Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from May 2007

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from May 2007

Getting a 'designer' education.(OUR LINE)
May 1, 2007... EVERY year, UP Media Group and Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture host two technical conferences and trade shows. PCB Design Conference West, now in its 16th year, and PCB Design Conference East (2007 will be its 12th year) have been for...

Semis sink.(MARKET WATCH)
May 1, 2007... SEMIS SINK Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE DEC. JAN. (r) Computers/electronics products -6.7 ...

March inventories, orders down.(MARKET WATCH)
May 1, 2007... TEMPE, AZ -- Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in March for the second consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 65th consecutive month, says ISM (ism.ws). Indices for new orders and production advanced, and...

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
May 1, 2007... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. OCT. NOV. DEC. Semiconductor equipment (1) 0.94 0.96 1.01 Semiconductors (2) 9.8% ...

Printable electronics pushes $2b.(MARKET WATCH)
May 1, 2007... SURREY, UK -- The market for printable electronics subassemblies and components will top $1.7 billion this year, according to BPA Consulting (bpaconsulting.com) estimates. However, growth depends on improvements in materials and printing...

Electronics gear demand slowing, will rebound in '08.(MARKET WATCH)
May 1, 2007... LOS ALTOS, CA -- Changes in corporate PC purchasing is slowing electronics equipment growth, which will slip this year but recover in 2008, says Henderson Ventures (hendersonventures.com) in his latest newsletter. "Corporations no longer feel...

IP cameras looking good.(MARKET WATCH)
May 1, 2007... EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Global video surveillance camera revenue is forecast to grow to more than $9 billion by 2011, a CAGR of 13.2% from 2006, according to iSuppli (isuppli. com). Video surveillance unit shipments will more than double to 65.7...

Mentor Graphics announces winners of its 19th Annual PCB Technology Leadership Awards.(AND THE WINNER IS ...)
May 1, 2007... SANTA CLARA, CA -- Mentor Graphics Corp. announced the winners of its 19th Annual PCB Technology Leadership Awards at a banquet in coordination with PCB Design Conference West. This year the program attracted a record number of submissions from...

IPC releases 2006-2007 International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections.(AROUND THE WORLD)
May 1, 2007... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- IPC, Association Connecting Electronics Industries, has released the "2006-2007 IPC International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections." Published every two years, the IPC Roadmap provides vision and direction...

February 2007 book-to-bill ratios up.(AROUND THE WORLD)
May 1, 2007... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- IPC, Association Connecting Electronics Industries, reported the North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for February 2007 climbed to 0.96 while the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio increased to...

UP Media Group announces major changes for the 2008 PCB design conferences.(Change Up)
May 1, 2007... SANTA CLARA, CA -- UP Media Group Inc. (UPMG) has announced that major changes are planned for its 2008 PCB Design Conferences, starting with the biggest news: a seasonal switch in schedule for PCB Design Conference East and PCB Design...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
May 1, 2007... MAY 1-3 SMTA Medical Electronics Symposium Minneapolis; MN Contact: Melissa Serres, melissa@smta.org 8-9 IPC International Conference on Lead-Free Materials and Surface Finishes ...

Global Innovation Corp.(FACES)
May 1, 2007... Global Innovation Corp. has named Douglas McBride as vice president and director of Technology. Most recently, McBride was the general manager for Atlan Dyess, a distributor of materials and equipment to the printed circuit fabrication and...

Celestica Inc.(FACES)
May 1, 2007... Celestica Inc. has appointed Tony Rakoczy to the role of vice president, Global Commodity Management. Previously, Rakoczy was responsible for all aspects of Greater Asia Regional Procurement for Eastman Kodak Company in Shanghai, China. Prior...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc.(FACES)
May 1, 2007... Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc. appointed Robert Whitehouse as director of Engineering. With 25 years experience in the printed circuit board and substrate fabrication industries, Whitehouse has held senior engineering management...

Merix Corp.(FACES)
May 1, 2007... Merix Corp. reported that Michael D. Burger accepted the company's offer to become president, CEO and a member of the board of directors. Burger was previously president of the Components Business Unit of Flextronics Corp. He holds an...

Freedom CAD Services Inc.(FACES)
May 1, 2007... Freedom CAD Services Inc. announced that Dean Foster has joined the company as the director of Western Operations. Foster has held numerous design management and senior roles in wireless, enterprise and consumer product divisions during 16...

Aspocomp Group Oyj entered into an agreement with the group's Taiwanese partner Chin-Poon Holdings to acquire its 49% minority interest in ACP Electronics Ltd., the Suzhou, China based joint venture of the two companies.(IT'S A DEAL)
May 1, 2007... Aspocomp Group Oyj entered into an agreement with the group's Taiwanese partner Chin-Poon Holdings to acquire its 49% minority interest in ACP Electronics Ltd., the Suzhou, China based joint venture of the two companies. The net purchase price...

Intercept Technology Inc. and DesignAdvance Systems Inc. created a partnership to integrate Intercept Technology's PCB layout software, Pantheon, with DesignAdvance's PCB placement design and automation technology, CircuitSpace.(IT'S A DEAL)
May 1, 2007... Intercept Technology Inc. and DesignAdvance Systems Inc. created a partnership to integrate Intercept Technology's PCB layout software, Pantheon, with DesignAdvance's PCB placement design and automation technology, CircuitSpace. The integration...

Cimmetry Systems and LDSI signed a new independent software vendor agreement where LDSI will embed AutoVue Office, Web Edition, viewing and annotation capabilities into its web-based document management and e-discovery solutions.(IT'S A DEAL)
May 1, 2007... Cimmetry Systems and LDSI signed a new independent software vendor agreement where LDSI will embed AutoVue Office, Web Edition, viewing and annotation capabilities into its web-based document management and e-discovery solutions. With AutoVue...

Sierra Proto Express and CadParts & Consulting formed a strategic alliance to sell a complete PCB design.(IT'S A DEAL)
May 1, 2007... Sierra Proto Express and CadParts & Consulting formed a strategic alliance to sell a complete PCB design, fabrication and assembly solution from a single source.

DEK named Scanditron as its exclusive distributor for key markets in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.(IT'S A DEAL)
May 1, 2007... DEK named Scanditron as its exclusive distributor for key markets in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The new agreement will reportedly enhance service support for customers in these areas.

Breaking old habits: reduce waste and work towards profitable collaborations that improve your success.(ROI)
May 1, 2007... EVERYONE KNOWS THAT designers are all a bunch of wing nuts, fabricators are all bucket shops, OEMs are simply traitors and assemblers are all out to take advantage of everyone! Do I have your attention? As untrue those stereotypes are,...

10+ Gb/second signal considerations: improving layout technique and focusing on physical layer structure can optimize signal integrity.(HIGH-SPEED DESIGN)
May 1, 2007... With today's high-speed chipsets transmitting data above 10+Gb/s, and rise times going below 30 ps, even small parasitic inductances and capacitances can degrade a signal and introduce noise. Occasionally, PCB layout is regarded as one of the...

Software simulation tools for EMC control of high-speed signals: using multiple simulation techniques and tools improves modeling validity.(SIMULATION TOOLS)
May 1, 2007... The recent explosion of many high-speed nets on PCBs has created a significant challenge for the design engineer to meet the requirements of the commercial standards as well as the specialized requirements for industries like medical,...

The impact of innerlayer copper foil roughness on signal integrity: smooth copper minimizes signal attenuation at high frequencies but it can negatively impact product reliability by reducing innerlayer bond strength.(INNERLAYER COPPER CONSIDERATIONS)
May 1, 2007... One of the great things about the electronics industry is that there is constant and sometimes rapid change across many aspects of the business. The changes I am referring to generally fall into two categories: cost driven changes and...

Oxide replacement for high temperature applications: increased high temperature stability enhances adhesion in RoHS compliant laminate materials.(INNERLAYER BONDING)
May 1, 2007... The industry requirement to meet the demands of lead-free applications has challenged many areas of PCB fabrication and design. This has incited a rapid influx of new and improved dielectric materials that must remain effectively bonded to the...

Can R&D consortia increase the PCB industry's innovation output? Collaborative research provides an economical avenue that fosters process innovation and new product development channels.(INDUSTRY CONSORTIA)
May 1, 2007... Collaborative research offers attractive potential for companies. In theory, it is a way to share and reduce the costs, risks and uncertainties of R&D. It can help eliminate duplication of efforts and leverage research dollars. In some cases,...

Moving forward, moving up? Situated in a new location, CPCA again impresses. But SEMI warns of the threat to China's growth.(CPCA RECAP)
May 1, 2007... The resonant message voiced the week of the annual CPCA Show came, curiously enough, from the head of a co-located trade show. Noting that China offers a profound opportunity for growth (something those of us on the PCB side of the equation...

PCB production in January 2007: revenues post double digit growth.(THE FLEX MARKET)
May 1, 2007... JANUARY'S PCB PRODUCTION data was released by The Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry (METI) recently. Below is a synopsis of the report: January PCB revenue posted a 5.1% or 79.61 billion yen decline compared to the previous month....

Dispense valve.(off the SHELF)
May 1, 2007... The 775 dispense valve is used to deposit accurate amounts of all flow-able materials. The valve is said to feature precise, easily adjusted control over both the rate the material flows and the amount material that is sucked back at the end of...

Curing oven profiles.(off the SHELF)
May 1, 2007... A new application is available for the C-Sun SMO-7A oven. With the requirement for via fills to be cured at specific temperatures profiles, C-Sun has incorporated new features into their photoimagable curing oven to allow customers to program a...

UV Curing Unit.(off the SHELF)
May 1, 2007... The Accu-Cure UV Curing Unit now comes in a compact unit designed to fit in smaller-than-average footprints, making it especially well suited for lab environments and testing areas, as well as the smaller screen print shop. The conveyor width...

BluePrint for PCBs Version 1.7 is said to deliver customer enhancements as well as general product quality improvements to increase the product's usability, stability and market reach.(DESIGN SOFTWARE)
May 1, 2007... BluePrint for PCBs Version 1.7 is said to deliver customer enhancements as well as general product quality improvements to increase the product's usability, stability and market reach. Version 1.7 includes new functionality and enhancements...

The Technic EBA (Electrochemical Bath Analyzer) is available for all Technic acid copper plating chemistries and reportedly utilizes a combination of AC and DC voltammetry to provide accurate measurement of copper metal, sulfuric acid and organic additive levels.(ELECTROCHEMICAL ANALYZER)
May 1, 2007... The Technic EBA (Electrochemical Bath Analyzer) is available for all Technic acid copper plating chemistries and reportedly utilizes a combination of AC and DC voltammetry to provide accurate measurement of copper metal, sulfuric acid and...

[E.sup.3].series 2007 is said to have advancements relating to 3rd party integration and increased ease of use and productivity.(DESIGN SOFTWARE)
May 1, 2007... [E.sup.3].series 2007 is said to have advancements relating to 3rd party integration and increased ease of use and productivity. Reportedly includes enhancements to the certified SAP interface, along with support of 3D-MCAD data in STEP...

Keratherm 86/77 provides electrically conductive bonding sites on a flexible, thermally conductive material that can be attached to non-linear, heat spreading structures.(FLEXIBLE THERMAL CIRCUIT)
May 1, 2007... Keratherm 86/77 provides electrically conductive bonding sites on a flexible, thermally conductive material that can be attached to non-linear, heat spreading structures. Is a flexible thermal circuit that consists of a thin layer of etchable...

Product support for the ARM Cortex-M1 processor is available.(INDUSTRY-STANDARD PROCESSOR)
May 1, 2007... Product support for the ARM Cortex-M1 processor is available. The ARM Cortex-M1 processor reportedly extends the range of the ARM Cortex family and enables OEMs to standardize around a common architecture across the performance spectrum....

Altium Designer 6's intelligent interactive routing system has been enhanced with a new interactive length-tuning tool for high-speed designs.(DESIGN SOFTWARE)
May 1, 2007... Altium Designer 6's intelligent interactive routing system has been enhanced with a new interactive length-tuning tool for high-speed designs. It reportedly allows designers to quickly optimize and control net lengths by inserting "accordion"...

Understanding differential pairs and differential signals: just don't think "differential mode." It will help keep differential signals separate from odd mode impedance, eliminating the confusion.(THE SIGNAL DOCTOR)
May 1, 2007... QUESTION FROM KELLY in Boston: I'm confused about differential signals. When the signal in the two channels is a 0 to 1 V signal in one and a 1 V to 0 signal in the other, everyone calls this a differential signal. Then, when it goes down a...