BPM Microsystems Turns 25 in 2010

“Device programming is important and deserves to be done right because billions of end-users count on the results every day,” said William White, president and CEO. “The need to challenge the status quo and innovate every day remains as important today as it was in 1985 when I started the company. We have had the pleasure of leading change in the industry by introducing revolutionary technologies that changed the landscape of the industry seven times. Each of these revolutions came about by focusing on solving our customers’ most difficult problems whether their pain point was device support, yield, quality, usability, throughput or cost per device.

Looking forward, I am very excited, not only about our current lineup of products, but also about the products we have under development and the effects these will have on the industry,” continued White.

BPM Microsystems made its debut in 1985 with the EP-1, a powerful standalone unit containing its own microcomputer and unique software that allowed customers to select specific manufacturer device part numbers, which greatly simplified device programming. The EP-1 proved to be a tremendous success and paved the way for the company’s later industry-changing programming solutions.

In 1992, the company introduced the first true universal engineering programmer. The BP1200 offered broad support for thousands of devices and a variety of device technologies by combining a versatile programming site with dedicated socket modules for specific device types and packages.

BPM Microsystems next released the first Concurrent Programming System®, which uses fault-tolerant architecture, allowing multiple programming sites to operate independently within a single job session. As a result, throughput, yield and uptime are optimized to allow a single operator to produce higher volumes of programmed devices. This was an improvement to traditional “gang” solutions where operator and equipment idle time can be significant.

Integrating concurrent programming technology into a fine-pitch pick-and-place platform was another key milestone and industry first for BPM Microsystems. The BP4100 was the world’s first fully automated universal programming system with the flexibility to support tape, tray and tube media. Most importantly, this fine-pitch placement machine was well-suited to process modern SMD packages without compromising pin quality. The pick head mounted vision-centering system automatically aligns devices “on-the-fly,” resulting in unsurpassed placement accuracy and high first pass yields at full mechanical throughput.

Next came the complimentary 3000 series automated platform with a smaller footprint and lower cost of ownership. Designed for quick setup and changeover, the 3000 series machine offered vision alignment and nonstop operation at a price point justifiable for medium-volume applications.

In 2007, the company released the Flashstream®, the fastest flash memory device programmer with proven speeds as much as 12X faster than previous flash memory programming technology. The Flashstream solution includes flexible NAND bad block management options and utilizes BERT (Bit Error Rate Tolerance), a process that solves the problems associated with the excessive number of “bit flips” common with high-density NAND flash.

BPM Microsystems further raised the bar this month with the release of its 8th Generation universal device programmer. This new addition to BPM Microsystems’ device programmer family combines the unrivaled speed of Vector Engine Co-Processor® technology plus true universal device support as the fastest universal programmer in the industry. 8th Generation technology offers the speed and versatility needed to support the latest programmable devices and is unbeatable in performance and value.

Looking forward, BPM Microsystems is committed to enabling its customers to program devices in the most efficient ways possible. To achieve this goal, BPM Microsystems combines technical leadership, innovative design and state-of-the-art manufacturing practices to offer its customers the latest products. These products enable customers to reduce costs, improve performance and bring their products to market faster.