Gen3 Systems to Present Research Conducted with Robert Bosch at APEX

Gen3 Systems to Present Research Conducted with Robert Bosch at APEX
01 February 2017

Gen3 Systems Limited, a specialist British manufacturer and distributor, is pleased to announce that its Production Manager Mark Routley will present the paper titled “Process Control of Ionic Contamination achieving 6-Sigma Criteria in the assembly of Electronic Circuits” alongside Dr Pierre Eckold of Robert Bosch at the upcoming IPC APEX EXPO. The presentation will be held during the session titled “Corrosion/Cleanliness/SIR Reliability” on Wednesday the 15th February between 10:30 – 12:00pm in location 3.    
 
The increasing dependency of electronic circuitry operating in hostile environments, especially of high reliability, safety critical applications, demands ever-greater attention to electrochemical stability. With the capability to establish a qualified manufacturing process using Surface Insulation Resistance (SIR) and tests focusing on Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF), what about the process control of ionic matter intrinsic to the production processes?

A method to monitor the ionic contamination level of electronic control units during manufacturing in order to ensure a constant contamination level was a fundamental requirement for Robert Bosch, and their multiple electronic manufacturing sites across the world.

Utilizing a newly developed test protocol introduced by Gen3 Systems, known as Process Ionic Contamination Testing (PICT), a Gauge R&R study was conducted in order to qualify the repeatability of the new developed contamination testing systems from Gen3 Systems (CM Series - Contaminometer) which were placed in five locations worldwide. The production of high reliability, safety critical, electronic circuits, involving multiple production sites around the world, is required to meet the stringent 6-Sigma criteria set by Robert Bosch.

Fulfilling the engineering requirements and driving the product innovation for Gen3 Systems of the UK, Routley is responsible for all manufacturing and engineering operations. Focusing on the production of specialist test and measurement equipment used to predict the reliability of electronic circuitry in the field, Routley’s involvement has progressed in to testing, with a particular emphasis on process residue testing occurring during PCB assembly.