Month: April 2021

Retronix & Solder Connection Enter into a Strategic Partnership

Posted on by Maulin Buch

Retronix & Solder Connection Enter into a Strategic Partnership

Delivering High Reliability IC & PCBA Solutions to Ireland

“The relationship with Retronix represents a powerful opportunity for Solder Connection to significantly expand our presence in Ireland a very important market. Retronix has clearly demonstrated their ability to apply considerable expertise not only to enter but to lead major market segments within the high reliability electronics sectors globally. We’re excited to partner with Retronix as we focus our combined energies serving a broader range of customers with industry-leading technology solutions in Ireland.” – Martyn Penfold | Solder Connection

“The partnerships that Retronix develop globally are with carefully selected companies that share the same ethos as ourselves, technical, transparent in method but also solutions driven organisations that will help add benefit to our current and future customers. The partnership with Solder Connection is further testament to this and we look forward to further developing that relationship.” – Gary Moffat | Retronix

Who are Solder Connection?

Founded in 1989, Solder Connection has become one of the UK and Ireland’s foremost technical supplier of soldering materials for both the Electronic and Industrial sectors. With sales office and warehouse based primarily in Chepstow, they also have an office in Dublin which runs the Irish sales and operations.

To further support their market sector Solder Connection also stock and supply a complete range of products from Metcal soldering and rework systems, BOFA fume filtration, Electrolube conformal coatings, Microcare Cleaning solutions, Ultrawave cleaning tanks and a full range of consumable items.

They boast a fully integrated management system comprising of ISO9001, ISO14001 and OSHOA 18001 and 24/7 technical support.

Visit Solder Connection Website

The Automotive Industries Component Shortage Crisis

Posted on by Maulin Buch

The Automotive Industries Component Shortage Crisis: Component Reclaim Eases Burden on Supply Chain

With the chip crisis forecast to hit the production of 3.9m vehicles this year, the automotive industry is to lose a staggering $210 billion in revenue in 2021 alone. 

With the ability to quickly recover valuable components that organisations desperately need while enabling a Circular Economy that positively impacts the environment. Component Reclaim is offering businesses a viable solution out of this dire supply chain crisis.

When will the chip shortage end?

As would be expected, there are several disputes over how long the shortage will last. However, it’s difficult to ignore the forecasts of the chip makers themselves. Unfortunately for the likes of GM and Ford, who have had to shut down production at many of their plants, it’s not looking promising. 

Arm Holdings Chief Executive, Simon Segars, is predicting that the crisis will prevail until at least the end of next year, citing that the “This isn’t a short-term problem with a short-term solution.” Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger, shares the same bleak outlook, believing that the industry won’t be back on track for another couple of years (Techspot).

With chip lead times pushing 26+ weeks alternative ideas and technologies are beginning to be explored as a means of helping to speed up recovery. 

Alternative ideas & technologies

As discussed in Forbes, Sundar Kamak, Head of Manufacturing Solutions of Ivalua Inc. has called for manufacturers to turn their attention to reusing and recycling chips from older devices and equipment.  

“Each year millions of devices and equipment containing chips are scrapped or thrown away – the UN found there was 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste in 2019 globally, of which just 17% was recycled. Not only could this help ease the burden on supply chains, it will also have a positive impact on the economy, and encourage regenerative design to reduce reliance on finite resources”, Kamak said (Forbes).

Component Reclaim may seem like a new phenomenon, but not to us. At Retronix, we have been recovering components from PCBs and returning to a ‘like new’ condition for three decades now. Operating to IPC-9592 STD, our leading technology, including Laser Reballing, delivers the safest recovery and refurbishment service in the industry. 

Our process to recover and refurbish devices, including BGA Chips, not only reduces the amount and cost of scrap going to landfills but also seriously damages the counterfeit industry. With five electronic components on average making up to 60% of the value of an entire assembly, we have seen customers recover £120k worth of chips from just one board.

Retronix is carrying out this service and other bespoke services for hundreds of customers across the world, so what you may think is a unique issue you are facing we might already have a solution for. Our Component Shortage Service encompasses a range of solutions that could solve your sourcing issues quickly and safely: 

Click HERE to learn more or get in touch today via the contact form below. 

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Electronic Component Shortages

Posted on by Maulin Buch

The Electronic Component Shortage

At the start of the year, Retronix had reported on the critical semiconductor shortage threatening to hamstring production lines of the world’s largest carmakers – demand is high, supply is tight.

Fast forward to today and that looming threat has become a stark reality with the world’s biggest carmaker Toyota, having just announced that it is to slash worldwide vehicle production by 40% in September. Volkswagen, the second-biggest car producer, has warned that it may also have to slash production (BBC News).

What has caused this disruption?

As reported by the Harvard Business Review there has been a multitude of one-off factors that have caused this situation that likes of Samsung, VW and Apple find themselves in today. From fires in Japan, storms in Texas to more unnatural Geopolitical factors, these unrelated occurrences have created a domino effect of disruptions that have caused a severe in-balance in the semiconductor supply chain.

However, as highlighted by Business Line, “supply chains in all sorts of industries have dealt with shortages resulting from catastrophes before” and have managed to pull through. So, what’s different this time?

The Electronics Supply Chain

The truth is that this imbalance in the supply chain was present far before any of these “freak” occurrences. Direct Components explain that the shortage of multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) is a consequence of the rise in demand for portable technology and automotive advancements. In turn, this has exasperated the availability of tantalum capacitors, a well-known MLCC alternative. Harvard Business Review calls for large manufacturers in automotive and other sectors suffering from this component shortage to take a long hard look at their supply chain strategies and ask themselves “Where have they prioritized cost reduction at the expense of risk management?”.

Certainly, if we have learned anything from the pandemic, supply chains are extremely volatile, and while the vaccine is picking up pace in the fight against COVID-19. The shortage in components doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

How can Retronix help?

From Retronix perspective, we have seen customers reporting that they are having to step outside of the approved suppliers to source the components they require. This has seen an upturn in our testing services as we act as a third-party test house to help our customers verify their new suppliers. Our Component Reclaim Service also offers a much-needed solution for customers by safely and quickly recovering and reworking components for builds.

Click HERE to learn more about our Semiconductor Shortage Solutions Service or get in touch today via the contact form below.

Component Shortage Infographic

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