Development and manufacturing of rugged embedded boards and industrial microcomputer systems in Eurocard format.
EKF Elektronik GmbH
Hamm (Philipp-Reis-Str. 4) · Hamm (Lilienthalstr. 2)New on Amplifa
About EKF Elektronik
EKF Elektronik GmbH is a family-owned company founded in 1972 in Hamm, Westphalia, and manufactures high-performance embedded boards and systems for industrial real-time applications. The product portfolio comprises CompactPCI Serial and PlusIO CPU cards and peripheral boards, the Embedded Blue/Gold box and board series, and the new PICMG system ModBlox7, complemented by mezzanine modules, 19" racks, and custom enclosures. Production is carried out entirely in-house: in-house SMT assembly with three Essemtec Puma lines (320 feeder slots each, 36,000 components per hour), selective wave soldering, vapor phase soldering, AOI and X-ray inspection, as well as CNC manufacturing of custom front and rear panels. The in-house development department covers circuit design from 0201-SMD to large BGA, PCB layout up to HDI multilayer with 14 layers, FPGA design, and BIOS customization. EKF supplies products worldwide to industries such as rail and local transport, aerospace, telecommunications and energy, medical technology, defense, and industrial automation, robotics, and IIoT.
- Site
- Hamm
- Processes
- SMT assembly manufacturing (PCB assembly pick & place, standard, sideboard and mezzanine assembly), Selective wave soldering (THT), Vapor phase soldering, AOI optical inspection, X-ray inspection, CNC milling of front and rear panels (customized front and back panels), Enclosure/front panel finishing and labeling (chassis customization, labeling), System integration (installation of operating systems, customer software, system/enclosure
- Materials
- HDI multilayer PCBs up to 14 layers, SMD components in 0201 package range up to large BGA, SMD components 0201 to BGA, THT components, Metal front/rear panels, Protective coating
- Certificates
- DIN EN ISO 9001:2015, ISO 9001, RoHS II/III Compliance
- Founded
- 1972
- Industries
- Rail and local public transport, Aerospace, Telecommunications & energy, Medical technology, Defense, Industrial automation & test
- 01
Hardware development (circuit design, PCB layout, FPGA, BIOS)
- 02
Procurement & MSL-compliant component storage
- 03
SMT assembly (pick & place)
- 04
Selective wave soldering / vapor phase soldering
- 05
AOI & X-ray inspection
- 06
CNC manufacturing of front/rear panels
- 07
System integration & finishing
- 08
100% functional test & environmental testing
- 09
Shipping & worldwide distribution
Materials & Processes
SMD components 0201 to BGA
Assembly spectrum from the smallest 0201 package to large BGA components on automated pick-and-place lines.
HDI multilayer PCBs up to 14 layers
Standard and HDI multilayer layouts for complex system designs, created with Siemens Pads Professional VX.
THT components
Through-hole components are joined using automated selective wave soldering.
Metal front/rear panels
CNC-manufactured front and rear panels as well as enclosure adaptations for custom systems.
Protective coating
Protective coating for products in extended temperature ranges and harsh environments.
Sites
Hamm – Building 1
DEHeadquarters: Sales, development, support
Hamm – Building 2
DEProduction, goods receiving, shipping, procurement
- Lot size
- Prototype to high-volume production
- Materials
- PCBs, SMD/THT components, metal front panels
- 3 Essemtec SMT assembly lines Puma (320 8mm feeder slots, 36,000 components/h)
- Selective wave soldering machine
- Vapor phase soldering system
- AOI inspection system
- X-ray inspection system
- CNC milling machine for front/rear panels
- Dry cabinets (MSL storage)
Products & Assemblies
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMT assembly manufacturing (PCB assembly pick & place, standard, sideboard and mezzanine assembly)Assembly | – | – | – | Prototyping – High-volume series | PCBs (up to HDI 14 layers), SMD components 0201 to BGA |
| Selective wave soldering (THT)Joining | – | – | – | – | PCBs, THT components |
| Vapor phase solderingJoining | – | – | – | – | PCBs, SMT/THT components |
| AOI optical inspectionTesting | – | – | – | – | Assemblies |
| X-ray inspectionTesting | – | – | – | – | Assemblies |
| CNC milling of front and rear panels (customized front and back panels)Machining | – | – | – | Prototyping to small series | Metal (front panel material not specified) |
| Enclosure/front panel finishing and labeling (chassis customization, labeling)Assembly | – | – | – | Prototyping – Small series | Enclosure/front panel material not specified |
| System integration (installation of operating systems, customer software, system/enclosureAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| 100% functional test with in-house test systems and softwareTesting | – | – | – | – | Assemblies |
| Environmental tests according to EN 60068-2-1 (cold) and EN 60068-2-2 (dry heat)Testing | – | – | – | – | Products |
| Electronic hardware development (circuit design from 0201 SMT to BGA, PCB layout standard/HDI)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| FPGA design (custom programmable logic and complete FPGA boards)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| BIOS customization (individual BIOS extensions based on Phoenix BIOS)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3D design / mechanical constructionEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Coating (protective coating) for products in extended temperature rangesSurface | – | – | – | – | Assemblies |
| Component storage in dry cabinets according to MSL (Moisture Sensitivity Level)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Electronic components |
7 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMT assembly line "Puma" (pick & place) | Essemtec Puma | 3 | 320 8mm feeder slots with trays, 36,000 components/hour | – | Hamm, Germany |
| Selective wave soldering machine (automated selective wave soldering) | – | – | – | – | Hamm, Germany |
| Vapor phase soldering system | – | – | – | – | Hamm, Germany |
| AOI optical inspection system | – | – | – | – | Hamm, Germany |
| X-ray inspection system | – | – | – | – | Hamm, Germany |
| CNC milling machine (for front/rear panels) | – | – | – | – | Hamm, Germany |
| Dry cabinets (component storage according to MSL) | – | – | – | – | Hamm, Germany |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality Management
All products from series production are 100% tested for functionality with in-house test systems; in addition, environmental tests according to EN 60068-2-1 (cold) and EN 60068-2-2 (dry heat) are performed and documented in measurement reports. Quality management has been certified by TÜV Nord under ISO 9001 since 1996 and 1998 respectively.
| Evidence | Hamm |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | |
| RoHS II/III Compliance |
Company History
- 1972
Founded by Joachim Jansen; based in Hamm for over 50 years.
- 1996
Introduction of the quality management system according to ISO 9001 (initial certification by TÜV Nord in 1998).
- 2023
Installation of energy-efficient SMT production lines (Essemtec Puma), modern heating and insulation of the company buildings.
- 2024
PICMG standard ModBlox7 ratified; EKF is a leading member of the working group.
- 2025
CompactPCI Serial Specification Rev3 ratified.