Component Management

As PCB assemblers, manufacturing is all about taking data from you and delivering good working circuit boards. Well, it can be just data - as in full turn-key, or data plus some parts, and PC boards - as in a partial turn-key or a kitted job. By: Duane Benson, Chief Technology Champion at Screaming Circuits.

An international team of researchers lead by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered a reaction path that produces exotic layers with semiregular structures. These kinds of materials are interesting because they frequently possess extraordinary properties. In the process, simple organic molecules are converted to larger units which form the complex, semiregular patterns.

America’s crumbling infrastructure has been a topic of ongoing discussion in political debates and campaign rallies. The problem of aging bridges and increasingly dangerous roads is one that has been well documented and there seems to be a consensus from both democrats and republicans that something must be done. However, spending on infrastructure improvement has continually gone down.

Engineers at Caltech and ETH Zürich in Switzerland have created a method to systematically design metamaterials using principles of quantum mechanics. Their work could pave the way for wider use of metamaterials in more mainstream applications by creating a purpose-driven framework for their design. Metamaterials are engineered materials that exploit the geometry of their internal structure to manipulate incoming waves.

What if you could run your air conditioner not on conventional electricity, but on the sun’s heat during a warm summer’s day? With advancements in thermoelectric technology, this sustainable solution might one day become a reality. Thermoelectric devices are made from materials that can convert a temperature difference into electricity, without requiring any moving parts — a quality that makes thermoelectrics a potentially ...

Master Bond UV22DC80-10F is a single component, nanosilica filled compound featuring a UV and heat curing mechanism. This thixotropic, moderately low viscosity compound has a viscosity of 8,000-12,000 cps at 75°F (~ 23°C). It is said to provide outstanding dimensional stability and superior physical strength properties. Additionally, UV22DC80-10F is optically clear and offers the ability to be cured in shadowed out areas.

  An array of new and updated and products will be showcased at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2018 by AdoptSMT. The company covers the processes of PCB assembly, hand soldering and industrial identification.

Some animals, such as geckos, can easily climb up walls and across ceilings. But currently, no material exists that allows everyday people to scale walls or transverse ceilings as effortlessly. Now, scientists report in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces a dry adhesive that could someday make it easier to defy gravity. Geckos can scale walls because of their unique toe pads that help them quickly attach and detach from surfaces.

  Global supplier of industrial RTV silicones, adhesives, and mould making materials, Techsil, has added epoxy-based adhesive Structalit 8801 to its portfolio of medical grade adhesives. The biocompatible adhesive was specially designed by manufacturers Panacol for bonding temperature-sensitive substrates as it cures quickly at low temperatures.

In the build-up to the tenth annual LOPEC event, taking place in Munich in March Hans-Jürgen Lemp (Director Global Sales & Business Development New Platforms, Merck KGaA), Thomas Kolbusch (Vice President, Coatema Coating Machinery) and Dr. Wolfgang Clemens (Head of Product Management, PolyIC & Co. KG) talk about a decade of printed electronics and the markets of tomorrow.