Circuits Assembly articles from November 2007

Circuits Assembly archives from November 2007

A modern proposal.(Caveat Lector)
November 1, 2007... I hate editorializing about trade shows. I feel like I'm robbing the readers, most of whom are far more interested in what was on the show floor than in the behind-the-scenes politics and other machinations. So it's with more than a little...

Zestron.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Zestron (zestron.com) will install a technical center near Munich. The new site will resemble its recently built center in Virginia.

Asymtek.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Asymtek (asymtek.com) opened a technical support and sales office in Chennai, India, to support the area's expanding markets. The new office is colocated with parent company Nordson Corp., and provides onsite equipment service, training and...

Plexus Corp.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Plexus Corp.'s (plexus.com) Penang, Malaysia, plant has received Food and Drug Administration approval to make medical devices that meet Class III performance standards. The approval brings to three the number of FDA-registered Plexus...

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals tossed a prior $1.7 million ruling in favor of Sparton Corp. (sparton.com) in its lawsuit against Util-LINK LLC and National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals tossed a prior $1.7 million ruling in favor of Sparton Corp. (sparton.com) in its lawsuit against Util-LINK LLC and National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. The Sixth Circuit also affirmed the lower...

Dage (dage.com) and YesTech (yestech.com), now both under the Nordson umbrella, will remain separate entities.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Dage (dage.com) and YesTech (yestech.com), now both under the Nordson umbrella, will remain separate entities. Both units report to Dage CEO Geraint Rees.

RIT has conducted a study on SMT oven energy use.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... RIT has conducted a study on SMT oven energy use. It should be available shortly.

Flextronics.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Flextronics (flextronics.com) plans to close its plant at Chateaudun, France, according to an Agence France Presse report.

Aegis Software Ltd. (aegisoft.com) moved its European headquarters to Buckinghamshire, U.K.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Aegis Software Ltd. (aegisoft.com) moved its European headquarters to Buckinghamshire, U.K. The manufacturing information management systems provider's new site includes a larger training center. "Aegis sees Europe as a very important...

Westell.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Telecom equipment maker Westell (westell.com) will outsource some manufacturing to Foxconn (foxconn.com).

ESDA.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... ESDA (esda.org) seeks abstracts for papers covering the effects of EOS, ESD and static electricity for its 30th Annual EOS/ESD Symposium, Sept. 7-12, in Tucson, AZ. The deadline is Jan. 11.

Sanmina-SCI.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Sanmina-SCI (sanmina-sci.com) will close its Fountain, CO, electronics assembly plant by year-end. A spokesperson declined to comment to CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY on the number of workers that would be affected; some reports said 319. At its peak, the...

KIC.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... KIC (kicthermal.com) named New Comp Polska Sp. z.o. o. (new-comp.eu.) its distributor in Poland.

Smart Sonic.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Smart Sonic (smartsonic.com) named Quiptech (quiptech.com) representative for Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.

FlexOne.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... EMS provider FlexOne (flexone.com) achieved ISO 13485:2003 medical device quality certification.

Flextronics.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Flextronics (flextronics.com) completed its acquisition of Solectron, forming the world's second largest EMS company.

NBS Design.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... EMS provider NBS Design (nbsdesign.com) will move into a 40,000 sq. ft. plant this quarter, its second expansion this year.

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(In Brief)
November 1, 2007... Endicott Interconnect Technologies (eitny.com) has leased an assembly line in a 40,000 sq. ft. plant in Shenzhen, where it will perform volume production of motherboards and controller boards.

Cobar Europe.(People)
November 1, 2007... Cobar Europe promoted Han Raetsen to sales manager, responsible for Cobar product sales in Europe, Russia and Africa. Raetsen has an engineering background and 25 years' experience in electronics manufacturing, as product manager, applications...

IPC.(People)
November 1, 2007... IPC named Dave Torp director of technology. He was formerly with Rockwell-Collins, where he was twice named engineer of the year, Kester and most recently Plexus.

OEM Hesse & Knipps.(People)
November 1, 2007... Industry veteran Jeff Stong is headed to chip bonder OEM Hesse & Knipps.

Stuart Blankstein, president of ACL Staticide, died in September following a bacterial infection.(People)
November 1, 2007... Stuart Blankstein, president of ACL Staticide, died in September following a bacterial infection. He leaves a wife, Karen, and three children.

Indium Corp.(People)
November 1, 2007... Indium Corp. promoted Jordan Ross to market manager for thermal applications, responsible for sales and marketing, new product launches, and developing and executing regional and application strategies. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Nihon Superior.(People)
November 1, 2007... Nihon Superior has hired Keith Howell, formerly in product marketing and engineering with Electrovert and P.Kay Metal.

Inovaxe Corp. named Kim Lewis director of inside sales.(People)
November 1, 2007... Inovaxe Corp. named Kim Lewis director of inside sales. She has extensive sales/marketing and customer support experience with Speedcom Wireless and Pacer Marine. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Aegis Software (Europe) Ltd. promoted Daniel Walls to European managing director.(People)
November 1, 2007... Aegis Software (Europe) Ltd. promoted Daniel Walls to European managing director. He joined Aegis in 1997 as controller and chief financial officer, and was also a regional sales manager.

Asymetek.(People)
November 1, 2007... Asymtek named N. Shivakumar regional sales manager, responsible for operations in its Chennai, India, office, including applications engineering, sales and service. He also oversees the region's distributor network. He has 13 years' experience...

LaBarge.(People)
November 1, 2007... LaBarge hired Mark Teubert as director of operational excellence, responsible for process improvement initiatives. He was senior manager for operations process excellence at Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines.

Bain, Huawei to buy 3Com.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... BOSTON -- 3Com Corp., once an icon of the high-flying tech industry, is going private. The company agreed to a $2.2 billion buyout by Bain Capital Partners in an all-cash deal announced Sept. 28. The deal is expected to close in the first...

Chicago trade show blues.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... SCHAUMBURG, IL -- From one came three. But more was less, and after the first few bars of the Chicago trade show musical chairs, many folks were singing the blues. Much will be made of the series of trade shows--IPC Midwest, Assembly...

Pelissier named head of universal, Vitronics.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... BINGHAMTON, NY -- The parent company of Universal Instruments (uic.com) and Vitronics Soltec (vitronics.com) named group chairman Jean-Luc Pelissier chief executive, effective Oct. 1. Pelissier was also named president of Universal. He...

El leases assembly line in Shenzhen.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... SHENZHEN -- Endicott Interconnect Technologies (eitny.com) has signed a lease to supply fully assembled boards via a 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Shenzhen. The lease currently covers space for one line, company sources say. "Once volume...

A 'Gl Bill' for Engineering Students.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Responding to the growing shortage of engineers, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) in September introduced the Strategic Technology/Engineering Program (STEP) Act of 2007--"Gl Bill style" legislation that provides incentives for...

Kyzen tool eases test data retrieval.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... NASHVILLE -- Kyzen Corp. (kyzen.com) announced the inauguration of its Know the Score! database, a single point of reference for the extensive test data the supplier of cleaning materials has built over the years. Over the years, Kyzen's labs...

WTO investigating China piracy claims.(Industry NEWS)
November 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- The World Trade Organization in October opened a formal investigation on allegations that China is providing a safe haven for product piracy and counterfeiting. The panel's scope will be limited to whether Beijing has taken...

Computers heat up.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2007... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % Change June July (r) August* YTD Computers and electronics products ...

Manufacturing growth slowed in September.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in September for the eighth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 71st consecutive month, reports ISM (ism.ws). Manufacturing grew at a slower rate in...

Industry market snapshot.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2007... Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. Apr. May June July Aug. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.98 0.98 0.91 0.83 (r) 0.83 (p) Semiconductors (2) 2.27% 2.5%...

Metals index.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2007... Price Per Lb. Date 7/9/07 8/6/07 9/10/07 10/9/07 LME Cash Seller and $6.44 $7.38 $6.37 $7.12 Settlement for Tin LME Cash Seller and $1.34 $1.54...

Navigation becoming motorist 'must'.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Since the start of 2006, awareness of GPS-based navigation technology has exploded into the public consciousness, moving rapidly from the "nice-to-have" to the "must-have" category, says iSuppli Corp. (isuppli.com). ...

SE Asia outsourcing to grow.(Market WATCH)
November 1, 2007... SINGAPORE -- EMS revenues in Southeast Asia topped $20.7 billion in 2006 and are on track to reach $38.4 billion in 2013, as MNCs migrate from the U.S. and Europe, Frost & Sullivan (frost, com) reports. EMS providers generally prefer making...

'A clean slate'.(Talking Heads)(Interview)(Company overview)
November 1, 2007... Forgive Keith Favre if he's experiencing deja vu. As soon as previous employer Speedline Technologies was sold by its private equity owners, he joined another private equity-backed venture: stencil maker Photo Stencil (photostencil.com). The...

Excess inventory management: key issues that drive excess inventory and unanticipated parts obsolescence.(Focus on Business)
November 1, 2007... For years, excess inventory management has been a challenge in consumer product projects because of short lifecycles and frequent engineering changes. Longer lifecycle products have faced the very different challenge of maintaining design with...

Common threads: company rankings don't tell the whole PWB story.(Global Sourcing)(Company rankings)
November 1, 2007... In September in Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture, Dr. Hayao Nakahara published his annual rankings of the world's largest PWB fabricators. While the list itself is notable, it was just as telling for what didn't change from the year before....

Small packages, big markets: mobile phones are driving explosive WLP growth.(On the Forefront)
November 1, 2007... Wafer-level package (WLP) shipments have exceeded expectations, both in number of units shipped and device size. Once relegated to the few I/O range, WLPs with more than 100 I/Os routinely ship. Devices shipping in WLPs are expanding from...

Diagnosing high-volume medical processes: novel printing tools and methods deliver the cure.(Screen Printing)
November 1, 2007... There's no debating that the medical market is huge. According to Prismark Partners, spending on non-IT medical electronics was $53 billion in 2006, with this figure expected to grow to $66 billion by 2010. (1) As the population ages and people...

Value for money? Methods for dispassionately narrowing your supplier list.(Better Manufacturing)
November 1, 2007... What is value for money? Tricky question. It can mean so many different things to different people, and is often irrational, and the circumstances surrounding perceived value could also depend on personal or group philosophies. When she...

Pb-free manufacturing from a tier III EMS perspective: how one company made the switch.(RoHS Transition)
November 1, 2007... EMS firms have been involved in the Pb-free transition for a considerable time. In fact, one might say the process has reached a level of maturity. Early adopters were faced with myriad issues such as solder paste availability, board materials,...

'Living documents, subject to change': the origins--and future--of standards, the foundation of electronics manufacturing.(Standards Development)
November 1, 2007... Today, every step in electronics manufacturing--from the components to the board to the physical and electrical connections themselves--is governed by standards. Standards regulate the acceptability of workmanship, the choice and quality of...

Creating ideal solder joints: effects of stencils and thermal profile are reviewed.(Reflow Soldering)
November 1, 2007... Stencil quality and the major elements comprising it play a pivotal role in ensuring solder paste is properly deposited on a PCB's surface mount pads. Experience in defining and cutting perfect stencils is critical because there are virtually...

An alternative drying process for MSDs: components baked at 70[degrees]C for 24 hr. in a vacuum passed IPC and EIA testing.
November 1, 2007... Ed.: The complete article is at circuitsassembly.com. J-STD-033B places a costly baking burden on the assembler. To mitigate this, it permits "alternative drying processes" with the following note: "Table 4-1 is based on worst case molded...

'Customer satisfaction is more than a score': DEK explains the system behind its five-year SEA winning streak.(SEAs 2007)(Interview)
November 1, 2007... DEK has been honored with Service Excellence Awards five years running. CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY asked Americas general manager Neil MacRaild to what DEK attributed its success. CA: How do you use the data/feedback from the SEA surveys? NM:...

Optoelectronic substrates: will they happen? Acceptance will require overhauls to PWB and assembly operations.(iNEMI Roadmap)(Reprint)
November 1, 2007... Ed.: This article can be viewed in its entirety at circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/5611. Optoelectronic interconnect is an alternative to copper that can provide increased bandwidth and other advantages for special applications. For...

Wire harnesses and cable routing: best practices for handling, routing and installation.(Tech Tips)
November 1, 2007... A few simple guidelines to follow during cable harness handling, routing and installation will extend their life, ensure peak performance, facilitate installation and repairs, and provide a visible sign of quality workmanship. [FIGURE 1...

General settings for a wave process: machine and product aspects must fit to ensure the best joints.(Wave Soldering)
November 1, 2007... Questions often arise as to recommended wave soldering settings, or if general setting data can be provided. An important aspect in wave soldering is that all joints, in principle, will get the same dwell time. This means joint designs must be...

Diagnosis of an intermittent high impedance circuit: is your selective solder process causing leakage failures?(Process Doctor)
November 1, 2007... For years clients have brought us a variety of ill-performing electronics hardware. We see a lot of interesting stuff like tin whiskers, open resistors, dendrite shorts under conformal coating, and a variety of burned assemblies (even with just...

CAD and your test system: is there a return for extending your CAD data knowledge?(Test and Inspection)
November 1, 2007... In conversing with test and inspection professionals, I've noticed many are discussing system programming time and issues that relate back to their original CAD data. One likely reason for this is that the standardization efforts that...

Establishing a Kaizen culture: on "trystorming," and why "best" is not "better" for the long term.(Lean Manufacturing)(Company overview)
November 1, 2007... Small, steady, incremental. At face value, these adjectives may not appear best to stimulate, motivate and excite a workforce. But in the tradition of Lean manufacturing principles, these are the keys to creating a Kaizen culture. Kaizen is a...

[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].(Materials World)
November 1, 2007... [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Renzhe Zhao, Ph.D., is technical manager of applications engineering at Henkel's Electronics Group (henkel.com); renzhe.zhao@us.henkel.com. For the English version, visit circuits assembly.com. ...

Inovaxe's inocart-MSD parts storage.(Equipment Advances)
November 1, 2007... Inocart-MSD stores and handles moisture sensitive devices, using an innovative individual cell design to manage multiple component reel sizes and waffle trays in a low relative humidity storage condition. The system comes in two...

Chipshooter/flex mounter.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... SM411 dynamic chipshooter is said to have placement speeds of 42,000 cph for chips and 30,000 cph for SOP; the SM421 advanced flexible mounter is said to have placement speeds of 21,000 cph. SM411 is based on a dual-gantry platform with flying...

Self-Cleaning squeegee.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... Electronic Self-Cleaning Metal Squeegee is said to solve solder paste dripping and dogging. Said to enable hands-off, automatic squeegee cleaning of solder paste (including lead-free solder paste). Is self-contained and self-actuating. Odometer...

Low voids Pb-free paste.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... EnviroMark 919G Pb-free solder paste is reportedly 100% halide- and halogen-free. Said to offer ultra-low voiding characteristics, lighter flux residue color, easier residue penetration, shiny joints and excellent solderability on all...

Antistatic stencil wipes.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... The Green Monster ESD stencil wiping roll is Pb-free compatible and antistatic. Said to prevent sparks that can damage components and cause voids in solder traces. Fabric is said to have an aggressive cleaning surface. Reportedly provides more...

'Low-[N.sub.2] use' selective soldering.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... The 350 selective soldering system comes standard with an X,Y,Z and A axis servo drive. Includes a soldering unit that features forced hot air nitrogen preheat at the mini-wave nozzle. Has nitrogen preheat to limit dross buildup. Other standard...

'No clamp' SMT squeegee holder.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... Magna-Print universal SMT squeegee system consists of a patent-pending universal fit squeegee holder, infinitely adjustable paste deflectors and corresponding blades to accommodate any PCB size. Quick-change blade holder is equipped with an...

High-speed automated chip programming.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... 3000FS Flashstream automated programmer is designed to solve excessive programming times in current in-system, JTAG and in-circuit programming production methods. Is modeled after the BPM 3710 handler and contains four Flashstream programming...

Reel-to-Reel printer.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... Reel-to-Reel (R2R) precision screen printing enables manufacturers to deposit advanced materials onto flexible substrates directly from the reel. Is said to be able to print onto substrates typically up to 150 m x 500 mm. For use with flexible...

Flat belt conveyorized wave unloader.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... OUC-500 unloads PCBs from the wave. The ESD flat belt is 500 mm and can handle PCBs up to 17" in width. Comes standard with variable speed control and three topside fan arrays to cool Pb-free products. Framing system adjusts easily to meet most...

High-speed 01005 AOI.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... S3088-II high-speed AOI includes 8M sensor technology and EasyPro3D user interface. For post-reflow, post-print or post-placement inspection on PCBs up to 450 x 350 mm. Reportedly provides a resolution of 11.7 or 23.4 [micro]m/pixel at the same...

Low maintenance dispenser head.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... SmartStream pump is said to eliminate striking of a piston to a seat or nozzle. Each cycle displaces a column of material, rather than a single sphere. Reportedly increases flow rates (to greater than 70 [micro]l/sec). Design permits easy...

Desktop reflow soldering.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... Hot-Bar reflow desktop soldering system has pneumatic force adjustment available with a SH500 bonding head. Replaces spring technology and is said to cover a range up to 500N. Force is set by a manual knob; displays set range on a digital...

'On-printer' adhesive/paste dispenser.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... The Stinger patent-pending fluid dispenser is for SMT adhesive or solder paste. Is small and lightweight and is coupled to the printer's vision system by an electro-pneumatic interface said to permit the entire module to be removed and...

Screen printer with on-board AOI.(Product SPOTLIGHT)
November 1, 2007... Versaprint includes a line scan camera in the printer, capable of images for type recognition and AOI. List technology offers various new functions to visually support machine setup, operation and process optimization. GUI is designed per SEMI...

In case you missed it.(Technical Abstracts)
November 1, 2007... Soldering "Studies on the Removal of Copper During Minipot Rework with Different Lead-Free Alloys" Authors: Kantesh Doss, Alan Donaldson, Andrew Tong, and Raiyo Aspandiar; kantesh. doss@intel.com. Abstract: Copper thickness at PTH...