Circuits Assembly articles from March 2006

Circuits Assembly archives from March 2006

PCB battle is ours, too.(Caveat Lector)
March 1, 2006... There it was, on the Jan. 10 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, tucked between an update on the congressional confirmation hearings for then Supreme Court candidate Judge Samuel Alito and the latest handwringing over Mexicans crossing the U.S....

D2M Technologies.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... D2M Technologies (d2mtechnologies.com) purchased Control Center XP automated process planning software from Direct Logix (directlogix.com) for hardware engineering project management.

LaBarge Inc.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... LaBarge Inc. (labarge.com) was awarded an $18 million contract by L-3 Communications (l-3com.com) to produce subassemblies for an airline checked-baggage screening system. LaBarge will perform the majority of the work at its Huntsville...

Mouser Electronics.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Mouser Electronics (mouser.com) expanded its global distribution agreement with Ohmite Manufacturing Co. (ohmite.com). Ohmite makes power resistors, surface-mount resistors and rheostats.

Spartan Europe.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Spartan Europe (spartaneurope.com) extended its alliance with Hypertac Ltd. (hypertac.com), and now offers customers 48-hr. turnaround on Hypertac HPD PCB connectors.

Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. (saicgroup.com) purchased Mentor's (mentor.com) Volcano network design and testing tools to design automotive vehicle networks for SAIC's self-branded platforms.

Sirenza Microdevices Inc.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... IC and MCM product lines from Sirenza Microdevices Inc. (sirenza.com) will be available worldwide through distributor Digi-Key (digikey.com).

FocalSpot.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... FocalSpot (focalspot.com) expanded its corporate office and manufacturing facilities, doubling its presence in San Diego. Facilities will include: administrative operations, demonstration and training rooms, manufacturing, assembly,...

Aspocomp Group.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Aspocomp Group (aspocomp.com) plans to build a PCB plant in Chennai, India. The company will invest 60 million euros in the plant, India's first HDI production facility.

BTU International Inc.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... BTU International Inc. (btu.com) chose Shanghai as its new Asia-Pacific headquarters.

Valor Computerized Systems.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Valor Computerized Systems (valor.com) appointed Zetech CC (zetech.co.za) as its representative in the South African region. The company also opened a dedicated business unit in Latin America in February.

AIM.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... AIM (aimsolder.com) appointed Global Tech Sales & Services (globaltechss.com) as manufacturers' representative for its line of solders and related assembly materials in southern and central Mexico.

Nu Horizons Electronics Corp.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Nu Horizons Electronics Corp. (nuhorizons.com) has formed Nu Horizons Express, a company division specializing in sales support and service for customers requiring components in lower volumes.

Indium Corp.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Indium Corp.'s Suzhou facility (indium.com) passed an audit for ISO-9001:2000 certification.

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Endicott Interconnect Technologies entered a joint development/manufacturing agreement for high performance power modules with a major research lab. EI (endicottinterconnect.com) is supplying prototypes for the power module qualification.

Kasion Automation Ltd.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Kasion Automation Ltd (kasion.com), based in Hong Kong, will become an authorized distributor of Kyzen Corp. (kyzen.com) cleaning materials in China.

Libra Industries.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... EMS firm Libra Industries (libraind.com) was certified to ISO 13485 for medical electronics engineering and manufacturing operations.

Shafer Electronics.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... EMS provider Shafer Electronics (shaferelectronics.com) received Minnesota's 2005 Governor's Award for Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention.

Preco Inc.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Preco Inc. (precoinc.com) has opened Preco-Miwa Laser Industries Ltd., a contract manufacturing facility in Tianjin, China.

Valor Computerized Systems.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Valor Computerized Systems (valor.com) in February named Ori Braun (pictured) president of its North American unit. Braun was president of Life Watch Inc., a $40 million medical electronics company. He founded Helios Software Engineering Ltd.,...

Aim Solder.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Aim Solder's (aimsolder.com) Montreal laboratory has passed ISO-17025 accreditation for quality management and technical operation requirements. ISO-17025 contains all the requirements of ISO-9000, plus requirements specific to testing and...

Mouser Electronics Inc.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Mouser Electronics Inc. (mouser.com) will distribute SimpleTech Inc.'s (simpletech.com) line of high-density memory modules and solid-state storage products.

Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials' (cooksonelectronics.com) Singapore facility was recommended for certification to ISO 14001:2004.

Lista International Corp.(In Brief)
March 1, 2006... Lista International Corp. (listaintl.com) will distribute Arlink (arlink.com) workstations and workbenches.

Fan standard gets OEMs moving.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Bannockburn, IL -- Big name OEMs seeking to standardize common components might have an answer in an IPC subcommittee. The subcommittee, formed last year, is nearing completion of a standard for air moving devices (AMDs). Members include...

Weiner, Solberg inducted to IPC Hall of Fame.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Bannockburn, IL -- Gene Weiner and Vern Solberg, who combined have spent more than 80 years in the electronics manufacturing industry, are the latest inductees to the IPC Hall of Fame. The pair was feted at a luncheon last month during...

Singapore eyes aggressive Mfg. expansion.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Singapore -- Tiny in size but strategically vital, Singapore is eyeing big gains in electronics manufacturing even as its competitors in Southeast Asia grow by the month. In a report released in late January, Singapore's Electronics...

Foxconn leads Taiwan patent list.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Taipei -- Foxconn filed more patent applications than any other business in Taiwan in 2005. Foxconn (foxconn.com), which also goes under the name Hon Hai Precision Industries, filed for 1,886 patents, nearly 1,000 more than runner-up Industrial...

Tyco to split Ops in 2007.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Trenton, NJ -- Tyco International Ltd. has confirmed its plan to split into three public companies. Electronics and healthcare units will be spun off from the remaining operations (which include security and fire-protection services) during the...

Brio to open 130k sq. ft. plant this month.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Vancouver -- Brio Technology Co., the North American arm of Brio Technology Ltd., a Beijing-based EMS company, will move into a new 130,000 sq. ft. building this month. Within the new facility, which spans eight floors, one floor is slated...

RFID poised to take off.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Cambridge, U.K. -- Sales of RFID tags and related products will hit $2.71 billion this year, and rise to $12.35 billon by 2010, says research firm IDTechEx (idtechex.com). The firm says 600 million tags were sold in 2005, and 1.3 billion...

Agilent, Speedline research closed-loop printing.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Palo Alto, CA -- Agilent Technologies (agilent.com) and Speedline Technologies (speedlinetech.com) are conducting joint research on the implementation of closed-loop process control for paste printing PCB assemblies. The research will use...

Circuits Assembly: your source for ICs?(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Atlanta -- UP Media Group, publisher of CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY, and netCOMPONENTS have struck a deal under which components can be sourced via circuitsassembly.com netCOMPONENTS is a major source of components in a direct, disclosed...

IPC gets in on Pb-free certification act.(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Bannockburn, IL -- IPC became the latest group to roll out a certification program for Pb-free. The program "ensures that facilities are capable of producing product to meet the lead-free requirements of the RoHS directive," the trade group...

New look for fab industry?(Industry NEWS)
March 1, 2006... Boston -- That heavy breathing you hear is the North American printed circuit board industry contracting. The cause is different, however, than the gasping and choking for whatever sales could be found during the post-Y2K years. Is this...

Celestica.(People)
March 1, 2006... Celestica named James Rowan executive vice president, worldwide operations. He will take over for Marvin MaGee, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Rowan joined the company in January 2005 as president, Celestica Europe.

Electrovert wave soldering systems.(People)
March 1, 2006... Keith Howell joined P. Kay Metal as product manager for MS2 molten solder surfactant. Howell has 15 years experience in wave soldering, beginning with Seho and most recently with Speedline, where he was product manager for Electrovert wave...

Palomar Technologies.(People)
March 1, 2006... Palomar Technologies promoted Bruce Hueners to president. He joined Palomar in 1981 when it was Hughes Aircraft and was most recently COO.

Data I/O.(People)
March 1, 2006... Data I/O promoted Harald Weigelt to vice president, worldwide sales and services. He joined the company in 1991, and was previously vice president, European operations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Mack Technologies.(People)
March 1, 2006... Mack Technologies named John Whetten general manager for its facility in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Whetten has 20 years experience in high tech, most recently with Arrow Electronics. Mack also promoted Tom Dineen general manager in Melbourne, FL....

Speedline Technologies' Advanced Development Group.(People)
March 1, 2006... Dr. Rita Mohanty will lead Speedline Technologies' Advanced Development Group. Prior to joining Speedline, Dr. Mohanty worked as general technologist at Ark-Les Corp. and as R & D manager at Cookson Semiconductor Packaging Materials. She...

BTU International.(People)
March 1, 2006... BTU International appointed Boris Mathiszik as director of sales for the Asia Pacific region. He previously held positions as vice president at Phoenix/x-ray and director of sales and marketing for Machine Vision Products.

A PC year.(Market WATCH)
March 1, 2006... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change Oct. Nov. (r) Dec.* YTD % Computers and electronics...

Production index slows in January.(Market WATCH)
March 1, 2006... Tempe, AZ -- The PMI index of U.S. manufacturing started 2006 the way it ended 2005: on a downward trend but still well above breakeven. The January PMI was 54.8%, down 0.8 points from the revised December figure, according to the latest...

Auto electronics driving new highs.(Market WATCH)
March 1, 2006... Palo Alto, CA -- Global automotive electronics production will grow 5.2% this year, research firm Henderson Ventures (hendersonventures.com) predicts. Auto electronics grew 6.3% last year, down from 8% the year before. Booming demand for cars...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
March 1, 2006... Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.97 0.90 0.95 0.93 0.96 Semiconductors (2) 3.2% 5.2% 6.75%...

Phones hitting limits.(Market WATCH)
March 1, 2006... El Segundo, CA -- Global mobile-phone unit production growth will decelerate to 4.9% in 2006, rising to 850 million units, up from 810 million in 2005. Shipments rose 30% in 2003, 25.1% in 2004 and 13.6% in 2005. Revenue is also expected to...

PC demand remains healthy.(Market WATCH)
March 1, 2006... San Francisco -- Fourth-quarter sales of PC units topped even the most positive expectations, rising 17% worldwide year-over-year. In January, Chris Whitmore, an analyst with Deutsche Bank Equity Research (db.com), said recent remarks by...

RVSI gets lean and mean: a new boss finds the inspection company hungry for a rebound.(Talking Heads)(Interview)
March 1, 2006... A year ago this month, an investment group bought the assets of the Semiconductor Equipment Group of Robotic Vision Systems Inc. (rvsi.com). Ancora Management paid $5.4 million in cash and assumed RVSI's obligations and liabilities. Seven...

EMS prospecting: a strategy or technology approach? Set up your sales process first, and then design software to support it.(Focus on Business)
March 1, 2006... A big challenge faced by many EMS marketers is getting leads for new business. Obtaining lists of names is not difficult. There are databases, industry networking groups, marketing channels, research reports and the institutional knowledge of a...

Staking the claims: the latest qualification methods standard for SMT clears up confusion over CSP reliability.(Global Sourcing)
March 1, 2006... IPC-SM-785, Guidelines for Accelerated Reliability Testing of Surface Mount Solder Attachments, has been in use for more than a decade. But confusion over claims by users of that document has led to an update of IPC-9701, a specification that...

Who pays for materials research? Japan's CASMAT may be the model for future R & D investment.(On the Forefront)
March 1, 2006... Semiconductor packaging materials are in a dynamic phase. Organics rule memory devices and CPUs for PCs. Many devices are migrating to wafer-level packages. What are the drivers for this change? Who will develop these new materials? Who will...

From SPC to DPMO: DPMO is the superior means for determining equipment performance.(Screen Printing)
March 1, 2006... As the electronics manufacturing market continues its migration to finer pitched devices with 0201s and CSPs now considered mainstream technology, the accuracy and repeatability of modern production equipment is essential to a robust process....

Will your product survive in the field? HALT and HASS testing are not just for aerospace electronics anymore.(Better Manufacturing)
March 1, 2006... This column has previously considered many aspects of test and designing a product for its entire life (September 2005 and November 2005). The last link in this chain of design characteristics is the one most often overlooked; we call it Design...

Cleaning up after Pb-free: lacking field data for no-clean Pb-free solders and confidence in accelerated aging tests? Effective cleaning is the only way to guarantee an assembly won't fail.
March 1, 2006... How would your company react if it could improve the bottom line by 5 to 10% though investments in a process that has long been considered unnecessary? At first, with a blast of something ranging between open skepticism and sheer hilarity,...

Concurrent manufacturing in an EMS environment: changes required and precautions to take for successful implementation of Pb-free manufacturing.(Process Management)
March 1, 2006... Key factors for successful Pb-free implementation are to understand process and equipment changes required and to ensure proper quality engineering practices to avoid cross-contamination. Particularly in the electronics manufacturing...

Pb-free solder assembly for mixed-technology boards: tests show no joint degradation related to mixing SN100C and SAC alloys.(Soldering Materials)
March 1, 2006... Ed.: For the full article, please visit circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2874/ Several Pb-free alloys have been investigated for SMT assembly. Many users have migrated to a family of alloys known as SAC (tin/silver/copper), and within...

Increasing process reliability in fine-pitch wire bonding: a 2-year study identifies close ties between capillary performance and bonding failures.(Wire Bonding)
March 1, 2006... During wire bonding, process reliability plays an important role in overall device assembly cost. Reliability refers to the probability that a wire bonder will perform its required functions satisfactorily under specific conditions and within a...

The program manager's guide to Pb-free: a review of the new GEIA handbook for managing the Pb-free transition.(Soldering Tips)
March 1, 2006... While the RoHS Directive includes exemptions for the defense and perhaps aerospace markets, the greatest challenge to these sectors comes from their suppliers. Many major component manufacturers and subsystem producers are already in the...

Protecting the Pb-free solder pot: it is best to begin with a new pot and impeller kit dedicated to Pb-free.(Wave Soldering)
March 1, 2006... Engineers transitioning to Pb-free soldering have enough to worry about without the added burden of equipment reliability concerns. Unfortunately, the Pb-free transition for wave and selective soldering also means equipment modification....

Measurement variation in PIHR Pb-free solder joints: using x-ray inspection, the efficacy of pin-in-hole reflow with different board finishes is studied.(Test and Inspection)
March 1, 2006... Ed.: For the complete article, including background on the PIHR process, a checklist and references, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2868/ IPC-A-610D section 7.5.5.1 indicates that the target for solder vertical fill...

High-complexity, thermally challenging Pb-free product recommendations: an iNEMI task group's review of components, laminates and equipment.(Countdown to Pb-Free)
March 1, 2006... The conversion to Pb-free assemblies and processing has been a disruptive and, in many cases, costly process for manufacturers. While many have managed the conversion, it is causing concern among manufacturers producing high-complexity,...

Mitigating electrostatic charges on nonconductors: eliminating ESD in the workspace can involve topical treatments and ionized air.(ESD Basics)
March 1, 2006... In December we discussed issues regarding setting up an electrostatic protected workstation or area (EPA). In that issue, we focused on the conductive items and materials, including personnel, which enter or are present in the EPA. This month...

No silver lining: sulfate contamination causes visible silver crystalline growth.(Process Doctor)
March 1, 2006... Currently, marked concerns exist over the increased propensity of crystalline growths such as tin whiskers. The cause of such growths is still being debated, and mitigation methods are being investigated. Besides tin whiskers, Foresite has...

ECT's fixtureless PCB tester.(Equipment Advances)
March 1, 2006... Eliminator 6 is a fixtureless tester for PCB panels. It can be used for electrical test of rigid PCBs, IC packages and PCB innerlayers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Designed for panel test, the system makes DC measurements and requires no...

Handling turntable.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... Based on a flexible inline machine concept, ADS 01 FR divides tasks into a small area, reducing required floor space. The four processes include 1) automatic intake and transfer, 2) centering, clamping and routing, 3) separation, put-down and...

Process control tool.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... ScanInspect VPI (virtual product inspection) is a process control tool that qualifies each step of the assembly and fabrication process before production. The standalone system couples a high-resolution, color flatbed scanner with a dual...

Solventless Stencil Rolls.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... Six new configurations of MicroWipe FP Stencil Rolls are available. Clean stencils without solvents in fine-pitch and Pb-free SMT environments. Certified for dry-wiping in Pb-free environments. Said to reduce paper costs, eliminate solvent...

No-flow underfill.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... NF260 is a Pb-free, reworkable, air-reflow-able, no-flow underfill. Claims to deliver increased reliability, cost savings and improved performance. Integrates with existing SMT processes and can be processed in typical Pb-free reflow profiles....

High-temp. Pb-free solder paste.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... SnSb10.5Cu0.5 high-temperature Pb-free solder paste has a solidus temperature of 242[degrees]C, 22[degrees]C delta above SAC. Can be used for multiple-step component assembly where the component will later be attached to a PCB using SAC alloy....

Benchtop dispensing robot.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... I & J7100 benchtop Cartesian dispensing robot handles a dispensing area of 8 x 6" and can store up to 100 different programs. Step-by-step intuitive instructions simplify job creation tasks, allowing a program to be entered and running in...

AOI for die placement, wire bond.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... Ultra 850G AOI system features a granite-based stage for inspection accuracy to 10 [micro]m. Can be configured for die placement, wire bond, paste inspection and pre- and post-reflow inspection. Has 844 x 1066 mm footprint, and acquisition...

Low power, [N.sub.2] reflow.(Product PREVIEW)
March 1, 2006... Electrovert OmniFlex 10 reflow oven optimizes operating efficiencies, reduces maintenance intervals and lowers lifecycle costs. Said to feature advanced heating and cooling transfer technologies, energy-efficient design concepts and reduced...

In case you missed it.(Technical Abstracts)
March 1, 2006... This month's abstracts come from the IPC/JEDEC International Conference on Lead-Free Electronic Components and Assemblies, which took place in December 2005. Components "A Feasibility Study of 01005 Chip Components in a Lead Free...