CircuiTree articles from January 2006

CircuiTree archives from January 2006

China has a plan ... how about the U.S.?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2006... I am sitting here looking at my calendar while moving the endless paper from one side of my desk to the other and uncovered the November CircuiTree that I put aside to remind me to send you a note. A bit belated, I wanted to commend you for...

Another one bites the dust.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2006... Just got done reading Steve Gold's [column] on CEOs out of control in the printed circuit industry ["All the Industry's a Stage," The Way We See It, page 9, December]. Each time I read how another one of our flagship plants has bit the...

Countdown to compliance.(RoadToRoHS)
January 1, 2006... My-ESM reported that China is making progress toward introduction of its version of the European Union's RoHS directive but the timeline for eliminating the use of hazardous materials will lag Europe's. "The final draft of China RoHS,...

iNEMI releases new Research Priorities.(The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Herndon, VA -- The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) released its 2005 Research Priorities. This document, which presents the consensus on R & D needs identified in the 2004 iNEMI Roadmap, is intended to help the...

Apocalypse 2006.(electronic components industry)(Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
January 1, 2006... I don't like to brag. In fact, humility is one of my defining virtues. For example, you'll never hear me say that I was my high school's valedictorian. Partly because I wasn't. But if I were, I definitely wouldn't bring it up during our first...

Isola Corp.( )(Company Profile)
January 1, 2006... Isola -- The Leader In Lead Free Assembly Compatible Laminates. Isola's family of lead free compatible products have passed 6X passes through lead free assembly conditions at 260C temperatures. This extensive family of products delivers high...

Preparing for the 'left shift' in design for fabrication analysis: integrating design for fabrication analysis tools with PCB/CAD tools is now a necessity for you and your customers. Here's why.
January 1, 2006... The need for Design for Manufacturing (DfM) and, more specifically, Design for Fabrication (DfF) checks as a part of the overall PCB design process are well documented. Articles in many of the industry trade magazines over the past few years...

Back to basics, part 7: getting started with flexible circuits (continued).(flexible thinking)
January 1, 2006... In the last part of this series, we reviewed the first 7 steps of a 14-step program for getting started in flexible circuits. This part concludes with a review of the last 7 steps. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Step 8: Define Electrical...

Parlex, Johnson Electric Holdings close deal.
January 1, 2006... Methuen, MA -- Parlex Corp. was acquired by Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd. Under terms of the merger agreement and the terms of the preferred stock, holders of Parlex common stock are entitled to receive $6.75 in cash for each share and holders...

Rember.(Renato Ottone resigned from his president position)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Ivrea, Italy -- REMBER's President Renato Ottone resigned his position as technical director of Pluritec Industries to resume his technical consulting activity at REMBER. Ottone has 35 years of experience in the machine tool field and will...

CMP Technologies.(People)
January 1, 2006... Phoenix, AZ -- Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, CMP Technologies, named Cliff Chen plant manager at its Asia Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center in the Hsinchu Science Park, Chunan satellite in Taiwan. Chen will be responsible for the...

DDi Corp.(appointment of Mikel Williams as president and chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Anaheim, CA -- DDi Corp. announced that Bruce McMaster, President, CEO and a director of the company has resigned from each of those positions. The Board of Directors appointed Mikel Williams, Senior Vice President and CFO of the company, as...

Exception PCB.(appointment of Graham Temple as technical manager)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... London -- Exception PCB appointed Graham Temple as technical manager. Temple will lead the development of flex-rigid products for the business. He and the team of five are based at Exception PCB's Tewksbury facility, where they will focus on...

GSPK Electronics.(People)
January 1, 2006... GSPK Electronics appointed Clive Matthews as Business Development Manager for its contract assembly business. The Knaresborough-based electronics manufacturing Services supplier recruited Matthews to promote its manufacturing capabilities and...

Innovex.(People)
January 1, 2006... Maple Plain, MN -- Innovex Inc. promoted Keith Foerster to Senior Vice President, Development and Sales. Foerster will continue to be responsible for new product development, advanced process development, global product management and global...

Multivac.(People)
January 1, 2006... Kansas City, MO -- Multivac Inc. announced that Dan Mack joined the company as Medical, Consumer and Industrial (MCI) market development manager. Mack is charged with identifying opportunities and developing strategies for growing Multivac's...

Greg Lucas forms consultancy.(People)
January 1, 2006... Union City, CA -- PCB veteran Greg Lucas created a consultancy firm to serve the international PCB industry. He will draw primarily on his personal knowledge and experience, but has a network of experts available whose skill is synergistic with...

Electrochemicals.(People)
January 1, 2006... Electrochemicals announced that Bob Metcalf joined the firm as Strategic Accounts Manager. He will be responsible for growing business to a group of key PWB fabricators in North America. He brings over fifteen years of experience in the PWB...

Park Electrochemical.(People)
January 1, 2006... Melville, NY -- Park Electrochemical Corp. appointed Steven Peake as President of the company's FiberCote Industries Inc. advanced composite materials subsidiary located in Waterbury, Connecticut.

RJR Circuits Inc.(People)
January 1, 2006... Sharon Kutcher was named Vice President of Operations at RJR Circuits Inc. She will be responsible for increasing and expanding RJR Circuits revenues and customer base as well as overseeing day-to-day manufacturing and quality functions.

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials.(appointment of Robert J. Ferguson as general manager)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Marlborough, MA -- Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials named Robert J. Ferguson as Circuit Board Technologies General Manager for North America and Europe. In this expanded capacity, Ferguson will have strategic responsibilities for both regions...

Gene H. Weiner & Associates Inc.(People)
January 1, 2006... Gene H. Weiner & Associates Inc. appointed Dr. Alan Poskanzer of Poskanzer & Associates as a Senior Associate of the Danbury, Conn., consultancy. Dr. Poskanzer is an expert in technology transfer and IP protection and licensing.

InteliCoat.(appointment of Chuck Quinby as business development manager)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... South Hadley, MA -- InteliCoat named Chuck Quinby Business Development Manager for its Conductive Products division. Quinby has worked in a range of technical and operational positions. In addition to managing the R & D analytical chemistry...

Sweet retreat: Orbotech's executive forum merged business and pleasure in Kunming by offering the supply chain a chance to learn about today's technology drivers and market trends.
January 1, 2006... In November, Orbotech hosted a two-day "executive forum" at the Spring City Golf & Lake Resort (Kunming, China), uniting the electronics industry supply chain to discuss market strategy and application drivers. Building on the success of a...

Automa-Tech introduces Arrow 250.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Automa-Tech introduced its new reel-to-reel automatic exposure unit: Arrow 250. Dedicated to flexible printed circuit production, the Arrow 250 can process up to 9 images a minute (inner-layer mode) providing a registration accuracy...

Polyclad Laminates introduces GETEK[R] HR RoHS compatible materials.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Franklin, NH -- Polyclad Laminates Inc. introduced GETEK[R] HR high speed, low loss laminates and prepregs. The CAF resistant, lead-free assembly compatible materials deliver enhanced thermal performance and high reliability required by PWB...

Samtec reveals Signal Integrity Design Guide.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Samtec's ability to provide "Signal Integrity at Any Distance[TM]" is detailed in this new Interconnect Design and Signal Integrity Services Guide. It includes end-to-end solutions for Panel-to-Panel, Panel-to-Board, Cable-to-Board, and...

Control Center XP Automated Process Planning for PCB fabrication version 3.5 released.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Santa Clara, CA -- Direct Logix released version 3.5 of Control Center XP's Process Planning, CAM Automation, DRC Analysis, Stack Up Generation, and Automated Traveler generation system. Control Center XP is built on a 100% Web-based,...

Serfilco introduces new 'Y' catalog.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Serfilco Ltd. changed direction through the introduction of a revised catalog promoting products which are pertinent to environmental tasks, involving aqueous solutions which can no longer be disposed of as ordinary waste. It features a wide...

Seica introduces new equipment at productronica.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Strambino, Italy -- Seica SPA revealed several new products within its new VIVA Integrated Platform[TM] to meet the challenges of today's focus on automation. These include the Strategy.sl, a fully automated in-circuit/functional bed of nails...

Lloyd Doyle 6000 AOT range.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Lloyd Doyle announced the European release of its new LD6000 range of equipment. The LD6000 range brings dramatic improvements in speed and resolution to board shops using AOT as in-process defect detection. The new range includes systems for...

Rogers showcases adhesiveless, all-polyimide flex circuit materials.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. revealed its 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 at this year's Productronica. Offerings...

Schmid reveals Shirai's visual inspection machine.(Products)
January 1, 2006... Munich-During Productronica last November, Schmid touted an automated visual inspection system created by Japanese-equipment maker Shirai. Called the Visper 510 AD series, Schmid is hoping it will appeal to fabricators that rely on human labor...

PCB fabricator news & notes.
January 1, 2006... With a resurgent economy in North America, PCB manufacturers once again seem to be investing in new equipment as well as cultivating new revenue streams. Below are a few examples of the latest moves and transactions. Lenthor Engineering...

How to design with flex in mind: flexible materials don't guarantee that the circuit will function reliably when bent or flexed. There are many factors that contribute to the reliability of a printed flex circuit and all of these factors must be taken into account during the design process to ensure that the finished circuit will function reliably.
January 1, 2006... The Flex Challenge When designing a flex circuit, the designer must factor in all of the parameters that will have an impact on the circuit's ability to bend or flex in the specific application. These include, but are not limited to:...

Who's this issue's expert?(ASK THE EXPERTS)
January 1, 2006... Dave Nelson, Technical Sales & Service Engineer [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Q: We have tried to switch several jobs from polyimide to high temperature epoxies without too much success. Why won't the high Tg epoxy products perform...

Parasitic capacitance in embedded inductors.(EmbeddedPassivesUpdate)
January 1, 2006... As we discussed in the previous two columns on embedded inductors, parasitic capacitance acts like a capacitor in parallel with the inductor, whether it's embedded or not, and causes it to switch from being an inductor to being a capacitor...

Olin Metals Research Lab wins Prize.(Suppliers)
January 1, 2006... Waterbury, CT -- Olin Metals Research Laboratories was awarded a Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA) Partnership's gold Innovation Prize for CopperBond[R] XTF Foil, a 1-5 micron peelable ED copper foil. Dr. Szuchain Chen, manager of...

Wise Software offers online ordering to the North American market.(Suppliers)
January 1, 2006... Newberg, OR -- WISE Software unveiled its Online Purchase Center to the North American market. The Purchase Center gives prospective buyers, as well as existing customers, the ability to obtain the GerbTool products quickly. Distribution of...

Uyemura-USA, Matrix announce partnership.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Uyemura-USA entered into an agreement with Matrix USA (Santa Ana, CA) whereby Matrix will sell Uyemura, UmicoreGT and MEC chemistries to Matrix's customer base in CA, UT, NM, NV, AZ, OR, WA--plus Baja CA and British Columbia. UIC's sales and...

DuPont, Toray Industries expand production facilities.(Suppliers)
January 1, 2006... RTP-NC -- DuPont Electronic Technologies will expand the production of DuPont[TM] Kapton[R] polyimide film with DuPont-Toray Co. Ltd., its joint venture with Toray Industries, Japan. Approximately $95 million will be invested in the new...

TUC announces new manufacturing hub in China.(Suppliers)
January 1, 2006... Changshu, China -- Taiwan Union Technology Corporation (TUC) opened its new office and production facility in Changshu, China on October 27. The 1.3 million square foot, state-of-the-art plant is located to serve PCB fabricators in the...

Capri acquired by Made2Manage Systems.(Suppliers)
January 1, 2006... Downers Grove, IL -- Capri Corp., a supplier of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to the PCB industry through its operating subsidiary Cimnet Systems Inc. was acquired by Made2Manage Systems Inc. for $5 million in cash. "This...

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials to hike prices in America, Europe.(Suppliers)
January 1, 2006... Marlboro, MA -- Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, Circuit Board Technologies in North America and Europe announced a price increase of between 3-5% across its range of PCB fabrication materials, in order to help offset the impact of...

Lackwerke Peters ELPEGUARD[R] sales grow.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Lackwerke Peters GmbH + Co KG registered an approximately 50% increase in sales of its ELPEGUARD[R] conformal/permanent coatings and thick film lacquers in the past four years alone. The start-up of a new production plant for the ELPEMER[R]...

Will slow growth cause inventory glut?(GrowthCurves)
January 1, 2006... After a peak early in 2004 growth in world electronics markets has been slowing and is now reaching a cyclical low point. Stock inventories have been burned off during the past year, so that we are now poised for something of an upturn in 2006....

Productronica: a beer in review; While attendance rose modestly this year, Productronica has ceased to be a must-attend event for Europe's shrinking PCB base. But new innovations on the show floor revealed that Munich is still a good place to see the next-generation of PCB equipment and materials.(printed circuit boards)
January 1, 2006... On the last day of Productronica, Munich received its first snow of the year. But while the snow will melt next spring, Europe's PCB industry will probably remain frozen: a victim of its own high labor and tax rates--not to mention Asia's...

Bridging the gap: a challenge to laminate manufacturers.(intelligent design)
January 1, 2006... For most of the history of PCB material, concerns have focused on low cost, impedance and the ability of materials to withstand soldering and rework temperatures. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With the advent of gigabit and higher data rates,...

IPC Printed Circuits Expo/APEX Product Preview.
January 1, 2006... IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Summit will be held on February 8-10, 2006, in Anaheim, California. Arlon Materials for Electronics -- Booth #1823 Arlon Materials for Electronics is a supplier of copper clad laminates...

Fine lines in high yield (part CXXIV): high performance dielectrics.(TechTalk)
January 1, 2006... As I was reviewing technology roadmaps of OEMs, PWB fabricators, and of industry consortia I was amazed at the multitude of exotic base materials listed for PWBs as well as for IC packaging substrates. I don't mean to declare FR-4 dead; by no...

Busy autumn but what will 2006 bring?(market outlook of semiconductor industry, computer hardware industry, telecommunications industry)(Industry Overview)
January 1, 2006... The "fall busy season" is centered in consumer electronics-producing countries (Asia) but the "overflow" is global. Personal computers, cell phones, video games, and audio & video equipment all exhibit strong seasonality with production peaking...

Events.(Calendar)
January 1, 2006... January 18-20, 2006 The Seventh PWB Expo Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo, Japan) Website: www.pwb.jp February 6-9, 2006 DesignCon 2006 Santa Clara Convention Center (Santa Clara, CA) Website: www.designcon.com ...