Circuits Assembly articles from April 2008

Circuits Assembly archives from April 2008

A logistical nightmare.(Caveat Lector)
April 1, 2008... I recall, about seven years ago, then Viasystems vice president of global supply chain management Ken Pastewka telling me the EMS firm was seeking five layers of visibility into its supply chain "all the way back to the mines." It seemed...

EMS Components Assembly Inc.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... EMS provider EMS Components Assembly Inc. (emscai.com) inaugurated its third manufacturing plant in Laguna on Feb. 22. The company, formed in 2004, has sales of $110 million and employs 1,400.

Electrolube.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Electrolube (electrolube.com) opened a corporate office in California and an operations center in Chicago to support US customers. The new offices will provide a base to build distribution channels, increase sales and marketing activities and...

Hunter Technology Corp. (hunterpcb.com) and its new subsidiary CADParts & Consulting.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... EMS provider Hunter Technology Corp. (hunterpcb.com) and its new subsidiary CADParts & Consulting now offer PCB design and engineering services nationally through four design service centers: Santa Clara, CA; Denver; Crossville, TN; and...

AIM.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... AIM (aimsolder.com) named Prime Commercial Co. as a distributor for its line of electronics assembly materials in Korea. Prime is available at primecm@unitel.co.kr.

US Patent and Trademark Office.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... The US Patent and Trademark Office (uspto.gov) has assigned a patent to Sono-Tek Corp. (sono-tek.com) covering the creation of thin organic films on complicated substrates using ultrasonic nozzles in combination with a vacuum system. The patent...

Optimal Electronics Corp.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... MES software provider Optimal Electronics Corp. (optelco.com) has partnered with Test_ing, Tecnologia, Control y Automatizacion Industrial (test-ing.com.mx) for sales and support in Mexico.

Indium Corp.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Indium Corp.'s (indium.com) Chicago Materials Division has received ISO-9001:2000 certification.

CheckSum.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Test equipment OEM CheckSum (checksum.com) named Atlantech (altantechusa.com) its distributor and manufacturers' representative in 17 states in the mid Atlantic and Southeast US.

Henkel's Electronics Technology Center.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Henkel's Electronics Technology Center (henkel.com) has installed a GEN3 Systems (gen3systems.com) MUST III solderability tester and AUTO-SIR SIR tester.

Speedline Technologies.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Speedline Technologies (speedlinetech.com) purchased a Koh Young (kohyoung.com) KY-3020T solder paste inspection system.

Valor Computerized Systems.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Valor Computerized Systems (valor.com) has signed EMA Design Automation (ema-eda.com) as a sales and support channel in North America. Valor also named Silgal (silgal.com) as a representative in the Iberia peninsula.

Mirtec Corp.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... AOI supplier Mirtec Corp. (mirtecusa.com) reported sales revenue for its North American division grew 23% in 2007. President Brian D'Amico attributes the company's growth to the recent introduction of two new AOI platforms, and said...

Servatron Inc.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... EMS provider Servatron Inc. (servatron.com) announced gross revenue exceeded a record $32 million in 2007, up 39% over 2006. During the year, the company combined operations previously in two separate facilities, and added 10,000 sq. ft. of...

Nordson Corp.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Nordson Corp. has launched an online adhesive systems parts and services center. The site (parts.nordson.com) provides registered customers with a hub for purchasing Nordson parts, contacting sales and service representatives, and obtaining...

Suntron.(In Brief)
April 1, 2008... Suntron's (suntroncorp.com) Tijuana, Mexico, plant will build PCBs for plasma TVs for Celco California (celco.jp).

Norbert Socolowski, 85, longtime Alpha Metals chemist and inventor, died Feb. 15 in Las Vegas.(People)
April 1, 2008... Norbert Socolowski, 85, longtime Alpha Metals chemist and inventor, died Feb. 15 in Las Vegas. He was the first president of the SMTA, and received that organization's Founder's Award in 1998. He was a key member and former chairmen of numerous...

Siemens Energy & Automation named Butch Garrison vice president and general manager, Electronics Assembly Systems Division.(People)
April 1, 2008... Siemens Energy & Automation named Butch Garrison vice president and general manager, Electronics Assembly Systems Division. The acting vice president since December, Garrison joined Siemens in January 1996 as project engineer, and has held...

Koh Young Technology named Andre Myny global marketing director.(People)
April 1, 2008... Koh Young Technology named Andre Myny global marketing director. He was director of global marketing for Vitronics Soltec from 1994 to 2007, and also worked in operations at Philips. He has a bachelor's in industrial engineering and several...

IEC Electronics Corp.(People)
April 1, 2008... IEC Electronics Corp. named Michael Schlehr corporate vice president and CFO.

IPC inducted Microtek Laboratories chairman and CTO Bob Neves into its Hall of Fame.(People)
April 1, 2008... IPC inducted Microtek Laboratories chairman and CTO Bob Neves into its Hall of Fame. Neves has been active in IPC since 1986, having chaired numerous committees and represented the US at IEC meetings.

Winland Electronics.(People)
April 1, 2008... Winland Electronics promoted Jeffrey Ocker to director of operations and Steve Trnka to director of manufacturing. Ocker was manager of manufacturing test engineering. Trnka, an eight-year veteran of Winland, was a program manager and strategic...

Landrex Technologies.(People)
April 1, 2008... Landrex Technologies appointed Michael Triber Eastern regional manager.

SCM supplier Zurvahn LLC named Jim Hutkay vice president of sales.(People)
April 1, 2008... SCM supplier Zurvahn LLC named Jim Hutkay vice president of sales. He was previously an executive with Arrow Electronics Inc., Capstone Electronics and Anthem Electronics. Also, Jurgen Kruppa has been named vice president, business development,...

Electronic Systems Inc. named Lynne Mooney director of program management.(People)
April 1, 2008... Electronic Systems Inc. named Lynne Mooney director of program management, responsible for leading customer relationships. She has 20 years' EMS experience in medical, instrumentation, aerospace and industrial programs.

DEK named David Byrd global manager for engineered products.(People)
April 1, 2008... DEK named David Byrd global manager for engineered products. He joined DEK in 2005 as America operations manager. Also, Kent Ang (pictured) was promoted to process manufacturing engineer, responsible for production for electroform and platinum...

Zestron promoted Ravi Parthasarathy to senior process engineer, responsible for key account management in North America.(People)
April 1, 2008... Zestron promoted Ravi Parthasarathy to senior process engineer, responsible for key account management in North America. He will oversee initial cleaning process qualifications in Zestron's Technical Center, process implementations, and process...

The Millennia Group named Tip Turpin vice president, sales/marketing.(People)
April 1, 2008... The Millennia Group named Tip Turpin vice president, sales/marketing. He has 30 years' experience in management, sales, marketing, and manufacturing, most recently with electronics component distributor Harry Krantz Co.

The Morey Corp. named John Kennedy account manager.(People)
April 1, 2008... The Morey Corp. named John Kennedy account manager. He has a bachelor's in economics and business administration, and nearly 20 years' sales and customer service experience, most recently with Interlake Material Handling. [ILLUSTRATION...

Sunburst Electronics.(People)
April 1, 2008... Sunburst Electronics named Kevin McDonough vice president of sales and marketing, replacing Dennis Cantoni, who retired.

Foxconn constructing plant near St. Petersburg.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... ST. PETERSBURG -- Foxconn Technology Group (fih-foxconn.com) is making headway toward building an assembly plant near St. Petersburg. The firm reportedly has begun construction on a 12 hectare-site near Kolpino. The company plans to invest...

Flextronics buying Elcoteq's Russia Ops.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... HELSINKI -- Elcoteq (elcoteq.se) in February said it would sell its Russian subsidiary ZAO Elcoteq to Flextronics (flextronics.com). The deal includes Elcoteq's St. Petersburg plant, and is expected to close by April. Financial terms were not...

Report: IMI 'eyeing' Vietnam.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... MANILA -- EMS provider Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (imiphil.com) has plans to set up operations in Vietnam, a top executive said in an interview. "It is always an open opportunity. Hopefully, this year," IMI senior managing director...

Flextronics gobbling up Hungary workers.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... SAN JOSE -- Flextronics (flextronics.com) will add production and up to 1,000 new employees in Hungary this spring, according to published reports. The Napi Gazdasag, quoting a Flextronics executive, reported the EMS company will add...

RGT to increase stake in Adeptron.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... TORONTO -- Adeptron Technologies (adeptron.com) has entered a letter of intent with R.H. Global Technologies (rh.co.il) for the private placement of $6 million worth of common shares. The deal would give RGT about 62% of Adeptron's issued and...

Passives classification effort heating up.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- A joint IPC/ECA/Jedec effort to define and classify passive components' potential of thermal damage during assembly is gaining steam. J-STD-075, Classification of Non-IC Electronic Components for Assembly Processes, is...

EU, US cracking down on pirated components.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... BRUSSELS -- In the wake of a recent successful discovery of a counterfeit component ring, EU and US officials in late February said they would crack down on further counterfeiting. China will be a focus of the operation, officials said. ...

Union to fight flex plant closure in Montreal.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... MONTREAL -- If Flextronics (flextronics.com) wants to close its Montreal assembly plant, it won't happen without a fight from Teamsters Canada. The workers union said it would challenge Flextronics' decision to close the factory and layoff some...

Bush signs export control reforms.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- President George Bush in January signed a package of directives reforming US dual-use export control policies and practices. According to a White House press release, these directives are intended to clarify and strengthen the...

New Solder Co. enters China fray.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... OXFORD, UK -- BizEsp Ltd. (bizesp.com) has announced the launch of Oxford Solders for electronics assembly products. The product line reportedly will be marketed toward Chinese and Indian manufacturers, and will include solder powders and...

EPM to shutter US plant.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... MANCHESTER, NH -- EMS firm EPM (epmnet.com) is closing its sole US factory and laying off 50 workers. The 45,000-sq. ft. factory, which opened in 2006, housed two SMT lines and was originally intented to give the Canadian company a...

CTS acquires Orion Manufacturing.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... ELKHART, IN -- CTS Corp. (ctscorp.com) announced the acquisition of privately held Orion Manufacturing Inc. for approximately $10 million in cash. CTS expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year. Under terms of the...

Tin whiskers email forum open.(Industry NEWS)
April 1, 2008... SAN JOSE -- An email forum for discussing tin whisker issues and research has been created and is up and running. The forum, also known as a listserv, came from discussions among numerous engineers interested in mitigating potential risks...

Navigating up.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change Nov. Dec. (r) Jan.* YTD Computers and electronics products...

February manufacturing fails to grow.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... TEMPE, AZ -- The manufacturing sector failed to grow in February, as the PMI dipped slightly to 48.3%. New orders decreased 40 basis points--the third straight month below parity, says the Institute for Supply Management (ism.ws), which issued...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.79 0.80 0.82 0.85 (r) 0.89 (p) Semiconductors (2) 4.39% 4.58% 4.39%...

Metals index.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... Price Per Lb. Date 3/12/07 12/10/07 1/07/08 2/11/08 3/10/08 LME Cash Seller and $6.28 $7.44 $7.51 $7.69 $8.73 Settlement for Tin LME Cash Seller and...

Car electronics to grow 13% in 2008.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... ARLINGTON, VA -- Sales of in-vehicle consumer electronics will grow at a rate of 13% to more than $12.8 billion in 2008, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (ce.org). The typical American spends nearly 17 hours a week in their...

Strong demand boosts smaller display prices.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Consumers are snapping up digital photo frames and tiny televisions, spurring a period of supply tightness and price increases for small/medium displays that is expected to linger through the first quarter, says iSuppli Corp...

2008 component orders flat.(Market WATCH)
April 1, 2008... ARLINGTON, VA -- Sales of electronics components will grow at essentially the same rate or slightly higher this year than in 2007, and the markets determining component supply and demand look positive, in spite of a precarious economy, says ECA...

Back in the game.(Talking Heads)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... Fresh off a short sabbatical, ex Speedline chief executive Pierre de Villemejane in March announced he would team again with the investment group that helped turn around his former company. As an adviser to KPS Capital Partners, de Villemejane...

Statistical gamesmanship: why the process capability index is a better way to assess equipment.(Screen Printing)
April 1, 2008... Determining the true capability of process equipment can be a daunting task to the average process engineer. No industry standard requires the equipment manufacturer to report their equipment/process capability in a specific manner. Hence, it...

Black pad--a scourge on your boards: the potential failure mechanism can reside randomly and unpredictably.(Better Manufacturing)
April 1, 2008... Electroless nickel gold (ENIG) has emerged as a popular surface finish and for good reason: It has a lot going for it. Besides being Pb-free, ENIG provides flat surfaces, thus complementing fine-pitch components. ENIG does not oxidize and can...

Design and modeling of high-speed, high-density 3-D CSPs and memory modules: challenges and technologies of high-speed memory systems.(Component Packaging)
April 1, 2008... DDR2 pushed memory clock frequencies to 400 MHz and data rates to 800 Mbps. DDR3 further pushes clock frequencies to 800 MHz, while DDR4 is up to 1.6 GHz. New packaging technologies such as die stacking and package-on-package (PoP) are being...

The 'big brush off' revisited: in rework and repair, if you can't rinse, you can't clean.(Benchtop Cleaning)
April 1, 2008... Last December in this journal, Terry Munson offered up a unique analysis of benchtop cleaning. (1) In one brief piece, he managed to be both exactly right and precisely wrong--a phenomenon typically observed only in members of Congress. This...

Impact of soldering atmosphere on solder joint formation: a Flextronics-Vitronics Soltec collaborative investigation into techniques for reducing nitrogen consumption.
April 1, 2008... Soldering atmosphere influences final solder interconnect formation. Based on previous studies, SnPb and Pb-free solders perform differently under varying soldering atmospheres. (1,2,3,4,5,6) Pb-free pastes' significant reductive influence on...

Beyond Moore's Law: SiP-based system-level integration resolves CMOS scaling limits.(Packaging Developments)
April 1, 2008... The electronics industry is nearing the limits of traditional CMOS scaling. Although predictions that Moore's Law has reached its limits have been heard for years, they have proved premature. We are now, however, nearing the basic physical...

ESD control for class 0 ESDS devices: how to protect devices between 20 and 100V.(Protecting Parts)
April 1, 2008... Class 0 ESD-sensitive (ESDS) devices (especially those sensitive below 100V) are exploding onto the scene, and with them comes a new set of ESD risks and challenges. (1,2,3) (ESD Association industry standard S20.20 does not address ESD...

Growing your brand: "prospects lie," warns Sue Mucha. Her new book tells EMS companies how to overcome that.(Program Management)(Interview)(Company overview)
April 1, 2008... Not many people have seen the electronics manufacturing services industry through as wide and varied a lens as Susan Mucha. Her history with contracting dates to 1981 with Olin King and SCI Systems, considered the father of all contract...

This year's model: proposed new ESD qualification requirements for HBM and MM.(ESD Standards)
April 1, 2008... The ESD qualification methods for ICs have a history of requiring performance to human-body-model (HBM) levels of 2kV, and in some cases 200V for machine model (MM). In recent years, CDM has come into focus, but specific requirements are...

A show of strength: for pull testing, setup is crucial to get the right results.(Tech Tips)
April 1, 2008... Pull testing is common for board qualifications. One purpose of pull testing is to confirm the strength of materials on a PWB; for example, annular rings and traces attached to the PWB surface. The results provide information about the...

TGA analysis of no-clean Pb-free flux behavior: weight change as a function of time and temperature aids reflow profiling.(Reflow Soldering)
April 1, 2008... One of the inconveniences of flux residue, besides poor appearance, is its deleterious effect on in-circuit testing. During testing, test pins might fail to penetrate the hard residue that can be located on the test points, resulting in...

Process cleaning integration: removing unwanted residues is a collective undertaking.(Process Doctor)
April 1, 2008... Innovative electronics assembly designs strive to increase functionality over smaller surface areas. Advances in cellular telecommunications, broadband, storage, computing, medical, aerospace and defense, automotive and other technology-based...

Franklin's wisdom: why "or equivalent" is the enemy of quality and consistency.(Pb-Free Lessons Learned)
April 1, 2008... I bet if I asked 100 assembly process engineers where their bare boards come from, at least 50 would reply "the warehouse." But how many could actually name the fabricator that's supplying the warehouse? Probably only the ones who've had the...

Dfx for lean: designers unfamiliar with Lean can actually add process steps--and cost.(Getting Lean)
April 1, 2008... An EMS provider's facility can completely embrace Lean manufacturing principles, but if the OEM customers' products aren't designed for them, the result is inefficiency and missed cost-reduction opportunities. Optimizing designs for Lean...

Siements X4i placement machine.(Equipment Advances)
April 1, 2008... Based on the high-performance Siplace X-Series platform, the Siplace X4i reportedly has a placement speed of 102,000 cph, as measured in accordance with IPC-9850. This value corresponds to a Siplace benchmark rating of 120,000 cph and a maximum...

High feeder count multifunctional placement.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... iineo-II, a flexible, dual-gantry SMT assembly machine, comes with eight or 12 spindle rotary heads. Handles maximum PCB sizes of 18" x 20" (standard) with options to handle up to 24" x 28", and features standard placement accuracy of 35...

Aqueous cleaner for batch washers.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... Aquanox A4625B biodegradable low-VOC aqueous chemistry removes all types of flux residues, including Pb-free, in batch washers. Is environmentally friendly, has a long tank life and low maintenance cost. Is said to provide brilliant mirrored...

Selective soldering fluxer.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... KISS-104F inline fluxer is said to flux only the specific components to be selectively soldered. Applies flux via X-Y motion under programmable control. Reportedly reaches all areas of a PCB panel up to 18" x 24". Features standard precision...

Oven temperature profiler.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... Surveyor reflow oven thermal performance monitor includes fixed sensors and SPC analysis to automatically identify out-of-tolerance conditions. Comes with sensor that reportedly eliminates variables associated with thermocouple attachment; an...

Closed-loop stencil cleaner.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... EnviroGuard aqueous stencil cleaner is said to clean all types of solder paste with a 100% closed-loop wash and rinse process. Filtration/UV system ensures no VOCs. Low-maintenance filters need changing twice annually. Retrofits to certain...

Water-soluble Pb-free solder paste.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... EnviroMark 828 solder paste combines low voiding, high wetting and ease of cleaning. Is said to be extremely stable in stencil printing, regardless of print speed, idle time and throughput. Highly wettable with a wide variety of board and...

Boundary scan/vectorless hybrid for ICT.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... Medalist VTEP v2.0 vectorless test suite, for ICT, is a hybrid between boundary scan and VTEP vectorless testing. Features digital stimulus capability and reduces need for text fixtures and probing. Permits PCB designs with less electrical test...

Batch cleaners.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... AquaTherm family of high-performance batch cleaners features a flexible cleaning system. Has steam-cleaning capability via an onboard steam generator. Austin American Technology, aat-corp.com Booth 2249

High durability fluid reservoir tanks.(Product PREVIEW)
April 1, 2008... ASME-certified fluid reservoir tanks include top and bottom-ported models ranging from 2 qt. to 5 gal. Top-ported reservoirs are said to be suitable for liquids less than 150,000 cps and bottom-ported reservoirs for fluids less than 300,000...

In case you missed it.(Technical Abstracts)
April 1, 2008... Circuit Design "50 GHz End Launch Connector Test Boards" Author: Bill Rosas Abstract: The methodology for broadband (50 GHz) transitions from coax to GCPWG is explained through following the development of connector test boards....