APRIL 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 75
chemical-based product. These would include
gloves, eye protection, aprons, etc. We recom-
mend that it be stored at room temperature,
away from direct sunlight. It does not require
refrigeration. Thus, it is cost-effective to store
when compared to silver epoxies that need
freezers for storage.
Mina™ can be printed using conventional
stencil printers and cured in reflow ovens that
already exist in SMT assembly shops. There-
fore, there is no need for any specialized equip-
ment, storage, or handling constraints around
bringing Mina™ into a manufacturing environ-
ment. This makes it very easy to adopt.
Dunn: How can people learn more?
Kadiwala: People can visit our website or email
me at divyakant@averatek.com.
Dunn: Divyakant, thank you so much for talk-
ing with me and educating us about Mina™.
The ability to solder directly to aluminum is
certainly an exciting development with many
benefits.
Kadiwala: Thank you. FLEX007
Tara Dunn is the president of Omni PCB,
a manufacturer's rep firm specializing
in the PCB industry. To read past
columns or contact Dunn, click here.
In response to the suspended FIRST season caused by
COVID-19, PTC is inviting FIRST teams around the world to
compete virtually in its design competition, "Robots to the
Rescue," in which teams will be challenged to design a ro-
bot that can solve a current real-world problem.
FIRST is a robotics community that prepares young
people for the future. Each year, the global non-profit
organization offers a suite of robotics competitions for
students in grades PreK-12. In mid-March, amid school
closures and expanded travel restrictions due to the
COVID-19 outbreak, FIRST announced the suspension of
its current FIRST season.
Students are invited to design and compete virtually in
Robots to the Rescue using Onshape—the world's only pure
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product development plat-
form. Because Onshape is web-based, FIRST students
can collaborate remotely while continuing to hone
their engineering skills. As part of the six-week
competition, FIRST teams—specifically FIRST Tech Chal-
lenge and FIRST Robotics Competition teams—will design
a robot that can help solve a real-world problem, such as
providing food and supplies to people in remote places, or
removing pollution from the atmosphere.
The competition launches on Friday, April 3, 2020, with
entries accepted through May 15. Students from around
the world can register for the competition online here.
For a complete list of rules and
guidelines, please click here.
Both the competition and the
use of Onshape are free to stu-
dents.
Rockwell Automation—also
a proud sponsor of FIRST,
and with which PTC has a ro-
bust strategic alliance—is also
supporting the competition.
(Source: Business Wire)
PTC to Sponsor Global Design Competition,
"Robots to the Rescue"
