The Show Floor at NEPCON Tokyo

It seems that everyone has written something about the recent NEPCON show in Tokyo. Many of the things I have read seem to be directly from news releases, with little from people I actually saw there. With that in view, I’ll just provide a few comments on items that caught my eye at the show.

Enlarge this picture Microsection Showing Embedded Chips and Integrated Resistors and Capacitors

The show was reminiscent of earlier shows of decades ago. There was something there for everyone but not a lot in any particular discipline.

The show was sold out and very busy. There were very few senior people from the western PWB and PWBA industry there. Japanese fabricators, including Clover Electronics and CMK, showed embedded active and passive components. CMK even had circuit boards with embedded modules, and50 micron lines and spaces were available from more sources.

P. Kay Metal's Larry Kay and Gene Weiner

Dainippon Screen, a leading equipment supplier in Japan, said it sold 300 AOI systems for inspecting fine-line circuits on bare boards in China.

P. Kay Metal demonstrated how its MS2 Molten Solder Surfactant eliminates dross in the wave soldering process. The net effect of using the MS2 is a reduction in the costs of solder, hazardous waste handling, and labor in the assembly process. MS2 is available for both leaded and lead-free processing.

Koh Young Booth

Tohl Kubota, general manager of Shoda Techtron’s overseas department was happy with Christopher Associates’ first sale in the U.S. just prior to his company’s 50th anniversary celebration.

After reading a news release by Agilent on a double-speed 3-D solder paste inspection machine, billed as the first of its kind, to be introduced at the IPC APEX show in California, I visited the Koh Young booth. There I watched a demonstration of the KY-3030 VAL, its double-speed, automatic variable focus system, for real-time SPC work. Koh Young stated it already had five machines operating in the field, including one in Europe and three in Korea. This machine will also be shown at APEX in the Christopher Associates booth.

P. D. Circuits added more staff and facilities to its new Shenzhen, China, supply chain and quality management operations.

Mel Pasternak of N.J.’s Sentrex visited China to train the sales/engineering staff of its newly appointed Asian distributor Wong’s Kong King Distribution on the use of the company’s lamination materials and pads for multilayer and rigid-flex circuitry.