At Amtech, “tech stack” doesn’t mean shiny tools for show.
It means real systems that remove risk, reduce labor, and make high-reliability output repeatable at speed.
Over the past stretch we’ve rolled out three upgrades that are already changing how we build — especially for high-mix, high-reliability programs that need fast launches without process chaos.
Here’s what’s new, why we did it, and what it changes for customers.
1. AI-Assisted Conformal Coating Inspection: Turning a Risk Process Into a Controlled Process
Conformal coating is one of the most important reliability steps in electronics manufacturing — and one of the easiest places for hidden defects to slip through.
Legacy inspection depends heavily on:
- manual visual checks
- operator consistency
- shift-to-shift interpretation
- and a lot of experience in someone’s head
That works… until it doesn’t. And when coating fails, it usually fails late.
So we implemented AI-assisted conformal coating inspection to standardize the process and catch defects earlier.
What the AI is doing in practice:
- Detecting coverage gaps, edge voiding, and thin spots
- Identifying masking errors before cure
- Recognizing repeat defect patterns tied to geometry
- Standardizing pass/fail calls across operators and shifts
- Feeding inspection results back into process tuning
Why it matters:
AI doesn’t replace good process discipline — it locks it in.
It turns coating inspection from “best effort + experience” into measurable control.
Customer impact:
- fewer rework loops
- tighter consistency
- higher confidence on coated assemblies
- faster throughput with less inspection bottleneck
2. Nano-Coating Implementation: Less Masking, Less Labor, Less Complexity
Traditional coating programs often carry invisible labor drag:
masking, coating, cure, de-masking, cleanup, re-inspection.
In 2025 we began implementing nano-coating where it makes sense — and it’s reducing complexity across the entire coating workflow.
What nano-coating changes:
- dramatically reduced masking requirements
- more uniform coverage at lower thickness
- fewer edge-buildup / pooling risks
- faster application cycles
- lower labor per board
Instead of “protect the board through labor,” we move toward
“protect the board through chemistry + control.”
Where it’s especially valuable:
- dense assemblies with complicated keep-outs
- products with frequent revisions
- programs where reliability is critical and speed matters
- high-mix environments that don’t tolerate long masking set-ups
Customer impact:
- fewer process steps
- lower labor content
- reduced chances for human-error masking defects
- faster launches with the same reliability bar
3. Shop-Floor Re-Layout for Material Flow: Reducing Motion, Increasing Speed
As product complexity increases and lead times compress, material flow becomes a competitive advantage.
A high-mix shop can’t afford layouts built around “where things have always been.”
So we did a re-layout focused on flow over tradition.
What we optimized for:
- shorter travel paths between sequential operations
- fewer handoffs and staging piles
- clearer WIP visibility
- reduced “backtracking”
- cleaner separation of value-add vs. non-value-add movement
This is less about rearranging equipment and more about getting the factory to behave like a system:
right material → right place → right time → minimal motion.
Customer impact:
- faster cycle times without adding headcount
- fewer opportunities for handling damage or misplacement
- smoother NPIs (less wandering, fewer “where is it?” moments)
- a shop that scales speed because flow scales speed