CircuiTree articles from August 2006

CircuiTree archives from August 2006

IPC position on lead free (response to Harvey Miller's letter).(Inbox)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2006... Reading Harvey's letter (CircuiTree, July, pg. 54), I had to reply on IPC's behalf. Harvey is right to question if removing lead from electronics is good for the environment. We are skeptical as well. However, we believe that he has missed...

Manufacturing flexible printed circuits: understanding and Managing issues associated with conventional vs. roll-to-roll processing.(Supplier Spotlight News)
August 1, 2006... At the core of the manufacturing trend towards producing thinner, lighter and higher density circuits, demand has shifted to fabrication equipment technologies and the effective handling and processing of thin core material. Roll-to-roll...

Thoughts from poolside.(The Way We See It)(printed circuit board industry)(Industry overview)
August 1, 2006... It's summer. Europe is taking the month off after a fantastic World Cup tournament in Germany. Stateside, the industry is still humming along. In Asia, fabricators are waiting for their annual third quarter consumer electronics ramp-up. Life is...

C4NP: lead-free and low cost solder bumping technology for electronics packaging; C4-New Process (C4NP) is a novel solder bumping technology enabling low-cost, fine pitch bumping using a variety of lead-free solder alloys.(Controlled Collapse Chip Connection New Process)
August 1, 2006... New electronics applications are pushing the boundaries when it comes to weight, compactness, reliability, cost, and high-speed performance in electronics packaging, even as environmental laws limit traditional materials. One way around these...

2006 CircuiTree LIVE Conference Series.(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... Newly Added Flexible Circuitry Workshop on September 6. Led by CircuiTree authors Mike Carano, Joe Fjelstad and Happy Holden. This hands-on, practical workshop will help you better understand current flexible circuit manufacturing...

Lone Star Circuits organizes bike trip.(Data Transfer)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The first annual "Lone Star Circuits" motorcycle trip took place last May. The bikers came from several of the western states, including Texas, Colorado, and Arizona. They met in Walsenburg Colorado, then traveled to Durango and Great Sand...

Modular Components National celebrates 25 years.(Fab Focus News)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Forest Hill, MD -- Modular Components National (MCN), a manufacturer of high-frequency, low-loss PCBs for the microwave electronics industry, marked its 25-year milestone. Over the last 20 years, MCN has continued to expand manufacturing...

Easy being green: Advanced Circuits receives Gold Award.(Fab Focus News)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Aurora, CO -- Advanced Circuits was awarded a Gold Award from the Metro Wastewater Restoration District (MWRD) of Colorado for the third consecutive year. The Gold Award signifies 100 percent compliance with pretreatment requirements and a...

AT & S snags Sony-Ericsson award.(Fab Focus News)
August 1, 2006... AT & S received Sony-Ericsson's "Supplier Recognition Award" for 2005 during the latter's "Supplier Day" held in Beijing in June. "AT & S proved its quality as supplier for PCBs through its flexibility, its delivery performance and the way...

Electropac now capable of building rigid flex boards.(Fab Focus News)(Electropac Company Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Manchester, NH -- Electropac Co. Inc. is celebrating 30 years of servicing the rigid board industry, and has launched a new family of technology. Rigid Flex and Flexible products are now being offered from single- and double-sided flex circuits...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies wins Silicon Valley contracts.(Fab Focus News)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Endicott, NY -- Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc. was awarded several new contracts for fabrication of wire bond PBGA substrates resulting from alliances with Silicon Valley-based companies Singulated Technology and CORWIL Technology...

Schweizer: rebuilding underway.(Fab Focus News)
August 1, 2006... Schramburg, Germany -- Schweizer Electronic AG announced its plans for the rest of 2006, including the installation of more production equipment as it recovers from the fire that destroyed part of the facility in June 2005. "It is planned that...

IMI partners with Japanese EMS company.(Fab Focus News)(Integrated Microelectronics Inc. partnered with Pulax Corporation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Laguna, Philippines -- Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI) established a strategic partnership with Pulax Corporation, a Japanese EMS company that designs and develops mounted PCBs and other electronics products. The partnership agreement...

GSPK Circuits takes the HASL out of RoHS.(Fab Focus News)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, UK -- GSPK Circuits Ltd. has become the first PCB manufacturer in the UK to receive the prestigious BSI RoHS Trusted Service Kitemark. The Kitemark, awarded only to companies that can demonstrate robust internal...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies recertifies to ISO 9001, ISO 14001.(Fab Focus News)(International Standards Organization)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Endicott, NY -- Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. announced its Quality and Environmental Management Systems have been renewed by Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI) and certified as meeting the requirements of the International...

Nokia sues two Chinese rivals for product copying.(Data Transfer)
August 1, 2006... SHANGHAI -- Nokia, the world's biggest cell phone maker, has sued two Chinese competitors in its first Chinese legal action alleging illegal product copying, a spokesman said. A Beijing court on June 12 officially agreed to hear the case...

Thin discrete components: helping electronic circuits keep a low profile.(Flexible Thinking)
August 1, 2006... Flexible circuits have played an invaluable role in the world of electronics design over the years as a preferred medium for making electronic products thinner. Some of those products have risen to near cult status such as the low profile cell...

IPC releases book-to-bill ratios for May 2006.(Data Transfer)
August 1, 2006... Bannockburn, IL--IPC--Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the findings from its monthly Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. PCB Book-to-Bill Ratios The North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill...

The (electronics) merchants of Venice: Venice may be sinking, but EIPC's Summer Conference proved that Europe's PCB industry remains buoyant.(Electronic Privacy Information Center )
August 1, 2006... Historic and picturesque: Venice in June was a popular venue for EIPC's Summer Conference 2006, attracting a hundred participants from fifteen countries to share their expertise during two days of presentation and interactive discussion on the...

Adeon appoints Christopher Associates in North America.(Supply Line News)(Adeon Technologies BV)
August 1, 2006... Adeon Technologies BV appointed Christopher Associates as its new North American distributor. The agreement extends Adeon's global coverage and allows the North American electronics industry to benefit from its new CXInsight e_collaboration and...

Toshiba orders Camtek systems.(Supply Line News)
August 1, 2006... Migdal Ha'emek, Israel -- Camtek Ltd. announced that Toshiba Corp. has ordered multiple Falcon 830 bumped-wafer metrology systems. The systems will be used in Toshiba's manufacturing plant in Oita, Japan, for in-line inspection of 300 mm wafers...

Eidschun announces orders, shipments.(Supply Line News)(Eidschun Engineering E70i loader is used by U.S. Circuits )(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Clearwater, FL -- Eidschun Engineering shipped its newly redesigned E70i Loader/Unloader for Innerlayers to U.S. Circuits (Escondido, CA). The E70i has now been redesigned to occupy 40% less floor space, and features the latest PLC control...

Excellon Automation creates spindle repair center.(Supply Line News)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Rancho Dominguez, CA -- Excellon Automation opened its new Spindle Repair Center located at its headquarters in Rancho Dominguez, Calif. "In response to requests from our many customers we are opening an OEM certified spindle repair center to...

CMS, Parelec, RFIDlogic announce partnership.(Supply Line News)(Composite Mat Solutions)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Carenco, LA -- Composite Mat Solutions (CMS) will be including a passive RFID chip with every mat produced for both its Bravo[R] Mat and DURABASE[R] Systems. The passive RFID tags are embedded inside each of its mats and have been jointly...

Technica announces strategic partnership agreements.(Supply Line News)
August 1, 2006... Technica USA acquired a major portion of Matrix USA's assets located California. Technica USA will act as the exclusive value-added distributor for Panasonic High Performance Laminates in the Western and Southwestern U.S. Technica relocated to...

Printar raises $8 million in latest financing round.(Supply Line News)
August 1, 2006... Printar, a manufacturer of digital printing equipment for PCBs, has raised $21 million in two financing rounds. The company has 25 employees, and posted $6 million in sales in 2005. Based in Rehovot, Israel, the company has a sales and support...

Cemco-FSL announces more installations.(Supply Line News)(Leiterplatten-Service Station GMBH, and Fela Leiterplattentechnik GmbH)(Lead Free 30" Quicksilver Hot Air Solder Leveling machine)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Hampshire, UK -- Cemco-FSL announced two sales of its Lead Free 30" Quicksilver Hot Air Solder Leveling machine in Germany to Leiterplatten-Service Station GMBH, Dortmund and Fela Leiterplattentechnik GmbH, Sturmbuhlstrasse, the second being...

Nippon Mining & Metals licenses TCR product to Ticer Technologies.(Supply Line News)
August 1, 2006... Chandler, AZ -- Nippon Mining & Metals Co. Ltd. (NMM) licensed the technology and trademark for its Gould Electronics Inc. (Gould) subsidiary's TCR[R] embedded resistor product to Ticer Technologies LLC. Ticer Technologies is a new company...

SOMACIS pcb industries, SIMEST-MAP partner in China.(Supply Line News)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The SOMACIS pcb industries' China plant should be operational by December, specializing in multilayer boards up to 30 layers, SBU, HDI with laser drilling technology. SIMEST (Societa Italiana per le Imprese all'Estero) and the MAP China Fund...

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical increases capacity.(Supply Line News)
August 1, 2006... Tokyo -- Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. increased production capacity of copper clad laminate (CCL) and prepreg at its subsidiary, ElectroTechno K.K., expanding CCL production by 300,000 square meters (monthly production), as well as...

Lean Sigma (Part II).(View from the Middle)
August 1, 2006... "Mr. Ohno used to say that no problem discovered when stopping the line should wait longer than tomorrow morning to be fixed. Because when making a car every minute we know we will have the same problem again tomorrow."--Fujio Cho,...

Minco helps engineers with new instructional Flex Circuit Design Kit.(Data Transfer)
August 1, 2006... Minneapolis, MN -- Minco, a designer and manufacturer of critical components for critical applications, announced the launch of its Flex Circuits Design Kit for engineers who are serious about incorporating flex circuitry into their projects....

The future is plastics: thermoplastics, like LCP, have the right properties for component packaging including high temperature tolerance, low moisture absorption, low flammability, and precision molding.(Liquid Crystal Polymer)
August 1, 2006... In the 1967 film, "The Graduate," Dustin Hoffman's character is told: "The future is plastics." Good advice, but what kind of plastics? There are only two main classes of plastics even though thousands of resins are available and millions of...

Capitol Hill Day 2006: "what was Project Apollo?".(Fein-Lines)
August 1, 2006... In June, the PWB industry and its suppliers once again descended on Washington D.C. What the group lacked in numbers it made up in spirit. The attendance was modest but there was a reasonable balance this year with suppliers such as MacDermid,...

Parting thoughts.(Finance & Forecast)(economic growth )(electronics industry)(Column)
August 1, 2006... Loyal readers and sports-fans, I am retiring from this quarterly column. Titled "Finance and Forecast," it first ran in 2003, and there were earlier, more occasional pieces. Don't be surprised to see my byline here or elsewhere. But now I'm...

The reliability of photoimageable solder resists: the results of continuous storage tests at 150[degrees]C for 2,000 hours and thermal cycling tests over 1,000 cycles from -40[degrees]C to 150[degrees]C.
August 1, 2006... Even though the use of electronic assemblies at high operating temperatures is not a new topic, fresh solutions are required with respect to their use in automotive technology because of demand and cost structure. While electronic assemblies...

Programme ESCC 2006.
August 1, 2006... Cologne, Germany 4-5 October 2006 Location: Koelnmesse--Congress-Centrum North Organised by EIPC European Institute of Printed Circuits In association with: CircuiTree emsnow [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [GRAPHIC...

Enercon's new Plasma3[TM] Trial Program.(Data Transfer)
August 1, 2006... Atmospheric plasma makes organizations more competitive by functionalizing surfaces, improving adhesion properties and adding value to products and processes. Many of our Enercon's customers who have trialed atmospheric plasma on our 60"...

Fine lines in high yield (Part CXXXI): compatibility of different resists in developer chemistry.(Tech Talk)(printed wiring board)
August 1, 2006... If a PWB fabricator processes different dry film photoresists through the same developer machine and chemistry, the question about "compatibility" of the different resists usually comes up. So there needs to be a methodology to assess...

Aculight.(Power People News)
August 1, 2006... Bothell, WA -- Aculight Corporation named Kenneth Bean its Director of Manufacturing Operations. Bean joins Aculight from BBP Inc., where he was founder and president of this start-up venture specializing in heads-up display (HUD) systems....

FTG Circuits.(Power People News)(promoted Michael Labrador and appointed Jag Sharma)(Tim Snodgrass is leaving)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Toronto -- FTG promoted Michael Labrador to Vice President and General Manager, FTG Circuits--Chatsworth. After more than 20 years successfully running that facility, Tim Snodgrass has decided to pursue his many other interests more fully. "We...

Everett Charles Technologies to consolidate atgTest & Luther Maelzer.(Data Transfer)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Everett Charles Technologies announced plans for two of its Capital Equipment Group's wholly owned business units, atgTest Systems (Wertheim, Germany) and Luther Maelzer Gmbh (Wunstorff, Germany), to consolidate operations into a single new...

Effects of lead free soldering on 'plating' vias: current copper plating technology meets the requirements for soldering with lead free alloys at higher temperatures.
August 1, 2006... Lead free alloys for soldering applications are available in a variety of compositions. Alternatives under consideration today share the characteristic of higher melting points than eutectic tin-lead. Because of the similarity of its properties...

2H'06: seasonal upturn, 2007: modest growth.(Market Outlook)(electronics industry)(Industry overview)
August 1, 2006... The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to expand--but at a slowing pace as higher interest rates and energy costs limit business and consumer spending. The June Institute for Supply Management's (former Purchasing Managers') index dipped to...

Adchem provides foam bonding adhesive tapes.(Technology Today News)
August 1, 2006... Adchem Corporation, a manufacturer of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape systems, announced it specializes in providing custom foam bonding solutions. Adchem provides acrylic and rubber adhesive systems and acrylic/rubber hybrid products for OEMs...

Bacon Software, Direct Logix team up.(Technology Today News)
August 1, 2006... Santa Clara, CA -- Direct Logix Inc. and Bacon Software announced a new collaborative product for rules driven front-end engineering data exchange between the two systems. Direct Logix's Control Center Engineering Information Management Server...

March Plasma improves AP-1000 plasma system.(Technology Today News)
August 1, 2006... Concord, CA -- March Plasma Systems released an improved version of its AP-1000 plasma system for high-volume plasma processing of semiconductor and microelectronics devices. The redesigned version provides the same production-proven plasma...

LPKF reveals ProLegend, ProtoFlow Oven.(Technology Today News)
August 1, 2006... Wilsonville, OR -- The new LPKF ProLegend is a fast and easy to use system designed to create professional legend print on PCB prototypes. This environmentally friendly product does not require screen-printing and comes with all the necessary...

WISE Software releases VisualCAM[TM].(Technology Today News)
August 1, 2006... Newberg, OR -- WISE Software released its VisualCAM[TM] product, establishing the strategic direction for all future releases of WISE's CAM software products. VisualCAM hosts a series of new features and technology, such as HyperNETLIST...

Events.(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... CircuiTree LIVE Advanced Technologies for Packaging, Flex, and Rigid Flex September 7, 2006 Minneapolis, MN Website: www.circuitreelive.com DesignCon East--2006 Sept. 25-27, 2006 DCU Center Worcester, MA ...

CircuiTree Buyers Guide 2006-07: developing your supplier base.(Directory)
August 1, 2006... Welcome to CircuiTree's fourth annual Buyer's Guide, a comprehensive supplier directory that will help you find the suppliers and distributors you need to contact over the next year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is not simply a phone...