From solder materials and stencil printing to polymer protection and production testing, Technology Day Noida 2026 examined how electronics makers are balancing cost, reliability, and process control.
As electronic assemblies become smaller, denser, and more application-specific, the challenge for manufacturers is no longer limited to placing components accurately. Material selection, solder-paste deposition, protection against environmental stress, and the ability to test increasingly complex assemblies are becoming closely connected parts of the production process.
These issues came together at Tech Day Noida 2026 under the theme “Redefining Electronics Manufacturing: Zero-Silver Technology and Operational Excellence”. The event brought together technology suppliers, SMT professionals, electronics manufacturers, and testing specialists to discuss processes spanning the PCB assembly line.
Rather than focusing on a single machine or material, the sessions highlighted four stages where manufacturers are looking to improve assembly performance while keeping production costs under control.
Soldering: Cutting Material Cost Without Losing Reliability
One of the clearest cost-reduction opportunities discussed at the event was the use of silver-free solder.
Richard Puthota, Senior Director, MacDermid Alpha, presented a silver-free solder alloy positioned as an alternative to SAC305. The formulation removes silver while retaining a tin-based soldering system and is intended to work with existing assembly processes.
“The only thing is we are removing 3% silver out of the box,” Puthota said, explaining the formulation and its potential cost implication. He also pointed to thermal cycling, drop, and vibration testing conducted on the formulation.
The proposition, however, is not a blanket replacement for SAC305. Puthota noted that the material should not be considered for applications requiring operation beyond approximately 100°C without further evaluation. He cited applications including IoT devices, lighting, routers, and other electronics where operating conditions may fall within the relevant range.
For EMS companies and OEMs, this makes qualification as important as the material price. A lower-cost alloy only becomes a meaningful saving if it can meet the reliability requirements of the application without introducing additional process changes, rework, or testing costs.
Stencil Printing: Improving Solder-Paste Transfer
Once the solder material is selected, the next challenge is getting the right amount of paste onto the right locations.
Sakthivel Padmanapan, General Manager, MST Chennai, demonstrated a CVD-based nano-coating process for SMT stencils. Unlike a manually applied coating, the process deposits the coating inside a vacuum chamber, including along the stencil aperture walls.
According to him, the hydrophobic coating is intended to reduce friction during paste release and improve consistency, particularly around smaller apertures. The technology was presented as capable of improving transfer efficiency and extending the interval between under-stencil cleaning cycles.
The technical discussion, however, also exposed a practical question around quality verification. While contact-angle measurements and laboratory analysis can be used to assess coating characteristics, the speaker acknowledged that customers cannot easily verify the coating on every aperture at the factory. Detailed thickness measurements require techniques such as scanning electron microscopy and are performed on a sampling basis.
For manufacturers, this makes process control as important as the coating itself. The quality of the resulting solder print remains a key indicator of whether the stencil is performing as expected.
Extending Reliability Beyond Reflow
The assembly process does not end when components have been soldered. For products exposed to moisture, temperature variation, chemicals, dust, or other environmental stresses, the materials applied after assembly can determine how long the board remains functional.
Sharan Aiyappa, Director, Sales, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, discussed conformal coatings, potting compounds, adhesives, sealants, underfills, and other polymer materials used to protect electronic assemblies.
His central point was that material selection cannot be separated from application conditions, “When we say selection of the right polymer for high reliability electronics, it is nothing but selecting the right polymer for the right application.”
One of the failure mechanisms he highlighted was electrochemical migration, where moisture, residues and electrical bias can contribute to conductive filament growth between closely spaced conductors. As component spacing becomes tighter, the potential consequences become more significant. Aiyappa also showed examples where a coating had been used but was not suited to the operating environment.
Testing: Proving the Assembly Is Fit To Ship
The final stage brought the discussion from manufacturing inputs to the question of what leaves the factory.
CH Saw, Controlar, framed the testing discussion around a basic manufacturing question: how can a manufacturer establish that the product being shipped is actually reliable?
Testing forms the final stage of the event’s manufacturing chain. The discussion covered manufacturing defect analysis (MDA), in-circuit testing (ICT), functional testing, programming, vision inspection, calibration, and endurance testing. MDA can be used for checks such as opens, shorts, component presence, polarity, and passive component measurements, while ICT introduces powered testing and can extend into functions such as boundary scan, programming, and functional checks.
However, testing is becoming harder as assemblies shrink. Smaller components and boards can leave fewer accessible test points, while current-flow requirements can complicate ICT measurements. Test development can also be delayed when manufacturers do not provide complete board data, schematics, layouts, and other information required to build the test system.
On an interaction with EFY, Saw mentions, “At the present moment, most of the thing, I mean India is at the learning age,” pointing to the need for greater awareness of test systems and newer fixture methods. He also highlighted the continued use of manual data logging in some operations, where human error can become a concern.
Saw expects India’s testing capabilities to expand in the coming years, but said cost remains an issue because much of the required material is imported. “It’s a learning process,” he said, while noting that India would need to work further on cost as its testing capabilities grow.
Beyond SMT Throughput
The conversations at Tech Day Noida reflected a broader requirement across electronics assembly: manufacturers are not looking at solder, stencils, protection materials, and testing independently. Each has to justify its place within a production process where cost, reliability, throughput, and validation are increasingly interconnected.
The event’s technologies therefore pointed to a gradual shift in PCB assembly. The focus is moving from simply increasing production capacity towards gaining tighter control over what is deposited, how it is soldered, how it survives its operating environment, and how reliably the finished assembly can be tested before it reaches the customer.
