PartnerTech, one of Europe’s leading contract
manufacturing companies, has added a new Mydata pick and place surface mount (SMT) line
and automated optical inspection (AOI) equipment to its state-of-the-art Cambridge-based new
product introduction (NPI) facility.

The new equipment will enable the company to meet increased demand and to further
improve throughput and yields for UK-based product designers looking for a local, flexible, fast
turnaround printed circuit board (PCB) prototyping and small to medium volume system
assembly service.

PartnerTech’s 1,400m² Cambridge site, one of the largest and best equipped NPI
facilities in the region, has been providing services from the Coldham’s Lane location for over
a decade. Its customers include leading design consultancies and OEMs in point-of-sale
(POS) applications, medical technology and instrumentation, industry, defence / aerospace and
maritime, information technology, and cleantech. These include, among others, Plextek,
Ricardo, Solarflare Communications, TTP and Ultra Electronics.

With the addition of the new Mydata SMT line, the facility now boasts three high-speed and
High-accuracy placement machines, all of which can accommodate the most up-to-date
package styles such as 01005, 0201, 0402, QFP, QFN, ball grid array (BGA), microBGA, and
chip scale packages. The in-line AOI system will complement the existing X-ray inspection to
further improve throughput and quality.

Gary Howse, managing director of PartnerTech’s UK operation, said: “Our experienced
engineering team in Cambridge provides customers with a fast, friendly and flexible PCB
prototyping and system build service with yields consistently better than 99%. This is probably
why our top ten customers have been using us collectively now for well over 100 years.

“The new SMT equipment gives us the capacity to meet an upsurge in demand while
maintaining our reputation as a high quality, fast turnaround NPI centre. And, importantly, as
part of a larger group, we also have the ability to provide customers with a gateway to our UK
manufacturing site in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, or for those that want an offshore option, to transfer
production to one of our low cost manufacturing facilities in either Poland or China.”