Mitech expands line of Stat-Rite products
BFGoodrich Co.'s Mitech unit introduced an M-200 polypropylene-based addition to its Stat-Rite line of polymer alloy systems.
``Developmental quantities are available,'' said Timothy Fahey, senior business manager with Mitech in Twinsburg, Ohio.
Customers can use the static-dissipative, clean compounds for hard disk, medical device and electronic component packaging, including chip carriers, wafer handling and disk media handling.
Molded interconnect devices gain ground
Sales of molded interconnect devices at 12 firms worldwide grew last year to about $50 million, said Carl Edstrom, product manager for insert molding at UFE Inc. in Stillwater, Minn.
Industry sales were $30 million to $35 million in 1995 and $15 million to $20 million in 1994.
Makers of automotive sensors, electronic packages and hand-held telecommunication devices use MIDs to cut costs, consolidate parts and eliminate labor.
New PVC targeted at high-temp pipe, parts
In August, BFGoodrich Co.'s Corzan Industrial Systems will commercialize an advanced specialty plastic compound for higher-temperature piping and component applications.
Post-chlorinated PVC Corzan X10 survives in a condensate-return system carrying some sulphuric acid at an Atlanta facility of Delta Air Lines. The Delta site is among 10 test-market locations, according to Roger Ambler, Corzan industrial market development manager in Cleveland.
Corzan X10 can handle temperatures of at least 230§ F, up 18§ F over current Corzan CPVC materials. BFGoodrich makes the resin in Louisville, Ky., and licenses it to process component manufacturers.
W.R. Grace introduces adhesive, encapsulant
W.R. Grace & Co.'s specialty polymers division introduced Amicon E 6750 surface-mount adhesive and Amicon E 1115 underfill encapsulant, both one-component materials.
The low-temperature-curing 6750 adhesive is designed for use in high-speed pneumatic and positive displacement dispensers, according to John Noviello, surface mount specialist. Grace makes the material in Woburn, Mass. Development took two years.
The highly flowable, high-purity 1115 encapsulant minimizes production cycles and improves temperature cycling capacity by distributing stress, said David Peard, product manager. Grace makes the material in Lexington, Mass., where the unit is based.
Plastic Reel offering new PP and PS reels
Plastic Reel Corp. of America introduced a reusable, two-piece, 13-inch-diameter Space Saver reel made of polystyrene, and a three-piece take-up EZ Reel made of corrugated polypropylene.
The reels are used for packaging surface-mounted devices and are made with antistatic or conductive plastics, said Pat Baccarella, executive vice president of the Lyndhurst, N.J., firm.
Large-diameter EZ Reels replace cardboard and wood composites to package large parts and fasteners. Available in inert, antistatic or conductive plastic, the reels fit a niche ``where the quantities involved just didn't justify building an expensive plastic injection mold,'' Baccarella said.
Envimaco International Inc. in Lachine, Quebec, converts corrugated sheet into EZ Reels.
Particles to benefit electronic packages
Growth in the reinforcement of polymer matrix composites with ceramic or metal particles is seen as a near-term material trend to improve electronic packaging.
``The biggest gains will be made in particulate reinforcement,'' said Carl Zweben, advanced technology manager and division fellow with Lockheed Martin Corp.'s missiles and space division in King of Prussia, Pa.
Zweben conducted a workshop at Nepcon on uses of composite materials for electronic packaging.
``Existing technology is well-established. Customers are used to it. You give them a better material that processes the same way, and you can get it into production very quickly.''
Existing technology allows the use of high-purity silicon carbide, diamond, aluminum nitride, beryllia and hexagonal and cubic boron nitride, Zweben said.
Other trends involve the use of silica-reinforced epoxies for encapsulants and underfill, according to Zweben.
Boron nitride filler seeing greater use
Electronics end-users are showing interest in thermally conductive boron nitride fillers for polymeric materials, said Louise Pauly, PolarTherm powders' product manager for Advanced Ceramics Corp. of Lakewood, Ohio.
``Boron nitride helps dissipate heat better than existing fillers such as silica, alumina and, to some extent, alumina nitride,'' she said, noting the material's smoothness lends itself to use in cosmetics applications.