Electronics manufacturing is not exempt from the societal drive to improve overall sustainability, including materials and energy utilization. Multi-zone solder reflow ovens are a major energy use due to prolonged operation at elevated temperatures necessary for reflowing industry-standard SAC305 solder, both functionally for effecting the solder melt, as well as operationally to avoid their multi-hour warm-up and equilibration times. This same thermal process used for reflowing solder is also a barrier to the broader utilization of flexible hybrid electronics.
Market demand for lightweight, conformal electronics has surpassed current traditional equilibrium-based thermal processes such as reflow soldering. Low-temperature, lightweight substrate materials such as PET, and electronic components such as cameras, sensors, and bioprocessors can typically not withstand sustained exposure to soldering temperatures.
Farnsworth will offer next-generation thermal processing, which decarbonizes the supply chain by utilizing as little as 15 percent of the energy of standard processing. Sustainable manufacturing practices often come at the sacrifice of performance and/or cost, with what can be referred to as a Green Premium. Through also providing improved performance and throughput, this new soldering technology dispels the notion of a Green Premium. The new soldering capability enables next-generation applications in applications such as medical and lifestyle wearables, consumer electronics such as AR/VR goggles, and opens the door to broader innovation while still meeting ideals and practices of sustainable manufacturing.
Farnsworth has been bringing deep-tech innovation to markets and applications for more than 20 years.
He is the Chief Marketing Officer for the newly-created PulseForge Inc, recently spun out of NovaCentrix, where he was also Chief Marketing Officer as well as a founding member. Prior, he was a founding member of Nanotechnologies Inc (1999), an early pioneer and recognized leader in the nanomaterial space. Farnsworth earned his BS in mechanical engineering from Rice University and MS in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, specializing in heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
