"Our previous generation of vision systems provided excellent performance, but the integration costs and complexity of the previous VME-based vision hardware were excessive," said Damon Ashman, vision manager for Universal Instruments.

Brook Sandy-Smith's presentation, "Reliability Challenges for Bottom Termination Components," discusses electro-chemical reliability, assembly defects, and alloy reliability of bottom termination components, such as BGAs, CSPs, MLFs, QFNs, and D-Paks. The presentation will also cover the unique challenges of bottom termination components and strategies for optimization.

The event will focus on how innovation and continuous technological developments in fluid dispensing, jetting, and conformal coating improve the way companies bring their products to market.

The company has relocated operations from a 56,000-square-foot facility in Lebanon, Ohio to a 74,000-square-foot facility in Mason, Ohio. The Ohio Valley Operations (OVO) facility is focused on low- to medium-volume, higher-mix electronics production. The added square footage will be used to expand the facility's higher-level assembly operations.

Built upon the same architecture as the company's popular MC Series of SMT pick-and-place machines, the new MC-400 is specially designed for startups, product development labs, and contract manufacturers that need to build prototypes or short runs in-house, with high-precision and quick turnaround times.

Manncorp's MC-LEDV4 series of LED pick-and-place machines are specially designed to place surface-mounted LED components using four pick-and-place heads and "on-the-fly" vision for fast, accurate alignment.

Guest Editor Dick Crowe joins Erhard Hofmann, managing director at AdoptSMT Europe GmbH, to learn more about the distribution of after-market parts and consumables, along with pre-owned equipment, in Europe and the Americas.

Mo Ohady, general manager of Digicom Electronics, joins Guest Editor Judy Warner to discuss his company's new facility and its unique abilities and services offered to the academic community.

Larger EMS companies have been addressing the medical device industry very well for many years. Some have even acquired small medical manufacturers to create instant competencies as they expand their depth of service. For the smaller electronics manufacturer just entering the fray, opportunities to participate still exist, but there is much to prepare for and to understand.

John Perrotta, vice president of Europlacer, North America, describes to Guest Editor Kelly Dack how his company's machinery offers a wide range of unique placement solutions ranging from 01005 component specs to massive, four-inch challenges.

When will the miniaturization trend end? Perhaps the end will come when we can no longer see the components. On one hand, ICs are squeezing more patterns into a nanometer--something that we certainly can't see; on the other, surface-mounted components are becoming smaller and smaller.

In this edition of Potter's Corner, guest columnist Tammy Tian addresses the importance of using chip scale packages (CSPs) and corner bonding, as well as the pros and cons of applying corner bonding materials before and after CSP assembly.

Delegates from 16 countries packed the EIPC Winter Conference to exchange information on market conditions and future innovations, and Technical Editor Pete Starkey was there. Following two excellent, sobering keynote presentations on world market trends, the technical program commenced with a session on new substrates and surface finishes.

How does one determine which electrical properties are needed from a potting compound? What should be done if the material separates? What should be done when the material doesn't cure? Columnist George Sears answers these questions and more in his latest column.

The second day of SMART Group's 2012 European Conference got underway in Thame, Oxfordshire, UK with a second grouping of industry experts ready to present and attendees eager to learn. Technical Editor Pete Starkey made the trip for I-Connect007 and continues his detailed report.

Until just a few years ago, most PCB transport systems featured a single lane, but valuable running time was often lost. A dual-lane system will reduce such losses, but how do you know which set-up works best for you? Sjef van Gastel takes a closer look.