Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1520956
66 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2024 Antonio Schmidt: Yes, but the core Notion team has made inkjet systems for decades when we were part of a company that designed and built equipment for the solar industry. For the past two years, we have been part of the German- based Lab 14 group. What is Notion's DNA—your special sauce, if you will? Schmidt: We design and build all systems on our own, and we wrote the soware core for all inkjet systems. We have a huge application know-how, and all our machines have very high stability and repeatability. We are active in many industries, PCB fabrication being one of them. Our main markets are the display indus- try, where we print color filters of OLED dis- plays; the electronics industry, where we print sensors; and the semiconductor market, where we are active in several new applications. e semiconductor market, especially, is picking up fast. In PCB manufacturing, we currently have 20 installed machines and we estimate our market share at approximately 50% world- wide. Inkjet technology offers tremendous benefits to replace traditional process technol- ogies in all these industries and makes manu- facturing more ecological and economical. When we talk generally about inkjet technol- ogy, and inkjet solder mask specifically, you are removing several processes. That is key to greater adoption of this process in places like the U.S. David Hahn: e number and type of pro- cesses that are eliminated with inkjet depends on how you manufacture the PCBs. Typically, you can remove several process steps, such as spray coating (which is a very dirty process), drying/curing, direct imaging, and the devel- opment process. You have no waste as you only print the solder mask where it is required. In addition, you are using a UV-based ink, which is cured right aer printing. It is not required to use a solvent-based ink, which is hazardous to Antonio Schmidt Figure 1: Examples of using inkjet printing.