inTEST Thermal today announced the launch of a mobile temperature control system for high-speed thermal testing of chips, components and PCBs. The Thermostream ATS-535 brings temperature to the test site by directing a stream of cooled or heated air, reaching temperatures between -60 to +225°C very quickly. Highly mobile and without the need for an external air supply, it can execute fast temperature transitions e.g. -40 to +125°C in 12 sec. This allows for thermal characterization and production verification at the test site, for example, rather than moving the test subject to a thermal chamber or custom engineered enclosure.

The Thermostream’s swivel arm and pneumatic controls allow precise connection with the device under test. System setup and control is accomplished via a controller with adjustable positioning for convenient local operation, as well as connectivity for remote operation.

ATS-535 provides a convenient thermal source for temperature testing and conditioning of small-mass test subjects in design and production environments.

The mobile temperature control system is available for ordering worldwide.

inTEST Thermal Solutions specializes in high performance thermal environments, for temperature conditioning and process cooling requirements. The company serves end users and OEMs, worldwide, in multiple industries with thermal systems such as temperature forcing units, thermal chambers and platforms, and process chillers.

Mentor Graphics Corporation yesterday announced the Valor Information Highway and the Valor Warehouse Management products, two supply chain-focused tools designed to enhance Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) effectiveness and assist electronics manufacturers in reducing material costs. Materials accuracy is a critical factor in PCB assembly operation since materials make up the bulk of manufacturing costs. At the same time, it presents a challenge to traditional ERP where inventory discrepancies compromise materials ordering and planning operations. Mentor Graphics has developed key supply chain solutions to complement the ERP/MRP operation systems.

Together, the two new products provide real-time material consumption and spoilage data, facilitating total materials management and traceability over the entire warehouse infrastructure, logistics, shop floor storage areas and direct points of use. For the first time, manufacturing teams can easily access data from all aspects of the shop floor, supply chain, quality, planning and product engineering through a single software suite.

“Valor Information Highway gives me complete visibility and control of our shop floor operation through a single source of information linked to ERP and MES reporting,” stated Stefan Schnake, Manufacturing Process Support, Phoenix Contact, a global manufacturer of components, systems and services in the electronics industry. “Access to real-time detailed data allows me to effectively manage my operation and report accurately to my customers, which is critical for our success.”

Valor Information Highway

The Valor Information Highway product provides accurate, real-time access to warehouse and shop floor information, available in the highest level of detail. This product is unique in that it does not require complex integration, avoiding the high cost of customization with various engineering services, nor does it create complex dependencies between systems. Users have a single consistent source of data, both live and on-demand, that represents the entire integrated shop floor environment—from engineering and planning to performance, materials, tracking and quality information. The information and reports that can be generated from the Valor Information Highway product provide essential performance and traceability data to drive continuous improvement.

Valor Warehouse Management

The new Valor Warehouse Management tool provides the industry’s most comprehensive materials management solution — a single environment spanning multiple local and remote warehouses and shop floor storage, from initial material receipt, logistics and storage management. The Valor Warehouse Management product is easy to use, comprising automated PDA-based material task assignment and advanced configurable logistics rules, including both Kanban and “just-in-time” material delivery protocols. This assures optimum performance and efficiency of materials logistics and warehouse organization. Automated direct gathering of consumption and spoilage data ensures complete and accurate inventory, which avoids unexpected materials shortage and material overstocking.

“Valor products have demonstrated significant operational improvements and high return on investment for our customers in the areas of NPI, process preparation and shop floor operations,” stated Dan Hoz, general manager of Mentor Graphics Valor Division. “I am confident that the new tools will also provide the high value that our customers have come to expect from our products, by improving their ability to control material costs and reduce waste.”

Brooks Instrument, a provider of advanced flow, pressure, vacuum and level solutions, has expanded its GF 40/80 Series portfolio of thermal mass flow controllers (MFCs) to enable a broader range of applications.

The new GF81 MFC can be used for gas flow rates up to 300 slpm, making it ideal for high-flow applications in thin film, solar, analytical, biotech and fuel cell.

The GF81 provides the same high-stability sensor and best-in-class repeatability as the GF40/80 Series, but with a higher flow rate. Compared with competitive products offering a similar flow rate, the compact footprint and low power draw of the GF81 allows users to design smaller, more efficient systems. It also provides better actual process gas accuracy over devices that use traditional single-point conversion factors.

The GF81 Series features an all-metal seal flow path for durability and high leak integrity, precise flow control with fast sub-1-second settling times, and 1% of reading accuracy to ensure reliable flow measurement and control in demanding gas flow applications. A wide range of digital and analog I/O options offers the broadest range of communication protocols, making the GF81 an ideal upgrade for existing MFCs or MFMs.

The dry pumps A 100 L with their compact dimensions were specially developed for flexible integration in semiconductor production facilities. These dry multi-stage Roots pumps are ideal for clean applications such as load-lock chambers and transfer chambers as well as for all other noncorrosive applications.

Despite their compact dimensions these pumps provide high pumping speeds and short pump down times. Today, the A 100 L pumps are installed worldwide in all leading semiconductor fabs. These pumps are suitable for operation in cleanrooms.

The further development, the A 100 L ES, cuts energy consumption by  up to 50% (ES = Energy Saving). Its pumping speed is significantly higher in the low pressure range. Additional benefits include a lower final pressure and reduced noise level.

The innovative and fully integrated ES module reduces energy use to a minimum in the low pressure range. This significantly reduces operating costs. To illustrate the point: annual savings per pump total up to 7,900 kWh. This corresponds to 3.9 tons of CO2.

At a typical 300 mm semiconductor fab level equipped with 1,300 load-lock pumps, the energy saving adds up to 10 GWh, or about 360 k€ or 5,100 tons of CO2 per year.

In addition to energy savings, the final pressure of the A 100 L ES is reduced to 7×10-4 mbar (hPa). This opens up new potential applications requiring an enhanced pumping capacity combined with low pressure. The noise level is also reduced from 58 dB (A) to 55 dB (A). The A 100 L ES rounds off the energy-saving product family of medium duty process pumps in the A3P series and the harsh duty process pumps in the A3H series.