David Savastano, Editor02.15.12
In the past year, there has been movement toward commercialization of numerous products in printed electronics (PE), with other projects heading towards the market. As a result, companies are looking at improving their manufacturing capabilities. On the equipment side, companies are fine-tuning their machinery with an eye toward production.
Haiku Tech, Inc. is among the equipment manufacturers who are successfully tailoring their equipment for printed electronics companies, whether it is for the lab, pilot or mass production. Long a leader in customizing screen printing and coatings machinery for multi-layer materials, Haiku Tech has been able to translate its success in these markets into the printed electronics field, beginning in the solar segment.
“Our core business is printers for electronics manufacturing,” said Martin De Moya, sales and service manager, Haiku Tech, Inc., adding that printing fine patterns is critical in all of Haiku Tech’s core markets. “We see the printed electronics market more as an extension of our regular market.
“Outside of PE, we work on printing and coating technology for the manufacture of ceramic components like capacitors or chip carriers,” De Moya added. “Recently, we have moved into solar cell technology and displays.”
Printed electronics covers a wide range of disciplines, which have their own specific needs, and requirements differ from the lab to production. De Moya noted that requires a certain degree of customization from suppliers.
“We try to have a very good understanding of the process our customer will run on the machine,” De Moya said. “For this, we have a laboratory to work with the materials of a customer and try our different technologies. We also employ materials engineers who understand the process, as they have many years of experience in making electronics. As a result, most machines that we develop and sell are tailored to the customers’ process needs.”
To meet these specific needs, Haiku Tech is working on new technologies for the PE market, whether it is creating wider webs, multiple printing stations or other specialized processes. For example, Haiku Tech’s photovoltaics equipment allows solar cell manufacturers to print finer lines with a high aspect ratio, through double printing on substrates or roll to roll; the company is now offering new process tools.
“At this moment, the most important advance is our new punching tooling for cutting out through holes and product shapes with a superior accuracy,” De Moya noted. “We are also developing integrated print inspection in our printers with a new technology to achieve the require cycle time and accuracy on larger areas.”
Overall, DeMoya believes that the PE market will continue to grow, and he expects that over time, we will see more projects head to the marketplace.
“We have seen more enquiries, and we see a number of hot new projects under development in start-up companies that certainly will come to fruition, but in our experience, such projects sometimes can take more time than expected,” DeMoya concluded.
Haiku Tech, Inc. is among the equipment manufacturers who are successfully tailoring their equipment for printed electronics companies, whether it is for the lab, pilot or mass production. Long a leader in customizing screen printing and coatings machinery for multi-layer materials, Haiku Tech has been able to translate its success in these markets into the printed electronics field, beginning in the solar segment.
“Outside of PE, we work on printing and coating technology for the manufacture of ceramic components like capacitors or chip carriers,” De Moya added. “Recently, we have moved into solar cell technology and displays.”
Printed electronics covers a wide range of disciplines, which have their own specific needs, and requirements differ from the lab to production. De Moya noted that requires a certain degree of customization from suppliers.
“We try to have a very good understanding of the process our customer will run on the machine,” De Moya said. “For this, we have a laboratory to work with the materials of a customer and try our different technologies. We also employ materials engineers who understand the process, as they have many years of experience in making electronics. As a result, most machines that we develop and sell are tailored to the customers’ process needs.”
To meet these specific needs, Haiku Tech is working on new technologies for the PE market, whether it is creating wider webs, multiple printing stations or other specialized processes. For example, Haiku Tech’s photovoltaics equipment allows solar cell manufacturers to print finer lines with a high aspect ratio, through double printing on substrates or roll to roll; the company is now offering new process tools.
“At this moment, the most important advance is our new punching tooling for cutting out through holes and product shapes with a superior accuracy,” De Moya noted. “We are also developing integrated print inspection in our printers with a new technology to achieve the require cycle time and accuracy on larger areas.”
Overall, DeMoya believes that the PE market will continue to grow, and he expects that over time, we will see more projects head to the marketplace.
“We have seen more enquiries, and we see a number of hot new projects under development in start-up companies that certainly will come to fruition, but in our experience, such projects sometimes can take more time than expected,” DeMoya concluded.