CircuiTree articles from April 2006

CircuiTree archives from April 2006

Don't forget Northern India.(Inbox)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2006... To say that I am an avid reader of your esteemed magazine would be an understatement. I enjoy reading the technical articles and the articles dealing with the state of the market in your magazine. Nevertheless, once in a while, one does feel...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 1, 2006... Coretec Not Outsourcing PCB Production to India In a press release dated December 14, 2005, CircuiTree incorrectly reported that Coretec Inc. was outsourcing some of its PCB production to India. In fact, the release states that the company...

Case study: exception PCB gears up for RoHS compliance.(Road to RoHS)(Case study)
April 1, 2006... RoHS is everywhere at the moment. But assuming compliance to the new EU directive is simple could land electronics manufacturers in hot water. Our experience in the PCB market shows that there are still too many electronics engineers who...

As the world turns.(The Way We See It)
April 1, 2006... "What is the government doing to help us?" "Our jobs are going overseas!" "Our national security is at risk if we don't build boards here in America." "We need a level playing field." "The IPC should be looking...

The next generation of insoluble anodes: when it comes to printed circuits, the use of insoluble anodes has multiple advantages. Here's why.
April 1, 2006... Today, the use of insoluble anodes in the electroplating industry is well known, especially in precious metals applications. However, it is less common in base metal applications such as the electrodeposition of copper in the printed circuit...

AT&S buys Korean Flex-Maker Tofic.(Fab Focus)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... AT&S is to acquire 86% in Tofic. Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of flexible circuits near Seoul for $1.2 million. In addition there is a capital increase of some $4 million borne by AT&S, resulting in a total shareholding of 86%. Tofic is set to...

Harbor Electronics invests in Direct Logix planning system.(Fab Focus)
April 1, 2006... Santa Clara, CA -- Harbor Electronics purchased the Control Center XP[TM] automated product planning software for PCB manufacturing from Direct Logix. Control Center XP is an automated rules-driven product planning system that reduces costs,...

EIT enters manufacturing agreement.(Fab Focus)
April 1, 2006... Endicott, NY -- Endicott Interconnect and VisiLED Inc. entered into a joint development and manufacturing agreement for medical devices. The agreement stipulates El's Precision Equipment Manufacturing team will provide contract manufacturing...

DAPC invests over $1.8 million in new equipment.(Fab Focus)
April 1, 2006... Dynamic & Proto Circuits Inc. (DAPC) invested over $1.8 million in new equipment, including a jet scrubber, nickel controller, two post-etch punches, a direct metallization line, a horizontal desmear Line, and a plasma desmear machine.

Merlin Circuit increases test capacity.(Merlin Circuit Technology Ltd)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Merlin Circuit Technology Ltd. (Hawarden, Flintshire, UK) installed two ATG high speed flying probe test systems designed to assist with the increasing throughput of small to medium batches of complex boards containing fine pitch products up to...

Kyoden installs new production line in Thailand.(Fab Focus)(Kyoden Co)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Japanese Kyoden Co. installed a $5.4 million PCB production line in Thailand. Kyoden's subsidiary Toei Denshi manages the Thai factory where the PCB line was installed. With the new line, the PCB production capacity of the factory was almost...

M-Flex posts strong revenues, continues expansion.(Fab Focus)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (M-Flex) reported that net sales for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2005, increased by 66 percent to $139.7 million from $84.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2005. Net income for the fiscal...

JR Controls acquires Cosmotronic, Winonics.(Fab Focus)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... JR Controls acquired TC Cosmotronic Inc., thereby adding a military-qualified provider of rigid and rigid-flex PCBs and assemblies to its family of companies. Cosmotronic management was retained and will report to Bill Kennard, President and...

Unimicron builds more capacity.(Fab Focus)(UniMicron Technology Corp.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Taiwanese PCB maker Unimicron Technology is planning expansion projects on a wide range of products including PCBs, flip chip (FC) and chip scale package (CSP) substrates in 2006. The company claims that its capacity is 90% booked, with...

DDI: back in black?(Fab Focus)
April 1, 2006... Anaheim, CA -- in the past year, DDI invested over $3 million in upgrades and additions to advanced laser image, laser drill and test equipment across its facilities. This investment increased capacity and capabilities to meet the growing...

Cipsa Circuits jumps into India.(Data Transfer)(Cipsa Circuits SA and RIC India Limited)
April 1, 2006... According to Webindia123, Cipsa Circuits SA, a Spanish electronics company, is setting up its first overseas joint venture with an Indian company to produce PCBs near Bangalore. The company plans to invest $15 million in the joint venture with...

KLG drill/router now available in North America.(Technology Today)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The German-built KLG Speedstar[R], an ultra accurate controlled-depth drill/router, is now available in North America through Ceco Industries. Patented processes enable the Speedstar[R] to control depth to a precision better than [+ or -]7um....

DownStream Technologies announces CAM350 Release 9.1.(Technology Today)(DownStream Technologies L.L.C)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Bolton, MA -- DownStream Technologies LLC announced CAM350 Release 9.1, the latest version of its solution for the verification and optimization of PCBs. In CAM350 V 9.1, Streams Rule Check is now included at no additional charge in the...

C Sun Manufacturing introduces collimated exposure systems.(Technology Today)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... C Sun Manufacturing announced the North American introduction of the UVE-M535 UVE-M565 dual drawer collimated exposure systems and UVE-A220 automatic imaging system. The UVE-M535 is a double drawer glass/glass collimated exposure system for...

Portable Hot Air Station introduced.(Malcom Co.)
April 1, 2006... A fully portable, conveyorized hot air station that can be custom configured to dry and cure products using various blowers, nozzles, and accessories has been introduced by Malcom Hot Air Systems (Portsmouth, RI). Malcom's Portable Hot Air...

All4PCB shows four machines at IPC show.(Technology Today)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... All4PCB's president Torsten Reckert introduced four new product lines. From DIS came the PRS77 pinless innerlayer registration system with automatic camera alignment of layers and thermal pre-bonding of the lamination stack. The MASS VCP...

Glenbrook systems offers x-ray systems for PCB/BGA inspection.(Glenbrook Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Randolph, NJ -- Glenbrook Technologies offers real-time x-ray systems, using superior x-ray microscope technology, to meet the diverse demands of both production and laboratory environments for PCB and BGA inspection. The RTX series for...

Adchem introduces new 353M Double-Coated Acrylic Adhesive Tape.(Technology Today)
April 1, 2006... Adchem Corp. introduced its new 353M Double-Coated Acrylic Adhesive Tape System. 353M is formaldehyde-free and combines the quick-stick properties of rubber-based systems with the temperature performance of acrylic systems. Engineered for a...

Specialty Coating Systems introduces Precision UVC cure unit.(Technology Today)
April 1, 2006... Indianapolis, IN -- Specialty Coating Systems (SCS) introduced the SCS Precision UVC, an ultraviolet cure unit. The system offers tubular, full-spectrum UV curing in perfect integration with the SCS Precisioncoat or as a stand-alone system....

California's PCB community storms Sacramento--waiting for back-up.(Data Transfer)
April 1, 2006... Sacramento, CA -- A handful of committed PCB fabricators, EMS providers, and their suppliers scaled the steps of California's capitol building urging state representatives to create a more business-friendly environment for the electronics...

The re-emergence of 'one-stop' shopping: the marriage of EMS and ODM services.(Interview)
April 1, 2006... During his keynote speech in February, Sanmina-SCI's CEO Jure Sola told the IPC Expo audience that today's EMS provider must offer ODM services in order to be competitive. But that's not news to WKKT, IMI, and 3CEMS Group. These three companies...

BPA's call: China 2006 growth picks up, but slows later this year.(Growth Curves)(computer industry-global scenario)
April 1, 2006... The figures for China shown here must be set against a background of dramatic increases in activity over the last few years. All of the ups and downs of the Chinese industry are set well above the "no growth" line, but last year did see some...

The flex files--flexible circuit innovation progress check.(Flexible Thinking)
April 1, 2006... As long-time readers of this column know, Flexible Thinking every so often wanders off to the U.S. Patent Office to find some technological gems that are either made possible by flexible circuit technology or which make possible fundamental...

ICT seminar: Restriction of Hazardous Substances.(Institute of Circuit Technology )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Institute of Circuit Technology held an evening seminar in late February in Arundel, UK on the subject of Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation and its impact on the PCB industry, with papers from Martin Goosey of Rohm and...

IPC publishes materials declaration standard.(Environmentally Speaking)
April 1, 2006... As the deadline for compliance with the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive draws near, companies across the electronics supply chain are using materials declarations to ensure the compliance of their supply...

Good things in small packages: exploring Japan's PCB industry: a review of Japan's PWB Expo leaves little doubt where the real innovation is taking place in our industry. Plus, an interview with Japanese PCB giant CMK, which grossed over $1 billion in revenues last year, reveals its 2006 technical roadmap.(Interview)
April 1, 2006... The Japanese have a saying: "Fall seven times, stand up eight." This proverb might describe Japan's once-struggling PCB industry, which a few years ago suffered from a lackluster domestic economy and increasingly sophisticated rivals in Korea...

Fine lines in high yield (part CXXVII): lamination and coating equipment.(Tech Talk)
April 1, 2006... At the last TPCA Show I noticed a remarkable variety of new coating and lamination equipment and upgrades of established equipment lines that prompted me to do a short review of this subject. It has been quite some time since Tech Talk looked...

Orbotech, APCB ink $6 million deal.(Supply Line)
April 1, 2006... Yavne, Israel -- Orbotech signed a major agreement with APCB Inc. valued at approximately $6 million for the purchase of multiple Discovery[TM] Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) systems and LP(TM)-9008 series laser plotters for use in its PCB...

Data Solder Quicksilver sale.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... CEMCO-FSL (Hampshire UK) in association with D.H. Wagner Associates (CA) sold a new Lead Free 30" Quicksilver Hot Air Leveling Machine to Data Solder Inc. (Santa Ana, CA). In other news, CEMCO-FSL sold a 24" Quicksilver Hot Air Leveling...

Sierra Proto Express buys ECT's e6 Test System.(Everett Charles Technologies )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Pomona, CA -- Everett Charles Technologies announced that Sierra Proto Express (Sunnyvale, CA) purchased and installed the atg Eliminator Test System (E6). The E6 is designed to be used with flying probe testers comprising a "test cell" for the...

EMS Analytical Labs introduces plating RoHS Certification.(Supply Line)
April 1, 2006... Orange, CA -- EMS Analytical Labs Inc., an analytical service lab serving the plating and PCB industries, purchased a Dionex 4000i ion chromatography system. With this new, low-cost test methodology, EMS Labs will now certify plated deposits as...

New Rogers' green world on web site.(Supply Line)
April 1, 2006... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. launched its new "Green Leader" web site (www.rogersgreenworld.com) containing information on Rogers' environmentally friendly specialty materials, and related subjects.

Camtek receives orders from Taiwanese company.(Supply Line)
April 1, 2006... Migdal Ha'emek, Israel -- Camtek Ltd. received two orders totaling $1.9 million from a major Taiwanese manufacturer of advanced IC substrates. The orders are for multiple high-end Pegasus and Dragon Fine Line systems, which the company plans to...

Frontline CAM & engineering: RoHS/WEEE ready.(Supply Line)
April 1, 2006... Frontline PCB Solutions announced that its entire product suite--including InPlan, InStack, Genesis 2000 and GenFlex--is now RoHS/WEEE ready. InPlan[TM], Frontline's engineering software solution, has been positioned as an early adopter of the...

Nikko Materials to license TCR product to Gould management group.(Supply Line)
April 1, 2006... Chandler, AZ -- Nikko Materials Co., Ltd. will license technology for its TCR embedded resistor product to a management group from its Gould Electronics subsidiary. The group is headed by David P. Burgess, current president of Gould...

M.E. Baker acquires MacDermid Equipment.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Cambridge, MA -- M.E. Baker Company (Baker) acquired all of the outstanding shares of MacDermid Equipment Inc. (MEI) (Springfield, VT). With this acquisition, Baker now offers vertical and horizontal conveyorized and continuous lines as well....

IPC Expo 2006: sunny days in Anaheim: was Anaheim's unseasonably warm weather last February a sign that North America's printed circuit industry is also heating up--or were the Santa Ana winds fanning a different flame?
April 1, 2006... It's been a few weeks since IPC Printed Circuits Expo & APEX wrapped up in Anaheim. IPC will no longer head to Disneyland for its annual event, opting instead for a controversial new venue in downtown Los Angeles. Yet before jumping into the...

KLG-Maschinen enters North American market.(Data Transfer)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... At the Anaheim IPC Expo in February, CircuiTree's Products Editor Pete Starkey asked Karlheinz Kummer of KLG-Maschinen for an update on technical developments and marketing strategy for KLG's Speedstar drilling and routing machines. CT:...

RoHS: third-party certification.(Data Transfer)
April 1, 2006... In the quest for the holy grail of RoHS due diligence, many have wondered about the role of testing. But what kind of testing? When? How much? The organic food industry lives with very similar restrictions, and these questions have already been...

Supplier spotlight.(News)
April 1, 2006... Ruwel Benefits from Direct Legend Printing The strategy of Ruwel's PCB manufacturing site in Pfullingen, Germany, is quite simple: produce top quality boards faster than the competition. But as Europe's PCB industry has evolved into a quick...

IPC Expo/APEX: the un-review.(Fein-Lines)
April 1, 2006... As some of you older industry veterans know, I have been at every single show from the first IPC Expo in Boston to the present. I am not going to discuss what was shown or who was there; you can read about that elsewhere in CircuiTree. Instead,...

DDI.(Dynamic Details Inc. appoints)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Anaheim, CA -- DDI Corp. added Michael Mathews as a Vice President of Quality and Process Engineering. He will support the manufacturing processes in each of DDI's PCB fabrication facilities. Mathews has over 25 years experience in oversight of...

Soldertec.(awards)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Soldertec Global/Tin Technology presented its Annual Lead-Free Solder Awards. Bob Willis was given the Process Development Award in recognition of his many achievements and enthusiasm in assisting industry in the preparation for the...

ECI Technology.(appointments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Totowa, NJ -- ECI Technology added Dr. Karsten Andrae to its senior team. Andrae was responsible for ECI products with mie, Multiline International in Europe for many years, and joined ECI Technology as a Senior Program Manager at the new...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(awards)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Endicott, NY -- Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. honored eight employees for patents issued in 2005. Additionally, 37 employees were honored for patent applications filed last year. A total of 30 U.S. patent applications were filed and...

IEC Electronics.(Power People)
April 1, 2006... Newark, NY -- EMS provider IEC Electronics Corp. announced that Jerold L. Zimmerman was elected to the Board of Directors of the company. For a list of positions available, check in at NDS Associates Web Site http://www.ndsassoc.com

Rogers Corporation.(Power People)
April 1, 2006... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corporation announced that Dennis Loughran joined the company as Vice President of Finance and CFO. He will be responsible for overseeing the financial operations worldwide and helping Rogers achieve its future strategic...

Innovex.(appointments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Maple Plain, MN -- Innovex added Kenneth J. Roering to its Board of Directors. Roering is currently Professor of Marketing in the Carlson School of Management of the University of Minnesota and Executive Vice President, Strategic Management,...

IPC officers and directors.(Power People)
April 1, 2006... Bannockburn, IL -- IPC announced the election of a new Board Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer, plus nine Board Members. The officers and directors will serve through December 31, 2007. The three officers elected were: Jim...

Dynamic & Proto Circuits.(appointments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Stoney Creek -- Dynamic & Proto Circuits Inc. (DAPC) announced that Greg Smith joined DAPC as the Director of Military & Aerospace Sales for North America. Greg will be responsible for developing and growing Military & Aerospace sales with...

Bekaert.(appointments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Research Triangle Park, NC -- Bekaert expanded its US customer service organization, including new customer service positions in R&D, sales and marketing. Tad Bergstresser joined Bekaert as a Sr. Research Engineer. Prior to coming to Bekaert,...

Business conditions: what's going on?(Advanced Semiconductor Engineering to increase capacity)(AT and S acquires Tofic )(Elna Inc. appoints Hidetoshi Aono )
April 1, 2006... Chip shipments to N. America are a "pulse" of domestic business conditions. They should correlate with domestic electronic assembly activity as they represent "total shipments to N. America from any source," rather than just local chip...

Events.(Calendar)
April 1, 2006... CircuiTEX 2006 PCB Show April 19-21, 2006 Suzhou Expo Center (Suzhou, China) Website: www.circuitex.com KPCA Show 2006 April 25-27, 2006 Seoul, Korea Email: show@kpca.or.kr Del Mar Electronics Show 2006 ...