Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from June 2006

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from June 2006

Summertime and the living's ... easy?(OUR LINE)
June 1, 2006... AH, summer. The thermometer heads into the 90s, the kids are out of school and your attention turns to using up some of that vacation time. In the PCB industry, summer has traditionally been time to turn on the "out of office" e-mail auto-reply...

Shop talk.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... SHOP TALK Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE JAN. FEB. (r) MARCH * YTD ...

Manufacturing activity up in April.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... TEMPE, AZ -- Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in April for the 35th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 54th consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management (www.ism.ws) reported. The PMI...

ECA order index dipped in March.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... ARLINGTON, VA -- The monthly electronic component order index compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (www.ec-central.org) took a slight dip in March after three months of steady upward movement. The 12-month...

IT spending indicators looking up.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... FRAMINGHAM, MA -- IT and business executives said IT spending would rise 7.5% in the next 12 months, IDC (www.idc.com) found in its monthly poll, taken in April. The research firm's own April 28 forecast for U.S. IT spending predicted 5.8%...

Global Q1 PC shipments Up 13.1%.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... STAMFORD, CT -- Worldwide PC shipments totaled 57 million units in the first quarter, up 13.1% over a year ago, according to preliminary statistics by Gartner (www.gartner.com). U.S. PC shipments beat projections due to strong home desktop...

W. Europe not taking to handhelds.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... LONDON -- First-quarter shipments of mobile devices grew 25% year-over-year in Western Europe, to 3.2 million units, said IDC (www.idc.com). Handhelds dropped 21% vs. a year ago, while converged devices "disappointed" at 43% growth. The firm...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MARCH Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.93 0.93 0.97 1.01 1.04 Semiconductors (2) 7.2% 6.8% 7.0% -2.2% ...

Huntsman plant damaged by fire, offline.(AROUND THE WORLD)
June 1, 2006... SALT LAKE CITY -- Huntsman Corp. reported that its manufacturing plant in Port Arthur, TX was the scene of a major fire. "Though investigators are in the very early stages of assessing the impact of the fire, it appears that the damage is...

Analyst: TTM could buy Tyco's PCB shops.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2006... SANTA ANA, CA -- A Bear Stearns analyst gave further credence to reports that TTM Technologies may be looking to purchase at least some of Tyco's printed circuit board operations. According to a report in Forbes, Bear Stearns said it...

Optimal taps another cadence executive.(SETTING A TREND)
June 1, 2006... SAN JOSE -- Optimal Corp. has appointed former Cadence Design Systems executive Jamie Metcalf to its executive management team as vice president of business development. Metcalfe will work with Optimal CEO Dave DeMaria, also a former Cadence...

JEDEC, IPC release tin whisker standards.(TRIMMING WHISKERS)
June 1, 2006... HERNDON and ARLINGTON, VA -- JEDEC and the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) released two documents created to help manufacturers reduce the risk of tin whiskers in lead-free products. The first is JEDEC standard...

Cadence profit, revenue rises.(AROUND THE WORLD)
June 1, 2006... SAN JOSE -- Cadence Design Systems posted a net profit of $22 million for Q1 2006, up from $1 million during the first quarter of 2005. Revenue was $328 million, up from $292.5 million during the same period a year earlier. For the second...

Sierra Proto to add tech center.(A NEW ADDITION)
June 1, 2006... SUNNYVALE, CA -- Sierra Proto Express, a producer of quickturn printed wiring boards, will open a microelectronics technology center this summer. The center will produce the company's current leading-edge technology--boards of 0.001" lines...

Mentor sales rise, profit falls.(UP AND DOWN)
June 1, 2006... WILSONVILLE, OR -- Mentor Graphics posted a 7% year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2006, but showed a 33% increase in losses compared to the year-ago quarter. Thanks in part to the strength of its Calibre IC tool line,...

IPC book-to-bill: rigid strong, flex slipping.(Flex Past Its Apex?)
June 1, 2006... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- The North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for March 2006 remained strong at 1.14, but the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio dipped to 0.94. These ratios are based on monthly data collected...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
June 1, 2006... JUNE 6-8 Military, Aerospace, Space and Homeland Security (MASH): Packaging Issues and Applications Washington, D.C. Contact: www.imaps.org/mash 6-9 Lead-Free: Myths and Realities--Expanded ...

DEK.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Scott Lewin is DEK's new distributed products manager for the Americas region. He has over 20 years of experience in the electronics industry. Prior to joining DEK, Lewin held a variety of positions with equipment and materials suppliers, with...

Park Electrochemical.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Park Electrochemical has appointed Jane Chee to the position of director of sales, Asia Pacific. Chee will supervise sales efforts in the Asia Pacific region, and will report to Tony DiGaudio, the vice president of sales. Prior to joining...

Hydraulic Institute.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Thomas E. Ferguson, a vice president of Flowserve Corp. and president of Flowserve Pumps, has been elected president of the Hydraulic Institute for 2006-2007. He will also serve as a member of the board of directors. Ferguson has more than 24...

Aspocomp.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Aspocomp has named Tapio Engstrom to the position of CFO and Deputy to the CEO, effective July 1. He is currently the director of finance at Vaisala Corp. His previous experience includes management positions in finance for Andritz Oy and Asko...

Anaheim, CA-based Thermalworks Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with NorthTexas Circuit Board of Grand Prairie, TX.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Anaheim, CA-based Thermalworks Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with North Texas Circuit Board of Grand Prairie, TX. This agreement allows North Texas Printed Circuit Board to fabricate PCBs using Thermalworks' STABLCOR line of...

Innovative Circuits.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Innovative Circuits has achieved certification to MIL-PRF-55110 for both epoxy and polyimide PCB construction. The company is also in the process of building the required samples for MIL-P-50884 and plans to have the certification completed in...

Visiprise has entered into an agreement with AT&S Austria to implement Visiprise Manufacturing software at its Austrian plant.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Visiprise has entered into an agreement with AT&S Austria to implement Visiprise Manufacturing software at its Austrian plant. Following this implementation, AT&S will introduce Visiprise in its manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and India.

Sierra Proto Express has purchased the Direct Logix Control Center XP.(FACES)
June 1, 2006... Sierra Proto Express has purchased the Direct Logix Control Center XP automated product planning system for PCB manufacturing.

The little things will get you: paying attention to minor issues can keep them from becoming major problems.(ROI)
June 1, 2006... IT'S AMAZING THE difference that a couple of years can make. When you listen to the chatter of colleagues it is clear that our industry has come a long way from the recession of a couple years ago. We are not experiencing anything like the...

One month to go: are we ready? Key questions about true costs, reliability and enforcement remain unanswered as the July deadline approaches.(COUNTDOWN TO LEAD-FREE)
June 1, 2006... THE ROHS DIRECTIVE goes into effect in the EU next month, and the big question is, are we ready? Since January 2003, when the directive was passed, the industry has worked feverishly to prepare for its requirements, with a particular focus on...

A sneaky noise path: one inch can make a difference.(NO MYTHS ALLOWED)
June 1, 2006... YOUR BOARD IS almost routed. You were careful to get all the important fast traces on dual stripline. You had to cut the design rules really close, but you think everything will be OK. Instead of keeping the spacing between lines on the same...

Timing analysis principles for digital PCBs, Part 2: a look at common-clock bus timing concepts.(INTERCONNECT STRATEGIES)
June 1, 2006... WE DISCUSSED TIMING analysis principles in Part 1 of this column (See Interconnect Strategies, April 2006 PCD&M). The central focus of Part 2 will be the common-clock timing scheme. In this approach (FIGURE 6), the bus driver and receiver ICs...

Virtual RF: PCB prototypes: gone are the days when designers had to jury-rig layout tools to do RF designs. Now, even virtual RF prototypes are simple, if you know a few tricks.(PROTOTYPING)
June 1, 2006... RF and microwave PCB design is becoming evermore complex, driven largely by the need for higher levels of circuit integration. It is not unusual to find analog and digital circuitry coexisting on the PCB together with traditional RF/microwave...

Capitalizing on constraints: with complex board designs, constraints represent both the boundary and the finish line.(DESIGN CONSTRAINTS)
June 1, 2006... Board-level design has undergone a revolution of sorts over the last several years. While once a net was a net, now the design of the signal propagation paths has become the essence of the design. Much of the detailed logic has been consumed...

Learning from microvia failure in lead-free assembly: a trio of companies studied a set of microvias that failed during lead-free assembly.(HDI)(Cover story)
June 1, 2006... Traditionally microvias have been considered to be the most reliable interconnect structure within a PCB. But with the advent of lead-flee assembly, the vulnerability of high-density interconnects to failure has increased. This is due to the...

Buried capacitor analysis: the use of blind microvias--and multiples of vias--can help reduce the discharge time of sheet capacitors.(BURIED CAPACITANCE)
June 1, 2006... Buried sheet capacitance has been used for some time in sophisticated PCB designs. The ZBC 2000, whose patent is owned by Sanmina Corp., is a familiar example. Conceptually, this product consists of one or more inner layers with a .002" FR-4...

Manage your data, manage your profits: with library and design data often located in separate systems, integration can save you time and money.(GUEST COLUMNIST)
June 1, 2006... CONTRARY TO THE cliche, it's anything but business as usual for today's PCB systems designers and manufacturers. Short design cycles, slim profit margins and globalization have redefined the industry. Most businesses focus on what they do...

The consumer electronics survival game: as prices drop each year, what's a consumer OEM to do?(THE FLEX MARKET)
June 1, 2006... SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, THE Korean consumer electronics giant, posted quarterly revenue of 13.96 trillion won (about U.S. $15 billion), representing 1% growth compared to the first quarter of 2005. But income declined 25% to 1.61 trillion won. The...

CCFL inverter.(off the SHELF)
June 1, 2006... The S Series DC-AC inverter can reportedly handle up to 5 watts of output power and is available in standard 5 V and 12 V designs. The SE Series DC-AC inverter is vacuum encapsulated to provide maximum reliability and resistance to shock,...

High-density connectors.(off the SHELF)
June 1, 2006... The high-density PowerMod connector family, offered in 3 to 30 circuits, is available for straight PCB, right-angle PCB, panel or cable mountings. The system is rated for 30 amps and has mechanical polarized UL94V-O housings for proper circuit...

POL converters.(off the SHELF)
June 1, 2006... The Senpai Series of non-isolated point of load converters are designed for intermediate bus architecture and distributed power architecture applications that require high efficiency, tight regulation and high reliability in elevated...

Design software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2006... The latest version of the Altium Designer Viewer Edition reportedly enables users to quickly view, print, cross-probe and explore design projects created in Altium Designer. The license reportedly boosts engineering design team productivity and...

Depaneling system.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2006... The MicroLine 350Ci will reportedly cut arbitrary shapes without any mechanical impact on the circuit, while leaving no residual dust or debris, Designers are said to be able to place components closer to the edge of the board or to utilize...

High-speed cables.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2006... Momentum coax cables with 38-pin MICTOR connectors reportedly allow designers easy access and probing capability for individual and hard to reach signals in high-speed electronic designs. Available in lengths of 6, 9, 12 or 18 inches, and are...

Halogen-free laminating resin.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2006... Azyral one- and two-component laminating systems are said to withstand exposure to extremely tough operating conditions. The halogen-free Azyral XU8282-1 resin is RoHS compliant and suitable for use with lead-free soldering operations. Both...

RoHS-compliant inductors.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2006... The Coiltronics SD3112, 3114 and 3118 series of low profile, RoHS compliant inductors is said to make cell phones, digital cameras and PDAs thinner and lighter. Additional applications include LED driver and flash circuits, hard disk drives,...

Pressure foot.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2006... The Pneumatic Pressure Foot reportedly allows for precision adjustments of depth of cut for your microwave, RF or high-speed design; provides pneumatic air cushion for minima contact during milling; and fits on any current or new QC 5000, QC...

Job searching has changed: the verdict is in: networking alone won't cut it anymore.(CAREER CARE)
June 1, 2006... FOR DECADES THE job-hunting consultants and gurus told us that the way to find a job was to network, network, network. But that paradigm has changed, and those who rely solely on networking will be at a disadvantage. Some people are slow...