Circuits Assembly articles from April 2007

Circuits Assembly archives from April 2007

At RadiSys, no detail's too small.(Caveat Lector)
April 1, 2007... RadiSys occupies that middle territory between contract assembler and OEM. Located a few miles west of Portland, Oregon, adjacent to the Hillsboro campus of Intel, the maker of motherboards for such companies as Nokia and Nortel might well...

Industry needs leadership on trade shows.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... In February the IPC took the unusual step of releasing a letter to the industry rationalizing the launch of its new Midwest Conference and Exhibition. I found this rather odd. A Pandora's box was recently opened because of the split between...

Nortec Inc.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Nortec Inc. (nortecid.com) named Aligned Solutions (alignedsolutionsinc.com) its manufacturing representative for western Pennsylvania, Ohio (eastern, central and western), West Virginia and Kentucky, and Microelectronic Systems Distributors...

Newark InOne.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Distributor Newark InOne (newark.com) now stocks from ZMD's sensor signal conditioner ICs and TSic temperature sensor ICs.

Alternative Manufacturing Inc.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... EMS firm Alternative Manufacturing Inc. (altmfg.com) reported record revenues in 2006, with sales up more than 20%. CEO Kim Vandermeulen predicts 2007 growth of 20% as well. The company recently installed new Juki Automation placement...

Avo Photonics.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Optical and RF packaging firm Avo Photonics (avophotonics.com) formed a Toronto subsidiary to provide design and prototyping capabilities and named Dr. Tom Haslett CTO.

VadaTech Inc.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... VadaTech Inc. (vadatech.com) has purchased Europlacer's (europlacer.com) Vitesse2 SMT Flexible Assembly system.

Valor Computerized Systems.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Valor Computerized Systems (valor.com) announced the implementation of vPlan, its new process engineering software, at EMS provider Mack Technologies (macktech.com).

Morey Corp.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... EMS firm Morey Corp. (moreycorp.com) and GE's Asset Intelligence division (ge.com/equipmentservices/assetintelligence) have signed a multi-year deal under which Morey will supply development engineering, manufacturing and logistics services in...

Laird Technologies.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Laird Technologies (lairdtech.com), a manufacturer of antennae, EMI shielding products, telematics and other wireless systems, bought Cushcraft Corp. for $89.75 million. Cushcraft's revenues for 2006 fiscal year were $33.3 million. Laird also...

Senju Metal.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Senju Metal (senju-m.co.jp) has debuted SnAg 1Cu0.7 and SnAg0.3Cu0.7 solder alloys. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]

Tamura Corp.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... P. Kay Metal (pkaymetal.com) named Tamura Corp. of Korea and Tamura H.A. Machinery (tamura-ha.com) as distributors of the company's molten solder surfactant in Korea and North America.

Vitronics-Soltec.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Vitronics-Soltec (vitronics-soltec.com) has topped 110 installations of its new XPM3 reflow oven.

Koh Young.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Koh Young (kohyoung.com) has sold 300 SPI machines worldwide, 60 in North America.

Juki Automation.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Juki Automation (jas-smt.com) is selling a reported 300 placement machines per month, 150 in China.

Tamura H.A. Machinery.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Tamura H.A. Machinery (tamura-ha.com) is opening a new factory in Kentucky, in part to service Denso, which has purchased several soldering systems.

Cookson Electronics'.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Cookson Electronics' (cooksonelectronics.com) Bangalore R&D team is moving into a new 30,000 sq. ft. facility.

OK International.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... OK International (okinternational.com) will standardize on one platform for its Metcal line of desoldering and rework tools, while the OKI brand will be reduced to two platforms from four.

Speedline Technologies.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Speedline Technologies (speedlinetech.com) will reduce its printer platforms to two. The company said the last of its UP models has been built, and the machine will be phased out.

Yamaha.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Yamaha (yamaha.com) rolled out an SPI for large PCBs (485 x 410 mm).

Brio Technology Ltd.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... EMS firm Brio Technology Ltd. (brio-tech.com) has received ISO14001:2004 registration as issued by ANAB.

Nortec Inc.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Nortec Inc. (nortecid.com), appointed the EMC3 Group (emc3group.com) as its manufacturing representative for Florida. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]

Harima Kasei.(In Brief)
April 1, 2007... Solder paste supplier Harima Kasei (harima.co.jp) will reportedly spend 300 million yen to launch a paste manufacturing plant in Eastern Europe.

PCBs: a new kind of insulation?(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... SHANGHAI -- While metals are often reclaimed from printed circuit boards, as often as not, the remainder of the material is landfilled. However, in a leading environmental magazine last month, a team of Chinese researchers suggests a new...

Design Solutions acquires Paradigm Manufacturing Partners.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... SANTA BARBARA, CA -- in March Design Solutions Inc. (designsolutions.com) acquired Paradigm Manufacturing Partners, an EMS provider based in Garden Grove, CA. This brings the number of DSI locations worldwide to nine, with seven in the U.S. and...

SMTAI exhibit space sold out.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... MINNEAPOLIS -- Booth space for the upcoming SMTAI show in Orlando has sold out, the sponsoring trade group said in March. SMTA (smta.org), which is producing the new show, said the last of the exhibit space has been sold. More than 125...

Test OEM Aeroflex latest Francisco purchase.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... PLAINVIEW, NY -- A pair of private equity firms have agreed to purchase test equipment maker Aeroflex Inc. (aeroflex.com) in a deal worth about $1 billion. General Atlantic and Francisco Partners (franciscopartners.com) said they would purchase...

Asustek raises laptop estimates for 2007.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... TAIPEI -- Asustek Computer Inc. (asustek.com) forecast an 80% rise in shipments of its branded laptops this year, the company said in March. In January the company had forecast a 58% increase in laptop shipments. Last year, Asustek, the...

Samsung to build LCD assemblies in Slovakia.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... TRNAVA, SLOVAKIA -- Samsung Electronics (samsumg.com) is reportedly planning to invest $155 million in a new LCD assembly plant here, with total investment possibly reaching $600 million, according to published reports. The new plant is...

SupplyFrame announces GoPart search engine widget.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... PASADENA -- SupplyFrame (supplyframe.com) announced the release of the SupplyFrame GoPart search engine widget. The free widget reportedly lets design engineers and buyers find the most current available facts about millions of electronic...

Kimball Electronics Group.(People)
April 1, 2007... Kimball Electronics Group named Paul Plante vice president, medical industry solutions, a new position responsible for potential customers in the medical electronics and diagnostics equipment markets. He was president and CEO of Reptron...

LaBarge Inc.(People)
April 1, 2007... LaBarge Inc. said William Bitner joined as vice president of operations, with direct oversight of defense and government-oriented manufacturing operations, succeeding the retiring Vernon Anderson. Bitner, who has 20 years' experience in...

EMS firm Libra Industries.(People)
April 1, 2007... EMS firm Libra Industries named Albert Catani chief operating officer, with focus on innovating supply chain and manufacturing capabilities, and developing program management and client services. He was vice president of manufacturing at Lamson...

Exerra.(People)
April 1, 2007... Exerra named Ian Fleck general manager, North America. He was global business development manager for Alpha stencil and printing plate group, Cookson Electronics.

Dr. Laura Turbini.(People)
April 1, 2007... Dr. Laura Turbini is joining Research in Motion as chemistry lab manager and principal scientist. She was formerly executive director of the Centre for Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging (CMAP) at the University of Toronto, and has also...

SMT placement OEM Blakell Europlacer Ltd.(People)
April 1, 2007... SMT placement OEM Blakell Europlacer Ltd. named Ian Aldham-Breary to its U.K. sales team with regional responsibility for southeast England, and developing and managing Speedprint's national sales strategy.

Eurotherm.(People)
April 1, 2007... Eurotherm named Dan Dudici product manager, action instruments. He was previously product marketing manager at Omron Electronics and product manager at Carlo Gavazzi. He has an MBA from Roosevelt University. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

International Manufacturing Services.(People)
April 1, 2007... Passives maker International Manufacturing Services named Daniel Ziroli director of sales and marketing. He has 30 years of electronics experience. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Vitronics-Soltec.(People)
April 1, 2007... Mike Austin was named sales director, Americas, for Vitronics-Soltec.

Cogiscan.(People)
April 1, 2007... Cogiscan hired Andy Lee as China sales manager and Mario Dion as application engineering manager. Lee has 10 years in sales and business development at equipment vendors in China, while Dion has 18 years' experience in electronics...

Kyzen Corp.(People)
April 1, 2007... Kyzen Corp. hired Kelly Johnson as marketing assistant. She was public relations coordinator at the Applied Physics Institute and Imagewest. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

SMTA Medical Electronics Symposium announced.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... MINNEAPOLIS -- The 2007 Medical Electronics Symposium will be held May 2-3 in Bloomington, MN. A tabletop exhibition will take place on May 2, and a half-day workshop symposium on May 1 will cover issues of reliability in medical...

Report: Hon Hai raising Vietnam investment by $4B.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... TAIPEI -- Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the parent of Foxconn (foxconn.com), will reportedly up its investment in Vietnam by $4 billion. In February, Hon Hai chairman Terry Guo signed a letter of intent to invest $1 billion in a high-tech...

Henkel expands solder manufacturing capacity in India, adds paste blending facility.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... IRVINE, CA -- Henkel (henkel.com) will expand its existing plant in Pune, India, adding a solder paste blending facility for its Multicore line of solder pastes. The addition will blend SnPb and Pb-free solder paste for the Indian...

Nepcon/EMT China activities announced.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... SHANGHAI -- The schedule of activities for Nepcon China and EMT China has been announced. Activities will include SMTA workshops and conferences and Ministry of Information Industry-approved training for National Certificate for Key Personnel....

Elcoteq exec: EMS industry prospects strong.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... ESPOO, FINLAND -- Elcoteq chairman Antii Piippo believes the EMS industry has plenty of headroom left, and that the Finnish manufacturer aims to grab its share by relocating production to low-cost regions. "We have been the underdog because...

ITM publishes global wave soldering market study.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2007... DURHAM, NH -- Sales of wave soldering equipment hit $235 million worldwide last year, according to a new study by ITM Marketing (itmconsulting.org). (Disclosure: ITM founder Phil Zarrow is a regular CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY columnist.) The...

The defense rests.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] The Defense Rests Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change ...

February manufacturing orders, production up.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Tempe, AZ -- Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February following a decline in January; the overall economy grew for the 64th consecutive month, ISM reported in March (ism.ws). Supplier deliveries fell for the 44th...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Industry Market Snapshot Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.98 0.94 0.96 1.01 1.06 p Semiconductors (2) ...

Excess inventories remain high, says iSuppli ...(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- After increasing its holdings of excess semiconductors during the first half of the year, the electronics supply chain finished 2006 with its highest level of end-of-year overstock in five years, says iSuppli (isuppli.com)....

... but, says SIA, issues 'worked out'.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... SAN JOSE -- Semiconductor Industry Association (sia-online.org) president George Scalise in March said that consumer confidence continues to boost semiconductor demand, and is easing worries about inventory levels. "Concerns about...

Military electronics to slow.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... LOS ALTOS, CA -- The change in the Congressional majority will likely result in slower growth rates for U.S. military electronics production. Analyst Ed Henderson (hendersonventures.com) predicts military electronics will grow 2.3% next year,...

Metals index.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Metals Index Price per Price per lb. Price per lb. Price per lb. lb. Date 12/4/06 1/8/07 2/4/07 3/12/07 LME Cash $4.92 $4.91 $5.42 ...

What is innovation, anyway? Knowing an idea's nature improves the odds you will benefit from it.(Focus on Business)
April 1, 2007... On a recent trip to Beijing, I was struck by the great interest and overuse of the term innovation. In fact, its overuse seems to be rampant in many countries recently (1). Clearly innovation is important. Nobel Laureate Simon Kuznets estimated...

The changing chain: bare board distributors are usurping traditional supply lines.(Global Sourcing)
April 1, 2007... The March announcement of the closing of Photocircuits was significant in that it marked the demise of the last major homegrown North American board shop. Yes, it had been years since Photocircuits was the largest of the large, and yes, sales...

Equipment supplier selection: in 18 years of buying equipment, there was one thing I never included in my comparison matrix: the price.(Screen Printing)
April 1, 2007... There are several good suppliers of printers, component placement equipment, reflow ovens, wave soldering systems, dispensers, cleaners, etc. But there are differences from machine to machine and supplier to supplier. If you believe--as some...

The deadly sins of Pb-free assembly: repent, for you too are guilty of process mistakes.(Better Manufacturing)
April 1, 2007... "I'm very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins. I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in."--Warren Zevon We have all heard of the seven deadly sins that will, supposedly, lead one to H-ll. There are also the deadly sins of...

Is SPI the yield improvement tool we've waited for? How SPI cut defects by 80% at an automotive electronics plant, plus a primer on how it works.(Solder Paste Inspection)
April 1, 2007... "Solder paste inspection adds no value in the SMD line. It does not place parts. It does not reflow parts."--Vice President, Top 5 EMS Manufacturer [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] This is a powerful statement, and not uncommon in an...

Humidity and pollution effects on Pb-free assemblies: a study of how metallization and operating voltage influence electrochemical migration.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2007... A leading automotive industry survey expects an electronics part growth of 30% to 40% by 2008. The most common failure mechanisms are described in this recent scientific synopsis, namely electrochemical migration and leakage currents induced by...

Apex: exhilarating, exhausting, but never dull: an attendance drop stained an otherwise eventful week.(Apex Recap)
April 1, 2007... Late February's Apex trade show was among the best we can remember for new equipment, materials and software. So much so, we would add, there is far too much to talk about here. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] But we'll take a shot....

Placement machine tolerances and limitations: DfA is the best solution for grappling with varying machine tolerances.(Design for Placement)
April 1, 2007... When it comes to effective component placement, machine tolerances, height restrictions and fixture limitations require close attention because they pose assembly issues and hinder process flow. Equipment involved here includes pick-and-place...

Pb-free soldering and materials IP: which companies are protecting their Pb-free soldering ideas?(Patents)
April 1, 2007... Plenty of money can be made (and lost) in the Pb-free solder arena. Many companies have jumped into the ring, offering solutions to the challenges presented by Pb-free soldering. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] When a company or...

Evidence of poor practice: close inspection of Pb-free boards showed plenty of room for improvement.(Tech Tips)
April 1, 2007... A company's qualification strategy for a new Pb-free process consisted of manufacturing a series of boards using a Pb-free process, followed by environmental testing, and finally post-visual inspection and microsectional analysis. The goal was...

Designing for wave solderability: board layout is the leading cause of solder defects, but getting it right is not easy.(Wave Soldering)
April 1, 2007... Component suppliers' suggested layouts, in general, assume that only the supplier's particular component is used. In the real world, this is seldom the case. Often then, even when using "recommended" layout rules, the result is poor soldering....

A catalytic convertor: some would-be attempts to 'protect' the environment are sure to blow up.(RoHS Revisited)
April 1, 2007... Two of the major solder suppliers have within the past few months announced their Pb-free alternatives to soldering in the 2000s and beyond. Although their chemistries are different, it is interesting to note that, as seems to happen in these...

Constructing DoEs: in the transition to Pb-free, we resolved everything. Except the soldering process, that is.(Pb-Free Lessons Learned)
April 1, 2007... We chose alloys. We selected chemistries. We performed reliability tests. We upgraded equipment. We qualified laminates and components. We segregated materials. We assigned new part numbers. We scrubbed bills of materials. We trained. We...

How cleaning a no-clean flux causes leakage and corrosion: take care not to leave moisture-absorbing conductive residues.(Process Doctor)
April 1, 2007... Cleaning flux residues after reflow and wave soldering is not the norm today. Cleaning has been left to high-reliability manufacturers to make water- or solvent-based systems work. However, much of the industry has chosen not to clean after...

ANSI/ESD S20.20 explained: an explanation of the ESD keepout distance for 2000V products.(ESD Basics)
April 1, 2007... Ed.: For the complete column, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/4612. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Why does ANSI/ESD S20.20 suggest keeping items with an electrical field greater than 2000V at 1" just 12" away from...

Panasonic's CM602 placement machine.(Equipment Advances)
April 1, 2007... The CM602 provides the speed to meet high-volume manufacturing requirements, as well as the flexibility required for high mix/low volume--all in one platform. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] The enhanced machine features 3-D vision,...

Pallet stackers.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... Versatile stackers lift, transport and position up to 3,000 lbs. at a time. Come with manual or electric drive, and feature battery-powered electric lift, with lifting heights of up to 80". Come in two configurations designed to handle any type...

High performance ribbons for micro labels.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The TTRR-B ribbon is formulated to meet detailed small label printing and resist harsh environments, including Pb-free solder processes. Cleanly prints three-point sizes on micro labels. Is UL-approved for printing on polyimide, polyester and...

Pb-free paste cleaner.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... Lead-Free Solder Paste Remover is a blend of aliphatic glycol ethers, isopropyl alcohol and DI water. Said to be RoHS-compliant and usable with any type of solder paste. Can be used to clean stencils, screens, misprinted boards, tools, benches,...

High-speed flash programmer.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The 4710 automated programming system is reportedly fastest at programming flash devices. Is capable of programming devices with densities up to 4 Gb. Incorporates high-speed USB 2.0 standard bus for communications. Said to combine programming...

'Auto-mix' defluxer.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The SMT1000-ZD is reportedly capable of removing rosin, no-clean and water-soluble fluxes. Said to be compatible with Pb-free solders and solder pastes. A single button is said to direct the machine to wash, rinse and dry full loads of...

ESD-safe parts trays.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The MS-Q line of molded conductive trays is for storing and transporting MSDs and assemblies. The trays are shallow in depth, molded in 0.85" thick ESD platic with a reported surface resistivity below 106[ohm] and can tolerate temperatures to...

Pb-free reflow oven.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... Pyramax 125 air solder reflow oven is optimized for Pb-free processing. Ergonomic design provides easy access to all maintenance points. Thermal performance is achieved by precision control of critical thermal processing variables. Uses novel...

'Quick-change' benchtop selective solder.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The Juki 100 table/benchtop selective solder machine uses a gliding board carrier said to cause no friction across the board surface. Small board supports can be placed between the PCB and the top, for guaranteed board-leveling. Does not...

Low-cost ICT.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The Analyst fcs ICT directly accommodates bed-of-nails test fixtures built for Agilent 3X7X-series ICT. Permits direct use of existing Agilent fixtures. Boards not requiring digital vector test can be tested on their original fixtures. Has...

CSP underfill for Pb-free.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... Loctite 3508 is a cornerbond underfill system designed for CSPs and BGAs in Pb-free environments. Reportedly offers higher throughput, reduced manufacturing costs and improved pot life. Is a one-component epoxy comerfill engineered for process...

4-zone AOI.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The MV-7L provides one top-down camera and four side-view cameras, each with a native resolution of 2 MP. The "Quad Angle Lighting System" is said to provide four independently programmable zones. Intelli-Scan laser reportedly precisely...

Flatbed PCB prototyping.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... Zund M-1600 flatbed prototyping machine has a 51 x 63" working area for large applications, and can be controlled with a variety of application-specific software programs, including AutoCAD (for general engineering applications), CIMEX, Impact,...

High-speed SPI.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The Medalist SP50 Series 3 high-speed in- or offline performs 100% 2-D and 3-D solder paste volume, area, height, x-y offset, bridge measurement detection. Gives location information for all deposits. Includes statistical tools for real-time...

Low viscosity fluid dispenser.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
April 1, 2007... The PPD-130 Peristaltic Pump Dispenser reportedly provides accurate and repeatable deposits of low viscosity fluids in an air-free system. The peristaltic pumping principle applies pressure to a soft Teflon tube. Fluid flow is said to be a...