Circuits Assembly articles from May 2007

Circuits Assembly archives from May 2007

Shot down?(Caveat Lector)
May 1, 2007... North America has made a hearty meal out of U.S. defense budgets over the past several years, but it wasn't always this way. Back in the old days--the 1990s--manufacturers bolted from the military supplier ranks. Working as a DoD...

SMC.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... EMS provider SMC (smcems.com) will add 18,000 sq. ft. to its current 55,000 sq. ft. facility in Lexington, KY. The added capacity will include 16,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and 2,000 sq. ft. of office space.

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Endicott Interconnect Technologies (eitny.com) multiple contracts totaling $164 million to produce card frame assemblies, including organic semiconductor packaging, module assemblies, PCBs and...

Kyzen Corp.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Kyzen Corp. is now providing immediate online customer service support. Users can click on the Live Support icon at kyzen.com and be instantly connected to a service advisor. Online support is available when the Live Support Online icon is...

Plexus Corp.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Plexus Corp. (plexus.com) is expanding its European design center in Livingston, Scotland, and will add 19 workers to the 12 already employed. The EMS provider received a [pounds sterling]159,000 grant, which will help fund the positions.

Indium Corp.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Indium Corp. (indium.com) purchased a Koh Young (kohyoung.com) KT-3020T solder paste inspection system.

Scanfil PLC.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Scanfil PLC (scanfil.com), the second largest EMS group in the Nordic region, will shut down its Oulu plant this summer and transfer operations at its Aanekoski plant to other units by end of September. A total of 95 workers will be laid off....

Juki.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Juki (jas-smt.com) has opened an office in Thailand. Thai Juki SMT Asia is responsible for sales and engineering service.

Indium Corp.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Indium Corp. (indium.com) named LFG Micro (lfgmicro.com) as sales representative in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and southeastern New York.

Nortec Inc.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Nortec Inc. (nortecid.com), a provider of harsh environment ID products, named The IPS Group (theipsgroup.com) its manufacturing representative for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Southern California and Mexico;...

Interplex Industries.(In Brief)
May 1, 2007... Interplex Industries (interplex.com) acquired the assets of Handy & Harman Electronic Materials and Handy & Harman Ele Asia. The acquired operations perform integrated stamping, electroplating and molding for lead-frames and packaging.

Celestica Inc.(People)
May 1, 2007... Celestica Inc. named Tony Rakoczy vice president, global commodity management, based in Hong Kong. The company also named senior vice president of finance Paul Nicoletti interim chief financial officer. He supersedes Tony Puppi, who retired in...

LaBarge Inc.(People)
May 1, 2007... LaBarge Inc. named Amy Hines material manager for its Tulsa manufacturing facility, and named Roger O'Kane engineering manager at its Joplin, MO, operation.

NOTE AB.(People)
May 1, 2007... EMS provider NOTE AB named Kaj Samlin chief executive officer and president. Samlin is a former CEO of Habia Cable AB, and has experience with the Electrolux group and a Swedish-Chinese JV performing shop fitting.

Valor Computerized Systems.(People)
May 1, 2007... Valor Computerized Systems named Ken Horgan strategic accounts manager, North America. He was a corporate accounts manager at UGS/Tecnomatix, and has a bachelor's in business administration from Boston University. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Millennia Group.(People)
May 1, 2007... The Millennia Group named Ron Cosper vice president and general manager for its Millennia Technology Division.

RMD Instruments.(People)
May 1, 2007... RMD Instruments appointed Steve Glass business development manager, RoHS/WEEE Division, responsible for the company's line of RoHS-detection instrumentation using XRF technology. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cogiscan.(People)
May 1, 2007... Cogiscan hired Satoshi Inoue as Japan sales engineer. He has 10 years' experience as an SMT equipment provider in QA, customer support and software system solutions.

DEK.(People)
May 1, 2007... DEK promoted Nick Crocker to Americas customer support group manager. He has been with DEK for more than 10 years in technical service and support roles, including Americas service control center coordinator. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cookson Electronics.(People)
May 1, 2007... Cookson Electronics director of customer technical support Paul Lotosky was elected technical committee chair of the IPC's Solder Products Value Council. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Indium Corp.(People)
May 1, 2007... Indium Corp. promoted Seth Homer to product support specialist for engineered materials. The company also named Rui "Anny" Zhang product specialist, solder paste products, responsible for channel support in China including program development...

Global Innovation Corp.(People)
May 1, 2007... EMS company Global Innovation Corp. named Doug McBride vice president, director of technology.

SMTC Corp.(People)
May 1, 2007... EMS provider SMTC Corp. named Paul Blom senior vice president, supply chain, responsible for materials planning, strategic procurement and logistics. He was previously senior vice president, global supply chain management operations at...

Solectron restructuring: 1,500 jobs cut.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... MILPITAS, CA -- Solectron Corp. (solectron.com), one of the world's five largest EMS companies, will lay off about 3% of its employees and take a restructuring and impairment charge of $35 million to $45 million. The company reported...

Major solder vendors add paste surcharges.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... JERSEY CITY, NJ -- A trio of major solder vendors have announced surcharges on certain tin-bearing solder pastes. On March 30, Cookson Electronics (cooksonelectronics.com) announced a surcharge on Alpha brand Sn-bearing solder pastes,...

Circuits Assembly publishes 2007 Directory of EMS Providers.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... ATLANTA -- CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY in April published the latest update to its directory of electronics manufacturing services providers. The 2007 CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Directory of EMS Providers lists more than 1,270 EMS facilities worldwide, from A and...

Foxconn to build 2d Czech LCD plant.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... PRAGUE -- Foxconn (foxconn.com) will invest up to $100 million to build an LCD factory in the Czech Republic. On April 3 Hospodarske Noviny said the investment could be lower than $70 million, but possibly more than $100 million, quoting...

More changes in store for Sanyo Electric?(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... TOKYO -- Is Sanyo Electric Co. (sanyo.com) gearing up to sell its cellphone and digital camera businesses? The Japanese electronics giant already outsourced its TV and home appliances businesses, part of a strategy to focus on energy and green...

PCB Design Conference East, west to swap dates.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... ATLANTA -- UP Media Group announced a seasonal switch in schedule for PCB Design Conference East and West. Beginning in 2008, PCB West will be held in the fall in the Silicon Valley. PCB East will move to the spring, with the 2008 show...

AeA calls for immediate U.S. action to maintain competitiveness.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- A new report issued in late March by trade group AeA (aeanet.org) reiterates that America must act now to stem the loss of its competitive advantage. The report, "We Are Still Losing the Competitive Advantage: Now Is the Time...

H-P slaps Acer with infringement suit.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... Palo Alto, CA -- Hewlett-Packard, the world's top-ranked PC maker, filed suit March 27 against Acer Inc., alleging infringement on five separate patents and seeking an injunction and unspecified damages. H-P (hp.com) claims Acer (acer.com), the...

Delta acquires Singletec in EMS merger.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- Delta Group Electronics (deltagroupinc.com) has purchased the assets of Sanford, FL-based electronic manufacturing services supplier Singletec Inc. (singletec.com). No financial terms were disclosed. Delta, which has...

Intel to host technology interchange this month.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... PORTLAND, OR -- Intel Corp. (intel.com) invites suppliers to participate in a technology interchange in which the semiconductor company will share its vision and reveal its requirements for the supply chain. The event--Where Are We Going? Where...

Solder suppliers Balver Zinn, Cobar to merge.(Industry NEWS)
May 1, 2007... BALVE, GERMANY -- Solder material suppliers Balver Zinn (balverzinn.com) and Cobar Group (cobar.com) have signed an agreement to merge, a deal that would result in annual company sales of more than $50 million. The deal is expected to close...

Semis sink.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change Dec Jan (r) Feb* YTD Computers and electronics products...

March customer inventories, orders down.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in March for the second consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 65th consecutive month, says ISM (ism.ws). Indices for new orders and production advanced...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.94 0.96 1.01 1.04 (r) 1.05 (p) Semiconductors (2) 9.8% 9.8%...

Metals index.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... Price per Price per Price per Price per Date lb. 1/8/07 lb. 2/4/07 lb. 3/12/07 lb. 4/5/07 LME Cash Seller and $4.91 $5.42 $6.28 $6.43 Settlement for Tin...

Printable electronics pushes $2B.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... SURREY, UK -- The market for printable electronics subassemblies and components will top $1.7 billion this year, according to BPA Consulting (bpaconsulting.com) estimates. However, growth depends on improvements in materials and printing...

IP cameras looking good.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Global video surveillance camera revenue is forecast to grow to more than $9 billion by 2011, a CAGR of 13.2% from 2006, according to iSuppli (isuppli.com). Video surveillance unit shipments will more than double to 65.7...

Electronics gear demand slowing, will rebound in '08.(Market WATCH)
May 1, 2007... LOS ALTOS, CA -- Changes in corporate PC purchasing is slowing electronics equipment growth, which will slip this year but recover in 2008, says Henderson Ventures (hendersonventures.com) in its latest newsletter. "Corporations no longer feel...

Return of the one-stop shop: near extinction in the early 2000s, the vertical model is making a comeback.(Global Sourcing)
May 1, 2007... While OEMs leave no stone unturned in pursuit of cost-cutting, the trend toward outsourcing initially saw deep splintering of once-vertical factories into distinct operations for design, board fabrication, assembly, box-build and system...

Embedded components: a new development? It's an old technology, but the potential for revolution remains.(On the Forefront)
May 1, 2007... One hot topic in semiconductor packaging and assembly is embedded components in the IC package substrate or PCB. What are these structures? And is this a new concept, or is the technology finally moving closer to production after years in R &...

0.3 mm CSPs: closer than you think; Revealed: the best-suited material set for next-generation chips.(Screen Printing)
May 1, 2007... Not only are 0.3 mm CSPs literally closer (as in pitch), they are also figuratively closer (as in entry into mainstream manufacturing) than most would like to think. The truth is that in 12 to 18 months, 0.3 mm CSPs will be incorporated into...

The methodologies of NPI: companies that integrate NPI into their routines see less disruption and achieve faster time-to-market.(Better Manufacturing)
May 1, 2007... Ed.: For the complete column, please see circuitsassembly.com. Most events such as NPI are applied with common sense, which makes it even more surprising that few companies adopt rule-based control methods. There are four fundamentals to...

A study of copper dissolution during Pb-free PTH rework using a thermally massive test vehicle: adding nickel to the alloy retards copper dissolution almost to the point of SnPb.
May 1, 2007... The increase in copper dissolution rates using SAC alloys significantly alters the PTH rework process, not to mention the mindset for typical SnPb connector rework. Now, during SAC connector rework (using conventional equipment), it is required...

'Chiplets' create multi-species MCMs: an elegant etching and metallization process for inserting and interconnecting tiny chips.(Packaging Advances)
May 1, 2007... Ed.: For the complete article, visit circuitsassembly.com A new and somewhat daring method for packaging devices is under development at an unknown number of locations in the U.S. and U.K., and probably in other parts of Europe as well. The...

Defect-detection strategies: today's operations require a high-speed 3-D approach.(X-Ray Inspection)
May 1, 2007... Ed.: This article is abridged. For the complete version, visit circuit-sassembly.com. A system throughput increase has a direct impact on conversion cost by reducing the number of systems required to meet manufacturing volumes. Typically,...

'If we're not number one, we have work to do': Mack Technologies' unique brand of customer service.(SEA 2007)
May 1, 2007... In the just-held CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY 2007 Service Excellence Awards contest, Mack Technologies collected four awards in categories for EMS providers with revenues between $100 million and $500 million. The company won outright for dependability,...

Finding the short: a transistor was failing. What was the cause?(Tech Tips)
May 1, 2007... A dual die transistor was shorting between pins 1 and 2 and between pins 4 and 5, (source and gate on both die, Figure 1). Shorts between pins 1 and 6 and pins 2 and 6 were present (source and drain and gate and drain on die 1). The drains are...

Allowable concentration of contaminating elements in solder: impurities are harmless unless their level goes too high.(Wave Soldering)
May 1, 2007... When discussing contaminating elements in solder, we must first make a distinction between the levels in virgin solder delivered by the supplier and solder in use in the solder pot. In this document, we define "contaminating elements" as...

The power of real-time and remote information: while users stay at home, the technology evolution is taking them to new places.(Test and Inspection)
May 1, 2007... The other day I heard about an experiment involving a family living without technology for a week. I did not notice the metrics on the experiment because I could not get over the thought of not having a cellphone or Internet access for a week....

Fictions of Pb-free surface mounting: new components have no SnPb history, making it important to keep process chemistries up to date.(Pb-Free Lessons Learned)
May 1, 2007... The thing I love most about surface mount is that it never gets boring. The drive for miniaturization continually requires smaller footprints and higher I/O densities. As soon as production technology refines the process for a new package to...

[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].(Materials World)
May 1, 2007... [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Renzhe Zhao, Ph.D., is a senior applications engineer at at Henkel (henkel.com); renzhe.zhao@us.henkel.com. For the English version, visit circuits assembly.com. ...

High power-to-board interconnects.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... PES/PET Series high power-to-board interconnect system comes in 0.250" pitches; PESC/PETC Series comes with signal pins of 0.100" pitch. Rated for applications up to 28A at 80[degrees]C and has up to eight blade style contacts. Forty signal...

High-end PCB CAD.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Board Station XE leverages customers' existing IP, such as libraries, design data, and design capture infrastructure. This extended design flow is added to existing Board Station design environment. Said to offer the productivity design...

1.3 MP camera SPI.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... The SI-C1500 SPI is said to be capable of high-speed, accurate post-reflow visual inspection. Features Mosiac color processing software that reportedly enhances detection accuracy and speed. Said to extract color elements from each board and...

Wave soldering system with advanced preheat.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... VectraES wave soldering system has a new, servo-controlled reciprocating spray fluxer with an air atomized spray head, pressurized tank flux supply system, self-cleaning nozzle and the ability to spray in one or both directions with recipe...

Automated batch dispenser.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... DispenseMate D583/585 automated dispensing system is WEEE/RoHS compliant. Designed for batch production dispensing processes, including solder paste, conductive adhesives, surface mount adhesive, gasketing, sealing and silicone/epoxy...

Pb-free compatible underfill.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Loctite 3536 high flow underfill fills spaces beneath CSPs and BGAs. Said to cure rapidly at low temperature, minimizing thermal stress to other components and permitting inline curing. Protects solder joints against mechanical strains such as...

2-way ionizer.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... The Stablo EX two-way ionizer reportedly generates a balanced mix of positively and negatively charged ions that eliminate static on lab samples, allowing them to be weighed accurately with high repeatability. Uses AC voltage to power its...

SMD test probe.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... The PCB Test Arm Probe provides quick, easy SMD probing. Connects a test instrument, such as an oscilloscope, to a variety of SMDs including PLCC, SOIC, QFP, and VIAS or test point holes. Heavy base and flexible shaft make positioning to a test...

Small footprint solder recovery.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... EVS 1000 solder recovery system is a smaller, lighter version of the EVS 3000/6000, with all the recovery performance of the standard and Pb-free solder units. Converts waste dross into pure solder in minutes while improving the wave solder...

3-D inline automated x-ray.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2007... Medalist x6000 3-D inline automated x-ray is said to double line throughput. New software incorporates several automatic test development features to facilitate programming development. Handles panels of 4 x 5" to 18 x 24" and up to 0.125"...

In case you missed it.(Technical Abstracts)
May 1, 2007... Conformal Coatings "Parylene as a Suppressant for Tin Whiskers Growth on Printed Circuit Boards" Author: Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.; rkumar@scscoatings.com Abstract: Numerous studies identified several strategies to mitigate tin whisker...