Circuits Assembly articles from November 2005

Circuits Assembly archives from November 2005

ITARred and feathered.(Caveat Lector)
November 1, 2005... Business is up, in some cases sharply. Lead-free looms. The holiday season and all it brings (read: bills) is just around the corner. Like you needed anything else to worry about. And yet... [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Readers...

Under a global OEM reselling agreement, Hover-Davis (hoverdavis.com) will offer Cogiscan (cogiscan.com).(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Under a global OEM reselling agreement, Hover-Davis (hoverdavis.com) will offer Cogiscan (cogiscan.com) RFID hardware and software applications that mix with their tape feeders, label feeders and direct die feeders. Hover-Davis will be able to...

Indium Corp.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Indium Corp. (indium.com) appointed Chimie Tech Services to distribute its line of solder materials in France. CTS will handle sales and service of Indium's solder pastes, wave solder fluxes, solder wire and solder preforms portfolio.

Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions (taosinc.com) named Mouser Electronics (mouser.com) to distribute its opto sensor line. Mouser will also distribute Zilog's (zilog.com) microprocessors, microcontrollers and development tools.

Empower Technologies.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Empower Technologies (empowertechnologies.com) named Ultimate Solutions (ultsol.com) its LDK5910 distributor for North America.

KIC.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... KIC (kicthermal.com) appointed Sogelectro s.l. (sogelectro.com) to represent the company in Spain and Portugal.

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Endicott Interconnect Technologies (endicottinterconnect.com) purchased Universal Instruments' (uic.com) AdVantis and Polaris platforms for chip carrier production.

Primax.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Primax, a Taiwan manufacturer, deployed PTC's (ptc.com) PLM product, Windchill, for environmental regulatory compliance.

Express Manufacturing.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Express Manufacturing (eminc.com) has acquired Trilogy 5000 PLM software from Valor Computerized Systems (valor.com). In addition, automotive supplier Peiker Acustic will use Valor's TraceXpert technology.

National Instruments.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... National Instruments (ni.com) has implemented Optimal Electronics' (optelco.com) MES tool, Optel, in its assembly operations.

Siliconware Precision Industries.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Siliconware Precision Industries (spil.com.tw) ordered 580 Kulicke & Soffa (kns.com) wire bonders for its Taichung, Taiwan, facility. K&S expanded its Suzhou facility to manufacture dicing hub blades and test sockets. The facility has 20,000...

Global Testing Corp., Amkor Technology (amkor.com) and UMC (umc.com).(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Global Testing Corp., Amkor Technology (amkor.com) and UMC (umc.com) each purchased an Agilent (agilent.com) 93000 Pin Scale SOC Seroes tester for high-speed digital and mixed-signal test.

Panasonic Factory Solutions Co. of America.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Panasonic Factory Solutions Co. of America (panasonicfa.com) moved from Elgin, IL, to Buffalo Grove, IL.

Tamura H.A. Machine Inc.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Tamura H.A. Machine Inc. (tamura-ha.com), a lead-free soldering equipment supplier, has changed its name from Tamura H.A. Systems Inc.

Harbor Electronics.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Harbor Electronics, a PCB manufacturer, was acquired by Everett Charles Technologies (ectinfo.com). ECT is a subsidiary of Dover Corp.

Epson Robots.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Epson Robots (robots.epson.com) named Automation Solutions an authorized distributor for CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, down-state NY and northern NJ.

Kitner Equipment Corp.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Kitner Equipment Corp. will represent Pro-Mation (pro-mation-inc.com) inupstate New York and western Pennsylvania.

Inspex.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Inspex (inspex.com) will provide quick-turn x-ray inspection services for PCB and semiconductor electronics packaging and assembly.

Toyota Tsusho Corp.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... In Japan, Toyota Tsusho Corp. will sell CyberOptics' (cyberobtics.com) SPI, AOI and SPC tools. KrystalTech Pte. Ltd. will represent CyberOptics' SMT process control tools in Southeast Asia.

Kuka Robotics Corp.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... Kuka Robotics Corp. (kukarobotics.com) will sell robots for Programming Plus (roboticmachining.com).

EMS.(In Brief)
November 1, 2005... EMS firm ExcelTech (etiquality.com) implemented a SPEA (spea.net) 4040 Series 5 flying probe tester.

Flextronics, Sanmina-SCI expanding abroad.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Singapore -- Comparing India today to China of seven years ago, Sanmina-SCI Corp. (sanminasci.com) will open its first plant in India within the next 12 months. CT Chua, senior vice president of South Asia Pacific Operations, told Reuters news...

EMS companies getting RoHS certifications.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Rochester, MN -- A pair of EMS companies have gained third-party validation of their lead-free SMT processing. Pemstar Inc. (pemstar.com) and Sparton Corp. (sparton.com) in September announced compliance with the RoHS directive. The...

EIA leader pushes Congress on recycling.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Washington -- David McCurdy, head of the EIA (eia.org) trade group, in September asked Congress for consistent regulatory definitions of key recycling terms and a strict definition of the scope of covered products. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE...

IPC chides EPA over TRI reform.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Bannockburn, IL -- IPC (ipc.org) in September issued a statement supporting the U.S. EPA's actions to amend the Toxics Release Inventory program but noted concerns over its limited benefits to electronics manufacturers. In a statement, IPC...

IT OEMs working on fan standard.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Bannockburn, IL -- Several blue chip OEMs, including Dell, IBM, Intel, Lucent and Cisco, have launched a technical committee to standardize processes for making power supplies, air movement equipment (fans), cables, connectors, heatsinks and...

Investors acquire Leica semi unit.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Wetzlar, Germany -- Golden Gate Capital has acquired the semiconductor equipment division of Leica Microsystems. Terms were not disclosed. In 2004, the division's revenues were approximately $120 million. Leica Microsystems SED will...

'Innovation' drives Siemens to manufacture in Singapore.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Singapore -- In early September, the Electronics Assembly Systems division of Siemens Logistics and Assembly (siplace.com) unveiled the first SMT machine manufactured in its Singapore plant. With fan-fare that included blue strobe lights,...

Flextronics confirms India plans.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Singapore -- Flextronics (flextronics.com) in October confirmed plans to build an industrial park in Chennai, India. Manufacturing production will commence next June. "Today's announcement underscores our commitment to this increasingly...

Elcoteq.(People)
November 1, 2005... Elcoteq named Harri Ojala president of its Europe operations. He joined Elcoteq in 2001 and was general manager and director of operations, NPI and after-sales, Europe.

Gary Shi.(People)
November 1, 2005... Henkel promoted Gary Shi to technical manager, R&D of liquid epoxy products, responsible for epoxies, encapsulants, underfills, adhesives and sealants. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Suntron Corp.(People)
November 1, 2005... Suntron Corp. named vice president, controller and chief accounting officer James A. Doran as interim CFO, replacing Peter W. Harper, who left in October.

Indium Corp.(People)
November 1, 2005... Indium Corp. named Robert Barrett as Southwest U.S. account specialist, and named Lim Hwee Kuan to accounts payable and receivables, Asia-Pacific Operations, in Singapore.

FKI Logistex Manufacturing System North America.(People)
November 1, 2005... Ted Clucas (right) was promoted to president, FKI Logistex Manufacturing Systems North America. Clucas was previously VP, systems engineering and operations. Former president Dave Baker becomes CFO for the division. The company also promoted Ed...

V.J. Electronix.(People)
November 1, 2005... Douglas K. Robinson joined V.J. Electronix as worldwide sales manager. He has 30 years of international sales experience and speaks Mandarin, Thai and Bahasa.

Optimal Electronics Corp.(People)
November 1, 2005... MES software provider Optimal Electronics Corp. named Paul Lareau president. He will report directly to CEO Ranko Vujosevic.

Shera International.(People)
November 1, 2005... Jason Jones was named president and general manager of Shera International. Jones joins the company from Motorola, where he was director of corporate initiatives.

Venture Outsource Group.(People)
November 1, 2005... Peter O. Schmidt joined Venture Outsource Group as senior design consultant. Schmidt is president of Peter Schmidt Design Assoc.

Nanotech firm says solved RoHS issues.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Santa Barbara, CA -- A California nanotech firm has launched an RoHS-compliant solution to circuit board failure. Proprietary technology from Interface Sciences Corp. (interfacesciences.com) uses dense molecular arrangement on the nanoscale in...

New auto EDA tools drive design time reduction.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Wilsonville, OR -- Not long ago, the cycle lead time at Tier 1 automakers was as much as four years for a new vehicle platform. The times they are a-changing. Typical cycle times have been slashed to 24 months, with further reductions in...

FlexLink Systems.(People)
November 1, 2005... FlexLink Systems appointed Tom Coker to business development manager. He has spent seven years specializing in optical lab automation through material handling and software tracking solutions at FlexLink. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]

Watlow.(People)
November 1, 2005... Watlow, a designer and manufacturer of heaters and sensors, named Michael Chow (pictured) vice president, Asia Business Group, responsible for opening a manufacturing facility in China. Watlow also named Chad Merryman as director of customer...

SMTC Corp.(People)
November 1, 2005... SMTC Corp. named Wayne McLeod nonexecutive chairman.

Klockner Pentaplast.(People)
November 1, 2005... Klockner Pentaplast promoted Tom Goeke from COO to CEO. Michael Tubridy has been promoted to president and COO of Klockner Pentaplast/North and South America. Joachim Kreuzburg was named president and COO of Klockner Pentaplast/Europe and Asia....

Flowserve Corp.(People)
November 1, 2005... Flowserve Corp. promoted COO Lewis Kling to president and CEO, succeeding interim chairman, president and CEO Kevin Sheehan.

EU sets RoHS max. concentration levels.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Brussels -- The European Union has set forth the maximum concentration values for materials restricted under the pending RoHS directive. The EC established a maximum concentration value of 0.1 % by weight in homogeneous materials for lead,...

AT Expo exceeds expectations.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Rosemont, IL -- Many Tier 2 and Tier 3 OEMs have not even started thinking about lead-free, and will be in for quite a shock come next summer. So said Celestica CTO Dan Shea, during a talk at SMTA International in late September in suburban...

CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY opens 2006 Service Excellence Awards.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2005... Atlanta -- CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY is seeking participants for its 14th annual Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for EMS providers and Electronics Assembly Equipment, Material and Software suppliers. The SEAs honor companies in electronics...

Defensive swing.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Defensive Swing Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change June July (r) Aug. * YTD Computers...

September sharp for manufacturing.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Tempe, AZ -- Manufacturing output rose sharply in September, its 28th straight month of growth, with slower deliveries and growing order backlogs. Energy price inflation remains a concern. New orders and production rebounded from August,...

Chip buyers picking more MCMs, PLDs.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... New York -- Semiconductor customers will continue to increase consumption of multichip devices and PLDs over the next 12 months, suggests a September survey of purchasing managers by investment bank SG Cowen (sgcowen.com). In the poll of 250...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Industry Market Snapshot Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. May June July August Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.84 0.90 0.93 1.05 Semiconductors (2) ...

SiP gaining where MCMs failed.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Austin -- Use of system-in-package is expected to grow 20% compounded annually through 2009, driven by wireless products, especially cellphones. In a new report, System-in-Package: The New Wave in 3D Packaging, TechSearch International...

IT budget forecast: 9% growth.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... San Francisco -- An October poll of CIOs predicts IT budgets will grow 9% over the next 12 months, up two points over August. Storage beat security software as the top spending priority. Nearly half--48.4%--of the respondents plan to increase...

Equipment markets to slow in '06?(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Los Altos, CA -- Rising oil prices are dampening the world economy, with Europe and Japan feeling the brunt worse than the U.S. and China. The result: A significant economic slowdown next year. Henderson Ventures (hendersonventures.com)...

Bench strength.(Talking Heads)(Interview)
November 1, 2005... Change is in the air at OK International, the manufacturer of hand soldering and rework systems. The company, a subsidiary of Dover Technologies, announced this quarter the consolidation of its Metcal, Techcon Systems and Impell brands under...

Smooth transitions: project launch is distinctly different from program management, and demands its own set of procedures.(Focus on Business)
November 1, 2005... The first months of any outsourced project carry unanticipated costs for both the OEM and the EMS provider. Some costs such as tooling and nonrecurring engineering (NRE) can be estimated during quoting, but other costs--such as time spent by...

Supplier management services: how third parties can aid in organization, processes and metrics.(Global Sourcing)
November 1, 2005... Supplier management services are often a fast, cost-effective way for collecting critical information about your suppliers. These organizations specialize in supplier discovery, financial profiles, reference checks, e-readiness evaluations, and...

Fanning the flames: will a fire, plus much-needed patent reform, mean a healthier IC industry?(On the Forefront)
November 1, 2005... With an increasing number of companies depending on assembly and test services subcontractors to provide packages for the future, the industry must have the resources to meet the challenge. Until recently profit margins among IC package...

Using traditional SMT processes for semiconductor packaging: a two-part look at bumping and encapsulation of flip-chip BGAs.(Screen Printing)
November 1, 2005... As the lines between semiconductor packaging and PCB assembly move closer, packaging specialists are discovering that traditional SMT equipment and processes can provide cost-effective solutions for package manufacture. In fact, in several...

Design for concept time: next-generation testers perform most of the heavy lifting at the wafer level.(Better Manufacturing)
November 1, 2005... Two months ago we looked at the concept of design for dismantling and the probable impact this will have on future technology. In the preamble, we mentioned design for test, design for manufacture and design for excellence, although we dwelled...

A novel IR rework system: dynamic temperature control and sensors help manage heat in Pb-free processes.(IR Rework)
November 1, 2005... The goal of 100% first-pass yield remains in the praxis unachievable. The smaller process windows and higher process temperatures associated with Pb-free have complicated the matter. The risk of overheating adjacent or bottom-side components...

Mixed technology gets selective: selective and fountain soldering can reduce skips and opens over traditional wave processes.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2005... Wave soldering is the predominant and oldest of technologies still commonly used for soldering PCBs. Wave soldering, which came about in the 1950s, is still the most efficient method for soldering through-hole components and is capable of...

Program for calculation of flip-chip standoff height: direct calculation is important, but tedious and time-consuming. Until now, that is.(Academic Research)
November 1, 2005... Last March, the approximately 60 scientists from the research divisions at MCNC Research & Development Institute were acquired by RTI Microelectronic. Interconnection and packaging have always been a core competency of these researchers. The...

Switching to Pb-free: wave soldering: how to adjust conveyors, pots, preheaters and solder modules for Pb-free processes.(Pb-Free Transition)
November 1, 2005... Ed.: For the complete article please visit circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2290/ Those considering converting their soldering systems have to ask, Are the new systems compatible with Pb-free soldering? That means first determining...

Zero-defect IC inspection: anyway you look at it, camera view plays a key role in defect detection.(AOI)
November 1, 2005... Ed.: For the full article, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2293/ [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Automatic optical inspection systems are often stationed after soldering for post-reflow inspection, where they can...

0.1 cent RFID chip assembly? Technologies to slash manufacturing costs for the ubiquitous tags are being aggressively pursued.(Backend Processes)
November 1, 2005... Ed.: For the full article, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2291/ RFID applications are boundless. Technical analysis shows that broad-based applications of RFID will develop in two distinct phases. Phase 1, currently...

Parameters of reflow encapsulation: 'no-flow' materials cut four steps, including one dispensing step and a reflow pass.(Soldering Tips)
November 1, 2005... Ed.: For the full article, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2292/ [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Reflow encapsulant (also known as no-flow reflow) combines both tacky flux and underfill, creating a one-step dispensing...

Soldering PCBs with non-plated through-holes: low-tech, single-sided boards can be complicated to solder.(Wave Soldering)
November 1, 2005... Machine soldering of PCBs with non-plated through-holes is often more difficult than soldering PCBs with plated through-holes. Bridging may occur more readily due to the comparatively narrower gaps between the solder joints. The pad dimensions...

Shotgunning: not for Pb-free: a proper test approach can reduce scrap from random repair methods.(Test and Inspection)
November 1, 2005... This year in this space we have covered the impact of Pb-free on the full array of test and inspection methods, including solder paste inspection, automatic optical inspection (pre-reflow as well as post-reflow), automatic x-ray inspection and...

The relationship of components, alloys and fluxes, part 2: in this installment, the author reviews the interactions of fluxes with components and alloys, respectively.(Countdown to Pb-Free)
November 1, 2005... Ed.: This is the second of a two-part series. The first part, which looked at alloys and components, was published in October. For the full article, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/2081/. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]...

Clean it up! Incoming board and component cleanliness is crucial in building reliable product.(Process Doctor)
November 1, 2005... Dirty bare boards and components are some common culprits when ionic cleanliness is in question. Plating processes and tap water rinse cycles are known to introduce harmful ionic contaminants such as sulfate, chloride and methane sulfonic acid...

Samsung Techwin's SM Series: in-transit component alignment, plus 3-sigma accuracy.(Equipment Advances)
November 1, 2005... The SM Series assemblers, part of Samsung Techwin's multifunctional assembly systems, expand production capability while reducing operating costs, leading to greater life-cycle efficiency for production facilities. The first, SM320, is designed...

Pb-free and eutectic rework.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... DEN-ON Series II rework stations reportedly control reflow profiles for any board or component. Features three-point heating system for Pb-free rework, two-point cooling system, two-point auto-profiling preventing package over temperature and...

Inline fine-pitch printer.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... SP200-AVC stencil printer, for fully automatic SMT assembly lines, has a trans-stencil vision system, integrated stencil cleaner and continuous squeegee pressure. Fits frames up to 23 X 23"; maximum printing area is 15.7 X 14.2". Is designed...

Stencil-free printer.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... MY500 stencil-free jet printer uses jet-printing to shoot solder paste a reported 500 dots/sec. (1.8 million dots/hr.). Needs no stencils, allowing the print program to be changed in a matter of seconds. Is said to control the volume of solder...

Precision fluid dispensing.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... ProcessMate 6500 Temperature Control Unit eliminates temperature fluctuations that can cause variations in shot size, viscosity and pot life when dispensing solder pastes, adhesives and other assembly fluids. Designed for use with air-powered...

Selective soldering/rework station.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... DRS 24 offers selective soldering and rework of SMD components including BGAs, QFPs, flip chips, CSPs and connectors. Has solid construction on a stable platform for precise, accurate movements. A 3500 W underboard IR preheater and 1000 W top...

Pb-free wafer bumping.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... XB3 substrate and wafer bumping technology uses an electrokenetic process to deposit particles of material by creating local electrical fields across the surface of a wafer, for substrate and wafer bumping speeds a reported 100 times faster...

PLM collaboration tool.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... Omnify 3.0 expedites bill of material loading and engineering changes, and has vendor part composition fields that permit unlimited vendor attributes, for RoHS and other environmental compliance regulations. Enhanced permissions offer extended...

'No load time' placement.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... SI-F130 has a 12-nozzle rotary head that moves in two dimensions and runs at a reported takt time of 0.139 sec. (25,900 cph). Operates while components are being preloaded. New ejector system eliminates PCB load/unload time. Cassettes can be...

'No-changeover' dispenser.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... Multi-Dispense coating dispenser, used in conjunction with Spincoat systems, controls up to four coating modules through one control unit, eliminating cleaning and changeover. Comes in stainless steel and high-density polyethylene and can...

12 Gb/s SMT connector.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... Ventura high-speed, high-density connector features 178 real signals/in (single-ended) and 93 differential signals/in in its 14-row version. In SMT version, can handle arrays with up to 5,000 contacts. Can be used in 6.25 Gb/s single-ended, and...

'Any format' CAM.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2005... GerbTool v. 14.2 imports and exports ODB++(X) and IPC-2581. Automated stencil enhancement suite defines unlimited shapes, based upon IPC-7525, with user-defined rules for associating those shapes with the generic paste shapes typically found in...