Tuesday, August 16, 2011

MORE MULTI MILLION DOLLAR SUCCESS FOR MIRTEC

5Following on from last month’s Mirtec announcement of a $15 million dollar order we are able to announce another multi million success with an order received for fifty MV-7xi inline systems. The MV-7xi is now easily the number one selling inline AOI system in the World. The success behind the MV-7xi is the combination of easy and fast programming, multi angled high resolution full colour cameras and lighting, 3d laser scanning, and competitive pricing. The Mirtec AOI equipment range excels in all the required areas of automatic optical inspection, with many unique features and capabilities.

MIRTEC Opens Dedicated Manufacturing Facility in Europe Based in the UK

MIRTEC, “The Global Leader in Inspection Technology”, announces the opening of a dedicated manufacturing facility in Europe to further strengthen business and support in the territory. Based in Plymouth, UK, Mirtec will manufacture their complete range of Automatic Optical Inspection and Solder Paste Inspection systems at this new facility. When competitors were struggling in 2009 Mirtec continued to grow at unprecedented rate with multi-million dollar contracts being secured and major product releases confirming their position as the industries number one inspection company. The end of 2009 was very successful and the orders are coming in already for 2010 so the new facility will be a big advantage to the European sector.
All Mirtec systems are modular in design and based on the same innovative hardware and software, so from one system other models follow with ease. David Bennett, Managing Director of the European operation said: “We will invite customers to visit our new facility to see the quality of our build. The decision to open this facility has been met with great enthusiasm from our customers, suppliers, partners and the local community. Even though we currently hold stock in the UK, the widening range of models and options available to our customers means that having a manufacturing facility in Europe will guarantee fast deliveries for our customers. Logistically Plymouth has a strong history of SMT manufacturing and the local electrical mechanical labour supply and supplier base offers a major advantage.”
The company has recently returned from the Productronica exhibition in Munich where both customers and distribution partners were further encouraged by Mirtec’s obvious commitment and enthusiasm for the European market. This has been matched by the steady and continued growth of business in the region.
Dave Bennett summarized: “With the UK facility we can build systems to 80% and await the final 20% which is where the personal requirements of a customer’s configuration come into effect. We will hold stocks of each model to be built to semi-completion awaiting the final specification, which takes just a few days to setup and test. This will allow our customers to benefit from fast deliveries allowing them to also respond to opportunities swiftly with the best technology available. The end of 2009 was very successful for MIRTEC and the orders are coming in already for this year so the new facility will be a big advantage to the European sector.

MV-7xi

                                     MIRTEC MV-7xi In-Line AOI Machine


Pictured Above: MIRTEC MV-7xi In-Line AOI Machine

Among MIRTEC’s AOI System’s is the MV-7xi In-Line AOI System fully configured to provide one super high resolution colour digital top down camera and four of the same fitted as side-view cameras.   The patented “Quad Angle Lighting System” provides four independently programmable zones for optimal illumination of inspection areas. The system is configured with MIRTEC’s exclusive Intelli-Scan Laser System. This advanced technology provides; superior lifted lead detection for gull wing devices, four-point height measurement capability for co-planarity testing of BGA and CSP devices, and enhanced solder paste measurement capability.  The system is powerful yet simple to use.  A comprehensive Package Type Library provides simple “Drag and Drop” component programming. The Automatic Teaching Tool (ATT) software provides automatic teaching of component locations using CAD centroid data. The AOI sectors leading benchtop system is undoubtedly Mirtec’s

Feature Focus

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The Horizontal Light Source Is Divided Into Four (4) Independently Programmable Zones. (North, South, East and West)
These Independent Zones Provide Optimal Illumination Of The Desired Inspection Area.
Superior Inspection of Leaded Devices and Surface Anomalies.
Available with the MV-3 Desktop AOI system and the MV-7 In-Line AOI System.

EM Asia’s Best Supplier of the Year Award

MIRTEC are the current holder of EM Asia’s Best Supplier of the Year Award for our efforts in successfully addressing the requirements of this growing market. Mirtec has direct sales and support centers situated strategically across the globe staffed by professionals with vast experience in the SMT manufacturing process and the high levels of inspection required.

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MIRTEC’s new ISIS Vision System

ISIS is heralded as the industry’s first and only 15 Mega Pixel Digital Color Camera System. With this technology, MIRTEC has effectively leapfrogged ALL of our competitors. As this product becomes more mature, MIRTEC will integrate ISIS into all of our inspection systems. There is little doubt that this new technology will revolutionize the inspection industry by providing unprecedented speed and performance to the inspection process.
To give you an understanding of how fast and accurate this system performed at APEX, we programmed our demonstration board, with over 2500 regions of interest including 01005 devices, on both our 5 Mega Pixel MV-7xi and the MV-7xi System configured with ISIS. The same PCB took 32 seconds to inspect with the 5 Mega system and 5 seconds with ISIS. This represents nearly and 85% reduction in inspection time!
The time window is significant on many levels, firstly the better we see the area of interest the more accurate our analysis and reporting, secondly the spare time can be further utilized to implement alternative sensors such as lasers to highlight coplanarity, lifted leads, we can also look at the board for solder balls, scratches or other potential causes of concern. Last but not least speed itself as it is never acceptable to be the outside the required line throughput speed.
Developing our own cameras is a significant leap forward for Mirtec, as like the rest of the inspection industry our development roadmap had been shackled by the quality, availability and cost restraints of the usual camera supply companies. Now Mirtec is free of this restraint and our experienced development team are supplying us with camera technologies which give us a huge and unmatchable advantage over competitive offerings. Even if the off the shelf companies could keep up with our advancements it has been proven to be extremely expensive and not cost effective when implemented into the equipment. The coming months and years will see Mirtec able to offer unmatchable optical capabilities lifting the standards of optical inspection to unprecedented levels.

Mirtec’s ISIS 15 Mega Pixel Camera

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Dramatic field of view improvement between 2mpx 5Mpx and the latest 15Mpx

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Mirtec patented side view system

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  • The most technologically advanced Optics System of ANY machine in its class.
  • Five Mega Pixel CCD color top-down view camera.
  • Precision Compound Telecentric Lens Design w/ optional 9.8 micron resolution.
  • True Color Camera System offers increased inspection capability.  i.e. Inspection of  color coded through hole devices.
  • Side View Camera System Provides Four  Additional Five Mega Pixel Side  Angle Cameras.
  • Three Layer High Intensity White LED Lighting System.

High resolution cameras with programmable lighting allows the inspection of even the most complex and densely populated boards, as this industry leading combination ensures the best possible inspection results.
image magnification does not change as a telecentric lens views and displays the entire object from the same angle, therefore, three-dimensional features will not exhibit the perspective distortion and image position errors present when using a standard lens. Therefore, telecentric lenses are extremely useful for inspecting three-dimensional objects where image size and shape accuracy are critical.

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MIRTEC’s Precision Compound Telecentric Lens System provides a superior distortion free image resulting in maximum fault coverage, minimum false call rate and absolute repeatability.

Benefits of Telecentric Lenses
Previously standard lens’s required compensation software to deal with problems when object distance varies. However the benefit with a telecentric lens is that
image magnification does not change as a telecentric lens views and displays the entire object from the same angle, therefore, three-dimensional features will not exhibit the perspective distortion and image position errors present when using a standard lens. Therefore, telecentric lenses are extremely useful for inspecting three-dimensional objects where image size and shape accuracy are critical.
TELECENTRIC LENS
MIRTEC’s Precision Compound Telecentric Lens System provides a superior distortion free image resulting in maximum fault coverage, minimum false call rate and absolute repeatability.

Q&A with Brian D’Amico President Mirtec USA

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Brian D’Amico Biography:
I have over 27 years experience in the electronics manufacturing and test equipment industry.  I started out my career in field service and applications engineering with Eaton Corporation’s Memory Test Systems Division.  This is where I developed strong technical skills as well as an enthusiasm for effectively managing customer expectations.  I then took a National Sales Manager position with Contact Systems where
I effectively managed a global network of manufacturer’s representatives and distributors in the sale of automated SMT and Thru-Hole assembly equipment.  I also worked with both Mydata and Quad Systems Corporation in a similar capacity selling automated SMT assembly equipment.  In 2004, my partner Chanwha Pak and I established MIRTEC Corp, MIRTEC Co LTD’s North American Sales and Service Division.  Together with a talented team of sales and support professionals, we have achieved remarkable success in making MIRTEC inspection systems a recognized leader throughout North America.  This is only the beginning!
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What impact does MIRTEC’s 15 Mega Pixel ISIS Vision System have on the Electronics Inspection Industry?

MIRTEC’s ISIS Vision System brings unprecedented speed and performance to the Electronics Inspection Industry.  This new technology will, undoubtedly, set the standard by which all other inspection equipment will be measured.  As you are aware, the electronics manufacturing industry is a very demanding market with a diverse range of production requirements.  At one end of the spectrum is the high speed, high volume production requirements associated with mobile device and LED Back Light Unit (BLU) manufacturing.  On the other end of the spectrum is the high end, high accuracy inspection requirements associated with manufacturing of micro-electronic components.  MIRTEC’s ISIS Vision System is the industry’s first optics system fully capable of addressing this diverse range of inspection requirements with a single state-of-the-art camera system.  ISIS is an acronym for Infinitely Scalable Imaging Sensor. As the name implies the ISIS Vision System may be scaled or modified to address the specific inspection requirements of virtually any production environment without sacrificing speed or performance.  By changing the magnification of the Precision Telecentric Lens the resolution of the ISIS system may be scaled from 18.2 microns/pixel with an FOV of approximately (70.6mm x 70.6mm) which suitable for extremely high speed manufacturing; down to 5 microns/pixel with an FOV of approximately (19.4mm x 19.4mm) which is suitable for high end micro-electronics manufacturing.  Please note that even with a resolution of 5 microns/pixel, the FOV is still very generous allowing for high speed, high precision inspection.


What sort of throughput improvement can be expected with this 15 Mega Pixel Technology?

Taking a census of the current inspection equipment market, there are a few players that have introduced 8 Mega Pixel Camera Technology, however, the majority of high resolution camera systems use 5 Mega Pixel Technology.  Preliminary throughput comparisons between 5 Mega Pixel Technology and 15 Mega Pixel Technology have resulted in an increased throughput of nearly 400%.  This is a tremendous improvement in production efficiency which, you can imagine, will certainly be leveraged by our global customers in volume-driven sectors.


What is the value of a desktop inspection system, as opposed to an In-Line unit?
This is a question that I hear quite often.  Depending upon the manufacturer’s production requirements, there may be some significant advantages in using desktop AOI versus in-line AOI.  First and foremost there is a cost differential that must be considered.  Desktop AOI systems are typically 60% of the cost of a comparable in-line AOI system.  There is also the consideration of flexibility.  Since the desktop unit is not dedicated to one individual line, a manufacturer may run several lines of production through a single offline system.  Throughput must, of course, be considered with this scenario.  Another benefit is the fact that an off-line desktop unit may be used to inspect PCB’s at any given stage of the manufacturing process; post screen print, post placement or post reflow.  Having said all this, it is important to understand that many desktop units do not offer the same level of performance that is typically found in an in-line AOI unit.  This is where we at MIRTEC have a considerable advantage.  Without a doubt, MIRTEC offers the most technologically advanced desktop AOI machine on the market.  In fact, our customers enjoy better performance with their MIRTEC desktop AOI systems then would normally be found in most competitive in-line AOI systems.  Furthermore our desktop AOI systems are 100% compatible with our in-line AOI systems adding to the ultimate flexibility of our product line.
MIRTEC is continually improving its current products and coming up with new faster products.  How does the company manage to stay one step ahead?

Quite frankly, it is a matter of survival.  As the electronics manufacturing industry becomes increasingly more volatile; manufacturers have become ever more selective in purchasing equipment that will add value to their business
and provide them with a much needed competitive edge.  Equipment suppliers are, therefore, forced to either develop new products which address specific customer requirements or risk extinction.  We at MIRTEC are extremely focused upon advancements within the electronics manufacturing industry as well as the ever changing requirements of our valued customers.  We invest heavily in Research and Development persistently focused on using state-of-the-art optics, lighting and laser technology to develop the industry’s most technologically advanced inspection solutions.  As testament of our commitment to continuous improvement, over the last 18 months we have increased the number of R&D Engineers from 21 individuals to 45.  Our goal is quite simple, to be the number one supplier of inspection solutions to the electronics manufacturing industry.  The only way to get there is to stay not one, but THREE steps ahead of the competition!
How do you encourage capital equipment investment in a market where credit is still difficult to secure?
Current market conditions are such that electronics manufacturers are competing to capture as much business as possible in an environment which yields ever decreasing profit margins. There is little expectation that these market conditions will change in the foreseeable future. The reality of the situation is that electronics manufacturers must invest in automated solder paste inspection and automated optical inspection equipment in order maximize efficiency and acquire quantitative information that may be used to
streamline the manufacturing process and reduce manufacturing defects. By increasing first pass production yields, manufacturers are able to decrease costs, save time, and reduce the need for non-value added rework and repair.  Once again it is a matter of survival.  Those manufacturers that recognize the need to automate the inspection process will have a competitive edge over those manufacturers that do not grasp the reality of this situation.

Monday, August 15, 2011

MIRTEC EUROPE REPORTS SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN FIRST HALF OF 2011

CONTACT
Contact: David Bennett
MIRTEC Europe
Phone: +44 (0) 1752 225321
E-mail: DBennett@Mirteceurope.com
MIRTEC EUROPE REPORTS SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN FIRST HALF OF 2011

AUGUST 2011MIRTEC, “The Global Leader in Inspection Technology” witnesses an impressive sales revenue growth for the first half of 2011 with even stronger results expected for the rest of 2011.

When asked to comment on this remarkable rate of growth, David Bennett, President of MIRTEC Europe stated that “At the half year position we are again enjoying healthy double digit growth. What is even more exciting is that traditionally, our second half is always much stronger and I know through my contact with our distributors that many have very strong pipelines for the rest of the year.”

MIRTEC Europe prides itself on a business philosophy of providing customers with the highest quality products and services at competitive pricing and recognizes that customers are the source of future growth and as such strive for a strong, reliable and long-term partnership based on trust and respect.  In short, MIRTEC Europe’s ultimate objective is the absolute success of its customers.


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About MIRTEC

MIRTEC is a leading global supplier of Automated Optical Inspection Systems to the Electronics Manufacturing Industry.  For further information please visit our website at www.mirteceurope.com

Company Profile

In the year 2008 MIRTEC EUROPE LTD. was created to support our customers and distribution partners across continental Europe, Middle East, Indian sub continent and Africa. A secondary MIRTEC support office strategically placed in Slovakia further supplemented the support for the hundreds of installations we have within Europe. The company has an experienced management and support team, with multiple locations and an industry leading product offering, due to these factors Mirtec has propelled itself to the forefront of the Automatic Optical Inspection sector.

By 2009 MIRTEC EUROPE LTD had in place a distribution network featuring many of the industry’s largest and most highly regarded companies. Their input further enhanced the Mirtec solution and customers enjoyed the technological advantages of the product line with the comfort of both local and direct contacts offering consultation, installation, equipment training, and after-sales support.

At the end of 2009 MIRTEC EUROPE LTD established a new European Headquarters and demonstration centre at 26 Stonley Court, Mary Seacole Rd. The Millfields, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom. 2010 brings another exciting development with the Plymouth facility beginning modular manufacturing of the MIRTEC products within the EU.

Our business philosophy is to provide our customers with the highest quality products and services at competitive pricing. We recognize that our customers are the source of our future growth and as such we strive for a strong, reliable and long-term partnership based on trust and respect. We listen to their needs and deliver prompt service. We consistently work to meet and try to exceed their expectations. We aim to bring positive changes to their business. In short, our ultimate objective is the absolute success of our customers.