Manufacturers demonstrate new technologies at NEPCON/EMT South China
24 August 2009
The 15th annual NEPCON/EMT South China 2009 event for the China electronics manufacturing industry will take place from 26-28 August this year. When they attend the NEPCON show, visitors will have the opportunity to take part in EMT South China, Finetech South China, ATE China and AE South China, which are all taking place at the same time.
As one of the most significant events in the local industry calendar, NEPCON/EMT South China will again pinpoint the prevailing trends in the electronics manufacturing industry, as well as showcase new innovations and technologies. Additionally, this year, it will also highlight the rejuvenation of the electronics industry and its potential for growth.
Since 2008, the fall in spending by European and American consumers has caused a slowdown in the growth rate of Chinese exports. This, in turn, has had a direct impact on the expansion of the electronics manufacturing industry. However, according to reports by several domestic and international organizations, as of the second quarter of 2009, the green shoots of economic recovery are beginning to sprout. Increased optimism and opportunities in the electronics manufacturing industry in China are now evident. In the global market, emerging economies beyond Europe and the USA have invested heavily in their IT infrastructure in recent years. These emerging markets will be key to the rejuvenation and subsequent growth of China’s electronics manufacturing industry. There is also greater optimism for the domestic market, with the government subsidizing the purchase of household appliances in rural areas and the deployment of 3G services fuelling consumer demand. These are just some of the factors behind the industry’s recovery.
As China’s electronics manufacturing industry looks to sustain this growth, South China, one of the fastest-growing areas for the global electronics manufacturing industry, is home to the largest manufacturing base in the country. The electronic information industry and automobile manufacturing industries in South China are much more advanced than in other regions of the country. South China accounts for 37% of the country’s manufacturing output in these sectors. In manufacturing sectors such as the mobile phone, laptop, household appliance, communication equipment and digital camera sectors, a change in production output will have a direct impact on the information industry throughout China. The production value of the electronic information industry in Guangdong, for example, has been the highest in China for 17 consecutive years.
Dongguan, one of the province’s most productive cities, is now globally recognized for producing electronic goods. Shenzhen is renowned for producing mobile phones - in each of the last two years over 100 million phones have been made there. Recently, the sales of household appliances in the Zhujiang River Delta region have exceeded USD 12 billion. This amounts to over 30% of the total sales of household appliances in China. Various projections within the industry report that by 2010, the Guangzhou automobile industry will be valued at USD 350 billion. The number of cars produced annually is expected to hit 1.6 million and the production value is anticipated to be USD 250 billion. In mechanics manufacturing, the need for mechanical tools in South China is growing at a rate of 20% a year.
As an important platform for domestic and international trading in South China, NEPCON/EMT South China plays a key role in promoting the electronics industry in this region. A large number of leading manufacturers, including Assembléon, Yamaha, Sony, Mydata, Samsung, Panasonic, Fuji, Saki and Senju, will once again support this year’s event.
The fast-expanding markets, such as the netbook, smart phone and server markets, as well as the LED illustration, communications and medical electronics sectors all represent viable business prospects. Visitors will be able to see the latest equipment related to current electronics trends. For example, the smaller printing area provided by printer manufacturers; technical solutions used in a variety of product areas provided by placement machine manufacturers; innovative dispensing systems used in LED device manufacturing provided by dispenser manufacturers and other advanced technical solutions.
Visitors will be able to see the Yamaha YS24 compact super high speed modular mounter at WKK’s booth (1G15). Its area productivity is second to none at 34k CPH / m2. Mounting capability will reach 72,000CPH under optimum conditions. The machine also uses the newly developed Dual Stage Conveyor, with a flying scan camera component recognition system, incorporating two sets of narrow pitch 10-inline multi heads. The system is designed to be compatible with super large PCBs, L700m W46mm, for flat panel screens and LED lighting devices.
In the placement category, Fuji will display a number of machines. Among them will be the newly developed Multi-Purpose Wafer Unit, the MWU8i, that simplifies the merged loading of SMD and semiconductor parts. A new option for the high-speed multi-purpose mounter is the XPF-W which supports large panels of up to 686mm x 508mm. The MWU8i’s placement accuracy reaches 10 micrometers when using H02/H01/G04 heads. In semiconductor manufacturing, wafer mapping is supported and the multi-level supply unit can produce multiple types of wafer alternately, or the same type of wafer continuously, without the need to halt production. The XPF-W option facilitates borderless production through dynamic head exchange. A maximum of 128 types of parts can be loaded onto the compact body by using the MFU-40 dynamic head exchange, enabling heads to be used to their maximum potential. Trays are visible from the outside during operation, so the status of trays can be checked at a glance.
As for printers, visitors can view the award-winning Icon i8, the fully automatic screen printer introduced by ICON Technologies, at WKK’s booth (1G15). The company will reveal the latest upgrades to the Icon i8, including a new software tool and a new adhesive dispensing system. The Icon i8 now offers Instinctiv™ V9 which is a next-generation advanced machine user interface that enables an operator to use more of the power of your printer. Instinctiv™ V9 is designed to maximize machine usage, process control and operator efficiency. With a new Stinger dispensing system, the end user will effectively have printing and dispensing capabilities in a single platform, without taking up extra floor space. All of these functions improve its efficiency and productivity, consequently reducing manufacturing costs. Also featuring a high degree of automation to maximize throughput and minimize operator intervention, the Icon i8 reduces product changeover time to a mere two minutes. With print speeds from 2mm/sec to 150mm/sec, the Icon i8 can handle boards from 40mm x 50mm up to 508mm X 508mm, and a thickness of 0.2mm to 6.0mm.
With growing demand for better SMT technology, product testing is becoming ever more important. In the field of testing equipment, Omron Electronics (Hong Kong) Ltd will demonstrate the VP5200L New Generation SPI Machine in booth 1D10. The machine’s inspection speed, supported by 3D technology, can reach up to 8000mm2/sec - perfect for the fastest production line in the industry. With a resolution of 12.5 micrometers or 25 micrometers, which can switch automatically to make precise and high-speed inspection possible, automatic programming takes as little as five minutes.
In booth 1H30, KIC will feature its latest product—the Reflow Process Inspection (RPI) system. The RPI system is an in-line process inspection system for SMT reflow ovens. The system is embedded inside the reflow oven and checks the profile of each product processed through the oven to verify whether it conforms to the spec. On a daily basis, the system generates two charts – a DPMO (defects per million opportunities) chart and a process yield chart - for the thermal process.
Soldering material suppliers will also announce a breakthrough in product technology. P. Kay Metal will introduce patented MS2™ (Molten Solder Surfactant) in booth 1K40. By eliminating dross, MS2™ allows manufacturers to reduce their solder usage by as much as 70%, depending on production volume, resulting in significant cost savings. MS2™ does not mix with the metal but forms a thin floating layer that covers areas of the solder surface excluding the wave, which is not disturbed during the process. MS2™ keeps on removing metal oxides as solder is pumped through the system, cleansing and purifying the bath. The result is lower surface tension.
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