Jul 24, 2009 
The past few years has seen a decline in exhibition attendees, making many SMT suppliers question the value of participating in such shows. Blakell Europlacer looked at this situation, and decided that it would be far more cost effective and, more importantly, provide a better focal point for prospective customers to hold its own in-house event.
This year, the company set aside two full days, targeting existing and potential clients and inviting them to attend process focused seminar/workshops. Attendees were invited to spend time in relatively short presentations of approximately an hour by key speakers. Andrew Clarke, European Business Manager for AIM Solder Paste gave a presentation on Solder Paste Technology. Tony Weldon, Stencil Division Manager at TECAN Ltd., spoke about Stencil Design Considerations. Tobias Van Rossem, European Sales Manager at SAKI Corp., discussed automatic optical inspection. Finally, Dan Walls, European Managing Director of Aegis Corp., provided strategies for process improvement for Software Solutions.
After the presentations, attendees had the opportunity to meet with the individual speakers on the live production line, comprised of the following equipment:
Speedprint — Stencil Printer
SAKI — 3D Inspection System & Automated Optical Inspection System
Europlacer — iineo Placement System
HEXI — Reflow System
Aegis — CAD/CAM System
Other equipment suppliers, for whom Europlacer distributes, were available for trial next to the live production line, including:
ASC International — Bench-top Paste Inspection System
Tagarno Magnus — High-Resolution Inspection Tools
Datapaq — Reflow Profilers
Evest — Low Cost Pick-and-Place
“The turnout was excellent, with only a handful of those invited unable to make it on the two days, and in total around 80 people came along,” said Andy Jones, UK General Sales Manager. “To begin with, it was a difficult decision, as we would normally have attended a tradeshow rather than run an in-house event. However, despite the amount of effort needed to coordinate the event and to contact as many SMT users as possible in the UK, the audience we achieved all generally had an interest in some aspect of what we were offering, and I believe thoroughly enjoyed themselves.”
About Europlacer
Europlacer has been developing machines for electronics assembly since the 1970s and invented the intelligent feeder concept in the 1980s. After acquisition by Blakell Europlacer in 1991, the company moved away from split-axis to the inherently more capable X-Y architecture that underpins the company’s machines today. Europlacer’s policy has been to ensure wherever possible that technology purchased many years ago, especially feeders, remain compatible with the latest equipment. Europlacer designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of highly flexible SMT placement systems for the global electronics industry. For more information, visit Europlacer’s Web site at http://www.europlacer.com.
