Rob comes to Axiom from Radisys Corporation, where his responsibilities ranged from senior manager of processing engineering to senior manager of supplier engineering. He managed assembly and . . . → Read More: Rob Rowland joins Axiom Electronics as Manufacturing Engineering Manager]]> Axiom Electronics is pleased to announce that Rob Rowland has joined the company as the Manufacturing Engineering Manager. Rob’s expertise will drive advance manufacturing evolution and Axiom’s continuous improvement model.

Rob comes to Axiom from Radisys Corporation, where his responsibilities ranged from senior manager of processing engineering to senior manager of supplier engineering. He managed assembly and technology engineers focused on implementing new techniques and assembly processes for printed circuit board assemblies and components. His engineers were also responsible for working with suppliers to ensure they met quality standards. Rob’s experience at Radisys is an excellent fit with his new position at Axiom Electronics.

With his background in Six Sigma, and advocacy of the continuous improvement model, Rob will be instrumental in managing quarterly continuous improvement projects aimed at increasing quality and efficiency and while making overall capability more robust. Rob will be instrumental to Axiom’s design for excellence program development, combining design for manufacture, design for test, and other design process improvements.

Rob is active with the IPC and the SMTA. He serves on two IPC task groups: IPC-7095, design and assembly process implementation for BGAs; and the IPC-7093, design and assembly process implementation for bottom termination components. Rob is also committed to the SMTA International conference, where he has been director of the technical committee for the last twelve years. The technical committee oversees more than one hundred technical paper presentations at the conference.

Rob received the SMTA Founders Award (1999), the SMTA Member of Technical Distinction Award (2010) and he has received several IPC awards for his work with the 7095 and 7093 task groups. Rob also co-wrote “Applied Surface Mount Assembly” with Paul Belangia, published by VNR, and he was a columnist for SMT Magazine for 10 years with more than 60 articles published.

Rob is a graduate of Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, and has lived in Oregon with his wife for nearly twenty years. He is an avid cyclist.

During his two years with DFW Test, Jim managed a team of design engineers and facilities in the U.S. and offshore. The team developed ATE boards for the semiconductor test equipment industry. . . . → Read More: Axiom Welcomes Jim Pierce as Manager of Applications Engineering]]> Axiom Electronics welcomes Jim Pierce, our new Manager of Applications Engineering. Jim returns to Oregon from Richardson, Texas, where he last worked for DFW Test.

During his two years with DFW Test, Jim managed a team of design engineers and facilities in the U.S. and offshore. The team developed ATE boards for the semiconductor test equipment industry. In addition to daily engineering duties, Jim and the team developed design standards documentation. While living in Texas, Jim also worked for Dynamic Test Solutions and Everett Charles Technology.

At Axiom, Jim will provide technical assistance to the sales group, conduct technical training for customer design factors, provide information for contract engineers in Design For Manufacturing, and refine and productize Design For Manufacture (DFM) engineering services for customers. Additionally, Jim is investigating a new documentation file format, IPC- 2581, which combines all the information necessary for manufacturing production while helping to reduce errors.

With 30 years in the business, Jim is happy to return to Oregon, where he and his wife will spend time with their two sons and new granddaughter.

Our existing building is physically straining our growth. We need more manufacturing space with a better materials and manufacturing flow that matches current and future requirements. We also need to bring our engineering, . . . → Read More: Axiom Electronics Announces Move To New Building By Spring 2013]]> Axiom Electronics is on the move to a new and larger building and will welcome you to an open house there in Spring 2013!

Our existing building is physically straining our growth. We need more manufacturing space with a better materials and manufacturing flow that matches current and future requirements. We also need to bring our engineering, materials, and operations staff together in a single office space so they can enjoy more efficient operations.

The new building, just down the road in Hillsboro, Oregon, will boost manufacturing space from 15,000 sq ft to 35,000 sq ft. The manufacturing flow will move continuously into one side of the building and through to shipping on the other end. Our Lean practices will continue advancing and be more easily attainable with the enhanced physical layout. This move will also enhance our Design For Manufacturing capabilities since the larger space allows us to move to higher capacity manufacturing lines.

The lab services area gets a new customer entrance along with expanded space. Many lab customers personally come to our door, and they now have an entirely secure and separate entrance to the lab desk where they can discuss their particular needs and deliver or pick up projects.

This move is a big step for us, and we look forward to greeting customers and suppliers in a new space in the coming year. If you have questions about the move or want to discuss projects you are working on, please contact Lynn Pierson, our marketing and sales director.

The AUVSI daily event publication had . . . → Read More: Axiom Electronics In The News – AUVSI 2012 Counterfeit Parts Prevention Presentation]]> Axiom Electronics appeared in the news pages for our talk on Counterfeit Parts Prevention: Advanced Tactics at AUVSI 2012. North Shore Components and Axiom shared the stage to discuss the advanced tactics used to identify counterfeit parts and the latest techniques counterfeiters are using to breach the U.S. military supply chain.

The AUVSI daily event publication had a short piece on the press talk. They mentioned the dangers counterfeit parts present in the manufacturing supply chain and some of the recent issues affecting the industry.

AIN Online covered the story with a review of the latest findings from U.S. government groups on counterfeit parts infiltration. One of the issues AIN Online highlighted was the disconnect between standard electronics component advancement against the design and development cycle on aircraft, which practically guarantees using obsolete components by the time the aircraft reaches the manufacturing stage.

Another trend AIN Online picked up is the advancement of techniques counterfeiters are developing and using to hide their work. North Shore Components displayed several techniques for identifying counterfeit parts, including decapsulation and coating removal along with regular inspection using X-ray and scanning acoustic microscopy.

Read the full article or contact Lynn Pierson, marketing and sales director, for any questions or discussion about preventing counterfeit parts from reaching your projects.

Well, first, we got to meet with many of our customers. Sure, we meet with our customers constantly, but AUVSI was a chance to meet with the technology surrounding them that they and their business partners use and create. With . . . → Read More: AUVSI 2012 Rated A Big Success For Axiom Electronics]]> AUVSI 2012 was once again a big success for Axiom Electronics. What is a big success?

Well, first, we got to meet with many of our customers. Sure, we meet with our customers constantly, but AUVSI was a chance to meet with the technology surrounding them that they and their business partners use and create. With 400 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees, there was ample opportunity to meet and discuss. This atmosphere brings out many different aspects of a customer’s business.

Secondly, we were able to meet with our suppliers face-to-face without the intrusion of daily business activity. The value of meeting when there is not a specific purchase or a problem being worked cannot be overstated. We had the opportunity to discuss business trends, trade notes on the issues we currently face, and build a rapport that will pay dividends during the coming year.

Many exhibit visitors took our Counterfeit Challenge and two visitors took home new iPads as winners of the Counterfeit Challenge. They learned how difficult it can be to identify counterfeit parts and how important it is to stop the infiltration of counterfeit parts into the manufacturing supply chain.

We enjoyed our discussion with a number of speakers and industry analysts at Monday evening’s Welcome Reception. They stopped by our booth later in the week to see our exhibit and follow up on our discussion. Tuesday evening we co-hosted the PNDC Reception; a dozen Pacific Northwest businesses, some industry luminaries, and a handful of analysts and press were in attendance. Many of those analysts and press attended our press talk on Counterfeit Parts Prevention: Advanced Tactics and gave the subject substantial coverage.

AUVSI 2012 offered solid opportunities to meet with many industry people and form relationships that will affect Axiom Electronics business in many positive ways. If you would like to hear more about AUVSI 2012, discuss our work on counterfeit parts prevention, or simply discuss how we might work together, please contact Lynn Pierson, our marketing and sales director.

Many visitors tackling the Counterfeit Challenge were able to identify 50%-75% of the counterfeits presented. A substantial number of people caught all four counterfeits, but everyone was entered in the drawing . . . → Read More: Axiom Counterfeit Challenge A Clear Success at AUVSI 2012: Winners Announced!]]> The Axiom Electronics Counterfeit Challenge was a clear success at AUVSI 2012. Hundreds of attendees dropped by the Axiom Electronics booth to participate in the challenge.

Many visitors tackling the Counterfeit Challenge were able to identify 50%-75% of the counterfeits presented. A substantial number of people caught all four counterfeits, but everyone was entered in the drawing for the prize of a new iPad.

Wednesday’s Axiom Electronics Counterfeit Challenge winner was Edward Tunstel. Edward labors at Johns Hopkins University in the Applied Physics Laboratory, so he can put his new iPad to good use.

Thursday’s Axiom Electronics Counterfeit Challenge winner was Otto Martinez. Otto is the director of the digital video lab of the 46th Test Wing and he went home from AUVSI 2012 with a new iPad.

We thank both Edward and Otto for stopping by our booth at AUVSI 2012 and taking the Axiom Electronics Counterfeit Challenge.

Our AUVSI booth (Booth #3825) will include examples of product manufactured using counterfeit blocking techniques. Our booth staff . . . → Read More: Axiom Attending AUVSI 2012, Announces Advanced Counterfeit Parts Presentation]]> AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2012 hits Las Vegas on August 6-9, and Axiom Electronics will attend once again. This year Axiom presents a press talk on advanced techniques to block counterfeit parts infiltration into the electronics manufacturing process.

Our AUVSI booth (Booth #3825) will include examples of product manufactured using counterfeit blocking techniques. Our booth staff will answer questions and share instances involving successful counterfeit parts avoidance methodologies.

Axiom is known for providing high-reliability electronics assemblies and box-build used throughout the defense and aerospace industries. Results of our manufacturing processes appear in many well-known products and are continually sought for use in new products, upgrades and repair.

Significant cost reductions and a boost in on-time delivery can be achieved by maintaining a close relationship during the DFM and DFT process between your EMS provider and your engineering staff. An early conversation on a project can result in maintaining a product delivery schedule or shaving weeks from production while avoiding dead-end product re-spins.

Counterfeit parts appear in 40% of U.S. defense and weapons systems according to a 2010 Government Accountability Office study, counterfeit parts continue to represent a significant portion of parts targeted for electronics manufacturing. This represents a serious risk to American interests, military and civilian personnel, and to the success of related projects.

Axiom has developed techniques and processes to identify and avoid counterfeit parts in production; individual companies must institute tighter detection and avoidance systems for their electronics manufacturing process or they will be at high risk for delivering compromised products. At AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2011, Axiom and a partnering supplier revealed processes to detect and avoid counterfeit parts throughout the manufacturing process, from BOM development to final product delivery.

New advances over the last year have resulted in advanced processes and tactics designed to increase the detection and avoidance of counterfeit parts in electronics manufacturing. Axiom will share this new information and the updated processes during a public presentation at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2012.

Due to multiple requests and high levels of interest, Axiom Electronics and North Shore Components repeated the original presentation online on December 14 and 15, 2011.

Click on the links to get further information on these . . . → Read More: Axiom Tin Whiskers Roundup, Spring 2012]]> Here is the latest that we’ve picked up on the subject of tin whiskers. This time the news is mixed, including a story on research at Washington State University that found a good use for tin whiskers in tripling the capacity of existing footprint Lithium-ion batteries.

Click on the links to get further information on these specific subjects or search “tin whisker” on our website to find other tin whiskers articles.


6th International Symposium on Tin Whiskers – Call for Participation

November 27-28, 2012
Ford College, Loughborough University Leicestershire, UK LE11 3TU
Department of Materials Research at Loughborough University, Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE)

The Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering at the University of Maryland and Department of Materials Research at Loughborough University are pleased to announce the Sixth International Symposium on Tin Whiskers.

This symposium’s presentations can cover case histories, theories of tin whisker growth experiments and results, risk evaluation methods and risk mitigation strategies. Presentations submitted for this year’s symposium may cover case histories, theories of tin whisker growth, experiments and results, risk evaluation methods and risk mitigation strategies. Free admission will be provided to symposium participants.

Send technical abstracts to Dr. Michael Osterman.

Important Dates:

• Presentation Abstracts due by August 12, 2012
• Acceptance by September 7, 2012
• Presentations due November 2, 2012

Tin Whiskers Used To Triple Lithium-ion Battery Capacity

There are exceptions to every rule. Even tin whiskers have a positive use according to new research at Washington State University. More appropriately named “tin nanoneedles”, these tin whiskers are grown on copper through an electroplating process and create an anode that replaces the original carbon anode in the battery. Using this technique results in a battery fitting into the same physical space on a phone, but carrying almost three times as much capacity.


Raytheon Models Tin Whisker Development Using Materials Design Software

Materials Design is a multinational corporation developing software-based materials design modeling tools. One of their tools, MedeA®, is capable of modeling transition in solder to determine the possibility of tin whisker development. Raytheon’s Technology Today publication first covered this program in 2010, and Materials Design hosted a speaker from Raytheon at the Materials Design User Group meeting in November 2011. A complete copy of the presentation is available from the Materials Design sales team (sales@materialsdesign.com)