Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1243344
MAY 2020 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 53 Ghosh: For the solder joints, we have. For it to be trustworthy, we needed to go to a third party, so that's what we have been doing recently. What we have heard has been encouraging so far. Matties: Are you marketing your findings to OEMs? Farnsworth: I expected there would be one par- ticular segment that was more interested or less interested, but we've had a nice reception from all stages in the process. With photonic curing, it's been similar. In some cases, the adoption was driven by the product designers who drove this requirement into their supply chain, requiring them to work with us to produce the new products. We've had other implementations driven by the man- ufacturer, who then said, "Here's the capabil- ity we have." We've also been brought into deals by other electrically conductive ink man- ufacturers. We're open to all of these kinds of engagements, and that's one of the things that's interesting about this. We're well aware of the challenges in push- ing technology, and we think we have a unique value proposition with the history of the com- pany, the engineering capabilities of our team, and our materials processing background. I'm so thrilled and honored to be able to work with these folks every day. It's delightful to be able to work with customers; it makes us feel good that we can help. Matties: Is this equipment conveyorized? Farnsworth: The production tool that we're launching this summer is conveyorized. It's fully SMEMA compliant and designed to fit in- line with a manufacturer's existing hardware. Matties: Are there any inspection modules attached, or do your customers care about that function? Farnsworth: Our initial product is not launch- ing specifically with an inspection module, but we have the capability to include that, and we can incorporate that as part of any specific pro- duction implementation. Matties: I would think that with Industry 4.0 and the smart factory, you're considering all of that in your software integration. Farnsworth: We're learning a lot, and we have a product roadmap. We have two or three cus- tomers who are pretty vocal in asking when their tools are going to be ready. We're focused on getting a baseline functionality deployed for them, and it will be neat to see where the mar- ket evolves and what kind of functionality gets worked into our product roadmap. Matties: In what region is the first equipment being placed? Farnsworth: The first tools are going to Europe, interestingly, and the U.S. and Asia. Feinberg: Gentlemen, thanks for your time. This has been very informative. Farnsworth: You're welcome. Ghosh: Thank you. SMT007 Photonic soldering allows standard lead-free solder to be cured on low-melting-point plastic films in a matter of seconds.