MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Businesswire | April 19, 2023
Infinitum, creator of the sustainable, breakthrough air core motor, today announced the acquisition of Circuit Connect, Inc. a printed circuit board (PCB) fabricator based in Nashua, New Hampshire that has consistently served the OEM and electronic manufacturing industry for 30 years.
The acquisition of Circuit Connect, Inc. supports Infinitum’s efforts to become more vertical and immediately allows for a substantially higher production capacity of PCB stators. The acquisition also provides a framework for continuous volume growth, which is critical to meeting the high demand for Infinitum’s innovative electric motor technology.
Infinitum’s unique air core motor motors replace heavy iron found in traditional electric motors with a lightweight, printed circuit board (PCB) stator that is 10x more reliable. Infinitum motors are 50 percent smaller and lighter, use 66 percent less copper and consume 10 percent less energy than standard iron core stator motors. The motor’s modular design allows the housing, rotors, and stators to be reused multiple times, giving parts a second and third life to serve future generations.
Circuit Connect, Inc has supplied Infinitum with PCB stators for more than 5 years, and has been closely involved in developing the manufacturing process and quality product that is at the heart of Infinitum’s award winning motors. The company has 21 employees who will join the Infinitum family, while continuing to service existing customers via the operation from Nashua, New Hampshire.
“Our PCB stator is the heart of our sustainable electric motors and what allows us to deliver the efficiency and energy savings that is so important to our customers and the planet,” said Ben Schuler, founder and CEO of Infinitum. “Circuit Connect has worked side by side with us advancing and improving how PCB stators are made. Their acquisition will help us ensure consistent delivery of quality stator components as we execute on our hypergrowth phase and scale up manufacturing to meet demand for our motors that can power the world with less energy and waste.”
“As a leader in PCB fabrication in the US for more than three decades, Circuit Connect’s dedication to customer success aligns well with Infinitum’s mission to build motors with reliability and extended life,” said Rick Clutz, founder, Circuit Connect. “We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and are excited about the next chapter as we ramp up production to help create motors that can have such a lasting and positive impact on the environment.”
About Infinitum
Infinitum has raised the bar for a new generation of motor that is better for the planet and people. The company’s patented air core motors offer superior performance in half the weight and size, at a fraction of the carbon footprint of traditional motors, making them pound for pound the most efficient in the world. Infinitum motors open up sustainable design possibilities for the machines we rely on to be smaller, lighter and quieter, improving our quality of life while also saving energy and reducing waste. Based in Austin, Texas, Infinitum is led by a team of industry experts and pioneers. To learn more, visit goinfinitum.com.
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Globenewswire | May 18, 2023
Micron Technology, Inc. announced today it will be introducing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to Japan, tapping this sophisticated patterning technology to manufacture its next generation of DRAM, the 1-gamma (1γ) node. Micron will be the first semiconductor company to bring EUV technology to Japan for production, with its Hiroshima fab playing a critical role in the company’s development of the 1-gamma node. Micron expects to invest up to 500 billion yen in 1-gamma process technology over the next few years, with close support from the Japanese government, to enable the next wave of end-to-end technology innovation such as rapidly emerging generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
With each successive advancement in process technology to scale memory cells and advance performance, Micron enables increased memory density, improvement in power efficiency and lower cost per bit, helping to unlock new opportunities for digitization, sustainability and green transformation, and automation. The introduction of 1-gamma follows the development of Micron’s 1-beta (1β), the industry's most advanced DRAM node today, which Micron mass produces in its Hiroshima fab. Micron continues to make progress on its EUV integration plans and expects to ramp EUV into production on the 1-gamma node in Taiwan and Japan from 2025 onwards.
“Micron’s Hiroshima operations have been central to the development and production of several industry-leading technologies for memory over the past decade,” Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said. “We are proud to be the first to use EUV in Japan and to be developing and manufacturing 1-gamma at our Hiroshima fab. Our plans reflect our continued commitment to Japan, strong relationship with the Japanese government and the exceptional talent of our Micron Hiroshima team.”
In recent years, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has extended significant investment support and established long-term strategies aimed at laying a strong foundation for leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing, a resilient supply chain and a digital economy in the country.
“Today’s announcement between Micron and Japan to produce 1-gamma memory in Hiroshima is a major step forward to secure semiconductor supply chains,” said Rahm Emanuel, United States Ambassador to Japan. “This partnership demonstrates how allies, when working together, can create economic opportunity and security in cutting-edge technologies.”
EUV lithography is the most sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing process in the world. Micron’s integration of EUV into its next node will play a key role in allowing the node to deliver faster, more power-efficient and higher-performance memory products and will enable the company to further its relentless pursuit of industry-first memory innovation.
“Micron is the only company that manufactures DRAM in Japan and is critical to setting the pace for not only the global DRAM industry but our developing semiconductor ecosystem,” said Satoshi Nohara, METI Director-General of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau. “We are pleased to see our collaboration with Micron take root in Hiroshima with state-of-the-art EUV to be introduced on Japanese soil. This will not only deepen and advance the talent and infrastructure of our semiconductor ecosystem, it will also unlock exponential growth and opportunity for our digital economy.”
Micron’s 1-gamma node follows the company’s industry-leading 1-beta node which Micron began shipping samples of last November to mobile manufacturers. Cementing this industry-first leadership, the company has now started shipping its 1-beta-based LPDDR5X memory made in Hiroshima to industrial, automotive and consumer customers across Asia, the U.S. and Europe. The memory delivers low power and performance for AI, intelligent vehicles and virtual reality.
Micron’s multiple sites in Japan, including its fab in Hiroshima, are central to its research and development roadmap — and mass production — for Micron’s cutting-edge DRAM technology across its product lines. With more than 4,000 engineers and technicians in Japan, Micron is committed to advancing workforce development and the semiconductor ecosystem in Japan and, over the past five years, has hired more than 1,500 new employees in Japan. Micron supplies approximately one-third of the DRAM Japan uses in critical industries ranging from automotive to medical equipment, data centers and 5G infrastructure. With the smallest cell size in the world, the forthcoming 1-gamma technology will pave the way for mass production of sophisticated products required in complex applications from critical infrastructure to image processing networks.
About Micron Technology, Inc.
We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence and 5G applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com.
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Prnewswire | April 25, 2023
East West Manufacturing, LLC, an integrated design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution services partner for original equipment manufacturers and distributors throughout North America and Europe, today announced that it has acquired Eastprint Incorporated ("Eastprint"), a printed electronics solutions provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition of Eastprint delivers to East West differentiated capabilities in printed electronics and human machine interface (HMI) technologies, with applications across membrane switches, printed electronics, in-mold electronics, biosensors, and wearables. In addition, East West will benefit from Eastprint's strong customer relationships in highly attractive end markets, especially medical products, and expand its footprint in Massachusetts and Mexico.
Scott Ellyson, CEO and Co-Founder of East West, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Tom Bianchi and the talented Eastprint team to East West and extend our end-to-end capabilities. As a pioneer in the printed electronics, Eastprint will enable us to enter the highly attractive screen printed electronics and human machine interface space in a meaningful way, putting us in a strong position to accelerate growth. We look forward to supporting our customers with an even broader set of capabilities, from product inception to full-scale production on a global basis."
Tom Bianchi, Vice President and Managing Partner of Eastprint, said, "By joining forces with East West, our team will be well positioned for future growth and to drive innovation. We are excited to bring a more differentiated and comprehensive set of printed electronics and HMI technologies solutions to customers around the world."
Based in North Andover, Massachusetts and founded by the Bianchi family, Eastprint has been designing and manufacturing membrane switches since 1978. Today, its capabilities extend to HMI technologies, including membrane switches, silicone rubber keypads, IML/IMD overlays, and touchscreens, as well as other printed electronics categories, such as screen printed electrodes and capacitive touch films. Eastprint also offers its customers solutions in wearable technology, such as smart clothing and e-textiles, and medical and healthcare devices.
East West provides a comprehensive and integrated set of product realization capabilities to a leading and high-growth customer base. With U.S. operations in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Texas, and international operations in Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Vietnam, China, and India, East West uses a global design team, transparent supply chain, on-site quality control, and flexible logistics systems to provide its customers with superior products and competitive cost advantages.
East West addresses the full spectrum of needs of SMB and enterprise customers in high-growth end markets such as automation and robotics, industrial technology, fitness and medical devices, and smart devices and IoT. Its key capabilities include:
Product Design and Engineering, including initial product design, advanced product engineering, and ongoing engineering services
Manufacturing, including outsourced product and component manufacturing and assembly on behalf of OEMs
Supply Chain Management, including third-party logistics solutions, such as inventory management, reverse logistics, and order fulfillment.
About East West Manufacturing, LLC
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, East West provides a comprehensive and integrated set of product realization capabilities to a leading and high-growth customer base. With U.S. operations in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Texas, and international operations in Canada, Costa Rica, Vietnam, China, India, and Mexico, the company utilizes a global design team, transparent supply chain, on-site quality control, and flexible logistics systems to provide its customers with superior products and competitive cost advantages. Founded in 2001, East West offers its customers a differentiated breadth of onshore, nearshore, and offshore design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities to serve the full spectrum of customer needs ranging from new product design to full scale production and distribution.
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