Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from February 2007

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from February 2007

The last frontier.(OUR LINE)
February 1, 2007... IT'S a good thing the earth is round. If we keep going west, we'll finally get back to where we started. The migration of manufacturing appears to be following a westward track in it's search for low-cost manufacturing hubs and ready-made...

Un-PC.(MARKET WATCH)
February 1, 2007... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE SEPT. OCT. (r) NOV. * YTD Computers/electronics products -3.4 ...

New orders and production growing, deliveries slowing.(MARKET WATCH)
February 1, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- The manufacturing sector expanded in December following a one-month decline, while the overall economy grew for the 62nd consecutive month, says ISM (ism.ws). The PMI indicator of manufacturing activity returned to growth, hitting...

Electronics equipment demand to uptick in 2007.(MARKET WATCH)
February 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Sales of electronics equipment will maintain growth rates this year, as global revenue will rise 6.7% to $1.47 trillion in 2007, iSuppli (isuppli.com) predicts. The research firm estimates sales rose 6.6% last year. Data...

IC inventories in check, SIA says.(MARKET WATCH)
February 1, 2007... SAN JOSE -- Semiconductors stock levels are in line with demand and 2007 looks to be a good year, the Semiconductor Industry Association (sia-online.org) said in January. "Inventories are in line with current demand in most major product...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
February 1, 2007... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. Semiconductor equipment (1) 1.06 1.00 1.00 0.95 0.97...

Foxconn plans $1 billion Chinese investment.(SOLID FOUNDATION)
February 1, 2007... TAIPEI, TAIWAN -- Foxconn International Holdings will invest $1 billion in a new industrial park in Wuhan, China. The company will produce electronics products including digital cameras and computer monitors at the location, the Wuhan Municipal...

Sanmina-SCI Mexico to get $4 m upgrade.(LOOKIN' GOOD)
February 1, 2007... SAN JOSE, CA -- The Mexican unit of Sanmina-SCI plans to complete a US$4 million upgrade to improve its manufacturing capability by March 2007, Sanmina-SCI Mexico senior VP Marco Gonzalez told BNamericas. Sanmina-SCI Mexico expects to cut...

Accellera committee focuses on standard coverage metrics.(BY THE BOOK)
February 1, 2007... NAPA, CA -- Accellera's board of directors approved the formation of the new Unified Coverage Interoperability Technical Subcommittee (UCI TSC). The committee will define standards to enable sharing and analysis of coverage data generated by...

November book-to-bill ratios drop.(AROUND THE WORLD)
February 1, 2007... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- IPC, Association Connecting Electronics Industries, reported the North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for November 2006 decreased to 0.92. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio declined to...

iNEMI Tin Whisker User Group publishes updated set of recommendations.(WHAT'S NEW?)
February 1, 2007... HERNDON, VA -- iNEMI's Tin Whisker User Group announced a major update of its publication, "Recommendations on Lead-Free Finishes for Components Used in High-Reliability Products." The group consists of eight large manufacturers of...

U.S. consumer electronics market to grow in 2007.(WHAT'S NEW?)
February 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- Sales of consumer electronics in the U.S. are projected to exceed $155 billion in 2007, or a 7% growth year-on-year, according to a Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) forecast. The semi-annual industry forecast came out on...

ECB publishes environmental part of TBBPA EU Risk Assessment.(WHAT'S NEW?)
February 1, 2007... ISPRA, ITALY -- The European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) published an update on the status of the environmental part of TBBPA EU Risk Assessment. This follows publication of the human health part last year, which identified no risks. The...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc.(FACES)
February 1, 2007... Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc. has named Warren Dannelly as director of Sales, Global Accounts. With 27 years of experience in the electronic packaging industry, Dannelly has worked with companies such as Amp-Akzo, Texas Instruments,...

The Society of Manufacturing Engineering (SME) Education Foundation.(FACES)
February 1, 2007... The Society of Manufacturing Engineering (SME) Education Foundation has named new officers and selected three new members to serve on its board of directors. Glen Pearson assumed the position of president of the foundation. He retired from...

CADParts & Consulting LLC.(FACES)
February 1, 2007... CADParts & Consulting LLC has appointed Raymond Smith, CID as its new VP of Technical Design. Smith joined CADParts in April 2006 as a certified Sr. PCB Designer. He previously held various leadership and design responsibilities with Elcom...

Fidus Systems.(FACES)
February 1, 2007... Fidus Systems welcomes Jim Roche, co-founder and former CEO of Tundra Semiconductor Corp., to its board of directors. Roche is currently president and CEO of CMC Microsystems. He co-founded Tundra, a fabless semiconductor company, in 1995,...

Mutualtek Industries Co. Ltd.(FACES)
February 1, 2007... Mutualtek Industries Co. Ltd. has hired Andreas Paulsen as overseas sales manager for North America and Europe in President Hsu-Tung Chen's effort to expand the company's sales and marketing ability, increase the in-house ability of the entire...

Merlin Circuit Technology.(FACES)
February 1, 2007... PCB manufacturer Merlin Circuit Technology has appointed Phil Price as sales manager. Price will work closely with existing customers and develop new business opportunities in Merlin's key technology markets. He has spent the past 17 years in...

Valor Computerized Systems.(IT'S A DEAL)
February 1, 2007... Valor Computerized Systems has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Industrial Training Center of TsingHua University in Beijing to provide software for training students in the simulation and optimization of electronics manufacturing...

MacDermid Inc.(IT'S A DEAL)
February 1, 2007... MacDermid Inc. has signed a definitive merger agreement under which Daniel H. Leever, its chairman and CEO, and investment funds managed by Court Square Capital Partners and Weston Presidio, will acquire MacDermid in a transaction valued at...

Global Laminates Inc. has acquired a majority stake in B&C International Ltd.(IT'S A DEAL)
February 1, 2007... Global Laminates Inc. has acquired a majority stake in B&C International Ltd. The deal will allow B&C to continue to offer sub contract process capability to the UK PCB industry while significantly strengthening their ability to supply copper...

W. L. Gore & Associates has chosen A. E. Petsche Co. as the exclusive North America distributor of Gore Bulk Wire and Cable.(IT'S A DEAL)
February 1, 2007... W. L. Gore & Associates has chosen A. E. Petsche Co. as the exclusive North America distributor of Gore Bulk Wire and Cable. A. E. Petsche will stock a wide range of custom Gore products ranging from basic insulated and impedance-controlled...

Virtus Advanced Sensors has entered into a collaboration agreement with several Taiwan-based UMC Group companies including Unimicron and its affiliated MEMS foundry ChipSense.(IT'S A DEAL)
February 1, 2007... Virtus Advanced Sensors has entered into a collaboration agreement with several Taiwan-based UMC Group companies including Unimicron and its affiliated MEMS foundry ChipSense. The companies will work together on producing 3-axis accelerometers...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
February 1, 2007... FEBRUARY 8-9 EPIC Winter Conference Salzburg, Austria Contact: Kirsten Smit-Westenberg, kwestenberg@epic.org 13-15 Embedded World 2007 Nuremberg, Germany Contact:...

When the past exists in the future: how Chinese manufacturers have improved upon the ways of the west.(ROI)
February 1, 2007... A RECENT TRIP to China made me feel like I had traveled back in time. All I could think about was the cliche "The more things change the more they stay the same" that seems to be popping up everywhere. The purpose of my trip was to see all the...

Effects of plane splits on high-speed signals, part 1: a high-speed signal crossing splits of a reference plane can experience undesirable electrical impact.(INTERCONNECT STRATEGIES)
February 1, 2007... ROUTING HIGH-SPEED signals over slots of the nearby reference plane can cause undesirable effects such as impedance discontinuities (destructive reflection), EMI noise (1) and cross-talk. The reference plane may be a ground or a power layer....

High definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable modeling: topological modeling facilitates accurate characterization of the electrical behavior of HDMI cables, reducing design time and compliance costs.(MODELING CABLE CONNECTIONS)
February 1, 2007... The high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) is an emerging consumer electronics standard that offers the first industry-supported, all-digital audio/ video, one-cable interface. The HDMI interface allows data rates as fast as 5Gbit/s...

Topology routing tools: speed complex bus system designs: combining the intelligence and skill of an experienced designer with the speed of traditional autorouting tools.(INTELLIGENT AUTOROUTING)
February 1, 2007... Since the invention of the autorouter some 40 years ago, its use has been limited to large, digital multiple-layer printed circuit boards for the simple reason that an autorouter cannot mimic the intelligence of an experienced designer. Most...

The PCB design outsource proposition: is outsourcing the right solution for your company?(OUTSOURCING DESIGN)(Company overview)
February 1, 2007... The drive to control costs by outsourcing tasks deemed "non-core" competencies present many challenges to electronic device manufacturers. One function that is increasingly being targeted for outsourcing is printed circuit board design. ...

Manufacturing techniques to decrease high-speed Digital Signal distortion: backdrilling is a cost effective strategy to reduce detrimental signal distortions cased by PTH via stub structures.(BACKDRILLING OVERVIEW)
February 1, 2007... Plated through-hole (PTH) via structures in high layer count printed circuit boards and thick backplanes/midplanes can significantly distort high-speed digital signals that pass through them. Often the distortion is severe enough that digital...

Organic and printed electronics: the next big thing? Printing processes promise high throughput at low costs.(iNEMI 2007 ROADMAP)
February 1, 2007... The revolutionary concept of using graphic arts printing processes to manufacture electronic components such as wireless hardware (RFID), displays and ICs has been pursued since 2000 in corporate, government and university laboratories, and by...

Next generation semiconductors: organic semiconductor materials could take 5-10 years to break through all the technical barriers.(THE FLEX MARKET)
February 1, 2007... THERE IS A lot of prognosticating and discussion surrounding which next generation semiconductor material will replace silicon in the electronics industry. However, if we consider mainstream electronics, there is no question the overwhelming...

Laser system.(off the SHELF)
February 1, 2007... The Gen4 laser system is designed to mark and verify ECC200 Data Matrix symbology as well as other machine code formats, man-readable text and graphic images. Adjustable width through-conveyor and programmable mark locations accommodate panels...

Weld monitors.(off the SHELF)
February 1, 2007... Next generation weld monitors MM370 and MM380 have been released. The machine mounted MM370 measures current, voltage, force and displacement, and is capable of setting limits and configuring comprehensive machine I/O. The handheld MM380...

PXI module.(off the SHELF)
February 1, 2007... The PXI-5350 PXI module is a 3U single slot module that provides 50 bi-directional, differential test channels, allowing for the connectivity test of differential connectors/ backplanes. Test channels are individually programmable as input or...

Electrical analysis solution.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
February 1, 2007... The enhanced PowerSIT electrical analysis solution enables parallel and distributed computing. Lengthy processing can now be distributed among several CPUs in a computer or among several computers, reportedly resulting in timesavings that...

Flexible material processor.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
February 1, 2007... Schmid Systems' cupric etch/dry film resist strip process line is said to include a guaranteed damage-free leaderless transport system for 9/25/9 flex circuit materials using the Schmid Ultraflex Transport System. The system features an...

EMI absorber.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
February 1, 2007... The EMI absorber AB-5000 series was created for EMI attenuation applications requiring electromagnetic-absorbing properties in mobile phones, computers, notebooks, digital cameras, LCD/PDPTVs and PCBs for communications. Reportedly suppresses...

Electroless copper process.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
February 1, 2007... Circuposit 3000-1, a next generation, self-accelerating electroless copper process, is said to provide fast start-up, steady-state operation and improved thermal cycling performance with a reduction in packaging and chemistry usage. The process...

Solution agitator.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
February 1, 2007... The Serfilco SER-DUCTOR agitation for printed circuit board manufacturing and rack plating applications reportedly enhances plating solution flow across the board surface. Provides solution agitation with a centrifugal pump by drawing liquid...

PCB prototyping.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
February 1, 2007... T-Tech's Quick Circuit Model 3000 is a new entry-level desktop prototyping solution. According to the company, its low cost and high precision is perfect for the university and international market place. Students at technical colleges can mill...

Determine the best way to control signal effects: discuss the options available to help decide which via is best for you.(THE SIGNAL DOCTOR)
February 1, 2007... QUESTION FROM TIM in Ann Arbor, MI: You've mentioned through-hole vias and stubs, and their effects on high-speed serial links, but I don't recall your mentioning blind vias. Are these a better choice than through-holes for controlling signal...