Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from August 2006

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from August 2006

Circuit boards are my life.(OUR LINE)
August 1, 2006... MANY of you know me or have learned a bit about me from the UP Media Group staff. For the past six years I have contributed to the direction of PC FAB and Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture magazines from a position on the Editorial Review...

Manufacturing orders up in June.(MARKET WATCH)
August 1, 2006... TEMPE, AZ -- New orders for manufactured goods surged 4.2 points in June, to 57.9%, offering promise of a strong third quarter ahead. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in June for the 37th consecutive month, while the overall...

Q1 PCB software sales down 4%.(MARKET WATCH)
August 1, 2006... SAN JOSE -- First quarter EDA revenue grew 10% to $1.22 billion year-over-year, the EDA Consortium (edac.org) reported in June, citing in part new company participation. Total product revenues, sans services, were up 10% to $1.13 billion. ...

All stored up.(MARKET WATCH)
August 1, 2006... ALL STORED UP Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE MARCH APRIL MAY * YTD ...

2006 IC forecast raised.(MARKET WATCH)
August 1, 2006... EL SEGUNDO, CA--After a better-than-expected first quarter, iSuppli Corp. (isuppli.com) upgraded its semiconductor forecast slightly, raising the 2006 growth outlook half a point to 7.9%. Worldwide semiconductor revenue will rise to $255.7...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
August 1, 2006... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. JAN. FEB. MARCH APRIL MAY Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.97 1.01 1.03 1.11 1.12 Semiconductors...

Qualifying mixed-technology assemblies.(NEW INEMI GUIDELINES)
August 1, 2006... HERNDON, VA -- The potential use of mixed technology assemblies has led iNEMI to publish guidelines covering assembly processes and reliability requirements for RoHS5 and RoHS6 subassembly modules. With the current RoHS exemptions for high-rel...

USPTO issues microetching patent.(Copper Cleaning)
August 1, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in June issued a patent describing a method for cleaning copper surfaces in the manufacture of PCBs. U.S. Patent No. 7,063,800, issued June 20, covers "an improved method of microetching...

Nexlogic launches lead-free help line.('Lead-Free Lenny')
August 1, 2006... SAN JOSE -- Nexlogic Technologies (nexlogic.com) has introduced "Mr. Lead-free Lenny," the company's new lead-free manufacturing spokesperson. Customers can call Mr. Lead-free Lenny at any time at 1-888-NEXLOGIC, extension 103. In a...

Matsushita raising raw material prices.(MORE CAPACITY IN CHINA)
August 1, 2006... OSAKA, JAPAN -- With prices spiking for copper foil, glass cloth and epoxy resin, Matsushita Electric Works (mew.co.jp) will raise prices for copper-clad laminates (CCLs), prepegs and other related products by as much as 30%. The company,...

Electra reveals mask strategy.(ACQUIRES SOLDERMASK BUSINESS)
August 1, 2006... TONBRIDGE, ENGLAND -- Electra Polymers Ltd. (electrapolymers.com), a manufacturer of resists and coatings, has acquired Rohm and Haas' Ronascreen inks and soldermask business. No financial terms were disclosed. The transition was expected...

Orbotech opens Tawain demo lab.(LDI UP CLOSE)
August 1, 2006... TAOYUAN, TAIWAN -- Using its successful laser direct imaging demo lab in Japan as a model, Orbotech Ltd. (orbotech.com) has opened a similar lab in Taiwan. The Taiwan demo room maintains a cleanroom environment and is staffed by five engineers...

Smiley faces buyout.(Precision Circuits Buyout)
August 1, 2006... VISTA, CA -- The Kathrand Corp. has sold Precision Circuits to Thomas Smiley of Carlsbad, CA. The new company will operate under the Precision Circuits brand and is incorporated as First Circuit Inc. "We are working diligently to make this...

National unifies on Altium ECAD flow.(EVALUATION BOARD STANDARDIZATION)
August 1, 2006... SAN JOSE -- National Semiconductor has selected Altium's Designer (altium.com) as its global standard for ECAD software for evaluation boards and electronic subsystems. National (national.com) will use the flow for board-level systems...

More changes at Photocircuits.(New CEO, Layoffs)
August 1, 2006... GLEN COVE, NY -- Photocircuits (photocircuits.com) in late June named Steven Lach as chief executive of the venerable PCB company. Lach was with Sanmina-SCI as vice president and general manager, Western Region. Lach has 18 years of experience...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... AUGUST 12 PCB Design for RF Applications The Swallow Stone House Hotel, Staffordshire, UK Contact: www.eda.co.uk/trainTechSernRF.html 24-28 SMTA International/Assembly Technology Expo ...

Park Electrochemical.(FACES)
August 1, 2006... Park Electrochemical promoted Anthony DiGaudio to vice president of marketing vice president of sales. The company also named Howard Elliott vice president of R&D; Elliott is also president of Nelco Products Pte. Ltd., Park's advanced materials...

Firan Technology Group.(FACES)
August 1, 2006... Firan Technology Group named Michael Labrador vice president and general manager, FTG Circuits in Chatsworth, CA, replacing Tim Snodgrass. Labrador previously worked for Hadco, Sanmina, Coretec and most recently as director of operations at FTG...

Everett Charles Technologies.(FACES)
August 1, 2006... Everett Charles Technologies named Uwe Rothaug managing director of its merged ATG-Luther Maelzer business unit. L&M managing director Hans Higgen will assume responsibility for R&D engineering and Viktor Romanov will manage flying probe...

Texas Prototypes.(FACES)
August 1, 2006... Texas Prototypes named David Helm director of design for manufacturability. Helm was president of Sound Matrix Inc., a designer of electro-mechanical systems, and is a former supply chain director and director of test operations at Dallas...

Nippon Mining & Metals licensed the technology and trademark for its Gould Electronics subsidiary's TCR embedded resistor product to Ticer Technologies.(IT'S A DEAL)
August 1, 2006... Nippon Mining & Metals licensed the technology and trademark for its Gould Electronics subsidiary's TCR embedded resistor product to Ticer Technologies. Ticer, formed in March 2006 by a Gould management group, will relocate from the Gould...

Applied Wave Research and Vector Fields Ltd. have integrated Vector Fields' ConcertoT 3D EM modeling software into AWR's Microwave OfficeR circuit design platform.(IT'S A DEAL)
August 1, 2006... Applied Wave Research and Vector Fields Ltd. have integrated Vector Fields' ConcertoT 3D EM modeling software into AWR's Microwave OfficeR circuit design platform. Vector Fields offers 2D and 3D EM modeling, analysis and simulation software...

Innovex Inc. sold its etched metal component business to Tech-Etch Inc. for $5 million.(IT'S A DEAL)
August 1, 2006... Innovex Inc. sold its etched metal component business to Tech-Etch Inc. for $5 million. Innovex will also move its prototyping operation from Litchfield, MN, to Thailand, a move that will save the company about $4 million annually.

Coretec Inc.(IT'S A DEAL)
August 1, 2006... The Toronto operations of Coretec Inc. were registered to the ISO 14000:2004 environmental governance standard. Coretec said its U.S. sites would prepare for ISO 14000 within the next 12 to 18 months.

Orbotech Ltd.(IT'S A DEAL)
August 1, 2006... Orbotech Ltd. sold $18 million worth of AOI systems to a leading PCB maker in the Pacific region. The deal includes more than 80 Discovery AOI systems and other related equipment scheduled for delivery in 2006.

CMK Circuit Technology Center Corp., the PCB design services bureau for CMK Corp.(IT'S A DEAL)
August 1, 2006... CMK Circuit Technology Center Corp., the PCB design services bureau for CMK Corp., has installed Valor's Enterprise 3000 at four sites and named ODB++ as its preferred format.

Face time: exchanging ideas can be done with e-mail; relationships require a hands-on touch.(ROI)
August 1, 2006... I AM ALWAYS amazed at the lengths that people will go to just to avoid dealing with other people! Current communications technology is truly amazing. You can chat on the phone with anyone, globally, at any time, whether sitting in an...

Timing analysis principles for digital PCBs, Part 3: on source synchronous designs: applications and timing characteristics.(INTERCONNECT STRATEGIES)
August 1, 2006... FOR SUCCESSFUL high-speed bus design, it is important to understand the timing analysis methodologies (at system level) applicable to various signaling schemes. It has been justly stated (13): "Ninety percent of signal integrity problems are...

Beating the heat: the basics of fluid flow and heat transfer and how they can be applied to electronics cooling applications.(Cover story)
August 1, 2006... Power dissipation of electronic devices has been rising steadily to the point that thermal management must be considered as an integral part of the design process for most products. Further, PCB component layout, which using current design...

Lead-free DFM: demands new tricks: lead-free DFM is a prime target for Murphy's Law. So make sure every detail is handled accurately.(ROHS PREPARATIONS)
August 1, 2006... Leaded design for manufacturing (DfM) involves proven, well-established practices in PCB design layout, fabrication, assembly and component management. However, lead-free DfM significantly changes the landscape of each of those four areas. OEMs...

The PCB melting pot: PCB production grew in 2005, thanks mostly to foreign-owned companies operating in China.(WORLD PCB MARKETS)
August 1, 2006... Ed.: This is the second in a series on the World PCB market. The first half of 2005 consisted of lukewarm PCB demand. Orders picked up briskly in the third and fourth quarters. The year closed out strong and demand continued into the first...

An analytical characterization of PCB delamination and comparison of adhesion tests: how the double lap joint tops the peel strength and T260 methods.(PCB STRUCTURAL STRENGTH)
August 1, 2006... For some time, the accepted test method for measuring adhesion in the PCB industry has been the peel strength test. Yet it is accepted that this technique has been less than adequate in guarding against delamination failures during reflow and...

Halogen-free materials: ready for prime time? A further recap of the recent JPCA show.(THE FLEX MARKET)
August 1, 2006... SEVERAL YEARS AGO, the PCB industry experienced a boom with LDI (laser direct imaging) technology. At least four companies displayed newly developed LDIs at IPC Expo. Photoresist suppliers developed high sensitivity (and expensive) dry-films,...

Switch module.(off the SHELF)
August 1, 2006... The PXI-2584 is said to be the industry's highest voltage PXI switch module, capable of routing signals up to 600V in amplitude. The dual 6 x 1 1-wire high-voltage multiplexer occupies one 3U-sized PXI slot. Offers CAT II certification at 300V,...

RF design tool.(off the SHELF)
August 1, 2006... The Advanced Design System (ADS) 2006A is said to feature design links from Agilent's Genesys software for RF architecture applications, for faster generation of complex, high frequency systems and circuit designs. New capabilities include:...

PBDE detection.(off the SHELF)
August 1, 2006... The GC/MS measurement system is said to be capable of performing reliable, precise analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). High-resolution double focusing magnetic sector GC/MS system, TRACE GC Ultra gas chromatograph and TriPlus...

ECAD software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
August 1, 2006... Altium Designer 6.3 includes updates said to ease transitions from board or embedded board design to super system design. Features include a PADS library importer and a unified PADS/OrCAD importer, including a Wizard to import OrCAD schematics...

High frequency laminate.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
August 1, 2006... RO4450B-dx Bondply is a high fill/flow version of RO4450B high frequency circuit material. This glass-reinforced hydrocarbon/ceramic thermoset bondply is designed for performance-sensitive, multilayer boards. It reportedly offers high frequency...

Database tool.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
August 1, 2006... AnsoftLinks v4 for Microsoft Windows 2000 SP2 and XP Professional is said to simplify the transfer of design databases from EDA tools and MCAD packages into Ansoft products. EDA links are available for tools by Cadence, Zuken, Mentor and...

PLM software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
August 1, 2006... Visiprise Manufacturing 4.2 includes enhanced machine integration for greater control and efficiency of product delivery, enabling tight integration from PLM to the plant floor; creates more than 30 preconfigured/customizable business...

Increased netlist cam.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
August 1, 2006... VisualCAM includes the HyperNETLIST generation, which reportedly increases netlist generation performance by five to 10 times. The Assembly Reverse Engineering provides component centroid info from Gerber data. Offers five methods of component...

High frequency PWB tester.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
August 1, 2006... HFT-1500 high frequency automated tester is for bare boards and assemblies. Measures impedance, propagation delay, effective Dk and interconnect loss. Is said to provide 100% test on ATE probe cards. WHO: Introbotics Corp WEB:...

No faith: when it comes to power distribution network design, put your trust in analysis.(NO MYTHS ALLOWED)
August 1, 2006... IT's LIKE A religion," Steve Weir, consultant with Teraspeed Consulting Group said. "There are fundamentalists and devoted followers in different camps." Weir, a widely acclaimed signal integrity icon, is referring to design strategies for the...