CircuiTree articles from April 2005

CircuiTree archives from April 2005

Don't ignore lead-free HASL.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I read [Steve Gold's] February column and see his thoughts still have the ability to evoke passionate responses. There is probably no better way to get an understanding of all sides to an issue. Keep it up. It is a learned trait and the mark if...

Tax China to offset illegal currency advantage.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... There is a simple solution to the illegal trade practices occurring in China. China pegs its yuan (RMB) to the dollar at 8.28:1. According to WTO rules, this practice is illegal since it amounts to "dumping" goods on the U.S. market, and can be...

Flextronics keynote earns high marks, but does its business model?(TheWayWeSeeIt)
April 1, 2005... The mark of a solid speaker is a man who leaves his audience talking long after his speech has ended. Michael Marks, the powerful CEO of Flextronics, did just that at IPC Printed Circuits Expo. And though his tough talk earned high praise from...

Exploring novel via fill and planarization technology.(printed circuit boards design methods)
April 1, 2005... Besides the shrinking of PCB structures, such as the width of Cu conductors, the diameter of drilled holes or the size of SMD pads, one very large space enabler is to integrate the via holes directly into the surface of SMD or BGA pads. This...

Controlling signal integrity the simple way.(FlexibleThinking)(printed circuit boards design,manufacturing)
April 1, 2005... The traditional approaches to designing PCBs are governed by present and past PCB design tools. These tools have served the electronics industry well since their introduction in the 1980s. Designer productivity has improved immeasurably over...

Epec, ECC join forces.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Holden, MA -- Epec LLC acquired ECC. Founded in 1952, Epec is one of the fastest growing PCB companies in North America, providing high-velocity, multilayer, quick-turn prototype through production PCBs. ECC, founded nearly 50 years ago, is a...

Prestwick Circuits gets ISO14001 standard.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Prestwick Circuits received the ISO14001 environmental management standard. The Scottish firm, owned by parent company TT Electronics, has managed to make significant financial savings by reducing and recycling the amount of water used at its...

eXception Group acquires DDi Europe assets.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Tewkesbury, UK -- The directors of eXception Group Ltd. acquired several of the main trading companies within the DDi Europe group for $42.9 million. The companies acquired are DDi Technologies Ltd., DDi Tewkesbury Ltd. and DDi International...

AT & S to use $194 million for expansion in Japan, Russia.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Vienna -- AT & S has earmarked some 150 million euro ($194.8 million) for expansion in Japan and Russia in fiscal 2005 ending 31 March 2006. AT & S wants to open a branch in North America and build a second factory in China, which will probably...

GSPK achieves ISO/TS16949.(Fabrication)(GSPK Circuits Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GSPK Circuits achieved the automotive quality management standard ISO/TS16949 for its manufacturing facilities in Knaresborough. Achieving the standard, issued by BSI Management Systems, required two years of effort.

Titan General Holdings snags major order.(Fabrication)(contracts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Fremont, CA -- Titan General Holdings received a significant new order from HR Textron, an operating unit of Textron Systems. The order calls for the production of over 20,000 units of HR Textron's PCBs at Titan's Amesbury, Massachusetts Tech...

RJR Circuits gets SDB Certified.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Denver, CO -- RJR Circuits, Inc. received SDB Certification from the U.S. Small Business Administration. RJR Circuits, Inc. is only one of six facilities in the U.S. to be MIL-P-55110 and SDB certified.

So you think you have a market strategy?(MarketingMatters)(Computer hardware industry)
April 1, 2005... "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" --T.S. Eliot. Choruses from the Rock "This is the information age." How many times have you heard that? Our ability to...

Lauffer: leading by example.(Lauffer Presses Inc.)(Company Profile)
April 1, 2005... In 2000, a horrendous fire burned down the entire Lauffer production facility in Southern Germany. I recently visited the new plant, which has been open since June 2001, to meet with Uwe Postelmann, and find out about the company's latest...

Rogers introduces two new lines of flex material.(Products)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. introduced two new lines of 2L-FCCL adhesiveless, all-polyimide (API) flexible circuit materials for use in cell phone hinge flex, LCD interconnection, and other applications. Offerings include Rogers R/flex AP 200...

Cimnet systems launches BPO services.(Products)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Downers Grove, IL -- Cimnet launched its suite of specialized Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services, with several pilot customers in North American and Europe. BPO's services include Quote Data Processing (QDP), Pre-CAM, Front-End...

Excellon releases 'Concept 129' CNC Drilling machine.(Products)(Excellon Automation Co.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Torrance, CA -- Excellon released its Concept 129 CNC Drilling machine. Designed with high precision short-run applications in mind, the Concept 129 enables the fabrication of complex multi-layer panels with emphasis on speed, accuracy, and...

Enthone introduces AlphaPREP PC-7030.(Products)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... West Haven, CT -- Enthone Inc. introduced AlphaPREP PC-7030 high performance oxide replacement system. This next generation system produces a highly bondable brown conversion coating on copper inner-layers using horizontal equipment by removing...

3M introduces thinner embedded capacitance material.(Products)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Austin, TX -- 3M developed an improved embedded capacitance material that has a dielectric thickness of 8 microns and a capacitance density over 11 nanofarads per square inch, making it among the thinnest and highest capacitance density...

LPKF introduces its latest generation of PCB plotters.(Products)(LPKF Laser and Electronics AG)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Wilsonville, OR -- LPKF Laser & Electronics released its new ProtoMat[R] S62 PCB plotter. This compact system delivers PCB prototyping capabilities at an entry-level price, reducing board production time while increasing overall accuracy and...

Lloyd Doyle reveals LD 6000 series AOT system.(Products)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Lloyd Doyle released its LD6000 series of AOT systems. Developed from the LD 5000 machines, this latest range boasts new camera designs, faster electronics and new mechanical hardware which combine to bring dramatic improvements in throughput...

CTS Corp.(People)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Elkhart, IN -- CTS Corporation announced that Don R. Schroeder has been named President of CTS Electronics Manufacturing Solutions, a strategic business unit of CTS Corporation. Schroeder, who is an officer of the company, will retain his...

Dielectric Solutions.(People)(appointments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... East Butler, PA -- Dielectric Solutions LLC announces several new management appointments. Patricia Goldman has joined the company as Manager, Technical Service. Gina Hogue has been hired a Manager, Quality Systems. Jeff Montgomery has...

DDi Corp.(People)(appointment of Bruce McMaster at DDi Corp. )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Anaheim, CA -- DDi Corp. announced the resignation of David Blair from the company's board of directors. In addition, CEO Bruce McMaster will take direct responsibility for the company's sales organization. Tom Ingham, the company's Vice...

Samsung Electronics.(People)(appointment of In Soo Kim)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Seoul -- Samsung Electronics appointed In-Soo Kim as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Samsung Electronics Europe. He succeeds Mr. Young Cho Kim, who has returned to Korea and will join Samsung Electronics' advisory board.

Three-Five Systems.(People)(promotion of David A. Prunier )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Tempe, AZ -- Three-Five Systems Inc. promoted David A. Prunier to the newly created post of Vice President, General Manager for the company's Redmond, Washington manufacturing operation.

Rohm and Haas.(People)(Rick J. Mills and George M. Whitesides elected as board of directors)
April 1, 2005... Philadelphia, PA -- Rick J. Mills, Vice President and Group President-Filtrations, Cummins Inc., and George M. Whitesides, Professor of Chemistry, Harvard University, were elected to the Rohm and Haas company Board of Directors. For a list...

Breaking the bottleneck: automating engineering knowledge and expertise; As PCB manufacturers balance design and fabrication responsibilities, the need for a reduction in front-end cycle times has made the pre-production department even more critical. Here's how automated engineering can transform your company into an engineering powerhouse.(printed circuit boards)
April 1, 2005... In the Asia Pacific region, workloads have grown because more high-volume work has been transferred to factories here. In the West, there has been a shift of emphasis towards making smaller, quickturn batches. These trends have increased the...

A plea for help.(Fein-Lines)(Printed circuit boards industry worker's compensation)
April 1, 2005... Help us to help you. Two weeks ago a select cadre of interconnect crusaders descended upon the leading bastion of economic growth obstruction. For three years in a row this fellowship has entered the "Mordor" of job creation and...

Imaging & circuitizing options in PWB fabrication: a focus on photolithography and its equivalent alternatives to contact printing--including inkjetting.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... The title of this article undoubtedly will evoke a mix of expectation and notions. Thus, defining the scope and managing expectations up front may be in order. There are several steps in PWB fabrication that involve image or pattern transfer...

MF2 Mini-Fogger.
April 1, 2005... The compact design of the Spraying Systems Co. Mini-Fogger makes it ideal for humidifying areas with limited space. Typical applications would include board testing and packaging areas. If static electricity is a problem, Mini-Fogger may be...

Tank mixing Eductors.
April 1, 2005... Tank circulation is improved 4-to-1 over conventional inlets with our new Eductors. Providing circulation and agitation keeps chemical solutions uniform and provides better filtration. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Air atomizing nozzles.
April 1, 2005... The VAU and VAA automatic air atomizing nozzles are only two in over a thousand air atomizing nozzles that we offer. They feature independent adjustment of liquid, atomizing air, and fan air pressures for infinite fine tuning of the atomized...

AutoJet[R] Technologies.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... AutoJet Technologies is a division of Spraying Systems Co. that specializes in turnkey systems to accurately monitor and precisely control spray applications. Through specialized spray control software, high quality spray products and technical...

Industrial spray products catalog 60.
April 1, 2005... If you don't see it here, our catalog, with over 500 pages, features tens of thousands of spray system solutions. Performance data tables, selection tips, and more help you specify the best spray nozzle for optimizing your application. ...

Cemco announces quicksilver sales.(Suppliers)(Cemco-FSL Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Waterlooville UK -- Cemco-FSL sold a Quicksilver Hot Air Solder Leveling machine to FELS Leiterplatten (Austria) and TISKANA VEZJA (Slovenia). FERCILEC (France) have also bought a Quicksilver Solder Leveler to run using tin lead solder with the...

Sanmina-SCI purchases second Ceco Hole Checker.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Anaheim, CA -- Ceco Industries sold a model HC-8 Hole Checker to Sanmina-SCI. This follows a prior purchase by Sanmina of a model HC-7.

Orders abound for ECI's new QLC-8500 system.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... East Rutherford, NJ -- ECI Technology Inc. announced multiple orders for its QUALILINE[R] QLC-8500 systems. The QLC-8500 is an online chemical monitoring system for electroless baths used in VLSI damascene Cobalt capping applications. One of...

DKN Research offers free newsletter.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Haverhill, MA -- DKN Research, an engineering and research company dedicated to serving the interconnect industry around the world, is opening its weekly newsletter to all interested parties on a no cost basis. Email dnumakura@attglobal.net for...

Ormecon, American Tec install DemoCenter in China.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Shenzhen -- Ormecon GmbH (Germany) and American Tec Co. Ltd. (China) signed a cooperation agreement to install an Immersion Tin--DemoCenter in Shenzhen, China.

Turkish Army flying in Ankara.(Suppliers)(Probes (Electronic instruments))(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Ankara, Turkey -- The Turkish Army ordered a Seica S40 flying probe system for testing its diagnostic modules at its Ankara base.

Printar opens New Hampshire sales office.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Printar Ltd. introduced its LGP809[TM] Digital Legend Printing system to the North American market. Gregory Blake now heads the company's U.S. office in New Hampshire. All4-PCB signed a distribution agreement for the sale of Printar's digital...

2005: a flat global trajectory.(MarketOutlook)(printed circuit boards industry supply, inventory and sales data)
April 1, 2005... The 2001-2 crash was an electronic food chain disaster: 2005 by contrast looks like a "soft landing." The big difference is inventory levels. In the post-2000 crash, bubble stock levels were massive throughout the supply chain. By contrast...

Has Maryland abandoned all common sense?(EnvironmentallySpeaking)(legislation on use of brominated flameretardants )
April 1, 2005... Writing this column, I had a sense of deja-vu. I felt like I had written the same article last year about legislation in Maine. This year it's legislation in Maryland. Once again, a well-intentioned legislator has introduced legislation which...

Fine lines in high yield (Part CXV): hole voids (Part B).(TechTalk)(electroless copper metallization)
April 1, 2005... Conductor via through-hole voids, or "hole voids," are a variety of defects stemming from a number of different causes leading to insufficient or missing metal coverage in the conductor via. This four-part Tech Talk series is an update of the...

Teradyne: 'we are not exiting the PCB industry'.(TechTalk)(Teradyne Connection Systems, printed circuit boards)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Teradyne refuted a Forbes story that speculated Teradyne's Connection Systems (TCS) division might exit the PCB business. In the report, a representative from research firm CreditSuisse First Boston (CSFB) speculated--wrongly--that because of...

The good, the bad & the ugly.(BetweenTheConductors)(Printed circuit boards information and testing)
April 1, 2005... Fabrication of PCBs is not a trivial task. While the price of the bare board is an important factor in the procurement of boards, a more important factor should be overall cost. In addition to the initial cost of the bare board, overall cost...

3M names Taiwanese, Korean reps.
April 1, 2005... 3M Protective Material Division has named Vagus Technology Co.Ltd. to represent their Scotchgard Liquid Phototool Protection System in Taiwan. Vagus Technology Co. is a Taiwan-based trading company. They can be reached via email at...

Calumet Electronics adds March Plasma equipment.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Calumet, MI -- Calumet Electronics Corp. recently purchased March's PCB-800 plasma treatment system to enhance its PCB manufacturing capabilities. The company's need for plasma processing was driven by a growing market for applications...

North America's PCB industry 'shows' improvement: the "sold" signs are back! This year, exhibitors at IPC Printed Circuits Expo revealed an upbeat--even bullish--attitude regarding North America's PCB industry.(printed circuit boards, APEX)
April 1, 2005... In late February, IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Council Summit opened to modest expectations amid rain in Anaheim. But by the time the three-day event ended, the sun was shining, and most exhibitors and attendees we talked...

Events.(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... April 19-21, 2005 KPCA Show 2005 Seoul, Korea Email: show@KPCA.or.kr April 27-28, 2005 Del Mar Electronics Show Del Mar, CA (San Diego) Visit www.vts.com/delmar May 3-5, 2005 Nepcon East Boston...