Circuits Assembly articles from June 2007

Circuits Assembly archives from June 2007

More Groves, not Graves.(Caveat Lector)
June 1, 2007... When folks like Andy Grove lobby the U.S. Congress for educational funding and immigration relief, we all should lend an ear. The Intel cofounder, after all, embodies the American success story: A Hungarian immigrant displaced by World War II...

Nepcon China: steady as she goes.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... SHANGHAI -- Nepcon China, Shanghai's largest electronics manufacturing trade show, offered some changes over 2006, but mostly more of the same. On the plus side, attendance was strong and steady. And next year's show is reportedly already...

U.S. Congress seeks to revamp patent process.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Congress in late April introduced into legislation The Patent Reform Act of 2007, a bill aimed at helping the filing process and to ease the financial burden to companies that infringe on existing patents. The Senate...

White paper addresses metal cost increases.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- Tin and silver costs have reached 19-year highs and global demand for tin will exceed production by 30,700 metric tons, according to a new white paper that addresses current global supply and demand of metals used in...

Adeptron buys Pacific Circuit Assembly.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... TORONTO -- Adeptron Technologies Corp. (adeptron.com) announced an agreement to acquire San Jose-based EMS provider Pacific Circuit Assembly (pcassembly.com) for $2.25 million. The acquisition was expected to close by the end of May. The...

SIR sufficient for testing circuit reliability under coatings, NPL finds.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... BERKSHIRE, UK -- A just-released NPL (npl.co.uk) report describes developments using a surface insulation resistance test method to assess conformal coating protection performance on electronics assemblies. In the report, authors Dr. Chris Hunt...

Survey: Pb-free soldering now dominates Europe.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... HERTFORDSHIRE, UK -- Although 75% of respondents build products for markets outside the RoHS Directive scope, just 25% still use SnPb solder, according to a recent poll. And while most firms have opted for SAC alloys in soldering, no clear...

Korea passes RoHS law.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... SEOUL -- On April 2, Korea's National Assembly passed legislation similar to a series of European Union regulations, including the RoHS, WEEE and ELV (End of Life Vehicles) directives. The regulation goes into effect Jan. 1, 2008. But...

Lenovo to cut 650 jobs, relocate 750 others.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- Top-five PC maker Lenovo will lay off 650 workers and move 750 jobs closer to the company's suppliers and manufacturing operations. The company will take a pretax restructuring charge of $50 million to $60 million,...

China nearing 50% of cellphone production.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... SHANGHAI -- Global mobile phone shipments were approximately 970 million units, with a production value of about $79 billion in 2006. Nokia ranked first in sales volume at 347.5 million units, according to the just-released China Mobile Phone...

Comments sought on power conversion devices spec.(Industry NEWS)
June 1, 2007... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- IPC is accepting comments on IPC-9592, Performance Parameters for Power Conversion Devices. The document standardizes the performance parameters for power conversion devices, including the computer and telecommunications...

Digi-Key Corp.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... Digi-Key Corp. (digikey.com) will stock and distribute JAE Electronics' (jae.com) board-to-board, board-to-cable and other connectors.

A.C.E. Production Technologies.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... A.C.E. Production Technologies (ace-protech.com) reported a number of recent installations of its KISS 104 selective soldering machine, including ACC Electronix (accelectronix.com), APSM (apsm-jit.com/); BAE (baesystems.com); and H.P.

Accelper Consulting.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... Accelper Consulting (accelper.com) recently published Business Innovation in the 21st Century and Stat Free Six Sigma, the latter by industry consultant Praveen Gupta. Innovation informs on implementing innovation in organizations; Stat Free...

Assembleon.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... Assembleon (assembleon.com) named Assem Rus sole distributor for the company's complete portfolio of products and services, including Installed Base Solutions in Russia, its republics and Belarus. Assembleon also named HIN as its Danish...

NuSil Technology.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... NuSil Technology (nusil.com) named Huntsman Corp.'s Quimica Brasil Ltda. (quimica.com.br) subsidiary exclusive distributor of electronics materials products in Brazil.

France VAR ALS Design.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... France VAR ALS Design (alsdesign.fr) will sell EMA Design Automation's (ema-eda.com) TimingDesigner interactive timing analysis tool in Europe.

Yamaha.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... Yamaha (yamaha.com) debuted YVi-L, an optical inspection machine for large-size assemblies.

LaBarge Inc.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... LaBarge Inc. (labarge.com) received a $1 million contract from BAE Systems (bae-systems.com) to produce electronic assemblies for the M88A2 Hercules improved recovery vehicle.

IEC Electronics.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... IEC Electronics (iec-electronics.com) received two orders from a military and defense customer worth a reported $8.5 million through December 2008, with an option to double based on end-market demand.

Dage Precision Industries.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... Dage Precision Industries (dage-group.com) named Hitech Eletronica Industrial e Comercial Ltda. (hitech.com.br) to represent its x-ray inspection systems and bond test equipment in Brazil.

MIMOT.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... MIMOT (mimot.com) sold a second Advantage 2 placement system to EMS firm ACC Electronix Inc. (accelectronix.com).

ProMation.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... ProMation (pro-mation-inc.com) has been chosen by Kone Elevator to design and build a custom conveyor for progressive assembly of large platform elevator control cabinets.

ZD Test Inc.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... ZD Test Inc. (zdefects.com) named AFR Technology (afrtech.net) sales representative for printed circuit test fixture products.

Foxconn.(In Brief)
June 1, 2007... Foxconn (foxconn.com) paid $16.58 million for 142 placement machines from Sony Taiwan (sony.com), according to a company filing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Nam Tai Electronics.(People)
June 1, 2007... Nam Tai Electronics chief executive Warren Lee resigned, effective May 31, to return to Hong Kong investment company Yu Ming Investments as managing director. Nam Tai chairman and founder M. K. Koo becomes interim chief executive.

Valor Computerized Systems.(People)
June 1, 2007... Valor Computerized Systems promoted Dan Weitzman to president of Valor Inc., its Americas operations. Weitzman, who has been with Valor since 1999, was interim president, Americas. He has held sales and marketing positions at Viewlogic Systems...

Libra Industries.(People)
June 1, 2007... EMS company Libra Industries named Jerry Zimmerman vice president of sales and marketing. He was previously a sales manager at Lenze/AC Technology Corp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Indium Corp.(People)
June 1, 2007... Indium Corp. promoted Ross Berntson (top right) to vice president of Solder Products, responsible for solder materials product management and sales and technical services oversight. He joined Indium in 1996. Indium also named Scott Pringle...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(People)
June 1, 2007... Endicott Interconnect Technologies (eitny.com) named Robert Whitehouse director of engineering, focusing on optimizing product manufacturing. He has held senior engineering management positions at Epec LLC, Sanmina-SCI/Hadco, United...

KIC.(People)
June 1, 2007... KIC named Vitor Barros field service engineer, responsible for technical service, support and installations in Europe, India, Africa, Middle East and Russia. He was in assembly operations at Qimonda (formerly Infineon), and has a bachelor's in...

Shimadzu Corp.(People)
June 1, 2007... Shimadzu Corp. named Takeshi Kawami president of Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, superseding Osamu Ando. He will oversee overall sales and management functions. A 24-year veteran of the company, he previously held top executive positions in...

Millennia Technology Inc.(People)
June 1, 2007... EMS provider Millennia Technology Inc. named Pat Sims materials manager. He has 30 years' senior/executive management experience in manufacturing, materials, purchasing and product development.

Ansen Corp.(People)
June 1, 2007... EMS firm Ansen Corp. (ansencorp.com) named Richard Gila vice president of global operations. He comes from Plexus, where he oversaw manufacturing in the Silicon Valley. Ansen also named Kevin Stone North America director of sales, Eastern...

TUV SUD America Inc.(People)
June 1, 2007... Testing and certification services firm TUV SUD America Inc. named James Mills Central Region EMC/environmental laboratory manager.

FocalSpot Inc.(People)
June 1, 2007... FocalSpot Inc. appointed Charles Wells inside sales and support manager.

RoBAT Ltd.(People)
June 1, 2007... RoBAT Ltd. named Richard Frisk international sales and marketing manager for its automatic backplane assembly test equipment.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers awarded Professor R. Wayne Johnson the 2007 Total Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing (TEEM) Award.(People)
June 1, 2007... The Society of Manufacturing Engineers awarded Professor R. Wayne Johnson the 2007 Total Excellence in Electronics Manufacturing (TEEM) Award, given annually in recognition of extraordinary dedication and innovation in setting new or higher...

Search and navigate.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change Jan. Feb. (r) March* YTD Computers and electronics products...

April U.S. orders, production surge.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in April for the third straight month, while the overall economy grew for the 66th consecutive month, says ISM (ism.ws). The PMI index surged nearly four points, to 54.7%, well above the 50%...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.96 1.01 1.04 0.98 (r) 1.00 (p) Semiconductors (2) 9.8% 9.0%...

Metals index.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... Price Price Price Price per lb. per lb. per lb. per lb. Date 2/4/07 3/12/07 4/9/07 5/8/07 LME Cash Seller and...

Q1 PC shipments up 9%.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... STAMFORD, CT -- Worldwide PC shipments increased 8.9% to 62.7 million units in the first quarter, Gartner (gartner.com) said. In the U.S., PC shipments grew 2.9% year-over-year. Dell (dell.com) maintained the lead in U.S. shipments; however, HP...

Reports: electronics equipment market slowing.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... LOS ALTOS, CA -- World equipment production demand will slow somewhat this year, rising 6.8% after a 9.1% advance in 2006, according to Henderson Ventures' (hendersonventures.com) April forecast. The research firm predicts growth of 7.9% and...

PMP market set for boom.(Market WATCH)
June 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- OEM factory revenue for consumer electronics products will decelerate to 3.6% from 2007 to 2011, down from 8.9% between 2001 and 2006, iSuppli Corp. (isuppli.com) said. The CAGR for the consumer electronics-oriented...

Writings on the wall: is employee motivation a dying concept? It shouldn't be.(Focus on Business)
June 1, 2007... I was reading the business section in the Sunday paper recently and juxtaposed in the center spread were two articles. One discussed Circuit City's money-saving layoff of several highly paid workers. The other was a self-improvement article...

Parts time: east meets west in an unusual supply chain partnership.(Global Sourcing)
June 1, 2007... In its humble days as a startup company brokering parts in the early '90s, Wantagh, NY-based Dalatec Corp. (dalatec.com) learned a thing or two about working with overseas product vendors. Indeed, the component distributor's breakthrough came...

Printing process 'tweaking': fiddling with the process increases its variation. Never do it!(Screen Printing)
June 1, 2007... The term "tweaking" has many different definitions: 34 according to one Website I found. The definition that best fits electronics manufacturing in general and printing in particular is "to touch something up, fiddle with the finishing touches...

Things that go zap in the night: practices for handling ESD- and MSD-sensitive components.(Better Manufacturing)
June 1, 2007... "If the thunder doesn't get you, then the lightning will." --Jerry Garcia We are all aware of electrostatic discharge. To varying degrees, most assemblers have taken precautions. While on one hand, ESD is a science and therefore a...

Synchronized service: how Synchronized Manufacturing avoids being an "industry settler.".(SEAs 2007)(Interview)
June 1, 2007... Ed.: For the complete article, please visit circuitsassembly.com. Synchronized Manufacturing Technologies (syncmfg.com) swept five individual categories for small EMS firms at the 2007 CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Service Excellence Awards. Vice...

Pb-free wave soldering flux application: popular flux systems are compared for PTH penetration, coverage accuracy, maintainability and chemical compatibility.(Fluxer Performance)
June 1, 2007... The ban on lead in electronics in Europe and pending laws elsewhere have set off a frenzy of development work on a reliable, defect-free Pb-free wave solder process. The flux delivery system's ability to apply flux uniformly with through-hole...

Effects of SAC alloy copper dissolution rates on PTH processes: cost and performance justify use of certain alternatives to SAC 305/405.
June 1, 2007... There is no doubt any company that has transitioned to Pb-free assembly, and has attempted to rework PTH connectors using conventional equipment with either SAC 305 or 405 alloys, experienced some degree of copper dissolution. Depending on the...

Mass reflow assembly of 01005 resistors: tombstone ratios of co-assembled 0201s and 01005s show the latter are more stable across a variety of atmospheres.(01005 Processing)
June 1, 2007... Assembly process concerns between 0201 and 01005 are similar; however, the common expectation is the smaller 01005 should be more sensitive to process and design variables. Several articles published on 01005 assembly commonly recommended fine...

Taking stock of component procurement: proper purchasing procedures prevent post-assembly pitfalls.(Parts Purchasing)
June 1, 2007... Ed.: For the complete article, please visit circuitsassembly.com. Component procurement runs the gamut of potential issues and pitfalls, especially with procurement processes and policies mingled with rapidly emerging component technologies...

[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].(PWB Finishes)
June 1, 2007... Ed.: This article is available in English at http://enthone.com/docs/IPCExpoAPEX2007EnthoneMicrovoids.pdf. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Dr. Yung-Herng Yau is senior scientist; Karl Wengenroth is R & D manager, PCB final finishes,...

Board assembly trends and priorities: the latest drivers are conversion cost reduction, NPI time reduction, greater I/O density and environmental compliance.(iNEMI Roadmap)
June 1, 2007... Ed.: For the complete article, visit circuitsassembly.com. Board assembly accounts for most of the direct material cost, and is closely associated with component packaging, interconnection, inspection, thermal management, final assembly and...

All wet: protocols for solderability testing.(Tech Tips)
June 1, 2007... A customer contacted the EMPF Helpline concerning a solder wetting problem observed during Pb-free SMT wave soldering of a goldplated PCB. The EMPF was asked to assess board solderability. Customer samples were stored in a nitrogen box prior to...

Imperfect shapes, perfect wetting: "lean" may be the rage, but fat solder joints are wholly reliable.(Wave Soldering)
June 1, 2007... Aside from gobbling up too much solder, are fat solder joints in wave soldering more than a cosmetic problem? And is there anything that the process engineer must, or should, do? Figure 1 shows a group of identical wave-soldered joints with...

A chance for sanity: the EU opens the door--finally--to debating RoHS and WEEE.(RoHS Revisited)
June 1, 2007... The EU has, as many of readers are aware, broadcast a request for information on the RoHS Directive's impact on the electronics industry. Here is the text, in brief: The Commission services have identified certain topics for the review....

Lead spread: Pb-free pastes do not spread like SnPb on OSP.(Pb-Free Lessons Learned)
June 1, 2007... During the past few months, we have reviewed some of the myths and realities of Pb-free assembly. This month we continue with two more realities: the harsh reality we must deal with when using Pb-free solder paste on PWBs with OSP surface...

SAC whiskers? Metal whiskers are not a new problem. But finding them in new places can be.(Process Doctor)
June 1, 2007... Metal whisker formation on plated and metal surfaces in electronics has been found on a variety of surfaces: tin; SnPb (yes, in a few cases); SnAgCu; silver; copper; zinc and gold. Each whisker formation has a variety of shapes and structures....

Materials management, delivery.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... The M3i materials system is for management and delivery of advanced electronics materials. Controls a variety of conditions for unlimited volumes of materials: temperature to metering to mix ratios. Is an automatic system that enables...

Die attach paste.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... Hysol QMI708 die attach paste was developed for small die on copper leadframes. Is a high-performance paste for use with small footprint devices. Is formulated to attach die 2.5 x 2.5 and smaller in QFN and SOIC packages using copper- finished...

'5 [micro]m accuracy' bonder.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... Fineplacer Pico Micro Assembly system is a versatile base module. Can be used in flip chip and die bonding, and a range of reflow/rework applications. Features include a reported 5 [micro]m placement accuracy, for bonding die with pitches to 50...

Benchtop wafer test.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... PLT1000 is for testing low-to-medium complexity wafers or packaged ICs at production-line rates of 1,000 tests per sec. Is a PC-size, benchtop test system, and can sit on top of or under most device handlers and probers. Is programmed through...

Benchtop vacuum plasma system.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... PE-100 is a benchtop vacuum plasma system designed to be robust and reliable. Said to be close to plug-and-play, needing a single 20A, 120VAC outlet, process gasses, compressed air and a place to vent the included oxygen service vacuum pump....

Pb-free wave soldering platform.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... Delta flexible wave soldering platform comes in models 5 and 7 (larger unit) and features a new, operator-friendly interface (EasyUse) for ease of programming, setup and process changes. Is said to strictly control preheating and fluxing, more...

Test spring probe.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... Gemini Kelvin spring probe permits device-side tips to be close together (0.15 mm) while keeping the board side tips farther apart (0.45 mm). Has a test height of 3.17 mm; compliance of 0.43 mm, and contact force of 25-30 g. Can handle inline...

270[degrees]C soldering flux.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... TSF-6592LV soldering flux is designed for an flip-chip attach, sphere or ball attach, rework/repair of CSPs, BGAs, SMDs, or any Pb-free soldering application that requires a tacky flux. Compatible with SnAg, SnCu, SnAgCu, SnAgBi. Is RoHS...

Carrier tape.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... Universal Cover Tape provides optimal performance regardless of width, carrier material and equipment. The UCT peel features permit removal of the middle portion above component pockets while adhesive edges remain adhered to the carrier....

China RoHS compliance software.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... EMARS software supports China RoHS environmental compliance regulation. Is designed to help with Phase One compliance and Phase Two preparation. Is said to generate accurate "x-and-o" format declaration charts that accurately reflect product...

Medical device test.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... Sentinel fully automated medical device tester controls line voltage to the device under test while performing hipot, leakage current and functional tests. Said to scan patient connections for leakage current without powering down the DUT....

6-zone rework tool.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... ONYX25XLT features a radiant IR pre-heater, 32" x 24", with six independent zones and 15,000W of heating power. Also features a moveable solder head; four motorized axes and a precision force measurement system; Visual Machines software; site...

Offline desktop AOI.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... OptiCon SmartLine desktop AOI is for offline test or repair stations. Is equipped with a camera-based imaging unit featuring custom telecentric lens and a flexible illumination concept of different colors and directions. Can also serve as a...

2-side label placement.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... The Label Master now has a second-sided placement option available with the station. Is an inline, print-on-demand label "pick and place" station that can selectively place a variety of labels onto PCBs. Said to accurately place labels ranging...

High-speed data logger.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... The Q18 data loggers feature 6 or 10 channels and are said to be capable of 18,000 readings per channel. Have a low height configuration, perform rapid sampling, and feature a narrow footprint for ease of profiling. Datapaq, datapaq.com

Flip chip bonder/underfill system.(SEMICON[R] West Product PREVIEW)
June 1, 2007... FS2500N flip-chip packaging system is reportedly capable of alignment and bonding at a rate of 1.7 sec./chip (excluding process time) at accuracies of less than 2 [micro]m. Reportedly underfills chips with gaps of 14 [micro]m with no voiding....

Post-print, reflow inspection.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... NSpec Linea DL20 is for post-print, -placement or -reflow inspection. Is reportedly quick to program and debug, and a comprehensive stamp library shortens inspection time. Features full-color inspection and a low false call rate. For post...

'No overshoot' hand tool.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... The PCT-100 Pre-heater Convection Tool is said to enhance process control during Pb-free hand assembly and rework. Uses convection air heating to maximize responsiveness and avoid temperature overshoot. Can be used with or without a board...

Inline, 3-D SPI.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... SVS Ascent platform performs inline, 3-D SMT inspection of solder paste depositions and component placement. Handles boards up to 20" x 24". Features an all-solid-state laser-scanning platform with a reported 8 MHz data acquisition rate, all...

PCB land repair.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... PCB pad repair kit and associated repair materials include "how to" slides, a large selection of different pad sizes and tools required to make repairs. Designed to reduce time spent trimming pads located on circuit frames. [ILLUSTRATION...

PCB documentation software.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... BluePrint for PCBs version 1.7 creates documentation for PCB fabrication, assembly and inspection. Functionality and enhancements include advanced visibility functionality for components, pins, nets, drills, ref designators, part names and...

One-handed wipe dispenser.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... Kimtech Pure presaturated alcohol wipes dispenser provides one-handed dispensing with no need to hold a package or re-seal a closing flap. Features a self-closing, self-sealing lid that helps prevent dry-out of wipers; an extractor arm that...

Fixtureless flying probe.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2007... ScanInspect FPT fixtureless flying probe tester for bare boards can be used as a standalone or with bed-of-nails fixtures. Comes in four configurations designed to handle substrates from 0.8" x 0.8" to 24.4" x 20" and 0.006" to 0.256" thick....