Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture articles from October 2006

Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture archives from October 2006

Elementary critical mass.(OUR LINE)
October 1, 2006... IT'S the back to school daze. If you are a parent or perhaps taking classes yourself, you find that your schedules are set and we're well on our way into the 2006-07 academic year. This year I received a rather remarkable parents' note from my...

Hot for PCs.(MARKET WATCH)
October 1, 2006... HOT FOR PCs Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only). % CHANGE MAY JUNE[R] JULY * YTD Computers/electronics 1.6 ...

New orders downtick yet remain solid.(MARKET WATCH)
October 1, 2006... TEMPE, AZ -- New orders and production at North American manufacturers were off slightly in August, reported the Institute for Supply Management (ism.ws). In its monthly survey of manufacturing executives, ISM found that the PMI indicator...

2007: turning point for IC sales?(MARKET WATCH)
October 1, 2006... SAN JOSE -- A top forecaster of the turning points in the IC industry is predicting a mild slowdown in semiconductor sales in mid 2007. Speaking at an industry forum in August Moshe Handelsman, founder of Advanced Forecasting Inc....

Automotive telematics to see 25% CAGR to 2011.(MARKET WATCH)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- Automotive telematics and navigation--including hardware and services--will experience strong growth in several world regions, generating total revenues of $38.3 billion in 2011, according to a new study by ABI Research...

Consumer electronics sales staying strong in '06.(MARKET WATCH)
October 1, 2006... ARLINGTON, VA -- Sales of factory-to-dealer consumer electronics will reach $140 billion in 2006, up 8% over 2005, the Consumer Electronics Association (ce.org) forecasts. That's on top of 11% growth in 2005, the trade group said.

Industry market snapshot.(MARKET WATCH)
October 1, 2006... INDUSTRY MARKET SNAPSHOT Book-to-bills of various components/equipment. MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY Semiconductor equipment (1) 1.03 1.11 1.11 1.14 1.06 Semiconductors (2)...

Six RoHS exemptions added.(MAY I BE EXCUSED?)
October 1, 2006... BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -- The European Union's Technical Adaption Committee (TAC) voted to approve six new RoHS exemptions. Three main requirements must apply for a banned substance to be exempted in an application: technical or scientific...

Mentor to set up R&D center in Taiwan.(TAIWAN OR BUST)
October 1, 2006... WILSONVILLE, OR -- Mentor Graphics Corp. is setting up an R&D center in Taiwan due to the country's importance in the Asia-Pacific region and its proximity to China, according to Johnny Chang, Mentor's marketing director for the Pacific Rim....

PCB design survey finds conflict between thermal, SI/EMC.(Check yes or no)
October 1, 2006... MARLBOROUGH, MA -- A survey conducted by Flomerics Inc. found that electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and signal integrity (SI) design requirements for PCB design are frequently conflict according to the majority of respondents. The...

GSPK circuits services to include test.(TESTING, TESTING)
October 1, 2006... KNARESBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND -- GSPK Circuits Ltd. has recently purchased test equipment from Mania. The test facility, previously supplying subcontract work to GSPK companies, will now provide direct support and test...

Notebook PCB makers report strong profits.(AROUND THE WORLD)
October 1, 2006... TAIPEI, TAIWAN -- Notebook-use PCB makers HannStar Board and Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE) have reported strong profits for the first half of 2006, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN). HannStar Board, which has 25%...

Handset-use PCB demand picking up.(Can you hear me now?)
October 1, 2006... TAIPEI, TAIWAN--Taiwan PCB makers are seeing demand again from handset customers and now expect shipment of handset PCBs to stay flat or grow by a mild 5% in the third quarter, according to sources at the makers. In a news article, the...

IPC publishes updated world PCB production and laminate market report.(IT'S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD)
October 1, 2006... BANNOCKBURN, IL -- Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) recently issued its World PCB Production and Laminate Report for 2005. Based on available data, the report presents estimates of PCB production and laminate market by...

Events.(HAPPENINGS)(Calendar)
October 1, 2006... OCTOBER 8-12 IMAPS 2006 San Diego, CA Contact www.imaps2006.org 9-11 3rd ISMI Symposium on Manufacturing Effectiveness Austin, TX Contact:...

Valor Computerized Systems.(FACES)
October 1, 2006... Valor Computerized Systems has appointed Dan Weitzman as vice president of sales, North America, and Howard Rupprecht (pictured) as director of marketing, U.S. division. Prior to joining Valor seven years ago, Weitzman worked at VeriBest Inc....

DesignAdvance Systems Inc.(FACES)
October 1, 2006... DesignAdvance Systems Inc. has appointed Edward Pupa as its new CEO. He succeeds co-founder and former CEO, Randy Eager, who remains a member of the board of directors and will continue to assist in an advisory role. Pupa has over 25 years of...

PalPilot.(FACES)
October 1, 2006... PalPilot has appointed Marc (Deac) Descoteaux as director of Business Development for its new East Coast office. Descoteaux has been involved in the PCB industry for over 25 years, working with Tek-Art, Automated Systems and KAW. In his new...

Taiyo America has appointed Umicore Galvanotechnik GmbH as its distributor in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, U.K., Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... Taiyo America has appointed Umicore Galvanotechnik GmbH as its distributor in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, U.K., Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Taiyo will continue to be distributed by Schneidler Electronik AB...

DoverTechnologies, a subsidiary of Dover Corp., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Markem Corp.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... DoverTechnologies, a subsidiary of Dover Corp., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Markem Corp. Markem will report to DoverTechnologies and operate as an independent company in conjunction with DTI's Product Identification Group,...

DDi. Corp. signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire the outstanding stock of Sovereign Circuits Inc. for approximately $14.8 million.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... DDi. Corp. signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire the outstanding stock of Sovereign Circuits Inc. for approximately $14.8 million, expected to be paid with a combination of cash (not to exceed $5.7 million) and shares of DDi common...

Agilent Technologies Inc. has acquired privately held EDA vendor Xpedion Design Systems, a provider of RF design tools.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... Agilent Technologies Inc. has acquired privately held EDA vendor Xpedion Design Systems, a provider of RF design tools. By adding Xpedion's products to its porLfolio, Agilent says it will increase its emphasis on design verification and...

D. B. Management Group, a PCB industry sales and marketing consulting company has announced an alliance with Robbins Consulting.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... D. B. Management Group, a PCB industry sales and marketing consulting company has announced an alliance with Robbins Consulting, a new sales and marketing consulting firm recently started by industry veteran Keith Robbins formerly of...

Rogers Corp. and Thermal Transfer Composites LLC have entered into a partnership focusing on business and technology developments of metal matrix composite (MMC) products for electronic thermal management applications.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... Rogers Corp. and Thermal Transfer Composites LLC have entered into a partnership focusing on business and technology developments of metal matrix composite (MMC) products for electronic thermal management applications. Under the new...

TransEDA Systems Ltd. has been acquired by information technology entrepreneur Stephen Scholefield.(IT'S A DEAL)
October 1, 2006... TransEDA Systems Ltd. has been acquired by information technology entrepreneur Stephen Scholefield. Development and support of the company's main products from the verification navigator and assertain product lines will be handled by a new...

Stuff happens: focus on critical resources is elemental.(ROI)
October 1, 2006... I THINK EVERYONE would agree that the three most important areas to spend your time, the most precious of all resources, is with customers, employees and suppliers. Some might disagree on the exact priority that each deserves within their top...

Electrical interconnect modeling using R, L and C components: RLC modeling has fundamental importance.(INTERCONNECT STRATEGIES)
October 1, 2006... CREATING EQUIVALENT ELECTRICAL models for PCB interconnects utilizing ideal resistors, inductors and capacitors is important for both time and frequency domain analyses. FIGURE 1 presents equivalent circuits for transmission lines, vias,...

The impact of RoHS on complex PCBs: lead-free assembly puts a higher demand on complex PCBs.(LEAD-FREE PROCESS GUIDE)
October 1, 2006... The transition to lead-free wave soldering has brought with it many challenges. As with any new manufacturing technology entering a production environment, many of the associated challenges have been anticipated and prepared for in advance....

Next paradigm shift: personal mobile phones: a case study in electronics miniaturization.(DESIGN FOR MINIATURIZATION)
October 1, 2006... Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in both the number and functionality of mobile electronics, especially mobile phones. However, mobile phones remain monolithic. Unlike PCs, they cannot be customized at the time of...

Guide to rigid-flex design: designers with flexible thinking improve yields and reduce costs.(FLEXIBLE DESIGN)
October 1, 2006... Rigid-flex is not just another ordinary flexible circuit. A combination of flexible and rigid substrates laminated into a single package presents unique challenges and opportunities. Much of what designers have learned about PCB design comes...

RoHS in the hi-rel market: new testing methods offer non-destructive confirmation of component composition.(SMART SCREENING)
October 1, 2006... The words "lead-free" and "RoHS compliant" frighten those responsible for building electronics for industries exempt from current lead-free regulations--aerospace, medical devices, the military, power generation equipment and other long-lived...

Laser processing of flexible circuits: lasers are enabling technology for smaller features and higher density flexible circuits.(FLEXIBLE PROCESSING)
October 1, 2006... The IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries) defines a flex circuit as "a patterned arrangement of printed wiring utilizing a flexible base material with or without flexible cover layers." As the name implies, the final product is...

Exposure tool.(off the SHELF)
October 1, 2006... The UVE M720 manual exposure unit for soldermask imaging uses high output metal halide lamps that reportedly deliver over 60 Mw/cm2 output at the image plane, and dual 24" x 36" exposure frames to ensure high throughput. The UVEM525 high...

Embedded RFID reader modules.(off the SHELF)
October 1, 2006... Sirit's Infinity Series OEM modules are RFID-enabling board-level building blocks designed to be embedded and integrated within OEM devices and products such as handheld/portable data terminals, label printers and cashless payment terminals....

RF/microwave design software.(off the SHELF)
October 1, 2006... Genesys 2006.07 is the latest version of the RF and microwave design software in Agilent's Eagleware product line. Reportedly includes improved modeling for faster solution convergence. Standard eye diagrams help analyze complex RF modulated...

CAD platform.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
October 1, 2006... A new DEK CAD platform reportedly utilizes standardized design rules to maximize the quality of tooling used during high accuracy mass imaging. Enables repeatable and optimized interpretation of PCB data in the production of dedicated custom...

RoHS compliance software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
October 1, 2006... SigmaSure on-demand, web-based software features several modules where the impact of moving to RoHS compliance can be checked, Through its Manufacturing and Test Insight software, it is reported that users can continuously monitor their...

Manufacturing monitor.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
October 1, 2006... The Watch "ur" PCB service allows the progress of boards to be viewed through each manufacturing stage. Customers can log into their personal account and view high-resolution photographic images of their current order. The production monitoring...

Aluminum backed PCB.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
October 1, 2006... AL-Back PCBs are aluminum backed PCBs designed for the thermal conduction of heat away from high power dissipating components. Generated excess heat is said to easily pass through the FR-4 of the board, and then dissipate quickly into the...

Design software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
October 1, 2006... A full version of Ranger2 PCB CAD software is available as a freeware version. All Ranger2 designs and libraries are fully upwards compatible with the current Ranger2 XL and Ranger XL packages. Key features are said to include: eight sheets of...

Optics design software.(OTHERS OF NOTE)
October 1, 2006... OptiBPM 8 is the latest version in Optiwave's waveguide optics design suite. Reportedly contains new mode solvers for circular fibers, powerful optimization engines and an increase in simulation performance. Uses advanced LP and vector mode...

Noise abation: what is the true value of a guard trace?(NO MYTHS ALLOWED)
October 1, 2006... YOUR BOARD IS finally back from the fabricator. You power it on for the first time and find your sensitive LVDS line has 30 mV too much noise, and it's coming from a CMOS level control line running at 3.3V. The noise is only 1% of the control...