More dummy info for lead-free

Our sales partners, Practical Components, have just re-launched their website. I think it looks really good, with a new colour scheme and a lot of useful information.

We have been doing a lot of work with Practical this year, supplying lead-free dummy components and pcb test kits to our customers who are working to comply with the directives in July next year. The website revamp is quite timely!

Temporary lens fixturing

We hope to be able to help out a customer today with a health & safety problem. They use wax to temporarily hold glass lenses in position whilst polishing, lapping and so on - it's quite common. These are also called blocking agents.

The difficulty for this customer is that they use xylene to remove the wax afterwards, and that's a pretty nasty chemical.

We have asked them to test our Opti-tec Water Soluble Temporary Adhesives. These thermoplastic adhesives are stable at ambient temperature water, but dissolve completely and safely at elevated temperatures. So, non flammable, safe to use, simple to dispose of - solutions to all the issues of using solvents.

Electronics manufacturing blogs

Corporate blogging is a fairly new phenomenon; at least, it is outside the computer (read: geek) world. So far, I have not found many other blogs in our field, but I predict that their numbers will grow over the next year or so. As a means of interactively communicating with customers and business stakeholders, the blog will find increasing success.

One blog which I have found is Ron Lasky's. Under the auspices of Indium Corporation (and I suspect initiated by old friend Rick Short), Dr Lasky has an active page concerning electronic assembly - of course, at the moment it deals mostly with the hot topic of the day, WEEE and RoHS.

We'd be pleased to hear about other blogs in a similar vein.

Glass furniture

We had a nice order yesterday from a customer who is a glass specialist, and in this case is making metal TV stands with glass shelves. He will be using DYMAX 605 adhesive, which is an excellent, clear glass/metal bonder which cures with UV light in a few seconds. He also bought an adhesive dispenser and a UV curing flood lamp from us, as we offer the whole package. Initially, he visited us here at our Technology Centre to bond up the prototypes for his customer approval.

New place, new hours for Nepcon

From the press:

Reed Exhibitions has announced that the UK's only dedicated electronics exhibition will extend its run from two to three days in 2006 following enthusiastic exhibitor demand. The plans coincide with Nepcon's move from the confines of the Brighton Metropole to the more extensive arena of the Birmingham NEC. The change in venue was motivated by the success of Nepcon 2005 and a consistent improvement in market conditions. Combined with this favourable climate, now appears to be the right time to extend the event to three days as a direct response to exhibitor demand.

"Following the success of Nepcon 2005, we experienced strong appeals from exhibitors who were keen to extend the duration of the event", explains Nepcon Marketing Manager, James Coleman. "We value and respect our diverse exhibitor base and as a consequence, are keen to accommodate their requirements".

Nepcon 2006 is scheduled to take place between the 9th and 11th May at the Birmingham NEC.

We had a good Nepcon show in Brighton last month, and enjoyed meeting customers old and new. We are booked in for next year too! In some respects, it will be a shame to leave Brighton (again!), but we can appreciate the logistics issues.

Our trade show schedule is available on our website.

New colleague

We were really pleased to host Richard Rankin here last week. Richard is a new sales person for our sister company in Ireland, ECT. Already a strong sales professional, he was with us to pick up some product knowledge and get to know our business.

Good luck, Richard!

Epoxy sealant

IRS 2127 Fast Cure Epoxy Sealant is a thick viscosity two part epoxy, which will not sag or run even if it is applied to a vertical surface. It is a good sealant, with a soft (about Shore A 60) consistency. It will be useful in sealing applications where, for example, silicone cannot be used.