We would like to let you know that for those printed and flexible electronic applications that require high processing temperatures or are used in high temperature environments, polyimide film is a good choice.

However, printing directly onto polyimide film can be a challenge, even when corona treatment is used.  Other treatments can reduce the durability of the substrate. To address this issue, Polyonics is offering thin, flexible polyimide films that utilize a high temperature coating that imparts unique properties which include making the film printable.

“By leveraging our years of experience in the printed circuit board label market, we are able to use our coated polyimide film that has established success in the surface mount and reflow process” notes Tom Rogers, Marketing Director at Polyonics.  “The PCB process is a harsh environment with extreme temperatures and our printable coatings on Polyimide film are a great solution for flexible electronics”.

The polyimide films offered by Polyonics’ are 1 and 5 mils thick and are coated with a clear coat, for a traditional amber appearance, or with a high opacity white coating.  The white coated films are intended to provide contrast for inspection purposes or display applications.  These films are printable with flexographic, screen, and digital inks systems and have been tested by several leading conductive ink suppliers.

In addition to these properties, Polyonics can provide additional features such as static dissipation and flame retardants.  These substrates comply with the requirements of REACH, RoHS and are certified to be halogen free to the IEC 61249-2-21 levels.

To learn more about these unique substrates or request samples, please feel free to contact a technical expert at +1 (603)352-1415 or email at info@polyonics.com.

Polyonics, Inc.
867 Rt 12, Westmoreland, NH 03467 USA
p. 603-352-1415 / f. 603.352.1936

FlexLam, by Automation Alternatives, Inc., is a versatile and innovative laminator designed to increase productivity, provide accurate registration and reduce defects. It addresses many common laminating problems and is a perfect tool for fast and accurate multilayer lamination applications.

FlexLam Features:

• Adjustable speed-controlled, pneumatically pressure-adjusted roller guarantees smooth, bubble-free lamination,

  

• Pins and vacuum table hold material stationary allowing easy peel-off of release liners from selective adhesives,

  

• Long retractable tooling pins allow accurately registered multi-layer lamination, reducing sub-assemblies, shorten lead time and decrease WIP

  

• Configurable pins and large vacuum bed allows multiple setups on the bed to support multi-cell use in a lean manufacturing environment,
• Micro-processor-controlled with multi-mode functionality,
• Easy to operate,
• Dual redundancy safety system,
• Ample storage shelving,
• Cost competitive, and
• Flexible, can be set-up using pin registration for all layers, a combination of pin and Guide, or Guide only.

Example of Lamination using Pin only Registration (Combinations of Pin and edge or edge only is also possible)
1) Place Selective adhesives onto table, apply vacuum and remove release liner

2) Place Graphic onto tooling pins

3) Laminate and remove

A small Video presentation of FlexLam in Action is available for Download at:
http://www.auto-alt.com/downloads/videos/FlexLam.wmv

Specifications:

Assembly Automation Alternatives Inc.
7-397 Humberline Drive
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M9W 5T5
Ph: 416-674-7511
Fax: 416-674-9517

http://www.Auto-Alt.com
Sales@Auto-Alt.com

The Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have announced a collaborative partnership with Stanford University to develop silicon nanowire based circuits that are inspired by the brain.

The quest to come up with an artificial system organised like the biological nervous system promises to drive the future of humanoid robots and pave the way for a generation of supercomputers that can perform highly complex decision-making for gaming and defense technologies.

Under the research collaborative agreement, IME and Stanford will jointly develop silicon nanowire based neuromorphic computational elements (silicon neurons) that take advantage of the capabilities of nanowire technology. The electronics systems using neuromorphic designs aim to work like the biological nervous system.

The collaboration represents a further expansion of the extensive neuromorphic computing activities at Stanford University and provides a new application opportunity for nanowire transistors developed at IME.

The partnership leverages on the relative strengths of the respective institute. IME is a leading laboratory in the fabrication of nanowire transistors, with considerable progress reported in recent years, including the demonstration of functional circuits. Stanford University, on the other hand, has a leading group in neuromorphic engineering, an approach to designing systems that work like the brain.

The joint project will be led by Dr Navab Singh, Principal Investigator of the NanoElectronics section at IME, and Associate Professor Kwabena Boahen, Director of the Brains In Silicon group at Stanford University. The project will tap Stanford University’s expertise in neuromorphic design to model and design silicon neuron circuits. The circuits will be fabricated by IME using state-of-the-art nanowire technology, more specifically, the lateral gate-all-around FUSI gate transistor technology.

“The gate all around (GAA) transistors based on silicon nanowires are considered the most promising alternatives to scaling limitations of planar CMOS technology – foundation of today’s electronics. Nanowire transistors offer near ideal subthreshold behaviour, low off state leakage, and high drive current – all the characteristics required to enable a highly integrated design that works with little power, much like the real brain. On the other hand, due to nanowire’s structure and strong response in respect to tiny change in dimension, nanowire transistors also exhibit increased variability, strong low frequency and telegraph-style noise that are interesting to niche applications,” said Dr Singh.

On the unique characteristics of nanowire transistors, Associate Professor Boahen said, “Our joint mission is to develop revolutionary architectures that would be tolerant to, or better yet, thrive under the variability and noise. Interestingly, variability and noise are key elements of a biological brain.”

Professor Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director of IME, said, “IME’s alliance with Stanford University to develop neuromorphic test circuits will be a window to the future of an emerging discipline that is expected to have a ripple effect on a broad spectrum of industries.”

Source: The Institute of Microelectronics

When stacked together, graphene sheets make graphite, which has been commonly used as pencil lead for hundreds of years. It wasn’t until 2004 that stand-alone sheets of graphene were first characterized with modern nanotechnological instruments. Since then, graphene has come under intense scrutiny from materials scientists, in part because it is both ultrastrong and highly conductive.

“There are high-throughput methods for making graphene oxide, which is not as conductive as graphene, and there are low-throughput methods for making pure graphene,” said lead co-author Matteo Pasquali, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and chemistry at Rice. “Our method yields very pure material, and it is based on bulk fluid-processing techniques that have long been used by the chemical industry.”

Pasquali said the research team found it could dissolve graphite in chlorosulphonic acid, a common industrial solvent. The researchers had to devise new methods to measure the aggregation of the dissolved graphene flakes, but at the end the team was pleasantly surprised to find that the individual graphene layers in the graphite peeled apart spontaneously. The team was able to dissolve as much as two grams of graphene per liter of acid to produce solutions at least 10 times more concentrated than existing methods.

The researchers took advantage of novel cryogenic techniques for electron microscopy that allowed them to directly image the graphene sheets in the chlorosulfonic acid.

“We applied new methods that we had developed to directly image carbon nanotubes in acid,” said co-author Yeshayahu “Ishi” Talmon, professor of chemical engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. “This was no small feat considering the nature of the acid and the difficulty of specimen preparation and imaging.”

Using the concentrated solutions of dissolved graphene, the scientists made transparent films that were electrically conductive. Such films could be useful in making touch screens that are less expensive than those used in today’s smart phones. In addition, the researchers also produced liquid crystals.

“If you can make liquid crystals, you can spin fibers,” said study co-author James Tour, Rice’s T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry. “In liquid crystals, the individual sheets align themselves into domains, and having some measure of alignment allows you to flow the material through narrow openings to create fibers.”

If the method proves useful for making graphene fibers in bulk, it could drive down the cost of the ultrastrong carbon composites used in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries.

Image: A mesh of carbon nanotubes supports one-atom-thick sheets of graphene that were produced with a new fluid-processing technique.

Source: Rice University

Maxlite is a revolutionary new technique of adding illumination to icons and large areas of membrane switch graphics without the high cost and limitations of other backlighting methods such as fiber optics or electroluminescence.

Maxlite is accomplished by adding a thin layer between the circuit and graphic layer and strategically placing low power, surface mount, LEDs surrounding the illuminated area.

In this sample note that one LED can light up a large icon. This is done without bright spots and the EL and Fiber do not require an exterior light source or additional layers.

Contact us a MaxTech Circuit and find out how easy it can be to incorporate MaxLite Technology into your next membrane switch project. http://www.MaxTechCircuit.com

By joining the Holst Centre eco-system, Bayer exchanges its own expertise with the existing network of academic and industrial partners.

Together with leading players in the domain of flexible electronics, Holst Centre subscribes the vision of a smart foils industry. The vision describes a value chain that starts with materials and equipment suppliers delivering to manufacturers of smart foils such as organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting, battery or organic photovoltaics (OPV).

At the end of the chain are producers of smart devices who develop products by integrating foils with various functionalities. Jaap Lombaers, Managing Director Systems-in-Foil at Holst Centre: “We are proud to add Bayer MaterialScience as a leading materials supplier to our existing partner network. Over the past few months, I have met with many colleagues of Bayer. I am convinced that their dynamic spirit and world class technical expertise is a valuable asset to our program.”

“We are committed to deliver improved films product solutions to our customers addressing new applications within the flexible electronics industry”, adds Bernd Steinhilber, Senior Vice President and Head of Functional Films at Bayer Material Science. “The partnership in Holst Center is an excellent opportunity for us, bringing together competent industry in the open innovation surrounding. The growing demand for increased functionality in the materials we supply is matched perfectly with the improvements we expect from this collaboration.”

To stimulate innovation and decrease time-to-market in this eco-system, Holst Centre aims at gathering academic and industrial partners from across this value chain around shared technical roadmaps. Already Holst Centre teams up with several global leaders and local startups to jointly develop technologies for flexible electronics such as OLED and OPV.

Find more information at www.bayermaterialscience.com  and www.holstcentre.com

Automation Alternatives has established over 100 clients on three continents. We have supplied subsequent automation solutions to over 60 of these clients. We believe that excellence in service is the foundation of a long-lasting relationship with our customers. Many innovative solutions we brought to the market resulted from our close relationship with our cutomers and our eagerness to listen to them.

Since releasing our second generation of laser cutting machines we have repeatedly heard good comments from our clients.

Here is a comment from one of our users:
“Not only do the Laser Machines live up to their performance, it is the service that is provided by your company that is top notch in my book.  Hallmark nameplate made a good find when you showed us what your machines can do at the Orlando trade show back in 2008.  Not only do we have two of your machines, we are now looking to buy a third.  On average our two Flex lasers run nonstop about 11 to 12 hours a day.  We have other lasers in house made by different manufactures, but your product by far is the best.  Thank you for the great quality you and your company provide and hope to see you soon.”

Randy L. Hawkins
Engineering Department Manager
Hallmark Nameplate, Inc.

For additional comments from our users download our PDF

Here is a short list of strengths we can offer versus our competition.
1.      Unparalleled technical support after sales services.
2.      Competitive installed and lowest maintenance costs,
3.      A wide range of options covering almost every application.
4.      Inline or standalone applications.
5.      Most accurate and repeatable cutting, motion driven by zero backlash lead screws, not belts.
6.      Completely stain free cutting of difficult-to-cut materials like polycarbonate and Lexan without a pre-mask.
7.      Integral accurate and flexible vision system as standard feature on all lasers.
8.      Z-axis motion for on-the-fly auto focus feature.

Compare this to what our competition offers, let us cut some of your most difficult parts and show you the result.

http://www.auto-alt.com/index.php

Worldwide the company has 450 employees in four divisions, which master individual core technologies such as design, serigraphy, mechanical processing, surface treatment and mounting. Furthermore, Mekoprint cooperates with an extensive global network of raw material and components suppliers as well as a series of highly specialized sub-suppliers. As a result, Mekoprint is able to provide individual, combination or total solutions.

Mekoprint is a printing company specialising in rotary screen printing which also has electroplating capability for gold and nickel, die cutting and lamination facilities.

Speaking at LOPE-C in Frankfurt this week, Division Manager Karsten Ries of Mekoprint Graphic Electronics said that his company has been printing mobile phone antennas, mobile phone speaker membranes, antennas in side view mirrors of cars and RFID antennas for many years.

He also adds that in a development program with the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy in Denmark that has now run for four years, an outdoor trial of organic photovoltaics has now been created. It has efficiency of fewer than three percent. However, he cautioned that feeding the grid with such technology is unlikely to be viable for many years. In answer to a question, he said that the only impediment to commercialisation is cost. Product life in glass was said to be many years. Printed e-paper display price tags and printed oxygen sensors are also being brought to market with the aid of partners.

Thanks to the market introduction of new and unique anti-microbial PET foil, Mekoprint electronics have introduced their long recognized front foils and membrane keyboards – now with built-in Microban® Antimicrobial protection preventing the growth of potentially harmful bacteria, mould and mildew.

For more see www.mekoprint.com.

According to tests conducted by CMI, 125-13 can be to be printed at very fine line widths and spaces of 3-4 mils (75-100 microns).

125-13 is designed for such applications as radio frequency identification devices (RFID), flexible circuits, polymer thick film circuitry and membrane switches. For most applications good results are achieved when cured for several minutes at 105°C to 120°C. In variety applications, including printed electronics, CMI’s 125-13 is exceptionally resistant to flexing and creasing and offers excellent hydrolytic stability.

CMI’s conductive silver ink for fine line printing is currently available and is customizable to suit a variety of needs and applications. For more information, please contact Creative Materials @ 800-560-5667, email inquiry@creativematerials.com or visit us on the web at www.creativematerials.com .

To view the datasheet:
http://server.creativematerials.com/datasheets/DS_125_13.pdf

About Creative Materials, Inc.
Creative Materials, Inc. develops and markets specialty chemical products to customers world-wide. Founded in 1986, Creative Materials has its headquarters and production facilities in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Products from Creative Materials are used to manufacture electronic components for automobiles, computers, keyboards, and cell phones; medical electrodes and medical instruments; heating equipment; and aerospace devices. Creative Materials offers more than 1000 product formulations, and is ISO 9001 certified. For more information about Creative Materials visit www.creativematerials.com.

“Equipois is delighted to have received such an esteemed award for innovation, a category that included many great North American companies. The award is a testament to the value that our zeroG technology has brought to the manufacturing sector, and caps off a gratifying series of successes,” said Equipois Inc.’s President & CEO, Eric Golden.

In a string of victories, Equipois was recently honored by taking first place in two recent Southern California fast-pitch competitions (one hosted by Tech Coast Angels and UCLA and the other by Monte Jade Science & Technology Association and Cal Tech), as well as a Progressive Manufacturing Award and four “product of the year” awards.

The zeroG mechanical arm technology was invented by Garrett Brown, father of the award-winning Steadicam® camera stabilization system that revolutionized the movie and television industry. Equipois collaborated with Brown to adapt the Steadicam technology for the workplace in order to allow workers to maneuver tools and parts with much less exertion and fatigue. The collaboration resulted in a family of new patent applications, in addition to the existing patents related to the Steadicam products.

According to Golden, “The zeroG technology offers a disruptive leap forward in performance over conventional alternatives. Our products have been proven to reduce workplace injuries, increase worker productivity, and save money by eliminating the costly and widespread injuries caused by exertion, repetition and strain, while increasing throughput, control and precision. It allows virtually any payload – from tools to baggage to the human arm itself – to be maneuvered as if weightless, but with full range of motion, as if the object were being manipulated in space.” Equipois’s customers include some of the world’s top manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, machinery, and other sectors.

Equipois has emerged as the pioneer in the development of zero gravity assistive technologies. The company is currently extending its zeroG technologies to other industries, including dynamic support of the human arm for surgery, dentistry, laboratory tasks and other activities, where professionals are forced to work with arms outstretched for long periods. Other uses of the technology include materials handling, military field applications, and construction, among others. The technology also has the potential to serve as a rehabilitative tool and assistive device for disabled individuals. Equipois is presently working with top universities on pilot projects for rehabilitation of victims of stroke and other brain injuries.

About Equipois Inc.
Equipois designs and manufactures revolutionary dynamic assist devices that support the musculoskeletal system while allowing full spatial and rotational freedom of motion. The company’s patented zeroG® systems are designed to support a range of manufacturing, heavy industrial, bioresearch, medical and other applications in order to reduce workplace injuries and associated costs while increasing productivity. For more information, visit http://www.equipoisinc.com.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.