Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/609948
December 2015 • SMT Magazine 11 Stephen Las marias is managing editor of SMT Magazine. He has been a technology editor for more than 12 years covering electronics, components, and industrial automation systems. eDiTor's noTe obSerVATIonS From ProDUcTronIcA motes technology development in the industry through standardization. At productronica, I spoke with Keith Bryant, chairman of SMART Group, about the associa- tion and how it is helping companies cope with the challenges of surface mount technology, and promoting advanced manufacturing tech- nologies. You can read my interview inside. Dr. Eric Maiser, managing director of pro- ductronics—a sector group under the Electron- ics, Micro and Nano Technologies sector asso- ciation of VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschin- en- und Anlagenbau – German Engineering Fed- eration)—discusses the group's composition, its activities and its services for its members in the electronics manufacturing industry. We also have Bill Bader, CEO of iNEMI, discussing how iNEMI formulates its roadmap for the industry, including some of the consor- tium's milestones in terms of the role it played in the transition to lead-free, addressing tin whisker growth, and moving towards HFR-free PCB materials. I also interviewed Arthur Tan, chairman of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), about the asso- ciation, its main goals and vision, and how it helps members in their journey from being lo- cal manufacturers to becoming global players in the electronics manufacturing field. Of course, we still have our lineup of tech- nical articles. From Siemens, we have Jorey Guzman's piece on digitalization and smarter manufacturing. He writes that as manufactur- ers look to the future, they need to examine how advanced information and communica- tion technologies can boost their value cre- ation. Steven Grabey of Heraeus Electronics, meanwhile, writes about the versatility of poly- mer thick film materials and their advantages, such as low-temperature processing, quick cur- ing, and the ability to offer many of the same benefits as high-temperature, thick film mate- rial without the need for the traditional firing step. Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.'s Frederick Blancas looks at the future of the EMS industry, and the opportunities and challenges to expect in the next year. My colleague, Patty Goldman, technical editor of The PCB Magazine, interviewed Lenora Toscano, OEM director for MacDermid's elec- tronics solutions division, about her company's dedication to fully understanding the needs of the end-user market of PCBs, her own role at the company, and the benefits that both she and MacDermid bring to SMTA and IPC meet- ings. SMT Magazine isn't complete without our expert columnists. For this issue, Bob Wetter- mann of BEST Inc. writes about the several ways to remove solder mask selectively from a PCB. DDM Novastar's Robert Voigt, meanwhile, con- tinues his piece on selecting a wave soldering system. (We continue to accept columnists for the magazine. If you are interested, just shoot me an email.) Finally, all of us here at SMT Magazine would like to take this opportunity to thank our read- ers, customers, partners, and contributors for being with us throughout this year. We wish you a wonderful Holiday Season, and we look forward to working with you next year! SmT