The recently opened Siemens Dematic Advanced Assembly Technology Center has become an exclusive R&D and customer assistance force in the U.S. Close to the headquarters in Norcross, Georgia, the center is a $10m investment in a 1000 m² state-of-the-art lab and cleanroom facility. Dr. Dan Baldwin, an internationally recognized expert on electronics assembly, MEMS and optoelectronics packaging and materials processing, directs it.
Baldwin, on leave from the production-oriented think-tank Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (Georgia Tech), has been a professor of mechanical engineering. There he has, among other things, led various programs such as low-cost flip-chip processing or advanced interconnect technol-ogy research. At the center he helps customers with advances in packaging and materials. „There is still a challenge associated with moving new technologies into volume production or into new products,“ Baldwin says. „Our primary objective is to create time-to-market solutions for customers, building on their proprietary needs – on a global basis.“
The center supports customers in two ways: first, it provides „smart-layer, knowledge-based products“ – fully documented and guaranteed manufacturing process solutions. Second, it offers expert services such as cellular analysis, reliability testing, process and materials characterization, as well as assistance in design for manufacturing and product introduction. All this is not just for customers that buy Siplace machines or who are located in the U.S. respectively, as Baldwin says. „We have helped customers in manufactureless environments and transferred their product intros to selected EMS providers.“ Last but not least, the center has joint projects running with the Fraunhofer Society in Berlin/Germany, and it provides educational opportunities for customers and engineering students. (ws)
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