Manufacturing

X-Fab and Ligentec have teamed up to offer “Europe’s largest capacity foundry service for integrated photonic circuits”, said X-Fab. In particular, they are talking about silicon nitride photonics, which Ligentech specialises in. “Silicon nitride offers superior performance to manage the light in the chip circuitry, with unprecedented low propagation losses and high-power handling,” said Ligentec co-founder Michael Zervas. “While there ...

West Midlands-based contract manufacturer Kasdon Electronics has moved into a new 20,000ft2 building in Willenhall, allowing it to consolidate operations that were previously spread over two other buildings in the town. The new facility houses the company’s five production lines: one for high volume, two for runs up to 1,000 off and one for prototyping and pre-production. Founded in 1997, ...

Applied Materials has announced developments and a partnership for improving heterogeneous chip design and integration. The development is improved software modelling and simulation for die-to-wafer hybrid bonding  – which uses direct copper-to-copper interconnects to increase I/O density and shorten the wiring length between chiplets. This will allow parameters such as material selection and packaging architecture to be evaluated and optimised ...

Swiss packaging company Model Group bought in ABB to re-fit a huge paper-making machine at its Weinfelden plant with new motors. The machine, almost 80m long, has dozens of motors and operates 24 hours a day seven days a week as one of a pair that make enough paper for ~1,500 million square meters of corrugated board each year. The machine was nearing ...

On Wednesday TSMC told clients it is jacking prices by up to 20%, reports the Nikkei. Increases and timings are said to vary from client to client. Two price rises last autumn and this spring saw prices rise 10%. TSMC had Q2 revenues of $13.3 billion and expects Q3 revenues of $14.6-14.9 billion for a gross margin of 50% and ...

Redwire, the Jacksonville, Florida-based space infrastructure company, has unveiled its Hyperion Operational Space Simulation Laboratory (HOSS), which it describes as “a first-of-its-kind digital engineering environment”. Announcing “initial operational capability” for the state-of-the-art facility, the company says it is designed to address next-generation space architectures and solutions, via artificial intelligence, machine learning and cyber technologies. It will be made available to ...

Ventec of Leamington Spa is taking over exclusive distribution of Taiyo America products in the UK and Ireland and mainland Europe. From 01 October this year, Taiyo products will be supplied from Ventec’s distribution hubs in Germany and the United Kingdom. Taiyo America will continue to provide sales and technical support to its direct customers, with Ventec providing supply chain ...

Hakko’s FX-601 adjustable soldering iron is aimed at all abilities, from professional to beginner, according to its UK importer Electrolube. There is is no controller box, just the iron, its cable and a mains plug because the controller is built into the iron’s handle. Settings between 240-540°C are available, and status is indicated by an LED. “A one-temperature-fits-all approach simply won’t ...

Lockheed Martin has completed construction of an advanced manufacturing facility at its Palmdale, California, campus and headquarters. The 215,000 square foot building will serve the company’s advanced-projects division, dubbed Skunk Works. Lockheed Martin says the “intelligent, flexible factory has digital foundations to incorporate smart manufacturing components, embrace the Internet of Things and deliver cutting edge solutions rapidly and affordably”. “This ...

Distributor OKdo has partnered with Raspberry Pi and the Sony Technology Centre in a scheme to re-use certain Raspberry Pi boards in the UK, with plans for it to become global later this year. OKdo Renew, as it will be know, is open only for later Rapberry Pis: 3b, 3b+ and 4. “In return, they will receive a £10 voucher ...