Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from June 2007

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from June 2007

Let the sunshine in.(OUR LINE)
June 1, 2007... AS WE ENTER summer 2007 the European Union's initiatives for eco-design of energy using products, known as the EuP directive, is about to come online. The European Union member states have until August 11, 2007 to adapt the two-year-old EU...

Search and navigate.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2007... SEARCH AND NAVIGATE Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE JAN. FEB. (r) MAR. * YTD ...

New orders & production surge, inventory reduces.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in April for the third straight month, while the overall economy grew for the 66th consecutive month, says ISM (ism.ws). The PMI index surged nearly four points, to 54.7%, well above the 50%...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2007... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.96 1.01 1.04 0.98 1.00 (p) Semiconductors...

Reports: electronics equipment market slowing.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2007... LOS ALTOS, CA -- World equipment production demand will slow somewhat this year, rising 6.8% after a 9.1% advance in 2006, according to Henderson Ventures' (hendersonventures.com) April forecast. The research firm predicts growth of 7.9% and...

PMP market set for boom as CE growth slows.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- While growth in the overall consumer electronics equipment and related semiconductor markets is slowing, iSuppli Corp. (isuppli.com) analysts say there is hope for more profitability for MP3 players. OEM factory revenue...

iSuppli lowers 2007 semi forecast.(MARKET WATCH)
June 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Global semiconductor revenue will rise to $281.4 billion in 2007, up 8.1% from $260.2 billion in 2006, according to a revised iSuppli forecast, iSuppli (isuppli.com) previously predicted 10.6% growth for 2007. A slowdown...

EDA Consortium reports 15% industry revenue growth for 2006.(MAKE A MARK)
June 1, 2007... SAN JOSE -- The EDA Consortium's Market Statistics Service (MSS) reported that the EDA industry revenue for Q4 of 2006 was $1,493 million, a 19% increase over Q4 2005. For the full year 2006, revenue totaled a record $5,274 million, which was...

IPC March book-to-bill ratios increase.(AROUND THE WORLD)
June 1, 2007... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- IPC, Association Connecting Electronics Industries, reported the North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for March 2007 moved up to 0.99 and the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio jumped up to...

Zuken gives free license of CR-5000 lightning to University of Missouri Rolla.(Smart Support)
June 1, 2007... MUNICH, GERMANY AND WESTFORD, MA -- Zuken is offering free use of CR-5000 Lightning Scenario to students enrolled in the Signal Integrity for High-Speed Digital Design course at the University of Missouri Rolla. The signal integrity design...

iNEMI members call for unique part numbers for ball metallurgies on lead-free components.(BE UNIQUE)
June 1, 2007... HERNDON, VA -- The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) reported that a majority of its OEM and EMS members strongly support unique part numbers for BGA components to differentiate any lead-flee ball metallurgies other...

German design center opens.(BE UNIQUE)
June 1, 2007... SANTA BARBARA, CA -- Design Solutions Inc. (DSI) has opened a new design center in Munich, Germany, Design Solutions GmbH. The facility provides engineering, design, simulation and prototype manufacturing services to the electronics industry....

AeA: 150,000 new U.S. jobs in 2006.(BE UNIQUE)
June 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, DC -- AeA has released Cyberstates 2007: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry. The report shows that in 2006, the high-tech industry continued growing in the U.S., adding nearly 150,000 net jobs for a...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)
June 1, 2007... EVENTS JUNE 5/29-6/1 Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC) Reno, NV Contact: ectc.net 5/30-6/1 JPCA Show 2007 Tokyo International Exhibition...

Valor Computerized Systems.(FACES)
June 1, 2007... Valor Computerized Systems appointed DanWeitzman president of its Americas operations. Weitzman has more than 11 years of experience in software sales and management and has been interim president for Valor Americas for the past six months....

Vulcan Electric Co.(FACES)
June 1, 2007... Vulcan Electric Co. named Al Wasserzug as business development manager of its Flex Circuit Division where he will identify and develop new business opportunities consistent with the company's growth strategy. Wasserzug has over 30 years of...

Epec LLC.(FACES)
June 1, 2007... Epec LLC appointed John Stabers as executive vice president of Sales and Dan O'Hara as quality director. Stabers' most recent position was as SVP--Business Development for Sanmina SCI's PCB division. Before joining Epec, O'Hara was the quality...

Titan Global Holdings Inc.(FACES)
June 1, 2007... Titan Global Holdings Inc. hired 20-year veteran Mike Berg as vice president of Operation to lead the company's PCB division. Berg began his career in the PCB industry immediately after graduating from Northeastern University in 1987.

FocalSpot Inc.(FACES)
June 1, 2007... FocalSpot Inc. appointed Charles Wells to the position of Inside Sales and Support manager. Wells brings more than three years of electro/mechanical x-ray product installation and service experience and a background in sales, training and...

Global Innovation Corp.(FACES)
June 1, 2007... Global Innovation Corp. named Kevin Devine as vice president of Sales and Marketing. Devine was previously Technical Service manager for Polyclad Laminates Inc. Before that he spent 12 years in sales and technical support functions with a...

Sierra Proto Express announced the acquisition of PC Boards Inc. "PC Boards has everything we need to actualize our future growth plans," said Ken Bahl, president of Sierra Proto Express.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2007... Sierra Proto Express announced the acquisition of PC Boards Inc. "PC Boards has everything we need to actualize our future growth plans," said Ken Bahl, president of Sierra Proto Express. "They represent a perfect complement to what we do in...

Rambus Inc. and TES Electronic Solutions announced a joint marketing agreement to deliver comprehensive and synergistic design solutions.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2007... Rambus Inc. and TES Electronic Solutions announced a joint marketing agreement to deliver comprehensive and synergistic design solutions. The partnership expands the customer support for Rambus intellectual property through TES' network of...

Matrix USA Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with Allen Woods & Associates Inc.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2007... Matrix USA Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with Allen Woods & Associates Inc. Allen Woods is now the exclusive marketing and sales partner for all Matrix Products, including Panasonic high performance laminates.

DfR Solutions and Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd. have formed a collaboration to develop analytical research into the advantages and limitations of current and future technology in printed board design and fabrication.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2007... DfR Solutions and Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd. have formed a collaboration to develop analytical research into the advantages and limitations of current and future technology in printed board design and fabrication. The agreement calls for a...

Agilent Technologies Inc. announced a strategic partnership with Mentor Graphics Corp., licensing to Agilent certain products in the Mentor Graphics Volcano product line.(IT'S A DEAL)
June 1, 2007... Agilent Technologies Inc. announced a strategic partnership with Mentor Graphics Corp., licensing to Agilent certain products in the Mentor Graphics Volcano product line. The Agilent LIN Tester, derived from Mentor's Volcano LIN Spector...

Coaching a championship team: success comes when management invests in people.(ROI)
June 1, 2007... THIS TIME OF year is a favorite for me as the spring sports season is underway. It's interesting how sometimes sports are anything but. On the one hand, I watch my kids play in a variety of leagues where they are being taught skills,...

Signal quality assessment: techniques for recognizing and minimizing signal integrity degradation.(INTERCONNECT STRATEGIES)
June 1, 2007... SIGNAL INTEGRITY ANALYSES frequently involve evaluation of timing margins (1) and signal quality, which relates to waveform shapes (2). For low capacitance circuits (fast terminated nets, for example) a digital signal's shape is...

Adhesion of electroless copper to flexible circuit materials: total success is not achievable without a low stress electroless copper deposit.(POSITIVE PLATING)
June 1, 2007... WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH in the foreseeable future, flexible printed circuits (FPC), have found a tremendous niche as an enabler for various electronic applications. This trend is expected to drive the need to increase productivity while...

CAD systems for flex circuit design: when it comes to designing for flex, some tools are more adaptable.(FLEX DESIGN)
June 1, 2007... Traditional PCB design tools are not easy to use for designing flex circuitry--and not just because they try to draw everything at 45[degrees] angles. So how do flex designers make these tools work? The better question is, what tools do flex...

Critical requirements for next generation modeling and simulation tools: the pressure to reduce design cycle time and minimize testing and validation necessitates improved mechanical and reliability modeling and electrical and thermal simulation tools.(iNEMI)
June 1, 2007... The electronics industry faces constant pressure to reduce design and process cycle times as well as costs, despite the fact that products are becoming more complex. In this environment, modeling and simulation offer considerable advantages to...

The don'ts of better flexible circuit design and manufacture: successful designs are soon forgotten but failures are remembered for years. Steering clear of these twelve don'ts will improve the robustness of your designs.(FLEX DESIGN)(Cover story)
June 1, 2007... It dawned on me recently that many flexible circuit designs are successful because of what designers don't do in their designs rather than what they do include in their designs. In the life of a flex circuit designer, many successful...

Humidity-dependent loss IN PCB substrates: the in-use environment needs to be part of the model during system design and validation.(LAMINATE PERFORMANCE)
June 1, 2007... Moisture in electronics has been and continues to be a significant concern for system reliability due to its impact on mechanical stresses during thermal cycles, ability to alter adhesion properties, and its corrosive nature when mixed with...

Fully automated PCB test: in-line automated loading and unloading allows low-volume, high-mix product testing to continue around the clock.(AUTOMATED TESTING)
June 1, 2007... The changes in manufacturing processes and economics in many different companies, and the short times needed to go from design to the manufacturing of the end product, increasingly justify the use of automation to achieve the levels of...

Vertical integration--the old model still proves a successful strategy: economies of scale, cost reduction, product differentiation and supply chain control are key drivers for vertical integration strategies.(FROM THE FIELD)(Company overview)
June 1, 2007... Vertical integration became a well-known way to structure businesses in the post-war 1950s. Many value chain systems were adapted to suit a variety of industries. Most often supply chain control followed forward integration. In the post-war...

C[O.sub.2] lasers.(off the SHELF)
June 1, 2007... The Diamond C series of low-power, continuous-wave C[O.sub.2] lasers consist of sealed lasers with output powers of 30, 40, 55 and 70 watts at 10.6 pm. Reportedly offer good amplitude stability ([+ or -] 5% for air-cooled models and [+ or -] 3%...

UV diaphragm valve.(off the SHELF)
June 1, 2007... The model DV509-UV-LF diaphragm action valve was designed for UV resins. Its valve is high cycling, rated at 200 cycles a minute, and the lightweight compact design is said to be ideal for automated systems. A diaphragm seal is attached to a...

Micro-air dispensing system.(off the SHELF)
June 1, 2007... The DX-250 Series of high performance digital dispenser/controllers have an operating pressure of 0 to 100 Psi, (0 to 6.9bar), making it configured for general dispensing applications. Features a digital timer and adjustable vacuum for...

Database solution.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2007... [E.sup.3].e-PLM is a Windows-based database solution for harmonizing sub-schematics, modules or blocks for product lifecycle management. It is said to simplify procurement, allowing users to generate complete project order data with one mouse...

Design software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2007... CAM350 Release 9.5 is the latest version of DownStream's solution for verification and optimization of PCBs. New functionality and enhancements include: AutoImport templates--allow users to predefine how Gerber files are viewed, PADS layout...

3D full-wave modeling.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2007... Simbeor 2007 is said to allow system designers to accurately generate transmission lines and via hole models for data rates of 100Gbs and faster in minutes. It is a fully integrated graphical simulation environment with built-in 3D full-wave...

Prototype laser.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2007... ProtoLaser 200 is a laser system for prototyping and on-demand production of PCBs. This fully enclosed laser-based system works directly off of CAD data to produce circuits on materials including ceramic and PTFE-based substrates. The...

X-ray inspection system.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2007... The Verifier Plus X-Ray Inspection System was designed to provide high-quality imaging and inspection capabilities at a low price. Although considered a mid-entry point system, it offers imaging/diagnostic abilities that reportedly rival many...

XRF analyzer with camera.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
June 1, 2007... The Handheld Laser-Focus Camera System for small-spot testing captures a digital picture and test results for compliance RoHS screening tests in an XRF Analyzer. It isolates test areas by placing a test spot down to 3 mm diameter and displaying...

Return and insertion loss for dummies: return and insertion loss are frequency domain concepts that are quickly becoming mainstream terms in the high-speed digital world.(THE SIGNAL DOCTOR)
June 1, 2007... TWENTY YEARS AGO, in the good old days of 20 MHz clocks, interconnects were transparent and only the "bleeding edge" users insisted on controlled impedance boards. Now, everyone needs controlled impedance boards, whether they specify them or...