CALUMET, MI – Calumet Electronics is proud to announce a significant expansion of its domestic printed circuit board (PCB) production capacity at its campus in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Over the last four years, Calumet has strategically invested in manufacturing equipment, workforce development, and campus expansion. These company-wide efforts aim to fulfill two strategic objectives: meeting the increased volume and technology demands of current and future clients and reinforcing Calumet’s commitment to onshoring critical advanced PCB production capabilities for DoD partners including flex and rigid flex boards. The company is currently building America’s most advanced substrate factory, slated to be operational later this year.

The recent investments by Calumet have focused on expanding its manufacturing campus to more than 200,000 square feet. This is the fourth expansion in the company’s history. Situated in the heart of a rural community, the growing campus is bustling with a highly trained workforce, additional engineers, refined processes, and state-of-the-art equipment. Moreover, Calumet’s investments extend beyond infrastructure and equipment. To support its expanded production, the company has made substantial investments in its people and culture, emphasizing SOP training to cultivate a team of top-tier producers.

Todd Brassard, Chief Operating Officer of Calumet, commented, “As we scale up our expanded production, we are seizing more opportunities to provide quotes. Depending on the complexity of the PCB design, domestically produced orders can ship in approximately three to five weeks. We are equipped to deliver standard work promptly and tackle the industry’s most complex challenges with our world-class team and cutting-edge facility, right here in the U.S.”

Calumet is one of the few American companies wholly committed to manufacturing PCBs domestically. While majority of domestic PCB production moved offshore over the past few decades, leaving only 4% of the world’s PCB manufacturing in the U.S., Calumet Electronics remains steadfast in its commitment to zero offshoring – both now and in the future.

In a landscape where other board shops are closing their doors, Calumet’s strategic plans have positioned the company as a leader in PCB and substrate manufacturing in the United States.

SINGAPORE – ENNOVI, a mobility electrification solutions partner, introduces a more advanced and sustainable way of producing flexible circuits for low voltage signals in electric vehicle (EV) battery cell contacting systems. While flexible printed circuits (FPC) are often employed in these systems, they are the most expensive component in the current collector assembly. ENNOVI’s flexible die-cut circuit (FDC) technology offers a more cost-effective and sustainable solution, with fewer manufacturing procedures and faster continuous reel-to-reel production.

Generally, FPCs are manufactured using a multi-stage, batch photolithography process to etch copper traces for the flexible circuit. This production process uses corrosive chemicals that dissolve the unwanted copper. In addition, it takes a lot of time and energy to extract the waste copper from the chemicals, making it challenging to effectively recycle. The die-cutting process allows for instant recycling of the copper, making it a more substance preference to chemical etching.

Compared with FPCs, which have a size limitation of 600x600mm, FDCs boast no length restrictions as they are manufactured reel-to-reel. Under certain design considerations, the FDC provides similar performance characteristics to FPCs. These results were confirmed through rigorous in-house dimension, thermal shock, trace resistance, temperature rise, insulation resistance and high voltage testing.

“Adopting the FDC capability for flexible circuits aligns with our vision to think outside the box in creating a sustainable battery value chain for EVs,” explains,” explains Gustavo Cibrian, at ENNOVI. “Our efforts enable ENNOVI to offer battery manufacturers a CCA design solution that balances their imperatives in terms of cost, time and performance. Allowing them to design to cost.”

For more information on ENNOVI’s FDC competency, please visit

https://ennovi.com/fdc-technology/ 

The Alfa Laval group, a major player in the decarbonisation industry, has spent 140 years developing solutions that adapt to the evolving energy market. On Thursday the 4th of April 2024, Alfa Laval launched a new production line dedicated to printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHE) at the Alfa Laval Vicarb plant (Le Fontanil, Isère). This new line incorporates cutting-edge diffusion-welding (bonding) technology, making it possible to produce an ultra-compact solution that supports the energy transition in a number of sectors (energy, marine, etc.), particularly in hydrogen-related applications.

With the launch of this new production line, Alfa Laval is bringing specialist expertise to the Hydrogen Valley, making Le Fontanil a hub of excellence among PCHE production sites in France. The new line will also produce around 1,000 Hybloc™ units per year. This French-manufactured PCHE works as a pre-cooler in hydrogen refuelling stations, cooling the hydrogen before it enters a vehicle.

With 300,000 vehicles in Europe estimated to use this energy by 2030, Alfa Laval plans to deploy 1,000 stations across France to support the scale up. Prospects for development in this market therefore come with significant growth opportunities for the group.

Alfa Laval Vicarb, a PCHE excellence hub in France

Established in 1973 in Fontanil-Cornillon, the company Vicarb joined the Alfa Laval group in 2000. With its 230 employees, it has become a nerve centre for the production of welded plate heat exchangers.

In 2024, Alfa Laval is going a step further by investing in a new production line dedicated to printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHE). In this new line, a wet etching technique is used to make the thermal performance of the PCHE fluid-carrying pipes exceptionally high, while cutting-edge diffusion-bonding technology is used to produce an extremely robust heat exchanger core. The result? Alfa Laval's printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHE) offer greater robustness, integrity, and heat transfer rates in a unit that is 85% smaller and lighter than shell and tube heat exchangers. The unique design provides outstanding performance, lower installation and operating costs.

Showcasing Alfa Laval's ISO 50001 certified production site

Alfa Laval products are perfect for customers looking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and become carbon neutral by 2030. A commitment which Alfa Laval also applies to its own global activity.

Since 2022, Alfa Laval Vicarb has been leading the way to sustainable production by becoming the group's first site to obtain ISO 50001 certification. To comply with the requirements of this certification, Alfa Laval Vicarb needed to initiate various projects that optimise energy consumption, both at the production site and in the neighbouring offices. This certificate confirms Alfa Laval's sustainable approach to energy management in production.

With Hybloc™ production now in Le Fontanil, Alfa Laval places itself at the core of France's green hydrogen ecosystem.

This new PCHE production line means that Alfa Laval can develop its Hybloc™, the latest solution for hydrogen refuelling, in Europe. As the world's second biggest market for hydrogen, the European Union is a benchmark region for the development of hydrogen-based mobility. So, to anticipate the increase demand, Alfa Laval is introducing a diffusion-bonding technology, previously only used at the Alfa Laval CorHex site in Korea, in the hydrogen valley of France. This unique welding technology simultaneously applies pressure and heat to assemble 2 components and is a vital step in the production of printed circuit heat exchangers.

Thanks to the installation of special furnaces, Alfa Laval is now able to increase its Hybloc™ exchanger production capacity to 1,000 units per year. This all comes alongside the ImaGHYne project, which encourages the development of a major hydrogen valley within the region. Alfa Laval joined forces with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council with an investment of €10 million to make it happen.

Looking to the future with technologies and expertise in tomorrow's industries

The new production line requires its welders to be trained in diffusion-bonding techniques; the latest of many qualifications and skills needed when creating Alfa Laval Vicarb heat exchangers. This comes in addition to the thorough checks that need to be carried out during and after the production process to guarantee end product quality, including:

• Visual and dimensional checks conducted entirely by operators
• Non-destructive tests conducted by independently-trained verifiers
• Hydraulic pressure tests (up to 2,000 bars)
• Process assessments and monitoring by quality control staff
• Audits and checks performed by various external inspectors accompanied by Alfa Laval own inspection department

These measures comply with ISO standards, PED regulations, and the ASME code applying to pressure vessels.

A key player in the green hydrogen market

According to forecasts, green hydrogen could account for up to 24% of the energy market by 2050. So, to meet the increasing demand for solutions across the hydrogen value chain, Alfa Laval is positioning itself as a key supplier for all its applications. It is doing so by supplying a wide range of economical, high-performance heat exchangers intended for:

• The distribution and transportation sectors. In the form of hydrogen refuelling stations, as well as hydrogen storage, compression, and decompression systems
• The industrial-scale production of green hydrogen

Thanks to major R&D investments, the group is constantly developing new solutions that can reach new heights when it comes to heat exchanger performance, no matter the intended end use.

For example, Alfa Laval's ultra-compact solutions are designed to operate at the high standards required by the marine, energy, hydrogen, oil, and gas sectors. The group also provide equipment for long-term energy storage for renewable energy options such as wind and solar power.

ATLANTA — ECIA is pleased to announce that Ron Reed, Director of Supplier Operations at Avnet (Americas) has joined the Global Industry Practices Committee (GIPC). The GIPC works to identify common global problems and issues, organize Subject Matter Experts to research, provide guidance and drive adoption of measures to increase efficiencies throughout the global authorized channel for electronic components.

"I am thrilled to welcome Ron to the GIPC. We will take advantage of his 30 years of experience in the broader electronics distribution industry. He will be a valuable addition to the talented team of industry professionals already on our current committee,” Don Elario, ECIA’s VP of Industry Practices commented. “I look forward to working with him to drive best practices within our industry.”

“I am super-excited to be working with a group of talented and experienced industry leaders to promote best practices,” Ron added.

Ron began his career at Insight Electronics (Memec Group) working in logistics, asset management and sales. For the past 9 years he has resided in Guadalajara, Mexico, leading local Avnet teams focused on customer service, procurement, and product management. Ron holds a BS from Brigham Young University and an MPA from San Diego State University. He and his wife Michelle have three children and two grandchildren. Ron’s outside interests include Latin American cuisine and culture, travel, reading, freediving and spearfishing.