Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from July 2005

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from July 2005

Webinars defying doubters.(OUR LINE)
July 1, 2005... AS we approach PCB Design Conference East's 10th anniversary this October and PCB Design Conference West's 15th anniversary next March, it's only fitting that the conferences have moved into cyberspace. For a while now, LIP Media Group...

Computers in recovery.(MARKET WATCH)
July 1, 2005... Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE FEB. MARCH (r) APRIL * YTO Computers/electronics products -1.7 ...

ISM: is stronger dollar hurting production?(MARKET WATCH)
July 1, 2005... TEMPE, AZ -- New orders and backlogs for manufacturers grew for the 24th straight month in May--the longest stretch of growth in 16 years. But the rate of growth is losing momentum, said the Institute for Supply Management (www.ism.ws). The PMI...

China IC industry growing rapidly.(MARKET WATCH)
July 1, 2005... NEW TRIPOLI, PA -- While IC demand will grow 32% in 2005 to $45 billion, internal IC production will reach only $9 billion despite ongoing massive semiconductor lab construction. This year China will produce 22 billion ICs, accounting for 20%...

Q1 server sales up 5.3%.(MARKET WATCH)
July 1, 2005... FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Worldwide server revenue grew 5.3% year-over-year to $12.1 billion in the first quarter; the eighth consecutive quarter of growth, reported research firm IDC (idc.com). Volume server revenue grew 15.6% year-over-year and...

Naka: flat U.S. PCB sales this year.(MARKET WATCH)
July 1, 2005... BALTIMORE -- North American production of printed circuit boards will be flat this year; a leading analyst predicted. According to Dr. Hayao Nakahara, production of PCBs in North American rose 11% to about $5 billion last year, but 2005's soft...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
July 1, 2005... Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. JAN. FEB. MARCH APRIL Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.80 0.77 0.78 0.80 Semiconductors (2) 0.0% 0.16 2.2% ...

Ansoft revenues rise.(AROUND THE WORLD / DESIGN)
July 1, 2005... PITTSBURGH -- Ansoft Corp. reported revenue of $21.7 million for the fourth quarter ending April 30, 2005, an increase of 22% compared to $17.8 million reported in the previous year's Q4. On a GAAP basis, net income for the fourth quarter was...

IEEE-USA launches salary service.(AROUND THE WORLD / DESIGN)
July 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- IEEE-USA's Salary Service reportedly gives employers of technical professionals direct access to the database of the IEEE-USA Salary & Fringe Benefits Survey. This service provides employers online tools for benchmarking...

EMA offering RoHS services.(AROUND THE WORLD / DESIGN)
July 1, 2005... ROCHESTER, NY -- Value added reseller EMA Design Automation is offering a new service to help companies satisfy the European Union's restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances for electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS)...

Mentor buys Volcano.(M&A ACTIVITY)
July 1, 2005... WILSONVILLE, OR -- Mentor Graphics Corp. has acquired Volcano Communications Technologies AB (VCT). The acquisition includes the complete product line of Volcano's automotive networking series that contains network design tools, embedded...

Altium adds two-level viewing.(A SUITE WITH A VIEW)
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY -- Altium Limited has added a two-level design viewing strategy to its Altium Designer layout suite, reportedly adding transparency and versatility to the design data management capabilities of the system. The two-level strategy...

NEMA: "nascent rebound" for electroindustry.(AROUND THE WORLD / MANUFACTURING)
July 1, 2005... ROSSLYN, VA -- NEMA reported that sales of industrial control products and systems increased modestly in the first quarter of 2005. The electronics manufacturing trade organization saw a 1.4% gain in its Primary Industrial Control Index for Q1...

Rohm & Haas closing VA facility.(Turn Out The Lights)
July 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- Rohm & Haas Co. reported that it will close its Wytheville, VA, factory in early 2006, cutting up to 70 jobs in hopes to reduce costs through consolidation. The company will move its powder coatings production to its...

Naka: North American PCB production flat in 2005.(BUT NOT FLATLINING)
July 1, 2005... BALTIMORE -- North American production of printed circuit boards will be flat this year, a leading analyst predicted. Speaking at IPC's semiannual market research meetings, Dr. Hayao Nakahara said that that production of circuit boards in...

Schumer Bill gaining steam in Senate.(AROUND THE WORLD / MANUFACTURING)
July 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- At least 67 senators have signed on to a bill to hit China with tariffs of 27.5% on all imports at the end of this year unless China revalues its currency within the next six months. The legislation, sponsored by Senator...

Isola to move Philippines capacity.(I WON'T RETURN)
July 1, 2005... CHANDLER, AZ -- Isola Group will transfer the manufacturing capablilites of its Philippines factory to facilities in Suzhou, China and Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan. A new South China facility slated to come online within the next 12 to 18 months...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... JULY 11-15 SEMICON West San Francisco CA Contact: www.semi.org 12 Circuit Simulation with Protel 2004 Ware, Herts, UK Contact: www.eda.co.uk/trainProtel_2004_SIM.html 16-19 NEPCON...

Everett Charles Technologies.(FACES)
July 1, 2005... Patrick T. Flynn is the new president of Everett Charles Technologies. Flynn is the former the president of ECT's Capital Equipment and Services Group and Semiconductor Test Group. He succeeded David R. Van Loan, who was appointed president of...

Tapco Circuit Supply.(FACES)
July 1, 2005... Jeff Gillette and Jim Jordan have joined Tapco Circuit Supply as technical account managers. Gillette is a 13-year veteran of the printed circuit industry and supports Tapco customers on the East Coast from his base in Winchester, VA. Jordan...

Multilayer Technology.(FACES)
July 1, 2005... Patricia Clemens has joined Multilayer Technology's sales group in the position of inside sales support. Her job functions include supporting the sales team and manufacturers reps, including customer service and quoting. Clemens was previously...

Mentor Graphics Corp. signed a multi-year agreement to supply EDA tools to Siemens AG at more than 40 locations globally.(IT'S A DEAL)
July 1, 2005... Mentor Graphics Corp. signed a multi-year agreement to supply EDA tools to Siemens AG at more than 40 locations globally. PCB tools purchased under the agreement include Board Station, Expedition, XtremePCB, ICX and DMS, as well as ModelSim,...

Betz & Co.(IT'S A DEAL)
July 1, 2005... Fabrication equipment supplier Betz & Co. has relocated its headquarters to 31 Hagerty Lane, Cranbury, N J.

Sanmina-SCI has purchased a ComPlate UTM plater from HMS Hollmuller.(IT'S A DEAL)
July 1, 2005... Sanmina-SCI has purchased a ComPlate UTM plater from HMS Hollmuller. The system is designed for processing drilled holes in the blind and standard via ranges, and to handle large PCBs format.

FKI Logistex.(IT'S A DEAL)
July 1, 2005... FKI Logistex is opening a new regional office in Atlanta to support customers in the southeastern U.S. Personnel from the company's manufacturing systems unit offices in nearby Alpharetta and Marietta, and its warehouse and distribution unit...

LTK Industries Ltd., a Hong Kong-based cable and wire product manufacturer.(IT'S A DEAL)
July 1, 2005... LTK Industries Ltd., a Hong Kong-based cable and wire product manufacturer, has chosen Underwriters Laboratories Inc. to help it meet the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive.

You may have the wrong salesperson if ... with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, here are 35 sure signs that there's deadwood on your sales staff.(POWER SELLING)
July 1, 2005... LET'S FACE IT." Sales people are expensive. Great sales people are hard to come by and even harder to keep. But at the other end of the talent pool, you have sales people who are just not performing. Sometimes the signs of underperformance...

Ethics the true measure of your company: it can't be plotted on a month-to-month graph, but your firm's integrity should be in good supply.(ROI)
July 1, 2005... THE PRIMARY REASON that we all design, fabricate and develop technology that becomes printed circuit boards is to make a profit and increase the value of our investment of time and treasure. But how do you measure success? What measurements...

Can existing tools survive lead-free soldering? Most machines pass the test, but some key changes are ahead.(COUNTDOWN TO LEAD-FREE)
July 1, 2005... IN THE TRANSITION to lead-free soldering, an area of concern in assembly operations is what equipment changes, if any, will be needed for lead-free electronics assembly processes. SnAgCu (or SAC), the most common lead-free solder alloy, has a...

Extending bandwidth into the gigabit range: package designers face gigabit signaling rates through packages that require alternatives to lumped element modeling.(SIGNAL INTEGRITY)
July 1, 2005... Today's package designers face gigabit signaling rates running through packages that require alternatives to lumped element modeling. Unfortunately, tradeoffs between using W-element models and multisegment models are not always obvious. This...

The search for an ideal lead-free laminate: to make a wise decision, you'll have to understand the fundamental thermal properties of materials.(LEAD-FREE)
July 1, 2005... Concerns arising from the proposed use of lead-free solder systems have resulted in a flurry of activity devoted to defining and promoting the optimum material for use at higher solder and reflow temperatures. Some propose developing an IPC...

An alternative to the book-to-bill? These new approaches can help measure long-term PCB trends more accurately.(BALANCE SHEETS)
July 1, 2005... Let me start by throwing down the gauntlet to the many protagonists of the book-to-bill ratio. Many PCB manufacturers have great faith in this technique, using it to make judgments that influence their business strategies. I would like to be...

Asian market: Korea: the Korean PCB industry showed fabulous growth in 2004. What's next for the peninsula?(MARKETS)
July 1, 2005... This feature will examine the Korean PCB industry in detail from all angles. We will use the term "Korea" to refer to South Korea throughout the article. The Korea Printed Circuit Association (KPCA) was formed two years ago, and is...

Hardware catalog.(off the SHELF: MACHINES MATERIALS TOOLS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE)
July 1, 2005... A new catalog provides engineering details on RAF's electronic hardware products and includes 32,000 part numbers, additional standard length standoffs and spacers, a section on thread-locking products and engineering data. The 352-page catalog...

Cable assembly.(off the SHELF: MACHINES MATERIALS TOOLS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE)
July 1, 2005... Gore and FCI offer a new cable assembly configuration that leverages FCI's AirMax VS high-speed connection system with Gore's cable assemblies. The configuration utilizes AirMax connector technology to reportedly provide excellent...

Surface copper probe.(off the SHELF: MACHINES MATERIALS TOOLS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE)
July 1, 2005... The SRP-4 surface copper probe integrates the CMI701M bench top system. It is said to add considerable functionality and cost savings to the CMI701M's coating thickness measurement performance. Features include replaceable, interchangeable...

Device library.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
July 1, 2005... A new device library for Nexxim is now available from Murata and Ansoft. Engineers designing WAN, car navigation systems and cellular base stations can incorporate the accurate electrical responses and mechanical layout features for...

High-speed FPGA.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
July 1, 2005... The Virtex-4 FX60 90 nm FPGAs feature integrated 622 Mbps-10.3125 Gbps serial transceivers, and are said to have a competitive design margin and flexibility. For designs running at speeds lower than 10.3125Gbps, higher bandwidth is available if...

IR drop analysis.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
July 1, 2005... PowerDC complements Sigrity's power integrity analysis solutions by allegedly providing accurate DC analysis of IC packages and boards to show voltage drops. It finds hot spots and possible neckdowns that could adversely impact electrical and...

Tin whisker document.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
July 1, 2005... iNEMI has released a document to help reduce the risk of tin whiskers in lead-free products. JEDEC standard JESD22A121, "Test Method for Measuring Whisker Growth on Tin and Tin Alloy Surface Finishes," details tests that provide an industry...

'Green' laminates.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
July 1, 2005... MultiClad LF (Tg 180) is a multilayer package manufactured on a lead-free assembly-compatible laminate and prepreg sytem. The package is allegedly compatible with FR4 fabrication process techniques and has mechanical, chemical and moisture...

Design software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
July 1, 2005... Service Pack 2 for BCAD 2004 allows variants to be defined in schematic and PCB with ECO support in both directions. New is the ability to run multiple instances of PCAD applications, improvements in layer stackup and support for drill table...

Digital cameras driving flex: flex is still a positive--but volatile--market.(THE FLEX MARKET)
July 1, 2005... WHEN THE VOLUME production of consumer flex circuits started in Japan during the 1970s, camera manufacturers consumed more than a third of flex manufacturing capacities. The flex circuit market in Japan grew 100 times larger in the past 30...