MGI Digital Technology – Altix Partnership: First industrial inkjet machine for printed circuit board (PCB) market
04 December 2023: At Productronica 2023 Expo in Munich, MGI Digital Technology and Altix announce a strategic technological partnership and the launch of the AltiJet, an industrial inkjet production press for printed circuit board market. This digital press, designed to apply Solder Mask and Etch Resist, is a genuine breakthrough innovation in a market largely dominated by conventional processes.
A fast-growing market
Valued at $82 billion, printed circuit board production market is growing by almost 5% per year, and is expected to continue to do so over the next 10 years, reaching $140 billion in 2032. While Asia accounts for 80% of global production, Europe and USA account for 5 and 3% respectively, a figure that is set to grow strongly in the years ahead, thanks to the resilience and relocation policies currently underway.
Printed circuit boards: the transition to digital inkjet
Printed circuit board production is a complex industrial process, involving numerous manufacturing stages and using technologies that have remained virtually unchanged over the last few years.
The solution developed by MGI and Altix considerably simplifies this process. The benefits for customers are manifold: shorter cycle times, savings in labor and energy, and significant reductions in chemical consumption and pollutant emissions. Altix brings its expertise in printed circuit boards, and MGI its expertise in inkjet print engines and consumables for printed electronics. With this solution, PCB industry will be able to begin its transition to digital, following the example set by graphic arts and printing industries some twenty years ago.
MGI Digital Technology and Altix: strong industrial and strategic synergies
The partnership announced between MGI Digital Technology and Altix, initiated two years ago now, was a natural fit for Edmond Abergel, President of MGI Digital Technology: “Since 1982, MGI has developed by offering printing and packaging market successive breakthrough innovations, with 100% digital production technologies. The culmination of this approach is the AlphaJET, the very first 5.0 digital 100% printing plant on the market. When we looked at related markets where our know-how in supporting industrial digital transition could be immediately applied, printed circuit board production immediately stood out. The meeting with Altix, a major French player in the PCB market, was a natural one, and the very similar DNAs of our two companies immediately led us to envisage joint developments”.
www.mgi-fr.com
