OX3.com continues its oldest legacy service, axial leaded tape technology, which once upon a time ushered in the birth of printed circuit board automated manufacturing.  It was on the scene when the earliest integrated circuits were manufactured in 1958 at Fairchild Semiconductor and Texas Instruments.  At its founding in 1972, axial leaded tape technology was the sole offering at OX3.com, then known as Orion Partners.  Orders are scarce in today’s market for axial production, “The name of the game today is surface-mounted technology.  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, “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 virtually become history.  Fortunately, for some, OX3’s final axial system remains in good working order.