Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from June 2005

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from June 2005

WEEE: the other directive.(OUR LINE)
June 1, 2005... The WEEE deadline is now two months away. Are you WEEE-compliant? Do you know what WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) is? The EU's WEEE deadline of August 13, 2005 is sneaking up quickly. It snuck up so fast that most of the...

'Searching' for an upturn.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2005... 'SEARCHING' FOR AN UPTURN Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE JAN. FEB. (r) MARCH * YTD ...

Manufacturing growth slipped in May.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2005... TEMPE, AZ -- New orders and backlogs for manufacturers grew for the 23d straight month in April although the rate of growth slipped again. New orders were down 3.4 points and inventories fell 6.2 points, yet production rose 0.2 points, said the...

Q1 mobile phone shipments fall.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2005... FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Following a record quarter of worldwide shipments, the mobile phone market slowed slightly in the first quarter due to expected seasonality. According to IDC (www.idc.com), first-quarter worldwide mobile phone shipments...

CIOs up IT forecast.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2005... FRAMINGHAM, MA -- A poll of the nation's top information officers predicts spending will grow 7.9% during the next 12 months, up from 6.4%. The poll was conducted from April 7-14 by CIO Magazine. Growth is forecast for software, and for...

SOs leading package growth.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2005... SAN JOSE -- Outsourcing of IC packaging assembly has fully resumed with double-digit growth the past three years. Contractors will continue to inherit a growing percentage of the IC packaging business as semiconductor makers focus on the front...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2005... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. DEC. JAN. FEB. MARCH Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.99 0.80 0.78 0.81 Semiconductors (2) ...

Kyocera Wireless migrates to intercept.(RETOOLING TIME)
June 1, 2005... ATLANTA AND SAN DIEGO -- Wireless handset manufacturer Kyocera Wireless Corp. has migrated its PCB design environment to Intercept Technology's tools. Kyocera Wireless acquired a full suite of Intercept software, from the Mozaix schematic entry...

Workbench updates Ultiboard, Ultiroute.(ULTIMATE UPGRADE)
June 1, 2005... TORONTO -- Electronics Workbench has launched Ultiboard 8 and Ultiroute 8, completing the Series 8 tool suite. Innovations include tighter integration between manual routing and autorouting, the ability to turn off the rats nest for selected...

Sigrity tool simulates chip, package.(ANALYZE THIS)
June 1, 2005... SANTA CLARA, CA -- Sigrity Inc. has released CoDesign Studio, a chip and package co-design solution for analyzing the performance of the combined power delivery system. The company said CoDesign Studio is the first EDA solution to...

Cadence up, mentor flat in Q1.(AROUND THE WORLD / DESIGN)
June 1, 2005... WILSONVILLE, OR, AND SAN JOSE--Cadence Design Systems posted first-quarter 2005 revenue of $293 million, an increase of 10% over the $266 million reported for the same period last year. On a GAAP basis, Cadence saw net income of $1 million in...

Tyco cutting Austin plant, jobs.(AUSTIN CITY LIMITS)
June 1, 2005... HARRISBURG, PA -- According to an Austin Business Journal article, Tyco Electronics Corp. will close its Austin manufacturing plant by July 1, and lay off about 190 employees. Mike Ratcliff, a spokesman for Tyco, said the work from the...

Circuit-Wise closes its doors.(AND ANOTHER)
June 1, 2005... NORTH HAVEN, CT -- Circuit-Wise, one of the oldest PCB shops in the U.S., has had its four-year-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy converted into a Chapter 7 case. In a statement posted at an online news site, Stephen Mettler, president of...

Jabil's Rocklin plant to close.(California Dreamin')
June 1, 2005... ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuits Inc. will close a recently acquired factory and cut 83 workers, according to news reports. The Rocklin, CA, manufacturing plant, acquired by Jabil from Varian Electronics in February, employs 90, but...

Chemcut bought out (again); lies named CEO.(CHANGING HANDS)
June 1, 2005... STATE COLLEGE, PA -- Just under three years after it spun off from its German parent, Chemcut Corp. will be bought out by a management group led by local investors. Don Houtz, who was the sole owner of the PCB equipment company, last week...

IPC poll: US PCB market still in mire.(BUT FLEX SALES ROSE)
June 1, 2005... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- The 90-day moving average shipments of all types of circuit boards fell 4.5% year-on-year in March, according to the latest poll of U.S. PCB fabricators. Bookings fell 10%, continuing their first-quarter slog. A large...

Excellon.(FACES)
June 1, 2005... William (Jon) Krum has joined Excellon as midwest business manager. Krum has 24 years of experience in the printed circuit industry in manufacturing, sales and as a supplier to the industry. His responsibilities include business development,...

Tessera Technologies Inc.(FACES)
June 1, 2005... Tessera Technologies Inc. has appointed Liam Goudge as senior vice president. Goudge will lead the Emerging Markets & Technologies Group, a newly created group within Tessera responsible for expanding the company's technology portfolio into new...

O.C. White Company.(FACES)
June 1, 2005... The O.C. White Company has appointed Bill Blakley and Cornerstone Technical Marketing to represent its line of illuminated magnifiers and microscope lighting products to industrial customers and electronics manufacturing facilities in the...

JP Sercel Associates.(FACES)
June 1, 2005... J P Sercel Associates (JPSA) has named Eddie Hawkins and BUA International Ltd. to represent its line of UV laser processing systems and job shop services in Ireland.

Chemcut has awarded an exclusive agency agreement to Advanced Industrial Services (AIS) to look after its operations in the United Kingdom.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2005... Chemcut has awarded an exclusive agency agreement to Advanced Industrial Services (AIS) to look after its operations in the United Kingdom. The company also awarded an exclusive agency agreement to R&H Industrial Services to look after its...

Circuit Images has purchased two Excellon 129 Intelli-Drills.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2005... Circuit Images has purchased two Excellon 129 Intelli-Drills. The company has also installed a new EDTA plating system.

International Manufacturing Services Inc. (IMS), a manufacturer of high quality thick film resistors and substrates to the electronics industry.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2005... International Manufacturing Services Inc. (IMS), a manufacturer of high quality thick film resistors and substrates to the electronics industry, announces the appointment of Milco Marketing Inc. as the company's representative in Texas,...

DEK has signed a supply and license agreement for its VectorGuard stencil technology with Gemido.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2005... DEK has signed a supply and license agreement for its VectorGuard stencil technology with Gemido, the France-based designer and manufacturer of machines for the electronics industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Gemido will manufacture...

PTC will provide PLM software to the Belgian firearm manufacturer Herstal Group.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2005... PTC will provide PLM software to the Belgian firearm manufacturer Herstal Group. Herstal signed a three-year agreement with PTC for a global PLM solution that will provide logistics process management and an IT product management system....

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... EVENTS JUNE 1-3 JPCA Show Toyko, Japan Exhibitor contact: JPCA, Kairo Kaikan, 12-2, Nishiogikita 3-come, suginami-ku, Tokyo 167-0042 Japan +81-3-5310-2020, fax: +81-3-5310-2021;...

Hiring a sales manager: Part II: tips for finding, interviewing and hiring the right person for the job.(POWER SELLING)
June 1, 2005... SO NOW YOU are ready to hire a sales manager. (See Power Selling, April 2005 PCD&M.) You have developed the job description so that you know exactly what you want the person to be able to do. You have also created a list of qualities that you...

Changes in attitudes our biggest challenge: if change is such a good thing, why can't we embrace it?(ROI)
June 1, 2005... "CHANGE IS GOOD!" At least that's what everyone says. But if change really is good, then why is it so darn difficult? Something as simple as altering day-to-day habits often seems impossible, even when the change will be good for you. How...

Tracking material composition data: how a new jointly authored standard may automate and simplify the format for the entire supply chain.(COUNTDOWN TO LEAD-FREE)
June 1, 2005... Ed.: The full article with figures is available at www.pcdandm.com. TO DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE with environmental regulations, manufacturers must have information about the material composition of components and bulk materials that go into...

A designer's survival guide to high-speed serial links: pre-emphasis and backdrilling can help you avoid being a casualty in the battle for signal integrity.(Cover Story)
June 1, 2005... At the dawn of the personal computer era in the early 1980's, clock frequencies were about 20 MHz and no one cared about signal integrity. Interconnects were transparent. The physical design of systems was about getting the connectivity right,...

Being green can make you see red; but not if you start getting ready for lead-free now, while July 2006 is still a year away.(LEAD-FREE MANUFACTURING)
June 1, 2005... Kermit the Frog once said, "It's not easy being green." Truer words were never spoken. For the electronics industry, there are many challenges on the road to being green, or more environmentally friendly. Time is of the essence; the July...

Loading effects on transmission lines, Part 2: a minimum loaded line impedance may be essential to your design.(INTERCONNECT STRATEGIES)
June 1, 2005... Ed.: References for footnotes 1-10, equations 1-5, figures 1-3, and table 1 are found in Part 1 of this column, published in the May issue of PCD&M, available at www. pcdandm.com. A LOADED LINE may be defined as a transmission line having a...

10th anniversary PCB Design Conference East: the premier conference and exhibition for PCB engineering, design and manufacture professionals.(Conference Brochure)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... Conference: October 10-14, 2005 Exhibition: October 12-13, 2005 Expo Center of New Hampshire in Manchester, NH www.pcbeast.com CONFERENCE October 10-14, 2005 EXHIBITION October 12-13, 2005 Expo Center of New Hampshire...

Working with embedded passives resistors, Part 1: additive EP materials offer benefits, but they have limits.(CAM WORKS)
June 1, 2005... IF YOU ARE having difficulties meeting some of the high-speed or miniaturization requirements in your layouts using traditional components, then perhaps it's time to look at embedded passives. What material and methodology should you use?...

Get on board: solving thermal problems at board level: the early bird gets the worm. Instead of waiting to address thermal issues at the system level, tackle them at board level instead.(THERMAL MANAGEMENT)
June 1, 2005... Normally, thermal issues are not addressed until the latter stages of the design process, when component placement has been fixed and the board routed. The problem with this approach is that potential thermal issues arising at this point can be...

Fuse blocks.(off the SHELF: MACHINE MATERIALS TOOLS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2005... The HMFA.2 series of terminal blocks uses spring clamp terminations and can accept the standard blade type fuse. It is available in a wide range of voltages and currents up to 125V at 15A. Is also available with LED indication, which can be...

Thermal software.(off the SHELF: MACHINE MATERIALS TOOLS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2005... FLO/PCB v2.2 features more than 25 improvements and enhancements that are said to improve usability and tighten integration between electrical and mechanical design of PCBs. Highlights include automatic Manhattan distance calculation and...

Metal matrix composite.(off the SHELF: MACHINE MATERIALS TOOLS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE)
June 1, 2005... AISiC (aluminum silicon carbide) is a metal matrix composite suited as a thermal management material for IGBT base plates. The IGBT base plates are reportedly lightweight and offer high strength. The isotropic coefficient of thermal expansion...

Halogen-free substrate.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2005... The N4000-7 EF halogen-free, 165[degrees]C Tg substrate system is a series of laminate and prepreg materials designed to provide a "green" solution. It is a lead-free compatible material that provides thermal and moisture resistance properties...

Lead-free fuses.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2005... Lead-free versions of Littlefuse's 2AG, 3AG, 3AB and 5 x 20 mm form factor fuses comply with IEC 60068-2-20 as well as the EIA-IS-722, CSA and UL approvals. Designed to withstand the higher temperatures associated with lead-free wave soldering....

Software service pack.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2005... The latest service pack for AutoVue 18 adds support for AutoCAD version 2006 and Autodesk Inventor version 10. Provides native viewing, printing, markup, digital mockup and real-time collaboration support for engineering drawings, 2D CAD, 3D...

Serialization device.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2005... The [mu]SerDes FIN12 and FIN24 series devices reportedly reduce wide parallel paths of data to a high-speed serial link. The link is implemented using EMI-reducing differential technology. The FIN12 and FIN24 devices can reduce EMI by 30 to 40...

Programmable PCI Express.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2005... Reportedly the world's first programmable PCI Express endpoint silicon solution, the Philips-Xilinx PCI Express can be used in high-volume applications including add-in cards, host bus adapters, graphics cards and high-end servers. The solution...

Power supply.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2005... The Astec LPS122 switching power supply can deliver its full rated output of 130W with 30 CFM forced air or 80 W with convection cooling. The LPS122's footprint is 3 x 5" and can be set up for lengthwise or crosswise airflow. It has a 12V .5A...

Simulating a TDR: as long as you have access to any version of SPICE, you too can simulate a TDR.(NO MYTHS ALLOWED)
June 1, 2005... THE MOST USEFUL tool for characterizing transmission line structures on a PCB is a time domain reflectometer, or TDR. It can provide a direct measure of the characteristic impedance of a uniform transmission line, its uniformity, time delay,...