March, 2019 – Bowman has announced the addition of Photo Chemical Systems to its global network of sales and service partners.

Headquartered in Knightdale, NC, with 5 offices serving 13 mid-Atlantic and southeastern states, Photo Chemical Systems specializes in capital equipment and process chemistry for the printed circuit industry.

According to Bowman President, Tom Leone, “PCS has an excellent reputation among board shops, and within the military sector; this makes them an excellent fit for Bowman. Our 5-year plan is to take the lead as America’s #1 manufacturer of precision XRF benchtop analyzers; I’m confident PCS will help us achieve that.”

Photo Chemical President Preston Averette adds, “The Bowman XRF line was recommended to us by our largest customer as the most direct – and most cost-effective route to compliance with IPC standards: both the ones that are official now, and the ones that are likely to follow. We were also impressed that Bowman units are highly suitable for solution testing – an important consideration.”

January, 2019 – Bowman has re-introduced an important instrument in their suite of 7 benchtop XRF plating measurement systems.

Bowman’s G Series XRF is a robust system that’s ideally suited for jewelry and other precious metal analysis applications, also components such as fasteners and connectors.

Its two most distinctive features are “bottom-up” measurement using a motorized Z-axis with laser-based autofocus, and precision video imaging. An available manual XY stage with 1.5 X 1.5” travel facilitates easy positioning of small and large parts.

The standard G Series configuration includes a single fixed collimator, solid-state PIN detector, and long-life micro-focus x-ray tube. As with all Bowman models, the components can be upgraded to include multiple collimators, a variable focal camera, or an SDD detector.

November, 2018 – Goddard Space Flight Center, home to Hubble operations, the upcoming James Webb Telescope – and the nation’s largest organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to spacecraft and the study of the solar system, has chosen Bowman as its supplier of choice for XRF thin film measurement technology.

The Bowman XRF measurement system selected is a Model P, a system with the capability to measure an exceptionally wide range of sample sizes and shapes. At Goddard, the Model P will precisely analyze ENIG, ENEPIG and alloys on printed circuit boards.

Goddard engineers have extensive capability for designing and building sensitive instruments; one of the main factors that led to the purchase was Bowman’s IPC 4552A capability and the instrument’s ability to precisely determine phosphorus composition in electroless nickel through the gold layer for incoming PCBs. The Model P measures up to 5 coating layers simultaneously; In addition to plating thickness measurement, it also performs elemental and solution analysis.

The Bowman Model P XRF plating measurement system chosen by Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD) to analyze ENIG, ENEPIG and alloys on printed circuit boards.

November, 2018 – Bowman announces the expansion of its international distribution team with the appointment of ANITEPO, a distributor and service provider of laboratory instruments with a specialty in x-ray imaging technology.

Headquartered in Warsaw and serving all of Poland, ANITEPO works throughout the metal producing sector, from foundries, to steel plants to metal products manufacturers, and is well known for its installations and service reputation in the automotive sector. The company also serves manufacturers of electronics and printed circuit boards, a diversity that matches perfectly with Bowman’s own.

Explains Bowman President Tom Leone, “the Bowman P Series XRF, which accommodates the widest range of sample sizes, shapes and quantities, is ideally suited for quality labs serving automotive. The W Series, which measures the smallest features in electronics, will give companies in that sector an important accuracy advantage – and ANITEPO an important competitive one.”

ANITEPO is owned by its Director, Artur Roznowski, who had a lengthy tenure as an electronics technician before founding ANITEPO in 2011.

“The competitive situation here is ripe for Bowman technology,” suggests Roznowski. “Our company has long sold an excellent instrument for measuring single elements. But customers are now looking for highly accurate, proven systems that measure multiple element layers. That is the definition of the Bowman, which measures up to 5 layers, all of which can be alloys.”

The other factor where Roznowski believes they have an edge is service. “From day one,” says Roznowski, “we will be able to provide expert installations, and ongoing service and repair for Bowman, as well as other major-brand XRF coating measurement systems.”

ANITEPO Director Artur Roznowski at EuroLAB, an international trade show for analytical, measurement and control computers.