Circuits Assembly articles from February 2003

Circuits Assembly archives from February 2003

If you can't beat 'em ...(Editorial)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2003... Celestica's January display of its Intel Architecture 64-bit (IA-64) server at the Linux World Expo in New York sealed its jump into the tricky business of owning intellectual property (IP) rights on products. Problem: Celestica has to convince...

Web sites worth mentioning.(Net gain: the latest the internet has to offer)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... www.eminc.com Express Manufacturing, Inc. (EMI) now has a Web-based reporting capability that allows access to quality reports in real-time. Available data includes yield analysis, assessments of engineering change order (ECO) implementations,...

Surveys and guides.(Net gain: the latest the internet has to offer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... www.schemazoo.net/jaguar/cabg/ The Circuits Assembly Buyers' Guide provides company services and contact information in 35 product categories. www.circuitsassembly.com/resource/ survey_index.html All of the Circuits Assembly equipment...

Circuits Assembly online: www.circuitsassembly.com.(Net gain: the latest the internet has to offer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Process Defect Clinic Bob Willis Electronic Presentation Services * Directory of Electronics Manufacturing Services Providers (DEMS) Enter your free listing here! www.circuits assembly.com/resource/dems.html Would you like to...

Former Maxtor CEO joins Solectron as president, CEO.(Industry News)(Michael R. Cannon)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Solectron Corp. (Milpitas, CA, www.solectron.com) announced that former Maxtor CEO Michael R. Cannon has been named president and chief executive officer, which was effective last month. He succeeds Koichi Nishimura, who in September 2002...

Viasystems to manufacture Hop-On cell phones.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Hop-On (Irvine, CA, www.hop-on.com), a developer of disposable and fully recyclable cell phones, has announced that electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Viasystems (St. Louis, MO, www.viasystems.com) will manufacture 61,000 Hop-On...

Sanmina-SCI acquires Elscint's operations in Israel.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sanmina-SCI Corp. (San Jose, CA, www.sanmina-sci.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the manufacturing, assembly, engineering and integration operations of Elscint Ltd. (Tel Aviv, Israel). The factory manufactures medical systems...

Multek consolidates fabrication facilities.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Multek (Singapore, www.multek.com), a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer and subsidiary of Flextronics International (www.flextronics.com), has closed its PCB fabrication facilities in Irvine, CA, and Kumla, Sweden. In an...

Automation Alliance Group.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Bob Adams, chairman, has announced the creation of a new company, Automation Alliance Group (West Chester, PA). Formed from 10 independent system integration companies, the new company is a peer-to-peer melding of 10 sets of capabilities,...

Paragon Electronics, Inc.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Paragon Electronic, Inc. (Suwanee, GA), a contract manufacturer providing new product information (NPI) services, has opened a new electronics manufacturing services (EMS) facility. The facility is designed to be a flexible, customer-focused...

MEMSCAP (Bernin, France) has entered an agreement to acquire the business and assets of JDS Uniphase.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... MEMSCAP (Bernin, France) has entered an agreement to acquire the business and assets of JDS Uniphase's Cronos MEMS business unit (Research Triangle Park, NC). As JDS Uniphase's exclusive supplier of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based...

CirTran Corp.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Cirtran Corp. (Salt Lake City, UT), a contract electronics manufacturer of printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies, cables and harnesses, recently announced that its latest orders have exceeded $110,000. The significant volume of new orders,...

International Control Services, Inc.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... International Control Services, Inc. (ICS), an electronic manufacturing services (EMS) provider, has announced the expansion of its Decatur, IL, manufacturing facility. The facility space increased from 28,000 to 60,000 sq. ft, including 5,000...

Sanyo selects Asymtek to equip facilities.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sanyo Electric Company, Ltd. (Osaka, Japan, www.sanyo.com), a supplier of electronic components for the personal telecommunications market, recently purchased two Asymtek (Carlsbad, CA, www.asymtek.com) dispensing systems to equip their circuit...

NEMI welcomes seven new members.(Industry News)(National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Seven companies have recently joined the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (Herndon, VA, www.nemi.org), an industry-led consortium to strengthen the North American supply chain. The new members are: 3SAE Technologies Inc.; Aerotech...

GOEPEL claims first AOI, boundary scan combination.(Industry News)(automated optical inspection )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Goepel Electronic (Jena, Germany, www.goepel.com), a supplier of electronic and optical test and inspection systems, recently announced the first combination of automated optical inspection (AOI) and boundary scan technologies into one system....

EMS program managers certified.(Industry News)(electronics manufacturing services managers from IPC)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... IPC (Northbrook, IL, www.ipc.org) has announced that 18 electronics manufacturing services (EMS) program managers have recently gained certification through IPC's first EMS program manager training and certification program. Seventy-four...

IMAPS.(People)(Peter Barnwell)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... IMAPS (Washington, D.C.) has appointed Dr. Peter Barnwell of Heraeus, Inc. (West Conshohocken, PA), former president-elect, as president of the organization. He immediately succeeds Dr. Charles Bauer.

LaBarge, Inc.(People)(Randy Buschling )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... LaBarge, Inc. (St. Louis, MO) has named Randy Buschling as chief operating officer. In his newly created position, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operating management of the company--including business development and operations.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle.(People)(Bob Bilbrough)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Atlanta Business Chronicle has named Bob Bilbrough, chief operating officer of Qualcon (Flowery Branch, GA), to the paper's list of leaders of Georgia's technology industry. To make the list, one must be a leader in his/her field and...

DEK.(People)(Pamal Sharma )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... DEK (Flemington, NJ) has hired Pamal Sharma as chief information officer. Pamal will be responsible for management information services, electronic data interchange and all general data and voice communications.

Yamaichi Electronics USA, Inc.(People)(Bassam Asfoor )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Yamaichi Electronic USA, Inc. (San Jose, CA) has named Bassam Asfoor as regional sales manager in the Phoenix, AZ, area. Asfoor has worked in the test and burn-in and reliability industries for 19 years.

Solectron Corp.(People)(Kevin O'Connor )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Solectron Corp. (Milpitas, CA) has appointed Kevin O'Connor as senior vice president of worldwide human resources. He is responsible for the human resources program and infrastructure, supporting both the corporation and its business units.

Lighten up: turning old stencils into art.(Industry News)(artists Theron Colucci)
February 1, 2003... Atlanta artist Theron Colucci loves working with trash. Give him old solder stencils and components, and his passion for providing "the world a compelling visual representation of the cutting edge technology that surrounds us" shines through,...

IBM, Camstar form alliance.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... IBM (White Plains, NY, www. ibm.com) and Camstar (Campbell, CA, www.camstar.com), a provider of enterprise manufacturing execution systems (MES), have announced an alliance to deliver collaborative manufacturing solutions to the electronics...

MEMS/MST market to cross $26B.(Market Watch)(microelectromechanical systems and micro-systems)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2003... According to a report from Business Communications Co. (Norwalk, CT; www.bccresearch.com), the worldwide market for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-systems (MST) will exceed $26.4 billion by 2007, growing at an average rate of...

Report: world surface-mount placement equipment market.(Market Watch)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2003... A report released by consulting firm Frost and Sullivan (New York, NY, www.frost.com), covering the world surface-mount placement equipment market between 1998 and 2008, estimates that the market was worth $1.81 billion in 2001. Driven by the...

November 2002 book-to-bill.(Market Watch)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2003... The U.S. printed circuit board (PCB) industry book-to-bill ratio for November 2002 was 0.92. Sales billed (shipments) in November 2002 increased 1.9 percent from November 2001 and orders booked increased 4.5 percent from November 2001. ...

Adhesives Research selects Taiwanese distributor.(Asia Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Adhesives Research, Inc. (Glen Rock, PA, www.adhesivesresearch.com), a manufacturer of custom pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) technology, has signed an agreement with Union Chemical Ind. (Kyonggi, Korea, www.union86.co.kr/eng/) to serve as...

Flextronics expands capabilities in Asia.(Asia Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Flextronics (Singapore, www.flextronics.com) has announced the expansion of its design and development capabilities in Asia. The company has increased its mechanical, electrical, software, semiconductor and test development services in that...

Polyclad's Malaysia facility certified.(Asia Watch)(Polyclad Laminates Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Polyclad Laminates, Inc. (Londonderry, NH, www.cooksonelectronics.com), a Cookson Electronics PWB Materials & Chemistry business, received certification to the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System (QMS) for its Kuching, Malaysia, location....

Transfer of chip-mounter business.(Asia Watch)(Hitachi High-Technologies Corp.)(Sanyo High Technology Co.,)(Universal Instruments Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Hitachi High-Technologies Corp. (Tokyo, Japan, www.hitachi-hitec.com) recently acquired Sanyo High Technology Co., which will be renamed Hitachi High-Tech Instruments Corp. In response to this announcement, HHT and Universal Instruments Corp....

SEMICON China, electronicChina set for March.(Asia Watch)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... SEMICON China and electronicChina (www.global-electronics.net) will be co-located at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, March 12-14, in Shanghai, China. The trade shows provide a platform for state-of-the-art technologies, ranging from...

Atotech appointed for Asian distribution of inks.(Asia Watch)(Lackwerke Peters)(Atotech USA Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Lackwerke Peters (Kempen, Germany, www.peters.de) has appointed Atotech (Berlin, Germany, www.atotech.com) as the Asian distributor of the company's range of inks for the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and auxiliary products. ...

Certifying the SMT process engineer.(Surface Mount Technology )
February 1, 2003... "Are you experienced?"--Jimi Hendrix You don't need to have been in this industry of ours very long to learn that there is a range of competency with regard to assembling circuit boards. I'm not talking about machine capability here; I'm...

Screen printing: welcome to our newest series--Ten Timely Tips! Bimonthly, we'll provide you with 10 technology tips on a certain process aspect culled from suggestions received from readers.(Ten Timely Tips)
February 1, 2003... 1. Start and end with a clean stencil. Cleanliness is key to good printing. A stencil must start clean to help ensure a good print, and cleaning during the process will greatly reduce bridging, solder bailing and beading. Set your process to...

No cleaning required? Use of a no-clean flux requires a well-controlled clean process.(Ask Les)
February 1, 2003... Q: We produce assemblies with a no-clean process, using no-clean solder paste and no-clean cored wire for hand soldering and touchup. Field failures have been detected and traced to shorts between parallel tracks. Should we clean our...

Machine vision challenges: the key to success: flexibility with illumination and lens choice.(Problem Solved)
February 1, 2003... Problem: Semiconductor packaging and component assembly companies face several vision-related problems. The companies must place parts that are getting both smaller [such as 0.25 mm sq. die or 0201 capacitors) and larger (such as 50 mm...

Visualizing and predicting solder paste flow--in real time: a unique method eliminates errors associated with typical post-print measurement systems.(Screen Printing)
February 1, 2003... Because stencil printing is not well understood, it is often thought to be the source of the majority of defects encountered in the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing process) A better understanding of the basic principles involved in...

A mass measurement system for screen printing: several experiments have proven mass measurement's viability for monitoring the printing process.(Screen Printing)
February 1, 2003... Measuring screen-printed deposits on a printed circuit board (PCB) has been a struggle since the first board was printed. Many systems have tried to accurately measure the deposited material, and current measurement systems rely on complex...

High tech's impact on best practice manufacturing: high technology will not solve a manufacturer's design problems and should only be used with full knowledge of its implications.(Process Optimization)
February 1, 2003... The boundary limits of electronics manufacturing technology are being continuously explored and expanded. Products are acquiring more function and are reducing in size, and the result is a difficult set of production parameters required to make...

New options for managing the supply chain: electronics manufacturers can now purchase products with the help of new value-added procurement specialists.(Focus on Business)
February 1, 2003... The roller coaster ride of the new economy has taught the electronics industry many lessons. Perhaps the primary one is that business cycles, which used to be measured in terms of years, now pulsate quarterly with intense peaks and valleys. As...

Acoustic inspection system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Model D-24 C-SAM acoustic micro-imaging system is designed for inspection of mounted components on boards measuring up to 61 x 61 cm. The system gives assemblers the opportunity to perform a nondestructive internal inspection of components for...

Pick-and-place kit.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The IPC-9850 Kit includes all the glass boards and components required to fulfill the first-ever IPC standard for pick-and-place machine characterization. The new standard was released in July 2002. Technology Information Corp., Rockville,...

Desoldering ribbon.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Matrix desoldering ribbon is constructed with four layers of copper screen wire mesh, resulting in less heat stress to boards. The dispenser's flexible spring guide permits accurate placement and keeps operators safe from heat. The ribbon is...

Digital x-ray system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... XiDAT image acquisition technology offers digital data processing and version 5 of the software operating system. The system acquires images with a resolution of 1300 x 1000 pixels and 65,000 levels of grayscale, with resolution available on...

Conformal/permanent coating.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... SL 1301 ECO-FLZ is a fluorescent conformal/permanent coating that is free of lead, chromium and aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, fulfilling the requirements of the EU Vehicle End-Of-Life Directive 2000/53/EG. The coating does not contain free...

Lead-free HASL finish.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... SN 100CL, a nickel-stabilized tin/copper alloy, allows lead-free hot air solder leveling (HASL). The alloy provides a smooth, bright coating as uniform in thickness and as flat as the tin/lead solder it replaces. Varieties of the eutectic are...

Automated optical inspection system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... ScanINSPECT API uses multiple boards and Windows-based software to build a golden board for inspection. The system has an automated table and a color image-processing unit for inspection of wet or dry printed materials. Conductor, resistor or...

Multi-site programming system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The ProWriter is a universal, multi-socket programmer for low- and medium-volume production environments. The programmer supports gang and set programming for a range of device types, with support for programmable logic, memory devices and...

Robotic assembly system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The ONYX32 platform for assembly applications includes photonic packaging, MEMS, optoelectronics and semiconductor devices. The system can automatically pick, align and place any object with 2 [micro] accuracy. Quick-change end effectors...

1-D, 2-D Reader.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The Quadrus EZ camera decodes both linear and 2-D codes at up to 60 codes/sec. The field-of-view locator allows users to align symbols without video monitors or a PC. Additional features include video input/output, USB and Ethernet connectivity...

Reflow oven setup.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Auto-Focus develops reflow recipes for new products without running a profile, reducing downtime for oven setup. The product evaluates a database of previous products and extrapolates a new oven recipe based on product and oven characteristics....

Liquid dispenser.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The MicroMax II dispenser is designed for high-density interconnect (HDI) applications, including flip chip underfill. The dispenser has a unibody composite frame for stability when micro-dispensing, a linear speed of up to 30 in./sec, and a...

Line Setup Control.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Line Setup Control offers a solution to verify all materials, tooling and machine programs across the assembly line. A combination of barcode labels and RF tags enable identification of any item, including those that cannot be identified using...

Pick-and-place system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... With the CLM9000 Plus pick-and-place system, all programming tasks and feeder exchange can be done during the running production. The system offers a 190-feeder capacity, the ability to combine different boards to a set for one-run production,...

Portable microscope.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... TS-230 and TS-450 Tablescopes are portable microscopes that send real-time images through a standard video connection to any size television or LCD projector, An optional interface kit allows viewing and image storage on PCs. Aven Tools...

SVS inspection software.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Version 4.7 of the software for the SVS series of solder paste and component placement inspection systems is designed to help manage inspection programs between systems. The software features load and run capability and includes a technique for...

Depaneling system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The Datum depaneling system incorporates circular saw and router technology into a single automation platform. The servo-driven zaxis saw blade accommodates varying component heights and can rotate 360[degrees] for angular cuts. The system...

Label presenter.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The POD600 print-on-demand label presenter prints custom labels at 600 DPI. The presenter fits into pick- and- place machines using the existing feeder interface and presents the label to the equipment, allowing for accurate placement. The...

Digital soldering station.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... WESD51 is an entry-level digital soldering station designed for continuous production soldering. The station comes with a pen, an iron stand and a heater and sensor combination for rapid temperature recovery. Wireless temperature lockout...

X-Ray microstructure measurement.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... X-RAY XDVM-[mu] provides measurement and analysis of microstructure coatings using x-ray fluorescence and micro-focus x-ray optics. The instrument's software can analyze the thickness and composition of multi-coatings containing up to 24...

Cleaning products.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The expanded Hydrex aqueous cleaning product line offers VOC-compliant, neutral pH cleaning agents that are aggressive and nonflammable. Use the AC and A-Plus products for ultrasonic stencil equipment, the SP line for spray stencil cleaning and...

Optical inspection microscope.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The Lynx stereo-zoom microscope produces magnified images on a large viewing area. Engineered to promote operator comfort, features include 6 to 40X magnification and long working distances for applications where manipulation is necessary....

No-clean solder paste.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... PureMark 202 no-clean solder paste delivers a wide reflow profile window, easy to penetrate flux residues, the ability to print to 0201s and consistent, clean stencil releases for applications down to 0.4 mm/16 mils. The paste's anti-slump and...

Device programmer.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Seventh-generation technology can program high-density devices at 0.34 seconds/Mb. FX4 socket modules provide four sockets per programming site. The technology supports high-density devices, microcontrollers and over 18,000 other devices. ...

Automated optical inspection system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The K2 automated optical inspection (AOI) system features large-format, 6 million-pixel-resolution and color imaging. The system's parametric measurement technology measures all critical parameters, allowing continuous gauging of variations in...

Flip chip bonder.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... Model 850 flip chip bonder has an improved viewing system for attaching flip chips, chip-scale devices and ball grid arrays (BGAs) up to 1 1/2 in. square. Designed for entry-level volume production and process development environments requiring...

Spray fluxing system.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... The SONOFLUX 2000F spray fluxing system is designed for high-volume, fixed-width-wave solder lines that use hard-to-clean rosin flux. The system is fully enclosed in a chamber to protect other areas of the wave solder machine and includes a...

Portable microscope.(Product Preview)
February 1, 2003... TS-230 and TS-450 Tablescopes are portable microscopes that send real-time images through a standard video connection to any size television or LCD projector. An optional interface kit allows viewing and image storage on PCs. Aven Tools...

Solving a BGA footprint mismatch: daughter card to the rescue.(Rework and Repair Depot)
February 1, 2003... American tourists traveling to Europe quickly learn that electrical accessories cannot be plugged into European wall outlets without a special adaptor. The same holds true in rework and board modification. When attaching ball grid array (BGA)...