OX3.com today brought production of its oldest legacy service to a close.  Axial leaded tape technology ushered in the birth of printed circuit board automated production.  It was around when the earliest integrated circuits were manufactured in 1958 at Fairchild Semiconductor and Texas Instruments.  At one time, in 1972, Axial Leaded Tape technology was the sole offering at OX3.com, then known as Orion Partners.  In shutting off this service, OX3 president Gus Widmayer cited the need to regain much needed space in the company’s Ayer, MA facility and the lack of orders for axial technology, “These days, the name of the game is surface-mounted chips.  It is quite rare to see a company still inserting leaded axial diodes, resistors, or capacitors through holes on printed circuit boards.  The real estate needed for such large components disappeared as the boards became smaller and smaller.”  Mr. Widmayer added, “I am sorry to see it go.  This technology marked the start of my career.  I can remember many a night when both my father and brother burned the midnight oil bringing a downed Universal Model 2315 back to working order.”  The granddaddy of all taped products that once made history has now become history.  OX3’s final axial system will be sold to a long-time client who also has plans to phase out this technology.  May it rest in peace.