LOOKING GOOD IN JAPAN

The Tamba Trading Co, PAL’s exclusive agent in Japan, was delighted to receive an order from the Ibiden Co of Japan for a PAL Black Oxide line quite soon after their appointment last year. The new machine with its three transporters and a capacity of 50,000 sq. m. each month is now safely installed at Ibiden.

“The PAL engineering team worked hard for a month and a half installing the machine and it is now operating well,” says Ken Tamba of Tamba Trading. “The Ibiden people are very satisfied with the machine’s performance and have even told me that not only does the machine look good, but their first impression is that it is quieter than machines made by Japanese manufacturers. We are optimistic that we will soon be announcing further orders from Ibiden.”

Above: The installation team at Ibiden.

UP AND RUNNING

The fourth PAL/Galvour machine at Aspocomp’s Salo factory is now successfully up and running. This is the latest in a long line of PAL/Galvour installations within facilities owned by the major European high-tech PCB manufacturer, for there are machines from the Hong Kong/Sweden duo in plenty at all five of Aspocomp’s Finnish facilities.

Every one of the machines has been the responsibility of PAL’s Scandinavian representative Galvour AB. “It is always a joy to work with Aspocomp, we always feel we are working in partnership with them on the solution of the latest challenge facing them and their continual and exciting development programme,” explains Kenth Johansson of Galvour. “We value their input and they value ours as each machine is designed specifically to meet their needs. It is a great advantage to work with a company with such an enviable reputation for high tech and in the advanced manufacturing of PCBs, it certainly ensures that our designs satisfy Aspocomp’s very stringent requirements. We know that our machines must be the best on the market to be considered by them and this can only serve to emphasise the importance of PAL’s continuing investment in R&D and constant striving to be in ‘the front line’.”

  

Installation and commissioning of the new Pattern Plate line went well reports Jami Salminen, Engineer, Process Technology at Aspocomp Salo – and the photographs speak for themselves. “It was completed on schedule thanks to the installation team from PAL and support from Galvour AB,” he explains. “All technical specifications and modifications made after buy-off inspection were successfully accomplished.” He hints too at humourous elements during the installation, when he speaks of “minor but colourful and positively funny incidents due to cultural and behavioural differences between Asian and European people” – proof perhaps that the splendid business maxim ‘business should be profitable but above all it should be fun’ is still alive and well!

The pre-commissioning period is always something of a voyage of discovery and Mr Salminen explains that parameter and plating chemistry problems were speedily solved by the chemistry supplier; and minor software and mechanical challenges were successfully resolved by PAL and that the state-of-the-art features of the new machine, such as reverse pulse plating, eductors, gripping floating shields and the ORS (Optimised Rinse System) are functioning well and that plating results and quality are very definitely up to expectations.