Internet of Things

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The Internet of things (IoT) is the Internet connectivity to devices and everyday objects.

An IoT device is something with embedded electronics, Internet connectivity and other types of hardware (such as detectors or controllers).

And these devices can communicate and interact with each other via the Internet.

This makes them easy to monitor and remotely control.

IoT technology has made massive changes to the way we control our everyday household devices such as heating, lighting, security and even home appliances (fridge, freezers etc).

These can now be controlled by smartphones, tablets and PC’s no matter where you are in the world.

The first ever IoT device was a Coke vending machine in 1982.

It was connected to the internet and relayed information on the inventory and whether the drinks were cold or not.

This technology brings great benefits such as, constant monitoring of elderly people living alone. For example, a device could warn carers if the room temperature falls below a safe level.

In medical care for example, it can provide live feedback for those with life threatening illness even when they are at home.

Another example is the door bells with cameras, you’re not home when someone rings your bell but your smartphone rings and you can instantly see and communicate with whoever is there.

There are so many applications for IoT technology that we have only just scratched the surface.

As new IoT devices are being created every day it has initiated a whole new dynamic in the world of electronics development.

The focus now does not lie with creating large systems but in adapting existing systems to connect to the net and communicate with other devices.

This goes from consumer to industrial applications and into Industry 4.0.

This evolution has multiplied the number of new electronic product developments with smaller rather than bigger applications.

They have to be market ready by yesterday and this puts more pressure on the development engineers and their suppliers.

How Does Eurocircuits Help?

We have invested heavily in this trend to support our customers by offering them faster and more dynamic services as below:

  • PCB proto – 3 Working Days Delivery as Standard down from 7 WD in January 2019.
  • STANDARD pool, RF pool and IMS pool – 5 Working Days Delivery as Standard down from 7 WD only 3 weeks ago.
  • DEFINED IMPEDANCE pool – a new service with 5WD Delivery as Standard offering a specific build-up for 50Ω/90Ω specific requirements.

For all of our services we offer our free to use online eC-Smart tools the PCB Visualizer and PCBA Visualizer.

These allow our customers to ensure their layouts are “RIGHT FIRST TIME for MANUFACTURE”.

This has the advantage that your PCB’s are delivered (bare board or populated) “ON TIME” and ‘WITHIN BUDGET”.

Making sure that your project meet your “TIME to MARKET” expectations.

 

 

 

 

eC-reflow-mate v4 Promotion

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eC-reflow-mate v4 Promotion

 

Have you ever needed to build a prototype PCB at the last minute, the first one failed but you’ve identified the problem and with a small manual modification to the circuit on your spare PCB you could prove it works!

The problem is soldering the components to the PCB, you could send it out but that would take time and as time-to-market is critical it’s would be faster and easier to do it in-house, but how?

Eurocircuits are all too aware of this problem and that’s why we developed our range of compact Benchtop PCB Assembly equipment, designed to give you the flexibility when you most need it, at that critical point in your development process.

The range of eC-equipment developed by Eurocircuits allows you to take a bare board and assemble it easily in house, there is even a hand held functional tester available, the eC-test-mate.

We have launched a promotion for our best seller the eC-reflow-mate oven.

The eC-reflow-mate oven gives an even temperature across the board with full user control throughout the soldering process.

It is controlled by the eC-reflow-pilot software which allows the user to define and store an unlimited number of temperature and time profiles, it also allows for the monitoring of the exact process for each board.

Separate sensors can be used to measure and display the temperature profile on the actual board.

It is a great solution for your in-house benchtop assembly requirements.

Order the eC-reflow-mate now and combine it with any additional eC-equipment and receive a 10% Discount on these items. This discount will also apply to any other Off the shelf items (we have a range of accessories and consumables available) that are checked out at the same time (as in one order).

Below is the full range of our eC-equipment, just click on the links to find out more.

This promotion will run from now until 31-07-2019.

Read what our users say about our eC-equipment just click here.

 

 

 

PCB Prototypes on a 5 Day Delivery for a 7 Day Price

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We have changed our standard delivery terms for our PCB Proto and NAKED Proto services from, 7-days to 5-days and the best part is, you now have a 5-day delivery of your PCB Prototypes at the same price as a 7-day delivery.

Why not check out our prices now, its quick, easy and free.

 

Tips and Tricks – Solderpaste Editor

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PCB Services | eC Solutions

Solder Paste Editor – another smart tool available in your customer account

It has long been established that the quality of your assembled product has many influencing factors, design layout, material quality, component accuracy etc but many process engineers will argue that the first process is the most critical, the solder paste application.

For many years now we have offered our customers Solderpaste stencils, the layout of these being created by your CAD package or we create the paste layer during the data preparation stage and providing accurate paste to PCB application using both our eC-stencil-FIX and eC-stencil-mate.

Until now this has been effective, but as we design with more and more fine pitch and odd shaped components the more critical this solder paste application process becomes, requiring further need for control over the solder paste apertures themselves.

For this reason, our clever developers at Eurocircuits have extended our PCB Visualizer toolbox, enabling you to resize, offset, add or delete and split paste apertures across the design with an easy to use solder paste layer editor.

Why not take 4 mins and let Wim, our head of development, guide you through the new Solder paste layer Editor below

Should you have any questions about any of our services, please feel free to get in touch via email, telephone or instantly with our online chat during office hours. We will be more than happy to help.

Why not follow us on our social media, keeping up to date with all of our latest news?

           

News & Information

For many years Eurocircuits have provided you with important News & Information about our services, products, free to use smart tools and the Electronic Manufacturing World. Take a peak at what we offer:

  • Eurocircuits company update.
    This section contains updates and information about the Eurocircuits Group. As a valued partner you will receive updates and news covering our company activities, team news and business developments etc.
  • Events & Workshops.
    Eurocircuits is an active participant of events and exhibitions, it also organises events, seminars and workshops, especially concerning technical topics
  • Tips & Tricks.
    The electronic value chain starts with a design and then converting it to a digital form. This section covers all design related issues, their influence on manufacturing.
  • Electronic Manufacturing Technology.
    Eurocircuits goal is to inform all Electronic Designers about Electronic Manufacturing Techniques and processes. Whilst, this may start with PCB manufacturing it also covers the Assembly, Testing and Housing etc…
  • Online Smart Tools – Services & Products.
    All Eurocircuits customers have access to an online customer account and through this, access to our Smart Tools and services. This section covers User Guides, updates and new features and tools etc. It will help you to optimise your knowledge, use of these tools and the electronic manufacturing services and products we offer.
  • Customer Applications & Student Projects.
    Eurocircuits actively encourages its customers to share their experiences with other customers. In addition to this, we support many student projects and inspire them to write about their adventures and the technology they have designed.
  • eCvelo.
    Next to being an Electronics Manufacturing Company, Eurocircuits also has a heart for clean mobility. As result we have developed and are building trike and quad cycles with a covered frame. Keep updated by opting in to this section.
Eurocircuits TV

Eurocircuits TV is Eurocircuits’ media channel bringing electronic designers and others video news and VLOGs about our electronic manufacturing world.
Interact with us

The best way to share ideas and knowledge is face to face. Check out our eC-calendar

IMS pool now with enhanced base material

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PCB Services | eC Solutions

We have upgraded the Insulated Metal Substrate type we use in our IMS pool service

More powerful LED applications demand an increased focus on thermal management. More powerful LEDs produce more heat and temperature rise has an impact on the short-term function of a LED part such as colour shift and reduced light output.

The long-term effects shouldn’t be neglected either. Higher operating temperatures result in a reduced life time.

To reduce the operating temperature and thus the impact of the temperature on LED applications or power converters, we decided to make an upgrade on the IMS material. The former used Polytherm TC-Lam 1.3 is now succeeded by Polytherm TC-Lam 2.0 of which you can find the spec sheet on our Download page.

The main difference is the dielectric. This thermally conductive layer has better properties:

  • Thermal conductivity: 2.0 W/mK (upgrade from 1.3 to 2.0)
  • Thermal resistance: 0.50 K/W (lowering from 0.77 to 0.5)

The thick Aluminium (alloy 5052) layer remains unchanged and is responsible for the heat dissipation.

The Cu foil, on the opposite side, is still 35 microns thick. This Cu layer forms the base Cu for the circuit. Other service parameters remain unchanged and can be found here.

“How do we make IMS boards?”, explained on Eurocircuits TV.

Should you have any questions about any of our services, please feel free to get in touch via email, telephone or instantly with our online chat during office hours. We will be more than happy to help.

Why not follow us on our social media, keeping up to date with all of our latest news?

           

Blogs

Customer papers

If you are an active Eurocircuits’ customer and you feel like you have some interesting story to share with our Eurocircuits community, then please send it to us by e-mail. We will evaluate the content and if it fits the scope of what we publish then we will take it on board and inform you of it.

Production

Eurocircuits TV has made an informative piece on how copper is deposited on the PCB in the galvanic process.

All the details about our movie can be read in text form in our BLOG.

eC-tools

We publish articles as tip & tricks or videos on Eurocircuits TV to help our designer customers to maximise their efficiency by using our tools. We also publish seminars on how to use our smart tools. Here is one: “Introduction to Eurocircuits’ smart tools: PCB Configurator, PCB Visualizer”

eC-equipment

Here we release articles about our eC-equipment and their use.

If you would like us to produce a blog or white paper on a particular aspect of PCB manufacturing technology or PCB soldering, e-mail us at euro@eurocircuits.com
Interact with us

Come and meet us at

The best way to share ideas and knowledge is face to face. Check out our eC-calendar

Eurocircuits meets students

Supporting student projects is a top priority for Eurocircuits as students are our tomorrows customers. Learn how creative these students are and what they have accomplished.

Eurocircuits offers a solution to Via’s in Pads

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PCB Services | eC Solutions
Eurocircuits offers a solution to Via’s in Pads

Since the beginning electronic designers and production have always locked heads, designers wanting to making everything smaller and smaller and more and more cost effective, unfortunately this is sometimes counterproductive to both the PCB manufacturer and assembler, resulting in a comprise on both sides and often affecting the quality and electrical stability.

One such issue which often arises is finding a suitable solution to utilising the pad as a through hole connector without causing production and quality issues with solder wicking away through the via and causing insufficient, unstable or even unsoldered joints.

Eurocircuits have the solution, we now offer a Via filling and conductive capping service to enable designers to increase board density without reducing reliability.

We have create a small blog here about the service and how it can benefit you.

As always we have listened to our customers’ needs and invested in a solution that can meet both their demands and budget.

Should you have any questions about any of our services, please feel free to get in touch via email, telephone or instantly with our online chat during office hours. We will be more than happy to help.

Why not follow us on our social media, keeping up to date with all of our latest news?

           

Blogs

Customer papers

If you are an active Eurocircuits’ customer and you feel like you have some interesting story to share with our Eurocircuits community, then please send it to us by e-mail. We will evaluate the content and if it fits the scope of what we publish then we will take it on board and inform you of it.

Production

Eurocircuits TV has started to capture the production steps one by one. How do we register multilayers?

eC-tools

We publish articles as tip & tricks or videos on Eurocircuits TV to help our designer customers to maximise their efficiency by using our tools. We also publish seminars on how to use our smart tools. Here is one: “Introduction to Eurocircuits’ smart tools: PCB Configurator, PCB Visualizer”

eC-equipment

Here we release articles about our eC-equipment and their use.

If you would like us to produce a blog or white paper on a particular aspect of PCB manufacturing technology or PCB soldering, e-mail us at euro@eurocircuits.com
Interact with us

Come and meet us at

The best way to share ideas and knowledge is face to face. Check out our eC-calendar

Eurocircuits meets students

Supporting student projects is a top priority for Eurocircuits as students are our tomorrows customers. Learn how creative these students are and what they have accomplished.

eC-reflow-mate-V4 – a nice Christmas gift for an electronics engineer

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Read more →

Eurocircuits’ PCBA Services – resistors and capacitors for free!

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PCB Services | eC Solutions
Summer holidays are over - share your technical insights
Eurocircuits’ PCBA Services – resistors and capacitors for free!

Here at Eurocircuits we constantly aspire to lead the market and surpass our customer expectations by offering the ultimate electronics service.

We now offer resistors and capacitors for free!!!

After importing your BOM, we crosscheck your selected manufacturers part number for every resistor or capacitor line against our equivalent generic alternative list and where we are able to find a match then we offer that part for free!! That’s right Free, no strings attached!!

When you select our assembly service in the PCB visualiser

You can then upload your BOM to the PCBA visualiser:

After the import stage, wher we find a generic component equivalent, we automatically select this component to replace the component in your BOM. You can identify these component replacements with the component lines with Blue check marks:

For resistors and capacitors, you can see in the summary that these components are marked as “free”:

What is the benefit to you?

What could be better than “free” components? Well, firstly we keep reels of the components on stock, therefore guaranteed availability. Being reeled components means automatically pick and placed = higher accuracy and faster production. In addition components are stored in optimal conditions this reduces the possibility of oxidation affecting solderability and quality.

But why do we do we offer the components free?

Nobody does anything for free and this is the case here, the benefits for us is huge,

  • We source larger volumes and therefore obtain a better purchasing price
  • We only purchase occasionally rather than investing time for every order identifying and sourcing
  • Always available, this means that once we receive the completed bare PCB we are not waiting for component deliveries, production can commence during the next available production slot
  • Components can then be loaded and placed to our Pick and place machine, this means higher accuracy and faster placements, this mean higher throughput and yield on our side.

Why not take advantage of our experience and expertise and benefit?

If you do not wish to benefit from this option then we can still use your original manufacturers part number and place the individual orders but you will be charge for the “non” generic components at the normal component price.

To switch off free components then in the PCB visualizer you should select the option:

Other changes to our assembly service, where a none E24 standard value is identified for a generic replacement we will round up or down the value to the nearest compatible E24 generic value. We now apply a 20% component price surcharge to components supplied by customer, we have applied this policy to resolve the additional costs incurred for component handling, this price is automatically calculated and can be found in the component line in the summary tab.

We have also explained in greater detail how the PCBA Services work in our PCBA Visualizer & Services section on the website.

Should you have any questions about any of our services, please feel free to get in touch via email, telephone or instantly with our online chat during office hours. We will be more than happy to help.

Why not follow us on our social media, keeping up to date with all of our latest news?

                 
Blogs

Customer papers

Recently our customers have shared these white papers and application papers with us:

How to Prevent Emission Problems on Board Level – NEW
Posted on behalf of CNRood, active in the BeNeLux & Sweden. For many, the result of an EMC test comes as an unpleasant surprise. Large amounts of money and time are spent in re-designing the product, which causes heavy delays. The main cause of these additional costs and delays can be related to the designer’s opportunities, knowledge and desire to perform an EMC test on the product as early as possible. In this article, the author will give some simple advice and examples of test methods useful for avoiding undesired emission.
Suitability of an enhanced low melting point alloy for a handheld device – NEW
Posted on behalf of Interflux Electronics NV. Current lead-free soldering temperatures can damage temperature sensitive components. Moreover they can cause a shift in the properties of some components which can impact the functionality of sensitive electronic devices. An easy way to solve this problem is to use a soldering alloy with a lower melting point that allows for lower soldering temperatures. Currently however these alloys have limitations in shock and vibration resistance.
Intelligent Power Switch for Raspberry Pi – NEW
Posted on behalf of Peter Boxler. A Raspberry Pi does not have an On/Off switch and there is no easy way to shutdown the Pi while keeping the file system intact. This Intelligent Power Switch brings a clever solution to this problem: Power-On the Pi by pressing a pushbutton and also properly Power-Off the Pi with another press on the same button.
Low-cost calibrator delivers -5V to +10V DS with 70-µV error – NEW
Posted on behalf of Jordan Dimitrov. Calibration, the stage of truth in the design of every test and measurement device, is done with calibrators, sophisticated highly accurate multifunctional instruments, which cost thousands of dollars. In many cases however you do not need to go to the edge of technology.

If you are an active Eurocircuits’ customer and you feel like you have some interesting story to share with our Eurocircuits community, then please send it to us by e-mail. We will evaluate the content and if it fits the scope of what we publish then we will take it on board and inform you of it.

Production

Eurocircuits TV has started to capture the production steps one by one. Here’s what is published

eC-tools

We publish articles as tip & tricks or videos on Eurocircuits TV to help our designer customers to maximise their efficiency by using our tools.

eC-equipment

Here we release articles about our eC-equipment and their use.

If you would like us to produce a blog or white paper on a particular aspect of PCB manufacturing technology or PCB soldering, e-mail us at euro@eurocircuits.com
Interact with us

Come and meet us at

The best way to share ideas and knowledge is face to face. Check out our eC-calendar


Eurocircuits meets students

Supporting student projects is a top priority for Eurocircuits as students are our tomorrows customers. Learn how creative these students are and what they have accomplished.