By Michael Skinner, Editor U.S. TECH In a highly male-dominated industry, women have worked hard to carve out a place for themselves that includes the same opportunities, respect and recognition as their male counterparts. Here we highlight a few of these women and...

I-Connect007 Managing Editor Nolan Johnson recently spoke with KIC President and Founder Phil Kazmierowicz and Manager of Applications and Sales MB “Marybeth” Allen as they each transitioned into new roles in the KIC leadership team. The conversation ultimately turned...

On March 25, 2019, KIC announced that Philip Kazmierowicz, company co-owner, would take on the position of president. Nolan Johnson took that opportunity to sit down with Kazmierowicz in his Oregon-based R&D lab to discuss KIC’s history and his plans for the...

By KIC One reason the Industry 4.0 / Smart factory technology trend in electronics manufacturing is moving slowly is due to developers like us not having done a good job demonstrating the concrete impact on users, along with the proven benefits and a solid ROI. ...

How We Won the Regional Competition at Calsonic for Reflow Quality and Cost Improvements By Rod Sampson, Process Engineer Calsonic Kansei is a multinational automotive parts manufacturer with its own branded OEM products. Recently, the company was acquired by the...

KIC is a specialist in production of automated thermal process tools and systems for reflow, wave, curing, and semiconductor thermal processes. Founded in 1977 by Casey Kazmierowicz, the company's original purpose was to monitor 1,832°F (1,000°C) conveyor ovens. Over...

M2M communication for continuous monitoring and support Connectivity for Improved Utilization and Quality With the accelerated pace of Industry 4.0 and smart PCB manufacturing implementation in electronics manufacturing, process engineers and production managers need...

By MB Allen, KIC Industry 4.0 Over the last few years I’ve talked to many people about Industry 4.0: the trend, the challenges, the hype, and more recently, the reality. We finally appear to be in a phase where, while there’s no silver bullet, there numerous solutions...

How the Factory Ecosystem Positively Drives Exponential Value By Freddie Chan, KIC We have all learned that synergy means 2 + 2 = 5. This is an old cliché but in today’s factories the output must far exceed the accumulative performance of each machine to stay...

Where the ‘Industry 4.0’ Rubber Meets the Road By Bjorn Dahle, KIC President When we first discussed Industry 4.0 four or five years ago it really was all talk. Even three years ago a lot of manufacturers didn’t really know how it impacted them and most vendors were...

The Soldering Corner with Shantanu Joshi of KOKI The Soldering Corner provides expert recommendations to common soldering problems and new industry trends. Actionable solutions are based on everyday experiences with hundreds of electronics assemblers. Problem:...

Machine Optimization: Is it Artificial Intelligence? By Bjorn Dahle, President, KIC Whether we hype it and call it artificial intelligence (AI) or the more modest "machine optimization," reflow oven optimization software is a great example of a smart machine. A reflow...

As with any new product, there was a learning curve for KIC when the reflow and thermal process control company developed its latest profiler. The usual punch list of technical obstacles had to be overcome before the technology could hit the market.   KIC sought...