great expectations arose 18 months ago when Speedline Technologies launched a high-end printing system based on an entirely new concept. Our cover story reviews how this new printer concept has exceeded expectations of both the manufacturer and the user, while meeting ever-increasing demands of the industry. Automotive supplier Continental was the first European company to select the Accela as their printer of choice, now employing the system in almost all of their European manufacturing facilities (see page 20).
When looking for new machines it is not always easy to judge the individual machine capabilities from a brochure. Interpretation of information provided by manufacturers is always going to be very hard to differentiate. According to DIMA SMT Systems, the only real way to be sure what capability a certain machine will have for a specific product is by testing this machine for this specific product (see page 30). During their operational life, connectors are subjected to many harmful conditions, presenting designers with a number of contradictory requirements. Gerald Kingsbury from Electrolube explores the use of electrochemicals to improve connector design and to achieve long term functional excellence (see page 26). We present you the new heavy wire bonder from Hesse & Knipps featuring a bondhead with integrated pull and shear test (see page 54).
In this issue we will also take a closer look at a new interconnect technology: the recently introduced large Aluminium ribbon bonding process developed by Orthodyne Electronics (see page 46). This technology overcomes the package size restrictions and allows the application of strengths and benefits of the large Aluminium wire bonding process in smaller power packages. A further article concerning this topic describes the attractive aspects of heavy Aluminium ribbon bonding (F&K Delvotec), outlining the critical areas that still need to be clarified as well (see page 50).
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