Internet page

Citation

Rigelsford, J. (2004), "Internet page", Assembly Automation, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2004.03324aag.001

Internet page

Keywords: Internet, Precision engineering, Manufacturing

http://www.warrenind.com/WIPMPrecisionAssembly.htmlWarren Industries Precision Manufacturing

Founded in 1908, Warren Industries provides custom solutions through high-quality precision manufacturing. As a leading manufacturer of precision instrumentation, Warren-Knight have good relations with government agencies such as the US Department of Defense, NASA, International Civil Aviation Organization, the National Weather Service, FAA, NATO and many research institutes and university laboratories. Along with their custom manufacturing and precision assembly solutions, Warren Industries offers a range of equipment for metrology, machine measurement and alignment, optical tooling, surveying, calibration and certification.

Unfortunately, this is a cluttered site that contains less information, although there are some useful conversion tables.

http://www.hytel.com/main.htmHytel Group, Inc.

The Hytel Group specialises in electronic designs and manufacturing services of high- density modules for medical, automotive, RF and optoelectronics industries.

This is an extremely disappointing site.

http://www.servometer.com/PrecisionAssembly.htmlServometer

Established in 1957, Servometer's first commercial success was in developing a process that would allow them to manufacture miniature electrodeposited nickel metal bellows. They now design and manufacture custom precision components and assemblies for medical, military, aerospace and other high- technology applications. They are still a global leader in the production of precision electroformed bellows and related products.

http://www.optics.unine.chIMT Applied Optics

The Institute of Micro-Technology (IMT) of the University of Neuchâtel was founded as a part of the Faculty of Science and collaborates with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).Their work focusses on educational and research activities in microelectronics, sensors and actuators, applied optics, physical electronics, electronics and signal processing, and pattern recognition.

Europractice III was launched by the European Commission in 1995 and is aimed at providing access to microsystems technologies for industries. The role of IMT Applied Optics is to provide design services for projects incorporating diffractive or refractive micro- optics and builds on their experience in the design and fabrication of diffractive optical elements, hybrid elements and microlens arrays.

http://www.minatec.com/minatec_uk/index.htmMinatec

Minatec was formed by CEA-Leti Grenoble and INP Grenoble, and aims to become Europe's top centre for innovation and expertise in microtechnology and nanotechnology. In addition to the e 250 m invested by its founders, a further e 150 m will be invested in Minatec between 2002 and 2005 to fund the new infrastructure. Ultimately they hope to employ 3,500 engineers, researchers and academics.

This site is well presented and outlines the resources, technology and research, training, and services provided by Minatec. Online documents are available in English and French.

http://www.palomartechnologies.comPalomar Technologies

Palomar Technologies provides complete process and equipment solutions for precision automated assembly of optical, RF and microelectronic packages in the photonic, wireless, microwave, automotive, aerospace, and medical industries. Processes include high accuracy component assembly with eutectic solder or epoxy, precision ball bonding, and wedge bonding for fine pitch devices. Their MEMS packaging system provides 5 mm accuracy placement in the X, Y and Z axes, and 200 μrad in Θ axis.

Overall, this is an informative site that is clearly presented, easy to navigate and well worth visiting.

http://www.2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/msl/www/publications/tsu98.pdfPaper

This paper titled “Miniature Factories for Precision Assembly”, written by Ralph Hollis and Jay Gowdy was presented at the International Workshop on MicroFactories, held in Tsukuba, Japan, 1998. It presents a reconfigurable tabletop precision assembly system for sensor-based micromanipulation and automated precision assembly. Their prototype has one sigma motion resolutions of 200 nm. Such a system will provide reduced deployment times, higher quality, and a new level of manufacturing system portability.

http://www.itri.org.twIndustrial Technology Research Institute

Founded in 1973 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is a non-profit R&D organization engaged in applied research and technical services to help serve the technological needs of Taiwan's industrial development. Current research at ITRI includes: communications and optoelectronics; precision machinery and MEMS; materials and chemical engineering; biomedical technology; sustainable development; and nanotechnology.

This is another excellent site that is well presented, and easy to navigate.

HOT SITES

http://www.atsautomation.comAutomation Tooling Systems Inc.

Automation Tooling Systems Inc. is one of the world's leading industrial automation companies with 3,500 employees and 26 facilities worldwide dedicated to designing and manufacturing advanced factory automation systems, custom automation equipment, standard automation products and turn-key assembly machinery. They also produce high- volume high-precision microelectronics process and assembly systems for advanced packaging, multi-chip modules and optoelectronics sub-assemblies, such as solar cells and solar modules. Their products include Superbote, Supertrake Pallet Conveyor, and Flexsyse semi-automated process development and production systems.

This is a well presented site that is easy to navigate. It contains links to related sites, technical updates, and product literature.

http://www.zyvex.com/Alliances/government.htmlZyvex Corporation

Zyvex Corporation was one of the first molecular nanotechnology companies. They provide manufacturing solutions using nanotechnology in key commercial applications areas of materials, tool and structures. In 2001, they received a $25 million National Institute of Standards and Technology-Advanced Technology Program (NIST-ATP) award “Assemblers for Nanotechnology Applications and Manufacturing: Enabling the Nanotechnology Era”. This award is aimed to help Zyvex develop systems that provide highly- parallel microassembly and nanoassembly for real-world, high-volume applications.

Jon Rigelsford