News
Equipment, awards, builds, and electronics industry commentary from Kodiak.
New Reflow Oven: Vitronics Soltec Centurion
Kodiak replaced one of its three reflow ovens with a Vitronics Soltec Centurion, which sets a tighter reflow profile for each board and adds capacity to Line 2.
Kodiak Wins Six Categories in the 2024 Circuits Assembly Service Excellence Awards
Kodiak won six categories in the 2024 Circuits Assembly Service Excellence Awards, its second Service Excellence Award.
Flying Probe Testing and AOI at Kodiak
Flying probe testing checks electrical connections and AOI checks what a camera can see. Kodiak runs flying probe and AOI on its PCB assemblies in Austin.
Digital Evolution and Electronics Manufacturing
IoT and AI keep raising what electronic products must do, and electronics manufacturing has to keep pace, from design support to SMT assembly.
Kodiak Marks 20 Years of Electronics Manufacturing
Founded in Austin in 2004, Kodiak Assembly Solutions marks 20 years of PCB assembly, testing and system integration for OEMs across North America.
Decades of Operational Success in Electronic Manufacturing Services
Since 2004, Kodiak Assembly Solutions has provided electronic manufacturing services, committed to quality, timely delivery and the community it serves.
Kodiak Named to SMT Today's Best of EMS 2023
SMT Today named Kodiak one of 14 North American recipients of its Best of EMS 2023 award for electronics manufacturing services providers.
3D AOI Added to the Line: MIRTEC MV-6 OMNI
Kodiak had added a MIRTEC MV-6 OMNI 3D AOI system to its Austin floor by April 2023, joining X-ray, flying probe, and functional test.
Kodiak Wins a 2022 Service Excellence Award for Dependability and Timely Delivery
Kodiak received a 2022 Circuits Assembly Service Excellence Award in the Dependability and Timely Delivery category, based on its customers' ratings.
Kodiak Named Best of EMS 2022 by SMT Today
SMT Today named Kodiak Assembly Solutions to its Best of EMS 2022, selecting contract manufacturers across North America on qualifications, service and reputation.
Kodiak Builds GreenBox 3 for NXP's Award-Winning S32 Processors
NXP's S32 real-time processors won the embedded award 2022 for hardware, and Kodiak builds GreenBox 3, NXP's development platform for them.
Kodiak Marks 17 Years of Long-Term Partnerships
Founded in 2004 with 17 employees, Kodiak marked 17 years in 2021 with 16 of its original team still on staff and several first customers still building.
A Supply Chain and Manufacturing Solution for a Texas Customer
When a network equipment OEM's contract manufacturer closed, Kodiak took over its supply chain and production and shipped a large order before year end.
Kodiak Completes ITAR Registration
Kodiak completed its ITAR registration with the U.S. State Department in 2021, the registration U.S. law requires of manufacturers of defense articles.
Kodiak Wins a 2020 Global Technology Award
Global SMT & Packaging named Kodiak a 2020 Global Technology Award winner in contract services, announced September 29, 2020.
Kodiak Builds the Boards Inside Tx-Watt Amplifiers
Kodiak builds the PCB assemblies for boutique guitar amplifier maker Tx-Watt Amps at its Austin facility, a partnership that began with a facility tour.
Kodiak Receives a 2019 Global Technology Award
Kodiak won a 2019 Global Technology Award in contract services, named by Global SMT & Packaging magazine on November 12, 2019.
Multilayer PCBs: Why Designs Add Layers
What a multilayer PCB is, why designs move from two layers to many, and where multilayer boards are used.
Show 22 More ArticlesShow Fewer Articles
Surface Mount Technology: Why SMT Overtook Through-Hole
Why surface mount technology (SMT) overtook through-hole assembly: smaller, denser boards, faster automated assembly, lower cost, and SMT at Kodiak.
Why Quality Should Decide Your Contract Manufacturer
Why quality should decide which contract manufacturer builds your electronics, and what poor quality costs in time and customers.
How the Component Shortage Can Affect Holiday Shopping
The 2018 component shortage, led by MLCCs, ran into the holiday season and threatened to thin store shelves of popular electronics as lead times stayed long.
Why Transparency Matters During a Component Shortage
How sharing lead times, allocation and price changes with suppliers and customers helped OEMs through the 2018 component shortage.
How Tariffs Impact Manufacturing and the Component Shortage
The 2018 tariffs on Chinese goods, and what they meant for electronics manufacturing, the component shortage, consumer prices and reshoring.
Electronic Components Shortage: Will Supply Ever Catch Demand?
Why demand for electronic components outran supply in 2018, why the components shortage kept lead times long, and how OEMs planned around it.
How Tariffs Could Affect the Manufacturing Industry
The tariffs on Chinese imports in 2018, in effect and proposed, and how they could affect component supply, reshoring and planning for U.S. manufacturers.
Why a Domestic Manufacturer Helps During a Component Shortage
How a domestic manufacturer helped OEMs through the 2018 component shortage: easier communication, closer relationships, shorter shipping, less political risk.
The Manufacturing and Assembly Technology Evolution
How IoT, automation and AI were changing manufacturing and assembly technology in 2018, building on what factories already did.
What to Do While Waiting for the Component Shortage to End
Four ways OEMs kept building through the 2018 electronic component shortage: alternate parts, more distributors, planning, and the right partner.
The Passive Component Shortage: Demand and Its Impact on Industries
Which passive components ran short in 2018, why demand outran supply, which industries felt it most, and why memory ran short at the same time.
Kodiak Adds a Fuji XPF to Its SMT Line
Kodiak added a Fuji XPF to its surface mount line by January 2018, a placement machine that changes its own heads and handles boards up to 20 x 27 in.
Diving Deeper into the Component Shortage: DRAM and SRAM
Why components ran short in 2017, why DRAM was under pressure from data centers and phones, how it differs from SRAM, and why OEMs ordered months ahead.
Building the Boards Behind NXP's BlueBox and Miele's Dialog Oven
Kodiak assembled the circuit boards for NXP's BlueBox autonomous driving development platform and Miele's Dialog oven, which cooks with RF energy.
How Component Shortages Affect Manufacturing and Assembly
How automotive electronics demand outran supply in 2017, and what component shortages, longer lead times and higher prices meant for manufacturing and assembly.
How Flying Probe Testing and Electrical Verification Raised a Customer's First-Pass Yield to 99.9%
A customer saw about 15% of boards fail at its previous manufacturer. Flying probe testing and electrical verification raised its first-pass yield to 99.9%.
How Technology Is Changing the Manufacturing Industry
Four technologies changing the manufacturing industry in 2017: robotics and machine learning, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and wearables.
Why Austin Tech Companies Choose Kodiak for Electronic Assembly
What a local partner offers Austin tech companies for electronic assembly: shorter shipping, market experience, in-house test and a team on the same workday.
How an American Manufacturer Saved One Customer Time and Money
An LED products company moved its builds from overseas to an American manufacturer, Kodiak, and gained shorter shipping, higher quality and easier communication.
Four Advantages of Manufacturing in the United States
Four advantages of manufacturing in the United States: delivery, quality and labor standards, intellectual property protection, and buyer preference.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Chip Manufacturing
How the 2017 push into artificial intelligence, from new AI chips to machine learning, was shaping the future of chip manufacturing and electronics.
The Internet of Things and the Electronics Kodiak Builds
How the Internet of Things was reshaping electronics in 2017, and the IoT products Kodiak built, from NXP's BlueBox to energy storage and biometrics.