For years, the SMT assembly world was flooded with the same suspiciously familiar “little red box” of imported splice tapes. It didn’t matter whether you were shopping through Q-tek, AllSMT, Antistat, Splicetronics, or SMTsupplies, the packaging was identical, the materials were identical, and the failure rates were identical. These products weren’t engineered for real production […]
In the SMT industry, reliability is everything. A single splice failure or feeder jam can shut down a high-speed placement line and cost thousands per hour. Yet many well-known “suppliers” in North America don’t manufacture anything. They simply import low-grade, mass-produced Chinese splice tapes and rebox them under different names. Three of the biggest foreign-dependent […]
Brand Integrity & Traceability Custom branding—embossed logos, part identifiers, or serial marking—provides long-term durability and helps: prevent counterfeits improve inventory accuracy maintain chain-of-custody elevate distributor brand recognition Unlike labels, molded branding stays readable for the lifetime of the reel. Optimized Fit for High-Speed Automation Custom SMT reels can be manufactured with exact diameter tolerances, balanced […]
Ask Your Distributor. Seriously. In the last decade, major component distributors and OEMs have lost millions of dollars to Chinese counterfeit components, fake ICs, mis-marked passives, recycled devices passed off as new. Everyone now claims to have “tightened their supply chain.” But here’s the uncomfortable question: If they were burned by Chinese counterfeit components, why […]
Read this blog on English En la industria electrónica, especialmente en ensamble SMT, es común que los términos SMT y SMD se utilicen como si fueran iguales. Aunque están relacionados, no significan lo mismo. Entender la diferencia ayuda a comunicarte con precisión con ingenieros, proveedores y líneas de producción. A continuación te explico la diferencia […]
Lee este blog en Español What’s the Difference Between SMT (Surface Mount Technology) and SMD (Surface Mount Device)? A practical breakdown for electronics manufacturers, process engineers, and purchasing teams. In electronics manufacturing, few acronyms get mixed up more often than SMT and SMD. They sound similar, they live in the same ecosystem, and most people […]
Premium SMT Splice Tape • Leader Tape Extenders • U.S.-Made Adhesives • Industry Partnerships With 3M, Nitto, Saint-Gobain, and More Modern surface-mount manufacturing runs at blistering speeds. Feeder tension, carrier-tape friction, component miniaturization, and reel changes all create pressure points where inferior splice tape fails. That’s exactly why Sierra Electronics has spent more than four […]
SMT downtime is expensive — the average line costs $250–$850 per minute depending on the equipment level. Leader Tape Extenders and partial reel solutions have become one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to reduce downtime and keep production stable. Why Downtime Happens Short reels Misfeeds during changeovers Operators rethreading tapes Weak carrier-to-leader adhesion […]
The electronics industry is accelerating fast, and the biggest changes in 2025 revolve around automation, U.S. reshoring, component miniaturization, and supply chain resilience. Here’s how SMT facilities are adapting — and where opportunities lie. Trend 1: The Shift Back to U.S. Manufacturing Driven by: Tariffs Global supply chain volatility Quality inconsistency in imported materials The […]
0201 shortages, rolling distributor ship dates, and why smart splicing keeps your SMT line alive Even as the electronics market moves through phases of recovery, one issue continues to strain production floors around the world: persistent shortages of high-volume passives, especially 0201 capacitors, inductors, and resistors. Operators already know the symptoms: partial reels, unpredictable deliveries, […]
