Author: Neil Wolf

ECD Partners with Advanced Manufacturing Services Ltd. to Elevate UK Sales and Distribution Channel

Thermal Profiling Leader Taps Experienced Electronics Representative to Drive Business Growth and Deepen Customer Ties in the Region.

Aug 13, 2025 – ECD today announced that it has appointed Advanced Manufacturing Services Ltd. (AMS) as its representative and distribution partner in the United Kingdom. AMS has served the electronics industry for nearly 25 years and has three locations across the UK and Ireland staffed by a team of over a dozen electronics professionals.

Emphasizing the importance of accessible local expertise, ECD President Tara Fischer comments on the decision to engage AMS to bolster its UK sales and support efforts. “Electronics manufacturers are navigating a climate of supply chain and geopolitical challenges, demanding production expectations, and increasingly complex technology,” says Fischer. “There is little room for error, and a dependable, knowledgeable, hands-on support team is critical for success. That is precisely what AMS offers. We are thrilled to welcome them into the ECD network.”

Historically strong in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, defense, and industrial controls, the UK electronics manufacturing market is also experiencing growth in medical devices and alternative energy technologies. Enabling these high-reliability applications requires excellent process control, efficient production protocols, and traceability. High-performance thermal profiling tools are a vital component in ensuring repeatable, reliable, and high-yield soldering processes to secure high-reliability assemblies.

Recognizing the role of cutting-edge thermal profiling in today’s electronics sector, AMS believes ECD’s long-standing reputation as a soldering process authority makes it an ideal principal.

“ECD stood out to us for their innovation, product build quality and usability, and deep understanding of customer needs,” shares Richard Jones, Founder of AMS. “ECD, however, is far more than a product company. They are a solutions partner built on a foundation of integrity, trust, and a commitment to delivering exceptional technology and award-winning support. We look forward to a long and productive relationship.”

As of July 1, AMS is ECD’s sole UK representative and distributor of its solder profiling solutions, including M.O.L.E.® thermal profilers, SelectiveRIDER®, OvenRIDER® NL 2+, and WaveRIDER® NL 2 machine quality management pallets, as well as the brand new M-VP™ sealed barrier for vapor phase soldering processes. Contact AMS via email at sales@ams-electronics.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1260 270 950.

ECD Adds Vapor Phase Reflow Solution, Expands Solder Process Capability

Addition of Vapor Phase Barrier Delivers Scalable Profiling Portfolio for Every Soldering Process – Reflow, Wave, Vapor Phase, and Selective.

February 12, 2025 – ECD today announced the addition of a rugged vapor phase reflow soldering barrier to its product portfolio. The M-VP™ will debut at ECD Booth # 2705 at the IPC APEX EXPO event next month. Designed for use with any ECD six-channel M.O.L.E.® thermal profiler, including the award-winning touchscreen M.O.L.E. EV6, M-VP enables profile measurement of the harshest vapor phase environments. The M-VP barrier joins ECD’s machine quality management pallets OvenRIDER® NL 2+, WaveRIDER® NL 2, and SelectiveRIDER®, completing the line-up of modular process control solutions for wave, reflow, selective, and vapor phase soldering.

Suitable for use in both batch and in-line vapor phase reflow soldering equipment, with or without vacuum, M-VP provides the extreme protection needed to ensure data accuracy and prevent device damage. The barrier is compatible with the high-temperature environment (up to 260° C) of condensation reflow, is impervious to vapor and moisture, and resistant to damage or deformation during vacuum stages.

“When engineering ECD’s vapor phase barrier, the objective was to go beyond conventional solutions in all aspects,” explains ECD Electronics Division Manager Mark Waterman. “That included everything from the barrier material properties to operator ease-of-use to fail-safe structural integrity even under vacuum pressure. We have delivered these attributes and more.”

ECD’s M-VP sealed barrier sets a new benchmark for vapor phase solder profiling, ensuring exceptional data accuracy, profiler protection, and barrier longevity with an expansive feature set, including:

• Rugged construction
  • Strong, high-performance, watertight thermoplastic material
  • Degradation- and contamination-resistant insulating material
  • Sleek, hydrophobic design avoids accumulation and loss of costly Galden®
  • Shock and drop resistant
  • Withstands harsh environments, no deformation under vacuum

• Operator friendly
  • Easy open/close clips with no screws
  • Enables use of time-saving M.O.L.E. EV6 touchscreen profiler for lineside data analysis
  • Easy to clean
  • Optimized wireless communication with Bluetooth capability

• Process adaptable
  • Withstands temperatures up to 260° C (peak)
  • Compatible with other electronics assembly processes, including traditional wave and convection reflow soldering, PCB cleaning, and formic acid no flux reflow
  • Food-safe material extends potential use to many applications

Mark Waterman explains that ECD’s new M-VP barrier overcomes the challenges of other vapor phase profiling approaches while rounding out the portfolio to allow a single platform for all soldering processes.

“The rugged, reliable protection and process flexibility M-VP affords are significant advantages for manufacturers,” says Waterman. “With a six-channel M.O.L.E. thermal profiler, assembly professionals can accurately profile any soldering process and enjoy the benefits of standardized software and hardware. It certainly simplifies operations and elevates reliability.”

ECD’s M-VP vapor phase barrier is available for pre-order in mid-March, with the first units shipping in April.

ECD Technology Brings Intuitive Process Control to Dynamic India Manufacturing Sector as Geographic Production Shifts Continue

Thermal Profiler Pioneer to Showcase Timesaving M.O.L.E.® EV Touchscreen Portfolio at Productronica India 2024.

August 27, 2024 – ECD and its partner Maxim SMT Technologies today announced plans to showcase the latest soldering process control technology from stand H15.E15 at Productronica India 2024 to be held at the India Expo Mart ( IEML ), Greater Noida, India from September 11-13, 2024. The electronics manufacturing sector in India has seen rapid growth in recent years as significant investment accelerates and numerous multinationals continue shifting production capacity to the region. Ensuring operators are adequately trained and production processes refined will be challenging given the pace of growth. As new sites scale up to meet demand, tools like ECD’s soldering control portfolio can play a key role in improving productivity, reducing operator training requirements, and ensuring high-quality yields.

ECD’s latest innovation, the M.O.L.E.® EV touchscreen thermal profiler platform, allows reflow soldering profile viewing on the production line. This capability saves time, simplifies profiling routines, and helps operators at all skill levels perform vital product profiling tasks with confidence and ease. Available in 6-, 12-, and 20-channel models, M.O.L.E. EV delivers handheld, lineside access to calculation templates, KPI tables, thermal profiles, and pass/fail results. Eliminating the requirement for offline PC viewing allows corrective actions to be managed immediately, improving productivity and ensuring timely quality outputs. The six-channel M.O.L.E. EV6 also integrates with ECD’s machine quality management pallets – OvenRIDER®, WaveRIDER®, and SelectiveRIDER® — to verify soldering equipment performance. These technologies, along with ECD’s V-M.O.L.E. 2 four-channel thermal profiler, will be demonstrated at Maxim SMT stand H15.E15 during Productronica India 2024.

“India’s expanding electronics manufacturing sector is a promising and exciting development,” says Mark Waterman, ECD Electronics Division Manager. “The soldering process is where defects often surface, so ensuring tight process control and leveraging operator-friendly tools can dramatically improve quality and yield. We look forward to sharing the latest profiling technology with electronics manufacturers serving the Indian market.”

To learn more about ECD’s complete range of M.O.L.E., SmartDRY, continuous monitoring, and machine quality management technologies.

ECD Intensifies Engineering Investment, Adds Software and Manufacturing Engineers to Growing Team

New Hires Aim to Accelerate Next-Gen Product Design and Manufacturing, Enhance User Experience

March 4, 2024 – ECD announced today that it is continuing its engineering department expansion and has hired a software and manufacturing engineer, further bolstering its team as it accelerates current product line enhancements and NPI initiatives.

Nicholas Chase, Senior Software Engineer, comes to ECD with an impressive decade-long career, which includes software engineering experience at EDA companies Mentor Graphics Corporation (now Siemens EDA) and, most recently, Synopsys, Inc. He has a strong focus on sound design principles, continuous improvement, and has broad programming language proficiency. At ECD, Chase’s responsibilities entail driving development process efficiency, ensuring product software provides an intuitive and responsive user experience, and implementing robust testing procedures. He has already completed a significant project for ECD’s Baking Division with the integration of food safety KillStep Calculator functionality into the new touchscreen M.O.L.E.™ EV6 thermal profiling hardware. Chase holds a B.S. in Software Engineering from Oregon Institute of Technology.

Manufacturing Engineer Rahul Bilakanti oversees production and quality for ECD’s in-house manufacturing operation, which produces M.O.L.E. thermal profilers, SmartDRY™ desiccant cabinets, soldering machine verification pallets, and baked goods and oven sensors. Since joining the company, Bilakanti has contributed to manufacturing waste reduction through the use of 3D-printed fixtures, is leading the implementation of digitized manufacturing processes to streamline workflows, and is focused on improving production efficiency through collaborative DFM procedures. Bilakanti’s previous experience includes quality and manufacturing engineering positions at Abbott Labs and Japan Aviation Electronics’ Automotive Group. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California, where he earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering.

Speaking about the engineering staff growth, ECD President Tara Fischer says, “We are launching new products at an unprecedented pace, with three M.O.L.E. EV-series thermal profilers developed and commercialized within the last year,” she explains, underscoring the company’s ambitious five-year R&D roadmap. “So far, our team has executed our strategy perfectly. Nick and Rahul bring fresh eyes and outstanding credentials to our engineering department and have already been instrumental in our success. We are thrilled to have them on board!”

Chase and Bilakanti began their roles at ECD in November 2023. They are based in the company’s Milwaukie, OR headquarters.