI Award contest, edging out competitors in the stencil printing category. With a smaller footprint, faster cycle time, robust construction, and exceptional accuracy, TQ L demonstrations were in high demand throughout the three-day APEX event. The printer has a dual-cover design for hot-swappable solder paste replenishment, and expanded consumables capacity to allow full shift production without assistance. When paired with Process Expert AI capabilities, TQ L can self-correct and optimize print parameters for even greater efficiency.

Finally, at the center of the ASMPT exhibit were the company’s flexible and scalable SIPLACE SX and SIPLACE TX placement platforms, which continue to lead the electronics sector with performance and reliability. The company has seen significant Americas market share growth in recent years, with placement equipment and corresponding software ingenuity fueling these positive results.

“Electronics content is growing across almost every product category,” concludes Ogden. “This reality, combined with ever-changing market geographics, highlights the need for reliable, intelligent, fast, cost-effective factory solutions. Customers now see these capabilities as non-negotiable competitive differentiators. ASMPT did not disappoint, and our record-setting attendance further confirms that we have invested in all the right places.”

About ASMPT Limited (“ASMPT”)

ASMPT (HKEX stock code: 0522) is a leading global supplier of hardware and software solutions for the manufacture of semiconductors and electronics. Headquartered in Singapore, ASMPT’s offerings encompass the semiconductor assembly & packaging, and SMT (surface mount technology) industries, ranging from wafer deposition, to the various solutions that organise, assemble and package delicate electronic components into a vast range of end-user devices, which include electronics, mobile communications, computing, automotive, industrial and LED (displays). ASMPT partners with customers very closely, with continuous investment in R&D helping to provide cost-effective, industry-shaping solutions that achieve higher productivity, greater reliability and enhanced quality.

ASMPT is one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Composite MidCap Index under the Hang Seng Composite Size Indexes, the Hang Seng Composite Information Technology Industry Index under Hang Seng Composite Industry Indexes and the Hang Seng HK 35 Index.

To learn more about ASMPT, please visit us at asmpt.com.

The ASMPT SMT Solutions segment

The mission of the SMT Solutions segment within ASMPT is to implement and support the Integrated Smart Factory at electronics manufacturers worldwide.

ASM solutions support the networking, automation and optimization of central workflows with hardware, software and services that enable electronics manufacturers to transition to the Integrated Smart Factory in stages and enjoy dramatic improvements in productivity, flexibility and quality. With the integrated concept “Open Automation”, ASM opens the door for its customers to economically feasible automation, entirely in accordance with their individual requirements – modular, flexible, and vendor-independent.

The product range includes hardware and software such as SIPLACE placement solutions, DEK printing solutions, inspection and storage solutions, and the Smart Shopfloor Management Suite Works. With Works, ASMPT offers electronics manufacturers high-quality software for planning, controlling, analyzing and optimizing all processes on the Shopfloor.

Since maintaining close relationships with customers and partners is a central component of ASMPT’s strategy, the company has established the SMT Smart Network as a global forum for the active exchange of information between and with smart champions.

For more information about ASMPT visit smt.asmpt.com.

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“I have personally had the pleasure of working with Bob Wons for over twenty (20) years. Throughout this time, I have found him to be extremely knowledgeable and professional. In recognition of his outstanding effort, it gives me great pleasure to present Bob with MIRTEC’s Manufacturers’ Representative of the Year Award for 2022,” stated Brian D’Amico, President of MIRTEC Corp. “What makes this achievement even more special is the fact that this is the third time that PAA has earned this prestigious award. Thank you for being one of our most valued Business Partners!”

Precision Automation & Assembly provides high quality equipment and consumables for electronic assembly in New England. As one of the industry’s most trusted representative firms, PAA represents technology leading suppliers with world-class products and a total commitment to customer service and support. The company represents MIRTEC in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.

MIRTEC is a leading global supplier of Automated Inspection Systems to the Electronics Manufacturing Industry.  With more than 17,000 systems installed throughout the world and having received a total of 44 Industry Awards thus far for its products and services, MIRTEC has earned a solid reputation as one of the most progressive and dynamic suppliers of Automated Optical Inspection equipment to the Electronics Manufacturing Industry. MIRTEC products have been extremely successful in both high-volume/low-mix consumer electronics manufacturing as well as low-medium volume/high-mix, high-complexity medical, automotive, aerospace and defense manufacturing environments. The company’s growth is testimony to its exceptional product offering, strong global sales network and outstanding customer support. Discover how MIRTEC can help your business achieve the highest levels of quality, efficiency, and profitability, please visit: www.mirtecusa.com.

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Nominations for the 2023 awards were open to all volunteers and leaders whose groups had completed their standards projects between October 2021 and October 2022.  The awards were peer-selected, and a nomination committee was formed to review and judge all nomination packets.

The Hillman-Lambert Award was presented to Michael Ford, Aegis Software, and Christina Rutherford, Honeywell International, as the result of a tie vote. Ford received his nomination for his work with the 2-12c Cybersecurity Protection Standard Task Group. Rutherford was nominated for her work with the 7-31f IPC/WHMA-A-620 Task Group.

The Goldman-Kessler Award was presented to Bob Cooke, NASA Johnson Space Center. Cooke was nominated for his leadership of the 7-31k Wire Harness Design Task Group and the 5-24g Polymerics Standard Task Group.

In addition to Ford and Rutherford, nominees for the Hillman-Lambert Award included Erika Crandall, TE Connectivity; Hermann Eicher, EPT Guglhoer GmbH; Joseph Kane, BAE Systems; Garry McGuire, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; Zhiqian Sang, Hangzhou Dianzi University; and Wei Wang, New HC3 Technologies Co., Ltd.

In addition to Cooke, nominees for the Goldman-Kessler Award were: Scott Bowles, Lockheed Martin; Constantino Gonzalez, Acme Training and Consulting; Thomas Marktscheffel, ASMPT GmbH & Co. KG; and Victor Xu, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

“Volunteerism is the bedrock of our standards development activities,” said Teresa Rowe, IPC senior director, assembly and standards technology. “The new standards development committee awards program is entirely volunteer-driven, created to recognize the best-of-the-best in our standards development activities.”

Committee Leader and Volunteer of the Year awards will be presented on an annual basis, with next presentation taking place at IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, Calif. For more information on the awards, contact Rowe at TeresaRowe@ipc.org.

For more information about IPC, please visit www.IPC.org.

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Southwest Systems was awarded for its strong growth and great teamwork. For more than 33 years, Southwest Systems Technology has been providing sales and service for equipment and materials in both the electronic assembly and semiconductor manufacturing industries. The company represents KYZEN in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

SMarTsol was selected because of their hard work and dedication to fulfilling customer needs. The company represents KYZEN throughout Mexico. With direct personnel as well as distribution and demonstration centers in Guadalajara, Cd. Juárez, Tijuana, Monterrey and Queretaro, and a warehouse in El Paso, TX, the company is equipped to offer fast response times and quality service. SMarTsol has additional support staff in Reynosa, Monterrey and Chihuahua.

Luis Fernando Gazcon had this to say about SMarTsol: “SMarTsol Technologies has proven to be the perfect and ideal partner that KYZEN was looking for to support and take care of our customer’s current high demands and requirements during this re-booming of the Electronics Manufacturing Market in México. The steady and vertical growth of the market share that as a team, KYZEN & SMarTsol Technologies, have accomplished in the past years is only a consequence of the strategic plan set and the hard work of our Technical & Sales Teams in all the Mexican territory. We anticipate nothing else but to keep growing in the following years harnessing Mexico’s advantageous position in the manufacturing world for North America.”

About KYZEN
KYZEN is a global leader in providing environmentally responsible, RoHS compliant precision cleaning chemistries for industries ranging from electronics and advanced packaging to metal finishing and aerospace applications. Since its founding in 1990, KYZEN’s innovative cleaning technologies, scientific expertise, and customer support have been repeatedly recognized with the industry’s most prestigious awards. For more information, visit www.kyzen.com.

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Objective Evidence is the new/latest requirement from J-STD-001 – Cleaning and Residue Requirements – for qualifying a manufacturing process. The purpose is to demonstrate the reliability and robustness of your circuit assemblies.

Those who work according to IPC J-STD-001 will need to qualify your manufacturing process by producing data demonstrating compliance with the standard. Previously, the

ROSE test identified the pass/fail limit. This test has now been removed and is no longer a requirement for quality. OE is the replacement.

The primary objective is to mitigate the phenomenon of Electro-Chemical Migration (ECM). ECM affects all board manufacturers whether they clean or not! There are two ways to achieve Objective Evidence:

The first part is to initially demonstrate that your assembly meets the requirements of OE. J-STD-001 states to use SIR or Ion Chromatography. The second part is to demonstrate that you are meeting your OE requirements continuously i.e every day of the week or every week of the year. For this, it is recommended to use Process Ionic Contamination Testing (PICT).

Being a specialist in Quality Assurance for electronic assembly with more than 100 years of combined electronics industry experience, Gen3 is ideally placed to help clients determine the most suitable process control for their production process. The company provides Training and Consultancy Services.

For more information about Gen3, visit www.gen3systems.com. To learn more about Objective Evidence, visit www.objectiveevidence.org.

About GEN3

GEN3. Testing and measuring the electronics industry for over 40 years.  For three generations, Gen3 have designed, engineered, manufactured, and distributed their test and measurement equipment into the electronics industry to shield their clients from failure in the field.

Their reputation for excellence has grown to a global scale. The team is made up of industry experts who work to set the standards around circuit testing, measurement, and compliance.  They collaborate with key industry associations, offering our unique experience and expertise to educate all on what it takes to succeed.  For product protection the preferred way is GEN3, where precision comes as standard, acting as a mentor and your front-line defender.

In the high-reliability arena, there is too much at stake to allow room for error. Testing must be finite and flawless. GEN3 understand the need for precision. Get closer to perfection by minimising your risk.

GEN3. Precision as Standard.

For more information, please visit our various platforms;

Website: https://www.gen3systems.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/586317/

Twitter: @Gen3Systems

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Gen3Systems?ob=0

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Mr. Rittman represents AAT throughout Michigan, Northern Indiana and Western Ohio. AAT President & COO, Todd Rountree commented: “Jim Rittman has been an asset to the AAT team for several years and is always a top performer. He maintained his high level of expertise and exceptional hard work to reach the prestigious honor of AAT’s top salesman of the year 2022. Jim’s attention to detail, follow through and knowledge are the keys to success in everything he does and we are extremely proud to have him in the AAT family.”

Global SMT’s award-winning Rep of the Year for 2022, Don Dennison of PIT Equipment Services, LLC represents AAT on the east coast. Rountree added: “Don Dennison came to AAT highly recommended and he definitely did not disappoint. Don has taken an under-performing territory and turned it into one of our most active and successful. His hard work, focus, knowledge and relationships are second to none. Don has quickly become one of our most revered representatives and we are most delighted to have him as a member of the AAT family.”

AAT cleaners are design-driven by the science of cleaning. They are used for the following applications: Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Cleaning, Surface-Mount Technology (SMT), Stencil & Misprint, Flip Chip, and BGA, in several industries including: automotive, medical, military, and aerospace. All cleaners are manufactured and built to each customers’ specific needs in Austin, Texas.

For more information about Austin American Technology, please visit www.aat-corp.com.

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StenTech’s mission is to empower customer success by being the trusted partner in delivering quality products and innovative solutions for leading electronic manufacturers. The brand refresh was completed to reinforce StenTech’s strong position as an industry leader, leveraging their steadfast reputation by refining the brand message with a focus on the company’s attention to detail and long-standing track record of success in business.

StenTech has been leading the way in stencil technology, being the first company to introduce Fiber Diode lasers into North America. With more than 30 experienced CAD designers, their strength is the support they provide in stencil modifications, materials and thickness recommendations.  StenTech, incorporates sub-brands, PhotoStencil and ADT and offers a complete array of stencil technology, custom-tailored to suit your manufacturing requirements. They manufacture all types of stencils for the SMT industry.

To learn more, visit www.StenTech.com.

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The 2023 award presentation took place on Monday 23^rd January alongside the APEX Expo conference. Europlacer Americas’ Director of Business Development, Mike Foster, was delighted to be able to receive the award from Circuits Assembly editor Mike Buetow on behalf of the Europlacer engineering development team.

“Our Intelligent Freeform Feeder is a solution that addresses the continuing issue of component shortages,” explains Foster. “These shortages mean that loose components as compatible alternatives to unavailable devices are now increasingly common in SMT production. Many Europlacer customers are already receiving the productivity benefits of the Freeform Feeder as it allows them to feed loose parts into their placement machines without the need to tape or reel.”

The feeder is positioned either on an external zone on the machine or internally on a tray. Advanced component recognition algorithms identify the component supply characteristics including pick angle, position, polarity, and inversion. The system automatically identifies and picks components presented in a top side up orientation and electrically or optically verifies each one for correct value. The machine then performs vision alignment to place them perfectly.

“Not only is this award-winning intelligent feeder an optimum solution when component shortages might interrupt the assembly process, it’s also ideal for NPI prototyping or end of production runs,” adds Foster.

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“SCS relies on dedicated representatives to help fuel the growth of our equipment lines and better serve our customers,” said Hans Bok, Equipment Sales Manager. “Quality Associates were chosen for this award because of their outstanding achievement in 2022 and continued commitment to SCS and our customers.”

Founded in 1990, Quality Associates brings a project and engineering focused consultative sales approach to its clients. The team has a strong capital equipment focus while maintaining consistent strength and synergistic lineup of distribution/consumable products. Quality Associates realizes consistent growth in its distribution products by maintaining solid relationships with its distribution partners as well as end-user clients. For more information, visit www.quality-associates.net.

For more information about SCS, please visit www.scsequip.com.

About Specialty Coating Systems
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Specialty Coating Systems offers industry-leading liquid coating systems, including spray, spin and dip coating systems, thermal and UV cure systems and ionic contamination test systems. SCS also offers world-leading conformal coating services, systems and materials with more than 50 years of application experience and expertise in the medical device, electronics, transportation and defense industries. With locations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, SCS leverages its worldwide resources to meet customer needs on a global basis. To find out more about SCS and its leading product lines, visit www.scsequip.com.

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