Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1529988
12 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2024 ple design dates to about 2021 or 2022, it still holds water today. Can you use photonic soldering for, say, nor- mal surface mount components on FR-4? Yes, although we don't generally emphasize that as the lead-in engagement piece. We posi- tion this as a technology for hybrid designs and fabrication, and companies may acquire our equipment to produce assemblies they are unable to build using traditional methods. Our equipment can be used alongside reflow ovens, and in some cases instead of reflow ovens. Having the option for both of those resources allows them and their clients, the product designers, to be more creative in how they do board layout and component selection and, ultimately, improve the cost and form of the products they make. For example, maybe they want to solder batteries directly into their device with our tools instead of using terminals and connections. ere are design options to having both capabilities on hand. e feedback is that customers are impressed with the energy savings over reflow ovens, which is a consequence of how the heat trans- fer is implemented. I was just looking at a model with a customer this aernoon, and even for a nine-second drop time, the Pulse- Forge tools use 85–89% less energy. at can reduce the electricity cost from thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars or less. Not every customer or location is concerned about energy savings. But some customers are trying to shave pennies per item from their production costs to be more competitive glob- ally or to improve their margins. Photonic sol- dering tools provide an option for them. Besides energy, we had one use case recently in Asia regarding nitrogen. Reportedly, this customer had six to seven figures a year in nitrogen expenses. at seems like a lot. Our tools don't require nitrogen because they're so fast that there isn't time for excessive oxida- tion. e nitrogen savings alone would be the return on investment. standing of the application cases, and the inter- ests of the markets and customers. We've done a lot of work with customers with very specific use cases in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. ey've been very open, and that has helped us under- stand how we fit with their needs and opportu- nities. In Italy, Germany, Belgium, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and certainly in the U.S., we have strong engagements. Globally, we see some interesting dynamics, but what continues to be the most interesting to customers is the ability to process and solder materials that normally are thermally incompatible. Our processing demo actually hasn't changed over that time; it's still that polymer leaf with the LEDs soldered onto it. It represents several capabilities that can go in different directions. One of those directions is flexible substrates. Photonic applications are a big topic in European industrial applications right now because they represent the ability to reduce energy use. The processing time is ver y quick, so energy use is ver y low, especially in comparison with reflow ovens. We have customers that are keyed in on the reduction in consumed energy. Other customers are building and/or expanding their roll-to-roll soldering production capabilities, and that's also a fit for us. So, even though that sam- Stan Farnsworth