CircuiTree articles from February 2006

CircuiTree archives from February 2006

You have it all wrong.(Inbox)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Regarding Roy Sakelson's blog posted November 29, 2005 ["Will M-Wave Survive?"], I believe that you have done a major disservice to a vital segment of America's PWB supply chain. You have it all wrong when you state "... who needs a broker...

You have it all right.(Inbox)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... I really enjoyed [Roy Sakelson's] tongue-in-cheek prognostications on the future ['Apocalypse 2006' The Way We See It, January 2006]. However, there is one prediction that you glaringly omitted: Global Warming! With the move to...

Countdown to compliance.(Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
February 1, 2006... Electronic Systems Inc. (Sioux Falls, SD) announced that its RoHS program has achieved verification status and that its engineering and electronic assembly operations are in full compliance with the RoHS directive. In addition, 3M...

Can copper's price escalation contain a silver lining?(Global copper demand)
February 1, 2006... If you think of the electronics industry as a caste system, PCB manufacturers might be considered the "untouchables," the lowest of the low. Yet, despite unreasonable, unyielding pressure exerted on them to regularly reduce prices, despite...

'Exposing' the facts about UV-LED: what are the capabilities of UV-LED when exposing state-of-the-art liquid etch resist, dry-films and solder-masks?
February 1, 2006... Most UV curing equipment manufacturers use a common sales pitch when selling UV-LED exposure technology: "It demands less heat, less money, and lasts longer" when exposing the UV-curing of inks, coatings and adhesives. Today, a German company,...

Isola acquires Polyclad.(Polyclad Laminates global operations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Chandler, AZ -- Isola entered into an agreement to acquire Polyclad Laminates global operations and product portfolio, from Polyclad parent company Cookson Electronics, for $91 million. Polyclad's 2005 revenue, in excess of $200 million,...

DownStream Technologies gets new HQ.(headquarters)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Bolton, MA -- DownStream Technologies LLC opened its new corporate headquarters in Marlborough, Mass. Located in the region's high-tech corridor along Rte. 495, the new facility will house the company's financial, marketing, sales and R & D...

Aculight achieves ISO 9001:2000 certification.(laser research)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Bothell, WA -- Aculight Corp. achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification for laser research, design, optimization and production. It established its flexible manufacturing line in July 2005, in a facility set apart from its R & D division. Equipped...

Electrochemicals announces price hike.(Supply Line News)
February 1, 2006... Maple Plain, MN -- Electrochemicals Inc. increased prices on its products, ranging from 3 to 6 percent. The increases are necessitated by higher energy, raw material, and freight costs. The company expects that upward pressure on raw materials...

Landrex Technologies, ZD Test announce partnership.(Landrex Technologies Inc)(ZD Test Inc)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Santa Clara, CA -- Landrex Technologies Inc. and ZD Test Inc. (an affiliate of Zero Defects Int'l) announced a strategic global partnership agreement that covers both companies' electrical test fixture businesses, including backplane and PCBA...

3M to acquire Siemens' flex division.(ultrasound machines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... St. Paul, MN -- 3M entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Siemens Ultrasound Division's flexible circuit manufacturing line in Canoga Park, Calif. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The manufacturing line of the Siemens...

Christopher Associates wins lead free solder paste sales award.(Supply Line News)
February 1, 2006... Munich -- Christopher Associates (Santa Ana, CA) was presented with the Sales Achievement Award for the widespread implementation of lead free solder pastes with leading customers in North America at the recent Koki Global Sales Meeting. The...

Rohm and Haas restructures European Ops.(restructuring of manufacturing, sales and marketing organizations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Philadelphia, PA -- Rohm and Haas Co. announced restructuring initiatives to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing network in Europe across several chemical businesses. In addition, the Electronic Materials business also announced...

Viking Test Services announces latest sales.(Timax drilling system to European Circuits)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Viking Test Services sold a Timax drilling system to European Circuits (Glasgow, UK), a PCB manufacturing and assembly company specializing in quick-turn manufacturing. It chose the TIMAX MDR2002 two-spindle drill and rout system. In...

Zuken wins Siemens order.(Supply Line News)
February 1, 2006... Westford, MA -- Zuken signed an eight-year contract with the Transportation Systems Group (TS) of Siemens AG. Zuken is to provide a completely integrated enterprise wide PCB design environment for the group's Rail Automation Division. The order...

Dynatron Japan, First EIE host seminar.(ink jet printer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Tokyo -- In late November, Dynatron Japan held its fifth User Event. The seminar hosted approximately 200 professionals from over 150 different Japanese PCB shops. In the morning, live demonstrations were given on the latest products developed...

Roll-to-roll printing of flexible electronic circuits is rolling out.(Flexible Thinking)
February 1, 2006... Several years ago, this column examined the potential of roll-to-roll processing of flexible circuits and suggested that one day there would be an awakening to the power of that potential. That column, written in of October 2000, concluded with...

Sun shines on Korea Taconic for ribbon cutting ceremony.(new manufacturing facility in Cheonan)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Taconic (Petersburgh, NY) held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of its new manufacturing facility in Cheonan, Korea. The company couldn't have asked for a nicer day as company CEO Andrew Russell kicked off events with sincere...

How Mania got its groove back: now backed by a large investor, Mania is looking to regain the technology leadership that made it successful. Read on to learn about the company's new products, and how they may just change the PCB manufacturing landscape.(Company Profile)
February 1, 2006... You've probably heard the whispers during the last few years: "Mania's in trouble." Challenged by tough competition and crippling debt, Mania Technologie AG (Mania) has struggled to define itself in many different categories including...

Calculating fabrication capability coefficients.(Happy Thoughts)
February 1, 2006... How do you know if a fabricator is capable of manufacturing your boards? First, ask for an IPC-PCQ[R.sup.2] Report. If that is not available, then calculating the Fabrication Capability Coefficient (FCC) is a good second option. ...

For electronics manufacturing, don't ignore Mexico.(Fein-Lines)
February 1, 2006... It seems that all we hear of these days is what is happening in China. The sheer size of the electronics manufacturing industry there certainly demands coverage but is there activity in other regions? Are there hundreds of wave and selective...

Designed, built and tested PCBs for free? You heard right!(Data Transfer)
February 1, 2006... "It's free! It's free," was the enthusiastic exclamation by Robert Croswell of Motorola during the IPC's Embedded Passives Technical Session at the recent Fall Works Conference. Robert followed a brief presentation on behalf of the NAVSEA...

Excellon Automation.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Rancho Dominguez, CA -- Excellon Automation named Don Payne as its Eastern Region and Canadian Business Manager. Payne has extensive experience in the PCB industry having 24 years in manufacturing, sales and as a supplier to the industry. His...

IPC.(vice president of administration)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Bannockburn, IL -- Bernie Klos has joined IPC as its new CFO and vice president of administration. He will be responsible for IPC's financial, information technology (IT), customer service, human resource and meeting functions. Klos is a...

Dynamic & Proto Circuits.(Lean Manufacturing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Stoney Creek -- Dynamic & Proto Circuits Inc. named Stephen Hazell as the new Director of Quality Assurance. Stephen will be responsible for all facets of the corporate quality program. He brings over 20 years of PCB industry experience. His...

Teledyne Printed Circuit Technology.(Power People News)
February 1, 2006... Hudson, NH -- Michael Sapienti joined Teledyne Printed Circuit Technology as Director of Business Development. He has over 25 years of professional sales and marketing experience in a broad spectrum of industries including telecommunications,...

TTM Technologies.(Steven W. Richards appointed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Santa Ana, CA -- TTM Technologies Inc. named Steven W. Richards as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary. Richards joined TTM in May 2000 and has served as Vice President and Treasurer of TTM. For the last several months, Steve...

SiP emerges: the growth of System-in-Package (SiP) is the long-awaited renaissance in multichip packaging solutions, representing one of the largest growth markets in the electronic packaging industry. What is a SiP? How does it differ from the multichip packaging solutions first introduced decades ago? What are the key applications for SiP and what are the major drivers? Read on to learn the answers to these questions.(Column)
February 1, 2006... MCMs and MCPs When multichip modules (MCMs) were the first introduced they were confined to high-end applications, where the value they contributed was large enough to absorb the cost of the necessary custom design, assembly, and test....

Korea gears up for KPCAshow 2006.(Data Transfer)
February 1, 2006... Seoul -- If you're interested in Asia's PCB market, you shouldn't miss "KPCAshow 2006" which will be held at COEX (Seoul, Korea) from April 25th to 27th. Korea, one of Asia's fastest growing countries for manufacturing electronics, offers a...

The yield curve and 'do-it-yourself' forecasting.(finance & forecast)(Column)
February 1, 2006... Here's an opportunity. PREDICT RECESSIONS with better than 80 percent odds. To do this on a daily basis, grab a copy of the Wall Street Journal. Flip to "Money & Investing" section, page B2, and scan down the "Markets Lineup" for "Interest...

3M embedded capacitor material now RoHS compliant.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... Austin, TX -- 3M Electronics announced that its advanced laminate, 3M Embedded Capacitor Material, is RoHS compliant. OEMs and PCB fabricators are using this material to help increase speed and performance of their boards. They are also using...

DownStream offers pre-release purchase program for BluePrint.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... Bolton, MA -- DownStream Technologies LLC announced a pre-release purchase program for BluePrint for PCBs, the new document authoring tool that creates electronic PCB drawings to drive PCB fabrication, assembly and inspection. "Since we...

Isola Group launches new product for the RF/microwave market.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... Chandler, AZ -- Isola Group Sarl launched the IS640-280, with a nominal dielectric constant of 2.80 at 10 GHz and a dissipation factor of 0.0028 at 10 GHz. This new patent pending product is available in 20, 30 and 60 mil thickness...

Heraeus CMD to unveil lead-free, no-clean solder pastes.(Circuit Materials Division)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... West Conshohocken, PA -- A new, lead-free no-clean solder paste that promotes wetting and minimizes defects with tin/silver/copper alloy soldering will be unveiled this spring by the Circuit Materials Division (CMD) of Heraeus. The new line of...

Datum Dynamics announces custom wave solder fixtures.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... Portsmouth, RI -- Datum Dynamics USA introduced custom wave solder fixtures made using the same Gerber and drill files which describe the board to speed production and improve their performance. Datum Wave Solder Fixtures are designed using...

Lean and clean: clean room automation for PSA placement.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... Plantation, FL -- AccuPlace added two new models with clean room capabilities to reduce the chances of contaminating the target part with particulates. The clean room configuration provides air valve exhaust ports that are connected together...

Seica to showcase Pilot VIP, Firefly at IPC Expo.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... At IPC Expo, Seica will showcase its PILOT VIP Flying Probe system, integrating a complete set of test tools and techniques that go beyond the conventional definition of "flying prober." The system includes the hardware and software features of...

Walchem introduces electronic metering pump control.(Technology Today News)
February 1, 2006... Holliston, MA -- Walchem Corp. highlights the control features and programmability of the EW Metering Pump Series with the Y Control Module. The EW Series pumps are solenoid-driven, diaphragm metering pumps with output capacities up to 6.7 GPH...

Hot air leveling in the lead-free environment: as the electronics industry transitions to lead-free soldering, hot air leveling should continue to be the preferred method of preserving solderability.(Column)
February 1, 2006... The European Union directives WEEE and RoHS promote recycling and re-use of materials, and ban substances considered health hazards. Similar legislation is being considered in China, California, and other regions. Lead-free solders have been in...

Going behind the headlines: Isola's acquisition of Polyclad.(Data Transfer)(Interview)
February 1, 2006... The world of printed circuit laminates and prepreg just got smaller. With Isola's acquisition of Polyclad for $91 million (to be completed by February), a significant chunk of the world's laminate capacity will be consolidated as Isola...

Achtung: this 2" x 4" to the head should get your attention.(Market Outlook)
February 1, 2006... Let's start with a dose of reality: 1) 2005 was an "improved" year domestically but recently end-market demand has slowed and component inventories have risen (Chart 1 and Chart 2). 2) Recent double-digit domestic PCB growth rates are...

Getting the lead out: if you supply EMS providers with printed circuits, you should understand how they choose and specify materials and finishes for lead-free products. Here's how.
February 1, 2006... Lead-free regulations are posing challenges to the entire electronics supply chain. This article deals with the issues that relate specifically to PCB manufacturers, and the changes necessary when manufacturing lead-free boards. It will also be...

Strategic marketing programs drive sales.(Marketing Matters)
February 1, 2006... Catchy names, flashy adds, enormous trade show displays, dynamic web pages, fantastic brochures--are these the thoughts that come to mind when someone mentions marketing? Of course! If marketing is about communicating value and generating...

A RoHS primer.(View from the Middle)
February 1, 2006... I know what you're thinking: "Just what we need, another article on RoHS. I wish this thing would just go away!" I understand, and agree with that sentiment on a personal level, but on a professional level that is precisely why this is another...

In memory of Joe Balesteri.(Merix San Jose )(Brief Article)(Obituary)
February 1, 2006... It was with great sadness that Steve Robinson of Merix San Jose (formerly Data Circuit Systems) announced the death of Joseph Peter Balesteri. Joe passed away on December 12th quite suddenly from coronary thrombosis. According to Robinson,...

Circuit Research Labs consolidates facilities.(Fab Focus News)
February 1, 2006... Tempe, AZ -- Circuit Research Labs Inc. began consolidating its manufacturing facilities as the final part of a five-year plan to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. The company will consolidate its U.S.-based manufacturing into its...

Coretec outsources some production to India.(Fab Focus News)
February 1, 2006... Toronto -- Coretec Inc. is utilizing outsourcing arrangements to India to provide "flex" capacity across key business processes for product not covered under International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR). "We have been piloting the use of...

Invotec grows flex capacity.(Invotec Group )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Invotec Group increased capacity and capability at its Tamworth plant. Plant manager Tim Tatton said "Invotec has a long-established expertise in the manufacture of flex and flex-rigid circuits and it has been one of the cornerstones of our...

FTG 're-enters' rigid flex and flex market.(Fab Focus News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Toronto -- FTG re-entered the rigid-flex and flex markets to answer the call of a high-end provider of aerospace compliant PCB products. This capability is being offered through its FTG Circuits (Chatsworth) facility. FTG Circuits (Chatsworth)...

Merix Hong Kong acquires BC license from Sanmina-SCI.(Fab Focus News)
February 1, 2006... Forest Grove, OR -- Merix's Hong Kong operation has been granted a license to manufacture products using the Buried Capacitance[TM] technology from HSCI. Buried Capacitance technology is a thin laminate material used in many high-speed designs...

Molex expands multilayer flex circuit assembly capabilities.(Fab Focus News)
February 1, 2006... Lisle, IL -- Molex Inc. now develops and delivers high-performance flex circuitry assemblies with up to 18 layers of conductive flex. In addition, Molex now has capabilities in the Americas to stamp flex circuitry and automatically...

Ruwel postpones work on Romanian plant.(Ruwel Group)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Ruwel AG postponed the work on its Romanian plant located in Tetarom industrial park in Cluj-Napoca, scheduled to start in March 2005, for the spring of 2006 as works on the park infrastructure have been delayed. The company announced that it...

HATS[TM] Test System implemented at Tech Circuits.(Fab Focus News)
February 1, 2006... Albuquerque, NM -- Integrated Reliability Test Systems (IRTS) Inc. announced that a Highly Accelerated Thermal Shock (HATS[TM]) Test System was installed in November at Tech Circuits, Inc. (Wallingford, CT). Three HATS[TM] Test Systems were...

Cosmotronic increases military qualifications.(QML approval)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Irvine, CA -- Cosmotronic, an ITAR and AS9100B registered PCB fabricator, increased its MIL-PRF-31032 qualifications for rigid, rigid-flex, and custom boards. Cosmotronic is now QML approved for: Rigid 36 layers; 0.335 inch panel thickness;...

IPC's Dieter Bergman provides details to Technology Roadmap.(Data Transfer)(Interview)
February 1, 2006... IPC recently released its 2004-2005 International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Connections. CircuiTree conducted a phone interview with IPC's director of technology transfer, Dieter Bergman, to get the details behind the roadmap, and what...

Fine lines in high yield (part CXXV): fine lines--beyond the limits of semi-additive processing?(copper circuits)
February 1, 2006... The finest circuitry in electronic packaging is found in the build-up microvia layers of IC packages. These circuits are formed by semi-additive processing (SAP, see Figure 1) which means a resist pattern is formed on top of very thin...

Prestwick Circuits announces equipment auction.(Data Transfer)
February 1, 2006... As part of a plant consolidation, the PCB manufacturing equipment of TT Electronics' Prestwick Circuits division will be sold at public auction. "This sale provides an excellent opportunity for plant managers worldwide to plan ahead and source...

Supplier spotlight: PWB software packages.(Data Transfer)
February 1, 2006... In order to continue to turn a profit, PWB manufacturers ("fabricators") are faced with having to be more efficient while increasing production quality, often with fewer resources. Fabricators feel pressure to cut product prices and provide...

Events.(Calendar)
February 1, 2006... DesignCon 2006 February 6-9, 2006 Santa Clara Convention Center (Santa Clara, CA) Website: www.designcon.com IPC Expo/APEX and Designers Summit February 8-10, 2006 Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, CA) Website:...