“When diverse perspectives are brought to the table, we get more and better ideas. At Mycronic, we live on our ability to innovate. Ensuring diversity and inclusion is therefore business critical for us- and a lot more fun!”– Johanna Jarl, SVP Human Resources, Mycronic.

Leonardo Da Vinci never wrote code. But this statement, made over 500 years ago, serves as a guiding philosophy for Mycronic Software Engineer Nicolas Guillot and the international team. Together they are designing breakthrough software for tomorrow’s zero-defects smart assembly plants.

In 1996, as a newly graduated mechanical engineer from Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology, Per Carlqvist joined Mycronic with a clear-eyed ambition. First, gain hands-on experience with the most interesting technology available. Second, use it to make a real difference in people’s daily work. And third, pursue these interests to experience new ways of working, living and creating together with people from around the world. “At Mycronic,” he says, “I’ve been fortunate to be able to do all three. So, you could say I’ve found several of my dream jobs all in one place.”

It’s sometimes called the ping-pong effect: the back-and-forth task of adjusting 3D inspection models to eliminate false calls without increasing the risk of escapes. Thanks to a new automated programming assistant, all this work can now be put to better use. Every time you certify a real defect or false call, it remembers, constantly updating your inspection library based on real production data. The result is an inspection process that automatically moves closer to perfection every time it’s in use, saving programmers time, effort – and their most valuable resource of all – concentration.

Naturally there are many trends impacting the future of the electronics industry. These include personalization, digitalization, miniaturization, Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things and Big Data. But what are the key trends impacting manufacturers like Mycronic – and maybe even your business?

With rapid electrification comes massive change. From electric vehicles to industrial robotics to power control systems, the world is witnessing the rollout of advanced electronics by the billions. Each more complex and more specialized than the last. And each requiring the highest levels of quality and reliability. How will manufacturers of electronics seize this growing opportunity? The latest vision technology from Mycronic points toward a faster, sharper, and smarter path forward.

For years, the electronics industry has gotten something of a “green pass” on the topic of sustainability. Digital transformation, new electronic devices and services were praised as the path to efficient, eco-friendly work patterns, particularly during the pandemic. This is now changing, Mycronic experts say.

Mr. Liu Haifeng has never been one to stick with the status quo. As General Manager of Wuxi Good Electronics Co., Ltd., he is always on the hunt for the latest production technologies, new manufacturing concepts and better ways to serve his customers. The company’s current production setup shows just how far the right technologies – and an innovative mind – can push flexible assembly into new frontiers.

When cloud-based services arrived, they were supposed to free us from the tyranny of rigid and inflexible premises-based IT solutions. And to a large extent they did, adding flexibility and driving down costs. But recently, due to the high volume of data and challenges with latency, security and privacy, many companies are realizing they need regional data centers, too.

There is nothing artificial about Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to Mycronic experts. This global megatrend is real, it’s sweeping across all industries, and it has the power to solve key manufacturing challenges. AI-tools allow for more precise manufacturing, removal of defects and predictive intelligence. And they keep on learning and getting better.

According to McKinsey, the tipping point in electric vehicle (EV) sales occurred in the fall of 2020 during the midst of the pandemic. Then, despite all the lockdowns, adoption edged up to 10% in some European countries. This signaled a clear shift in consumer behavior to sustainable mobility – further fueling the amount of electronic content required in cars.

What’s going on in this crazy world of ours? Does the rise of populism, protectionism and polarization mean the end of multilateralism and globalization? The answer is “yes and no” but mainly “no” for the electronics industry. Mycronic sees a continued trend towards global, interconnected ecosystems, but there will be a clearer division between East and West.

For years, we’ve been hearing: “5G is coming and it’s going to transform our world!” Really? In what ways? Or is this just hype? According to Mycronic experts, no. New 5G technology, with up to 100 times faster speeds than today’s 4G, will open exciting new possibilities for consumers and businesses. And it’s already placing tough demands on manufacturers as well! 

As makers of automation technologies, it’s no surprise that we see automation as the number-one driver in our industry. What is interesting, however, is the speed, impact, and far-reaching implications of this global megatrend. Those who hesitate to get onboard risk being left behind.

Mycronic regularly collaborates with local universities around the world. And we support initiatives that encourage young people to choose careers in engineering. These activities increase Mycronic’s visibility in the local community with the aim to encourage more youth to engineering careers.

The growing use of electronics increases the carbon footprint of the electronic industry’s value chain. For Mycronic, while this is a challenge that must be addressed, it is also an opportunity, as we can be an enabler for cutting emissions in the sector.

The ability of manufacturing systems to predict and adapt to unforeseen situations, often referred to as Artificial intelligence (AI), promises to revolutionize the electronics assembly market. In a period of just five to ten years, deep learning researchers at Mycronic predict a highly automated SMT environment approaching zero defects with little to no human intervention.

Innovation is in our DNA, and being innovative means daring to enter uncharted territory. In January 2022, Mycronic launched its Sustainable Innovation Fund. Mycronic already invests 12 percent of its revenues in R&D and with this fund we will expand our investments even more.

Electronics hold the potential to support societies in becoming more sustainable and advanced. At the same time, their production and usage involve a range of environmental and social challenges that must be addressed. Mycronic’s firm intention is to contribute to a clean, responsible and profitable electronics industry.

In the outskirts of Stockholm lies the corporate office of Mycronic. Inside the industrial building, CEO Anders Lindqvist leads a dedicated team of engineers, located all over the world, in bringing tomorrow’s electronics to life. As a global supplier of high precision production equipment, Mycronic is committed to extending the frontiers of technology.

Our strategy is to be a market-leading solutions provider within selected niches of electronics production with a high degree of recurring revenue. Sustainable and profitable growth is achieved both organically and through acquisitions of companies in adjacent areas or with stand-alone potential to grow faster than the market average.

The tempo of business in China is lightning fast. But if you are responsive and go a step beyond, the rewards can be great, as the Assembly Solution High Volume division found out in 2021. In just 15 days, it delivered 30 dispensing systems to HONOR and was awarded Superior Dispensing Supplier status.

BRIGHTER is an EU-financed research project that aims to develop a novel bioprinting technology that will be used to produce tissue samples that mimic biological tissue with embedded three-dimensional structures.

When a product is manufactured, it goes through a life cycle that starts with raw material acquisition and ends with the disposal of the product. To understand how our products affect the environment, Mycronic has completed a life cycle analysis of a relatively new product - the SLX mask writer. Engineered to use little electricity, the analysis revealed that the main environmental impact caused during the lifecycle of the SLX was compressed air.

In the electronics industry, change is everywhere. With the rising complexity in SMT production comes a greater need for automation, process improvement and quality data. For Mycronic, every change is an opportunity, and one key factor is to develop and nurture the software supporting the changing future for our customers. The work, is enabled through strong teamwork.

Global consumption of electrical and electronic equipment is on the rise. When these products enter an end-of-life state, a large amount of the equipment becomes trash. E-waste, as it is called, is the world’s fastest growing waste stream due to not just higher consumption, but short life cycles and few options for repair. Meeting the rising demand for electronic products while ensuring the reduction of the products’ ecological footprint is one of the electronic industry’s biggest challenges.

The world is witnessing a massive rollout of heavy-duty boards. Whether for broadband infrastructure, new data centers or electric vehicle fleets, these electronics need reliable protection against an enormous variety of environmental stresses. This is where the MYC60 industrial dispenser comes in, enabling automated 24/7 dispensing of structural, thermal, sealing and bonding fluids across a range of industry applications.

Faster programming. Smarter guidance. Zero false calls. When it comes to advanced 3D AOI, demands are high and experienced operators are often in short supply. Mycronic’s latest answer is the MYPro I series 3D AOI, which leverages powerful machine learning algorithms to enable rapid programming and easy implementation of high-performance AOI for any operator in any production mix.

When the world’s top manufacturer of lifting columns needed to streamline its material flows, MYTower made it possible.

How do you quantify the benefits of automation? Twenty percent higher production volume with the original base of operators is a good start.

SINTEC, an EU-financed  project focused on developing soft stretchable electronics, can now present its latest prototype. Light as a feather, these stretchable sensors could in the future monitor heart rate, stress, blood pressure and more.

In the world of rapid prototyping, speed and accuracy are everything. And everything starts in the stockroom. Based on this insight, California-based XLR8 has built a strong reputation for best-in-class material flows thanks to a comprehensive integrated material handling system from Mycronic.

Just outside of Nürnberg, Germany, one forward-thinking manufacturer is rapidly modernizing its production to meet fast-growing demands for advanced industrial IoT electronics. Thanks to the latest full-line assembly solutions from Mycronic, mikrolab can now respond to global competition with greater speed, quality and cost efficiency than ever before.

At IPC APEX EXPO 2022, you have the chance to bring us your bottlenecks, quality issues and integration challenges. Join Mycronic at APEX January 25-27, meet us in our booth 1033 and as a part of the Factory of the future Pavilion, and put our process experts to the test.

The pandemic is still on-going and significantly impacting how people live on a global scale. Social distancing has led people to conduct more of their lives online and a “new normal” is being created.

On November 1, 2021, a closing ceremony was held between Mycronic and Huan Cheng Xin Precision Manufacture Co., Ltd.. The celebration took place both online and on site at our office in Shenzhen, and celebrated the closing of Mycronic’s High Volume division’s acquisition of Huan Cheng Xin.

Over the past year, Hermes compatibility has been added to a number of Mycronic’s SMT solutions. The next step is to extend vertical connectivity by uniting data from multiple machines for standard connection with any MES or ERP system. Find out how Mycronic is taking connectivity to the next level.

More process data. Faster innovation cycles. Smarter factory systems. As the pace of change accelerates, we’re convinced that tomorrow’s PCB assembly environment should be a simpler place. A place where no build schedule is too complex. No defect goes unprevented. And no production is left standing still. From naked board to coated product – and everything in between.

Mycronic’s Global Technologies division has divested Automation Engineering, Inc. (AEi) to Singapore-based ASM Pacific Technology.

The EU-funded research project SOMIRO began at the turn of the year with the aim of demonstrating the world’s first energy-autonomous swimming milli-robot. Mycronic is one of eight participants working to develop technology that will help monitor processes in precision agriculture and reduce the environmental impact of farming.

Mycronic’s Assembly Solutions High Volume division has signed an agreement to acquire Shenzhen Huan Cheng Xin Precision Manufacture Co., Ltd., a company with around 120 employees and headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

21st century industries demand 21st century manufacturing solutions. With the help of the latest 3D automated optical inspection systems, MSL Circuits – an ALL Circuits company, is helping leading automotive manufacturers make a flawless transformation to the era of electric vehicles.

As an innovative European contract manufacturer, DF Elettronica is determined to continually push the limits of automation. Whether it’s inspection, traceability, material transport or process optimization, the application of highly advanced technologies has been central to the company’s successful production strategy for many years. MYCenter Analysis is just the latest in the ongoing pursuit for the optimal high-flexibility production environment.

For a savvy production manager, it’s always possible to get the right troubleshooting data from your pick-and-place machine – if you have plenty of time and effort to spare. Thanks to MYCenter Analysis, the supervisors at one electronics manufacturing facility can get the statistics they need at a glance, without ever leaving the office.

For Allelektronik in southern Sweden, the new MYCenter Analysis dashboard came as a real eye-opener. Having spent more than a decade optimizing production for a single customer, Production Manager Mats Landström was thrilled to see things from an entirely new perspective. “We really didn’t know if the software would be useful at first,” he says. “Now we can’t live without it.”

At Mycronic, we're dedicated to integrating sustainability into all parts of our operations and business. Our sustainability initiatives focus on the areas where Mycronic can make the greatest difference. This way, we can contribute to the transition to a more sustainable electronics sector and future-proof our business. Efforts began during 2020 to establish a clearer sustainability strategy, with long-term Group-wide sustainability goals.

“Every day we’re busy conceiving the next revolutionary idea in electronics technology – always with our customer’s current and future needs front of mind. Our new brand principles are guiding us to continue extending the frontiers of electronics technology, and to make the world smarter, brighter and more sustainable for people everywhere”. CEO Anders Lindqvist explains Mycronic’s updated brand platform and the new principles guiding us forward. 

Mycronic is to acquire atg Luther & Maelzer, a leading global developer, manufacturer and supplier of advanced equipment for electrical testing of PCBs and substrate. The acquisition strengthens and broadens Mycronic's offering and creates a platform in the field of electrical testing. 

Regionalization, digitalization, automation and sustainability are global, underlying megatrends that push development in the electronics industry forward and contribute to a shift in industry dynamics. Understanding these trends, and acting accordingly, is key to keep our customers at the forefront of the electronics industry.

SMD Tower set the benchmark for intelligent component storage. Now, with two new high-capacity models, the options are wider than ever for manufacturers who demand the ultimate in compact, near-production storage. It’s a system so far in the forefront, we decided it needed a new name. We call it MYTower.

SOMIRO is an EU-financed research project that aims to advance the technology for monitoring processes in precision agriculture. Together with eight European partners, Mycronic will develop a swimming soft milli-robot to improve water quality monitoring – while reducing the environmental footprint of farming.

5G is expected to fundamentally alter the way we connect and communicate, because it has the capacity to connect everyone with everything - including devices, objects and machines. A key element in realizing the full potential of 5G is the shift to a new, decentralized infrastructure that ensures ultra-low latency in the communication between all these devices, objects and machines. In this article, let us explain why this is so important and how Mycronic technology is an essential component to the global roll-out of 5G.

If you’re like most manufacturers, repetitive material handling tasks can consume entirely too much valuable staff time. The new dual-terminal MYTower gives you twice the possibilities for loading and unloading of components and reels by offering flexible access for any combination of people and machines.

Customers asked, and we listened: Bringing together live performance data, root-cause analysis, and actionable insights into a powerful dashboard interface. It’s called MYCenter Analysis, and it’s all about improving production output with less operator intervention.

Mycronic’s CEO Anders Lindqvist, together with 1,293 other CEOs from more than 100 countries, has signed a joint UN statement calling for international cooperation to be mobilized across borders, sectors and generations.

Even with all your resources running at full capacity, there are still signifi cant gains to be made. Through enhanced interfaces and smarter interactions, your people can focus on the higher-value tasks that make your factory more agile and more productive.

At its headquarters in a high-tech industry hub in Brisbane, Australia, Elexon Electronics is investing in the future of advanced local manufacturing. For CEO Frank Faller, this means finding new solutions to turn ideas into products faster, smarter and with the highest quality.

Stock accuracy, traceability, and timely delivery of parts are key aspects of a material handling system. Today, most factories still rely on manual handling of electronic components. In the best case with the support of unique barcodes for parts and a tight software integration to a MES or ERP system. To further increase factory productivity, improving the business, a higher degree of automation is required. This is a trend already ongoing among electronic manufacturers worldwide.

BRIGHTER is an EU-financed project that aims to develop a novel bioprinting technology that will be used to produce tissue samples that mimic biological tissue with embedded three-dimensional structures.

MYCRONIC INTRODUCED the MYC50 conformal coating system to the global market in November 2017. The system was designed to work in the demanding high running factories of China and Asia.

In the SMT industry, we’re seeing how AI and machine learning are being applied to fields like automated optical inspection (AOI) to significantly increase first-pass yield, eliminate potential human errors and boost production.

Sophisticated displays have become a natural part of our society, and global electronics manufacturers are constantly improving the display quality of mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and computers to give customers a better experience.

Ongoing segmentation and regionalization of the market as well as stricter sustainability demands are changing the conditions within the electronics industry. Despite uncertainty due to the coronavirus and trade policy tensions, global trends are supporting the company’s business direction.

What happens when business is growing, components are shrinking, and both staff and production space remain the same? A visit to Allelektronik shows that the answer lies in the thoughtful development of smarter planning systems, advanced equipment and cutting-edge automation solutions.

Automation is taking the world by storm; globalization continues with more distinct ecosystems for East and West; disruptive AI and Big Data are just getting started and drones may soon be whizzing around assembly plants.

The ten trends to keep an eye out for; automation, big data, AI, robotics, two global ecosystems, shorter production cycles, the full line's throughput, sustainability, connectivity and flexible equipment. 

In this pandemic Mycronic’s top priority is the health and well-being of our team members and to continue to support and service our customers. The focus has been, and remains to be, the safety of our employees, to slow down the spread and to secure critical functions within the company.

There’s a new messenger in town and it’s called Hermes. Named after the Greek messenger of the gods, it brings good tidings to the SMT industry. The good news is that around 60 leading equipment suppliers have unified around a modern protocol to replace the dated SMEMA standard. And Mycronic will now chair this initiative.

Sustainability is a key element of Mycronic’s business strategy and we are continuously working to improve our management of the sustainability challenges that we face. A lot of work remains, but we continue to lay a solid foundation with the aim to contribute to a more sustainable electronics industry.

The Swedish initiative Tekniksprånget (Technology Leap) is a four-month paid internship program where upper secondary school graduates get to join Sweden's most renowned organizations. The goal? To show young people what career opportunities there are within engineering.

Through data-driven production there are more ways than ever to gain new insights and better control the electronics production. Mycronic’s vision is to enable a zero-defect assembly line with the highest utilization for any product mix.

Missing components. Sticky notes falling off. Hunting for information. The list of reasons for unplanned downtime could go on. But in most cases, line utilization is heavily dependent on efficient material and information handling.

Last night Global SMT & Packaging held their annual Global Technology Award at Productronica, and recognized Mycronic with two awards for being one of the industry’s leading innovators. One for our Jet Printer and SPI inspection machine’s add-on and repair solution and one for Vi TECHNOLOGY’s process control software SIGMA Link.

New product mixes. New innovations. New perspectives. As electronics assembly grows more complex, Mycronic and its customers are expanding their visions for the future. It’s all about leveraging bigger data and actionable insights to take broader control of fast-changing industry demands.

Data-driven manufacturing is redefining tomorrow’s workflows and unlocking new opportunities in quality, flexibility and productivity. Mycronic has defined six key process pillars that will be vital to capturing more value in tomorrow’s most demanding production environments.

Integrated inspection solutions continue to pay off for customers, even at the highest production volumes. With Mycronic’s latest innovation, it’s now possible to automatically eliminate stencil printing compromises at any production volume with simpler stencils, perfect jet-printed solder joints and the highest possible yields.

Deep in the snow-capped mountains of Sweden, the national cross-country ski team will soon not only be pushing their limits in the tracks, but testing stretchable electronic sensors to monitor heart rate, stress, glucose levels and more.

A true internationalist with a global track record of growing technology-based companies, Anders Lindqvist, new CEO of Mycronic, says the company will continue to invest heavily in R&D, grow organically, acquire new companies where it makes sense and stay close to its customers to add big value.

Has your production expanded to higher volumes? Do you still need the flexibility and quick changeovers to handle half a dozen different products a day? And are your line operators paying the price for these conflicting demands?

Through Mycronic’s fully integrated 3D solder paste inspection and jet printing solution, you can automatically eliminate your stencil defects.

As a response to the growing demand for new low-end segment mask writers, Mycronic introduces SLX – a next generation semiconductor laser mask writer series. The launch of the SLX also marks the company’s re-entry to the market of laser-based mask writers for the semiconductor industry.

Quality challenges? Unwanted stoppages? Unnecessary programming? Now you can control tomorrow’s workflow like never before. With new state-of-the-art assembly solutions. The latest advances in machine learning and collaborative robotics. And end-to-end expertise in factory-wide planning and integration. 

Boston-based Automated Engineering Inc. (AEi) may be a little-known part of Mycronic for most SMT customers, but for the fast-growing automotive electronics industry, AEi’s compact solutions are critical to producing millions of advanced camera sensor modules per year.

The MYSmart series and Mycronic’s jet printing technologies make it possible to solve any dispensing or conformal coating challenge. Mycronic is establishing multiple application centers worldwide to help customers make the most of them.

Mycronic’s new collaborative Center for Deep Learning in Electronics Manufacturing (CDLe) in San Jose, California is focused on deep learning, a subset of AI and machine learning that employs sophisticated neural networks to effectively learn how to predict actual outputs from actual data.

Together with NuFlare Technology and D2S, with support from NVIDIA, Mycronic has established the Center for Deep Learning in Electronics Manufacturing (CDLe) in San Jose, California. Mikael Wahlsten, Director and Product Area Manager for Photomask Generators at Mycronic, gives his insights into the idea behind the new collaboration and what it can mean for Mycronic customers in the near future.

Multiple fluids. Multiple ejectors. Dual heads. Higher speeds. Put together, all of these enhancements mark the beginning of a new era for jet printing.

In the visionary project European Horizon 2020 research project SINTEC we get the possibility to share our passion for technology. Together with seven partners, we will develop a technology for stretchable electronic patches.