EMS - a rapidly growing market segment

2021-03-24 | Corporate

Based on existing know-how and available scalable resources, Anton Paar is able to produce high-quality PCBs not only for its own high-precision measuring instruments, but also for other companies. “In 2019, 16% of the total output in e-manufacturing was for the EMS (electronic manufacturing services) area, i.e. for external customers. One year later, the EMS share in the SMT (Service Mounted Technology) manufacturing area was already over 30%,” Günter Hofer, head of electronic manufacturing, explains.

Many positive aspects through blank production for external companies
The production of printed circuit boards requires very well-trained employees as well as high-tech machinery, which starts with warehousing and ends with testing the boards. Since the resources are easily scalable, it is possible for Anton Paar to use this service not only for its own equipment, but also to offer it to external companies.

Investments for the future
With the latest investments, E-manufacturing has its finger on the pulse and is sometimes even one step ahead: Since February, there has been a Flying Probe Tester in electronic production, which opens up new possibilities for testing the boards produced and represents a technological leap. In 2019, investments were made in a new placement line, consisting of a solder paste printer, Fuji placer, Saki inspection system and a reflow oven. The investment volume was over 1.2 million euros. As a result, Anton Paar GmbH has one of the most modern SMT lines in Styria.

In addition, investments were also made in a selective painting system. With increasing miniaturization and at the same time rising requirements for protection against environmental influences, the coating of our flat modules is becoming more and more important. Selective coating makes it possible to apply special protective coatings to the circuit boards. Furthermore, the capacity of the SMT warehouse, will be doubled next June at a cost of around 184,000 euros. The warehouse is fully automated, so the SMT lines can be retrofitted with the components in the shortest possible time, which in turn reduces production costs.

Where are EMS circuit boards used?
Anton Paar circuit boards are used in a wide variety of industries. For many years, they have been an integral part of avalanche safety equipment. Our products are also in demand in the field of medical technology. Among other things, they are installed in dosimeters which are used for the daily function control of radiation therapy devices for cancer patients. Other circuit boards are crucial components when doctors test the 3D radiation plan specifically tailored to patients in advance on a phantom, even before the respective cancer patient is treated.

Another use case can be seen in waste management: printed circuit boards produced by our e-manufacturing unit are placed in fully automated recycling and sorting machines that are used all over the world. The PCBs ensure that waste of various types (such as glass, paper, plastic or metal) can be automatically identified, sorted and prepared for recycling.

In the future, the components produced by Anton Paar will also play a role in the service workshops of an automobile manufacturer. With them, specialized staff will be able to test the safety of batteries in electric cars as well as retrieve all necessary functions for repair and service from the batteries.