CircuiTree articles from January 2008

CircuiTree archives from January 2008

National Physical Laboratory completes investigation of XRF measurement.(Data Transfer)
January 1, 2008... As part of a project in the Materials Processing Metrology Programme of the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) completed a study that investigated the suitability of using XRF systems for screening...

BCC predicts world market for electronic products will increase to USD 3.2 trillion in 2012.(Data Transfer)
January 1, 2008... According to BCC Research's new market report Global Electronics: High Growth Products and New Markets, the word market for electronic products was worth USD 1.8 trillion in 2006. BCC predicts this fi gure will increase to USD 2 trillion in...

U.S. and China--strange bedfellows? Perhaps not ...(The Way We See It)(Capitol Technologies Inc.)(Paul Emello)
January 1, 2008... CircuiTree recently held a two-day symposium on the status and future of the U.S. PCB industry. All of the presentations were very well received, and the open discussion on the second day proved very heated and informative. [ILLUSTRATION...

Agilent unveils AOI platform.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Santa Clara, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. unveiled the Agilent Medalist sj5000 AOI platform. This new AOI solution targets post-reflow inspection and is designed on a flexible platform that is easy to use, helping PCB manufacturers keep...

Lloyd Doyle releases new wafer scale bump inspection system.(Technology Today News)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Surrey, England -- Lloyd Doyle released IBIS-Versalea, a bump inspection system aimed at silicon wafer bump inspection. The new system builds on the IBIS technology previously released by Lloyd Doyle, which uses conventional interferometry...

Zuken and Aldec release CADSTAR FPGA.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Westford, Mass., and Munich -- Zuken and Aldec launched CADSTAR FPGA, a collaborative product for complete FPGA design and verification. The design solution combines Aldec's Active HDL Lite verification tool with Zuken's desktop PCB design...

EMA and Design Advance release free ROI calculator for CircuitSpace.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Rochester, N.Y. -- EMA Design Automation[TM] and DesignAdvance introduced a free ROI calculator for the CircuitSpace[TM] PCB design software. The calculator, which quantifies the time and cost benefits of using CircuitSpace, enables customers...

Technic releases cyanide-free plating chemistry.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Cranston, R.I. -- Technic, Inc., released Cy-less II-W, a cyanide-free silver-plating process chemistry designed for general metal finishing, decorative, and electronic component/connector applications. The new chemistry addresses the global...

Datron releases Integrated Vision System for high-speed machining applications.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Milford, N.H. -- Datron Dynamics, Inc., released the Datron IVS, a vision system for high-speed machining applications. Housed in a rugged metal chassis for industrial applications, it is mounted to the Z-axis of its machining centers for...

Printar introduces first ever digital solder mask printing system.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Rehovot, Israel -- Printer Ltd. introduced GreenJet[TM], the first ever fully digital solder mask printing system for PCB production. GreenJet achieves an unparalleled level of performance for solder mask formation by replacing the conventional...

New Cadence Technology eases design of nanometer wireless chips.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... San Jose, Calif. -- Cadence Design Systems, Inc., introduced Cadence[R] Virtuoso[R] Passive Component Designer, a complete flow for the design, analysis, and modeling of inductors, transformers, and transmission lines. The new technology puts...

Universal and Valor partner to deliver new NPI solution.(Technology Today News)
January 1, 2008... Binghamton, N.Y., and Yavne, Israel -- Universal Instruments Corporation (UIC) and Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. partnered to deliver a new, best-in-class NPI solution for UIC assembly machine users based on Valor's vPlan production planning...

Aspocomp appoints CFO.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... Helsinki, Finland -- Aspocomp Group Oyj appointed Pertti Vuorinen CFO, replacing Tapio Engstrom, who moved to a role outside the group. Most recently, Vuorinen was CFO Asia-Pacific for Aspocomp.

Heller president Marc Peo joins IPC board.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... Bannockburn, Ill. -- Heller Industries president Marc Peo was appointed to IPC's board of directors, filling Pierre de Villemejane's slot; Peo's term ends April 2009.

Cochrane joins D.B. Management Group.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... Waterville, Maine -- D.B. Management Group announced that Alan Cochrane has joined its team, and he will assist companies with engineering aptitude enhancements, process initiation/advancements, exotic materials processing, 3D electrical...

David Torp new IPC VP of standards and technology.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... Bannockburn, Ill. -- David Torp joined IPC as vice president of standards and technology where he is responsible for IPC's certification, professional development, and multimedia programs.

O'Malley new iNEMI manager of operations.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... Herndon, Va. -- Grace O'Malley is the new manager of operations-Europe for the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI). In this role, she will coordinate iNEMI's activities in Europe, providing "on-the-ground" resources in...

Artetch appoints Peter Fuller sales manager.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... East Sussex, U.K. -- Artetch Circuits appointed Peter Fuller as its northern area sales manager. Fuller has 23 years of experience in the PCB industry.

Klaus Hagen joins DfR as technical salesperson.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... College Park, Md. -- DfR Solutions added Klaus Hagen to its staff, where he will be responsible for technical sales in German-speaking countries.

Grudzien new Rogers VP of sales.(Power People News)
January 1, 2008... Rogers, Conn. -- Rogers Corporation promoted Jeffery M. Grudzien to vice president of sales, where he will be responsible for managing a global sales team.

FTG Circuits installs Excellon Laser System.(Supply Line News)(FTG Data Systems)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Rancho Dominguez, Calif. -- FTG Circuits, Toronto, installed an Excellon Cobra Hybrid Laser System. According to Terry Haney, marketing director for Excellon, "The quick set-up time, accuracy, and flexibility of profiling as well as drilling...

Assured Quality Technologies to represent Kyocera Tycom's PCB cutting tools.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Irvine, Calif. -- Assured Quality Technologies (AQT) will represent Kyocera Tycom Corporation's (KTC) PCB drilling and cutting tool product line, providing sales and technical support for KTC products and repoint services in Eastern Wisconsin,...

RBP expands efforts in Europe.(Supply Line News)(RBP Chemical Technology)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Milwaukee -- RBP Chemical Technology is expanding efforts in Europe, broadening its coverage of the European printed circuit market. President Mark Kannenberg commented, "RBP Chemical Technology efforts in Europe complement our market...

Christopher Associates makes multiple sales of Koh Young inspection system.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Santa Ana, Calif. -- Christopher Associates announced sales of Koh Young Technology's 3D solder paste inspection system to Robert Bosch LLC, Nokia, and Continental--Temic; this is Continental's seventh system. ACR and Sanmina-SCI also purchased...

CADParts & Consulting joins PCB Libraries' reseller program.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Des Plaines, Ill. -- CADParts & Consultling, LLC, signed an agreement to market the complete PCB Libraries product line, including the IPC-7351A LP Product Suite, CAD Tool Specific Libraries, and training CDs. CADParts & Consulting will promote...

Stablcor and DDi enter into new licensing agreement.(Supply Line News)(Stablcor Incorporated and Dynamic Details Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Costa Mesa, Calif. -- Stablcor Incorporated and DDi Corporation, Anaheim, Calif., signed a licensing agreement eliminating end-product royalties. Previously, these were charged to the fabricator before the product could be shipped to the end...

Endicott purchases four more Schmoll Machines.(Supply Line News)(Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Garden Grove, Calif. -- Endicott Inter-connect Technologies placed an order for four more MX-1 XXL advanced high-speed drilling machines from Schmoll Maschinen, Germany; EI now has a total of eight units from Schmoll. Endicott chose a mix of...

Zuken PCB manufacturing solution available.(Supply Line News)(printed circuit boards)(verification system )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Westford, Mass., and Munich -- Zuken now offers its PCB manufacturing design and verification system DFM Center to customers in Europe and North America. DFM Center enables board producers to handle the increasing complexity and diversity of...

WISE makes first sale in Indian market.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Parma, Italy -- WISE Worldwide Enterprise srl made its first sale in the Indian market with two customers. WISE sold a Scrubstar machine to the Indian Space Research Organisation and a Devstar machine, Stripstar machine, and a Titanium Etching...

AT&S chooses Enthone dry-film resist.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Langenfeld, Germany -- Enthone reported that AT&S Austria Technologie & System-technik AG accepted its PHOTEC* H-9825 dry-film photoresist, which is currently in volume production at the AT&S Hinterberg, Austria, facility. Implementation is...

Mania and Eastek sign OEM agreement.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Gent, Belgium, and Taipei -- Mania Technologie Belgium NV and Eastek signed an OEM agreement wherein Eastek will offer Mania's CAM software as part of its software product range for the PCB industry. Mania's software capabilities offer faster,...

Victrex installs Enercon Plasma system.(Supply Line News)
January 1, 2008... Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Victrex Technology Center in the U.K. installed its first atmospheric plasma surface treating system, choosing Enercon's Plasma3[TM] surface treater to enable downstream converting of its high-performance APTIVTM film...

Sanmina-SCI releases Q4 and year-end results.(Financial News)(Financial report)
January 1, 2008... San Jose, Calif. -- For Q4 FY 07, Sanmina-SCI Corporation reported revenue of USD 2.5 billion, compared to USD 2.5 billion in Q3 FY 07 and 2.7 billion in Q4 FY 06. For the entire fiscal year, revenue was USD 10.4 billion, compared to USD 11...

AT&S sets record for first half of year.(Financial News)
January 1, 2008... Vienna -- AT&S reported record EUR 21.6 million net income and EUR 0.94 earnings per share for the first half of FY 2007/2008. Revenues increased 4 percent year-over-year, to EUR 24.7 million, and operating profit was up 11 percent to EUR 22.2...

M-Flex reports fiscal year-end and Q4 FY 07 results.(Financial News)(Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Anaheim, Calif. -- Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc., reported that net sales for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, increased to USD 508.1 million from USD 504.2 million for FY 06, while net income for FY 07 decreased to USD 3.0 million,...

Flextronics reports record results for Q2 FY 08.(Financial News)(Flextronics International Ltd.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Singapore -- Flextronics had record results for Q2 FY 08, reporting a net sales increase of USD 855 million, or 18 percent, to USD 5.6 billion for Q2 FY 08 compared to Q2 FY 07. Adjusted net income increased 25 percent year-over-year to USD 146...

Orbotech revenues dip.(Financial News)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Yavne, Israel -- Orbotech Ltd. released its Q3 FY 07 results, reporting revenues of USD 82.3 million, compared to USD 88.6 million in Q2 FY 07 and USD 106.9 million in Q3 FY 06. Net income for Q3 FY 07 was USD 0.4 million, or USD 0.01 per share...

Coretec releases Q3 results.(Financial News)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Toronto -- For Q3 FY 07, Coretec reported sales of USD 21.9 million, up USD 0.1 million or 0.4 percent compared to sales of USD 21.8 in Q2 FY 07 and up USD 0.4 million or 1.9 percent from sales of USD 21.5 million in Q3 FY 06. Coretec recorded...

Asia continues to shape our industry.(CircuiTree 20-Year Retrospective)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... What turning points and/or events in the industry do you feel had the greatest impact over the last 20 years? The elevation of price from King to Emperor by major OEMs attempting to follow Japan's track of continual, annual price...

Back to basics part 19 -- surface mount land terminations for flex circuits.(Flexible Thinking)
January 1, 2008... While surface mount technology (SMT) is generally gauged to have had its beginnings in the late 1970s, the technology actually has roots that extend back to the very beginnings of the IC industry. The flat leaded package that was developed by...

Manufacturing-aware design process.
January 1, 2008... Bringing increasingly complex PCB designs through the manufacturing process is becoming more challenging. This increased design complexity creates new hurdles to efficiently move into volume production. The difficulties of taking a product...

IPC energy benchmarking survey -- how big is your company's carbon footprint?(Environmentally Speaking)
January 1, 2008... As many companies are discovering, the environmental and economic benefits of conserving energy go hand in hand. By reducing its energy use, a company not only emits less greenhouse gases (GHGs), it also significantly cuts its energy costs and...

An empirical method for PCB defect analysis.(Guest Editorial)
January 1, 2008... High-end PCB fabrication is a very complex process in which many different kinds of knowledge are required, such as that of equipment, optical systems, electrochemistry, and organic chemistry. To control the quality of PCBs, manufacturers...

Fine lines in high yield (part cXLVIII): adhesion to copper--trends and issues.(Tech Talk)
January 1, 2008... First- and second-level packaging has always wrestled with yield and electronic packaging reliability issues associated with low adhesion of the copper to an adjacent organic phase, be it the dielectric insulator, a permanent material, or...

Terminating flex circuits.(Ask the Flexperts)(Verdant Electronics )(Interview)
January 1, 2008... Q: What is the best way to terminate a flex circuit? Can you get flex circuit connectors that are made especially for flexible circuits? A: Yes. There are many connectors that are manufactured specifically for use with flexible circuits and...

IPC announces industry results for October.(Data Transfer)(printed circuit boards)(Financial report)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
January 1, 2008... IPC released the October findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board Statistical Program. In October, rigid PCB shipments were down 0.8 percent and bookings were down 1.7 percent from October 2006. Rigid PCB shipments were...

Embedded active technologies for convergent microelectronic systems.
January 1, 2008... Greatly increasing demand for highly integrated and microminiaturized convergent systems with consumer, computer, communication, and biomedical functions requires effective system integration solutions to incorporate the necessary technologies,...

China: the sleeping giant.(Growth Curves)
January 1, 2008... Let China Sleep... for when she awakes she will shake the world. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --Napoleon Bonaparte For centuries, China stood as the leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. In the...

2008: Increased market share and new products are key to growth.(Market Outlook)(Artetch Circuits appointed Peter Fuller)
January 1, 2008... In Q3 FY 07, global electronic equipment sales rose 12 percent (Chart 1). Not bad! However, production was flat in North America, Europe, and Japan, with most of the growth in Southeast Asia. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [FIGURE 1 OMIITTED]...

Crosshatching: the designer's tie that binds?(Intelligent Design)
January 1, 2008... In recent months, I have had students of clients tell me that their fabricator is asking for crosshatching planes in a PCB or fill copper in signal layers (usually outer layers). This has almost died out as a request, but sometimes it pops up...

Isola CEO: company "is not, Was not for Sale".(Data Transfer)(Isola Group)(Ray Sharp )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Quelling rumors regarding the sale of Isola by its parent company, TPG, Isola CEO Ray Sharp announced that the company is not and was not for sale. "Isola is not on the market," Sharp said. Korean-based company Doosan demonstrated interest in...

Rohm and Haas increases product prices.(Data Transfer)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Rohm and Haas Company is seeking price increases for most of its chemical products; increases will range from 5 to 15 percent. The cost increase is due to persistently high raw materials costs, such as propylene, ethylene, and methanol....

Low dielectric fabrics for circuit board applications.
January 1, 2008... While glass fibers are commonly used to reinforce circuit board substrates, they have a high dielectric constant and loss. Cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) fibers have a lower dielectric constant and loss. By combining these fibers with glass...

SMTA International announces best papers.(Data Transfer)
January 1, 2008... SMTA International awarded USD 1,000 and plaques for Best Conference Paper, Best of Proceedings Paper, and Best International Paper for 2007. Winners are: David Hillman and Matt Hamand of Rockwell Collins for Best of Conference for their work...