Soon the SMT show, its short name instead of the laborious SMT/Hybrid/Packaging term, dedicated to system integration in microelectronics, will open its doors in Nuremberg from June 3rd to 5th at the exhibition center. “This year the preparation of the trade fair has developed excellently. We’ve broken all previous records of this show so far,” advertises unit manager Udo Weller of the organizer Mesago. “We will clearly have more than 600 exhibitors plus about 80 additionally represented companies, and can probably expect about 25,000 visitors. The ground floor has also grown considerably as well.”
As Udo Weller further points out, the total space booked for this year’s trade fair has exceeded all previous events, covering an exhibition space of more than 27.600 sqm. To date, some 33 % of the registered exhibitors (about 25 countries) are from abroad, with the lion’s share from North America, followed by Great Britain and Ireland, Switzerland, Asia and the Benelux countries. Weller also expects a huge number of visitors from abroad to be in the range of 30 %. This will happen before the background of an industry in Europe suffering more or less from an over-valued euro which now increasingly creates critical situations for even more exporting companies outside the old continent. Volker Pape, CEO of Viscom and chairman of the VDMA’s (German Engineering Federation) trade association Productronic, explains that the current situation is being regarded as good so far from its diverse member companies. These are manly middle-sized machine and automation businesses which are very innovative in providing outstanding solutions in their respective field of expertise.
The orders have grown this year compared to the same period before until now by 5 %, and even last year they saw + 12 %. Now the average backlog of these companies (not yet filled orders) amounts to about 6 months. “Virtually all of our member companies gave us a positive outlook for this year, despite the problems with the dollar/euro parity. But nobody knows what the next quarters will confront us with”, Volker Pape carefully adds. And it’s also clear that in the area of semiconductor production equipment the actual figures are really not encouraging.
In total, the European electronics market is dominated, according to VDMA, by Germany (25 %). Italy, France and England have shares in the area of about 10 to 12 %, Eastern Europe has 23 % and the other Western European countries have 19 %. In total, the European production volume amounts to 25 % of the worldwide quantity in value. The manufacture of industrial and medical electronics has a share of 30 %, telecom of 27 %, then computer (12 %) and aerospace/defense electronics with 10 %. Electronics in automotive, household appliances and consumer electronics ranges between 9 to 5 %. Strong growth now comes from automotive electronics as well as from solar cell production automation. In the field of photo voltaic (PV) manufacturing equipment, a wealth of different demanding technologies met, for example, laser/photonic, surface and glass technology, vacuum, robotic and automation and organic electronics. Here the equipment industry is growing fast with double-digit rates. A relatively good outlook has been given from Volker Pape also for flat panel und organic electronics production machines.
Now back to the Nuremberg SMT show beginning of June 2008. This year, as there is no Productronica trade fair in Munich, the exhibition is the most important in this industry in Europe and will be used to showcase solutions including design and development, PCB production, components, board assembly technologies, test equipment and rework stations. Special attention is placed on automotive, opto electronics and the issues of production provided by EMS (electronics manufacturing services) companies. And not to be overlooked: the EPP Benchmark Arena with a performance demo of paste printing machines from different suppliers, provided by the Konradin Verlag. (See detailed reporting in this magazine issue.)
Special features and free advice
One of the special features is the production line (Hall 7) for an automotive electronics item, presented jointly by VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH and partners from industry and research. This line highlights the technological and logistical challenges in the manufacture of board assemblies for automotive applications, such as process reliability, quality assurance and assembly logistics. As Dr. Randolf Schließer says, the value of automotive electronics produced in Germany was 23.3 bn euro in 2007. The trend goes from the now obsolete electromechanical solutions to electronics and software-based answers. One of the highest – or the highest requirements – is the reliability. Numerous products recall show that this issue is not entirely solved, where about 65 % of these cost can be traced back to electronics problems.
The advent of optical technologies is also another important topic. The trend-setting advantage of optical joining techniques in essential areas is a decisive aspect here. Under the conceptual auspices of the Fraunhofer IZM/Berlin, companies show their expertise in key topics such as electro-optical packages, modules and assemblies, optical interfaces and materials, as well as production and fab technologies for optical and automotive communication, optical sensor technology, optical analysis, vision systems and optic-based process control, etc.
Each day of the exhibition, assembly consultant and lead-free auditor Bob Willis will present the Process Advice & Defect Clinic, answering questions concerning process issues or defects, including examination and discussion. This is an opportunity to have hands on in the causes of production problems and field defects. In Hall 9, booth 205, visitors can bring boards and assemblies for inspection and advice. Bob Willis will have optical and X-ray inspection equipment available to show visitors what the root cause is of common production issues.
Conference and tutorials
The conference on June 4th (held in German) will deal with Requirements on Electronic Assemblies for Automotive Manufacturing, looking into those assembly technologies offering the necessary potential to meet the challenges of increasing competition on the global market. The conference organized by Prof. Wolfgang Scheel of the Fraunhofer-IZM/Berlin, has attracted experts from industry and research, providing insight into various aspects, following an opening presentation by BMW Munich. The first part of the conference (Trends and Climate-related Requirements) will put the focus on the climate and thawing tests at BMW, known as one of the hardest of its kind, as well as its technical consequences. The second part (Advanced Manufacturing Technologies) deals with system integration by means of combining several technologies for the optimum use of installation space, as well as the use of electronic assemblies in high-temperature environments. The sessions will be chaired by Ernst Schmidt, BWM Group, and Prof. Scheel.
In addition, 23 half-day tutorials are planned, and some of them presented in English. The variety of topics spans the entire value adding chain of electronic assembly production, from design through process technology to quality assurance. Experts will report about their experience and demonstrate solutions, delivering designers, manufacturers, suppliers and users with answers to their questions. There is also an Exhibition Forum with a special program. Here, companies will present their products, solutions and services. And among others, the following topics will be discussed: China RoHS, Traceability, and LGA/QFP Inspection and Rework Guide. Taking this carefully prepared program and the attractive trade show into account, it seems really worthwhile this year to travel to Nuremberg again to discover the ideas and concepts needed for efficient solutions in electronics manufacturing.
(Gerhard B. Wolski)
EPP Europe 401
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