We now have more than 420 eC-stencil-mates and more than 450 eC-reflow-mates in use in the field. We have gathered together some comments from our users which we reproduce with their permission.

eC-stencil-mate

eC-stencil-mate
eC-stencil-mate

“Fast and simple set-up”

Ateknea has 6 offices across the EU, specialising in R&D, Innovation Project Management and innovative engineering solutions. Our engineers have research experience across a wide range of technologies, delivering multi-disciplinary solutions to customers’ projects.

We are specialists in innovation and need to get working prototypes to our customers fast. As we use advanced components reliability is paramount. eC-stencil-mates has greatly improved the quality and reliability of our prototype SMD assemblies. The pin-based registration system makes it fast and accurate to set up, ideal for assembling prototype PCBs with complex components.

Ateknea Solutions, Barcelona, Spain.

“Increased speed”

“Anglian Electronics are specialists in the design and manufacture of embedded microcontroller-based products and contract electronic manufacturing from prototype design to complete product design and manufacture.

Using eC-stencil-mate I have just populated a batch of boards in 2 hours that previously would have taken me all day.”

Anglian Electronics, Norwich, UK.

eC-reflow-mate

eC-reflow-mate
eC-reflow-mate

“Quick return on investment”

“At embedded projects GmbH we are specialist developers of embedded Linux hardware and software solutions. Hardware products include our own range of embedded measurement and control systems as well as the GNUBLIN family of Linux-based development PCBs.

We need to assemble prototype PCBs and small series, typically 20 – 30 pieces. We were using an assembly service, but decided to investigate the possibilities of doing the work in-house. We surveyed the market for reflow ovens and selected the eC-reflow-mate.

There were cheaper solutions but they did not appear trustworthy: they were poorly engineered and did not provide the overall control we needed for quality reflow soldering.

More expensive solutions offered no better soldering performance than eC-reflow-mate. They added more automation to handle larger production volumes, but our requirements did not warrant the extra costs.

“Our choice was fully justified”

It was very easy to get professional soldering results with little effort and training. eC-reflow-mate worked immediately from the beginning.

Our investment has been paid back really quickly. When we used an assembly service for our prototypes, we had to place a minimum order for 5 – 6 PCBs, even if we only needed 1 – 2. Costs quickly escalated to around €1000. With eC-reflow-mate we can order the exact number of boards we need, usually just 1 – 2, and assemble them in-house. The total costs are now 25% of what we had to pay before.

For our small series, typically 20 – 30 PCBs, we have the added benefit of speed. As well as charging around €1000, assembly companies often require a lead-time of 6 – 8 weeks. Now we can order the PCBs from Eurocircuits on a cost-effective 7 day lead-time and assemble them easily within 2 days. We also save around 75% of the former costs.”

embedded projects GmbH, Augsburg, Germany.

“Essential to our business”

“Visual Engineering are specialists in the design and manufacture of small and tightly integrated remote camera solutions for broadcast and professional security needs. Much of our work is customer-specific, so we need prototype and small batch PCBs fast.

We could not be without the eC-reflow-mate. Once installed we could bring assembly in-house. eC-reflow-mate paid for itself within 2 months.”

– Visual Engineering Technologies Ltd., Colchester, UK.

“Gives us the temperature control that we need”

“Our eC-reflow-mate oven worked perfectly for mounting photomultiplier chips which were coated with a temperature sensitive epoxy which wouldn”t survive a vapour phase reflow oven”

– Experimental Officer, University of York, UK.

eC-stencil-mate and eC-reflow mate.

eC-stencil-mate bottom view
eC-stencil-mate bottom view

“Accurate, reliable and repeatable results impress our customers”

“b-smart are hardware and software project development specialists.

The accuracy and repeatability of eC-stencil-mate allow us to solder finer-pitch components. Previously we had to send these boards to an assembly house, adding additional time and cost to our projects.

The biggest benefit that eC-reflow-mate has given us is a secure and stable soldering environment. Once we have set up the optimum soldering profile for a class of PCBs, it is easy and straightforward to select it again from the menu on the eC-reflow-pilot software. This ensures reliable results for every batch of boards processed.

As a specialist hardware and software developer, we get regular visits from our customers to discuss their projects. They are always impressed when they see that we have professional printing and reflow equipment. eC-stencil-mate and eC-reflow-mate enhance our credibility and help us significantly in securing new business.”

b-smart GmbH, Sulzberg, Germany.

“New product development is faster and cheaper”

“ITH are the leading worldwide system supplier of bolting technology. With more than 200 patents to our name, the development of new products is crucial to our ongoing success.

We can order our prototype PCBs from Eurocircuits on a well-priced 5 day delivery. Using our eC-stencil-mate and eC-reflow-mate we can have the finished assembly tested and ready for use a day later. We save 60 – 70% of the cost of using a subcontract assembly house – and assembly houses do not deliver at a reasonable rate in less than 7 days from receipt of the PCBs.”

ITH GmbH, Meschede, Germany