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RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...

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Windfreak Technologies SynthHD PRO - RF Cafe

The Next Assembly Line Robot - Antifreeze
Kirt's Cogitations™ #183

RF Cafe University "Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my rantings on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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The Next Assembly Line Robot - Antifreeze

Antifreeze now has a new use. Scientists at the University of Minnesota have discovered a way to exploit the surface tensions properties of ethylene glycol to cause pairs of components with complementary shapes to be attracted to each other and self-assemble. In an experiment, hundreds of LED chips and silicon carriers were mixed in a container of ethylene glycol, heated, and then shaken to cause the complementary LED/carrier shapes to mate while in the mixture. The system was then heated to a temperature that allowed solder dollops in the carriers to melt and make a connection to the LED die pads. After cooling and rinsing, the assembled parts were removed and inspected. 600 assemblies were produced in just two minutes - a 100% yield! A second and final similar step then assembled the LED/carrier pairs onto a surface-mount package and yielded 97%. This process is being considered for similar high volume manufacturing operations that involve parts too small to be efficiently handled with robotic or human means.

TotalTemp Technologies (Thermal Platforms) - RF Cafe

Innovative Power Products Passive RF Products - RF Cafe

Amplifier Solutions Corporation (ASC) - RF Cafe

The Next Assembly Line Robot - AntifreezeKirt's Cogitations™ #183

The Next Assembly Line Robot - Antifreeze
Kirt's Cogitations™ #183