CircuiTree articles from June 2004

CircuiTree archives from June 2004

Toxicity of UV curable ink jet inks.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... In your feature article by Ron Zohar (April 2004, page 36) there is a reference to the toxicity of UV curable ink jet inks. Whilst I disagree with many points in Mr. Zohar's article I feel it important to clarify his points on toxicity so as to...

North American fabricators get their groove back.(TheWayWeSeelt)(printed wiring boards industry)
June 1, 2004... When was the last time you heard of a North American PWB fabricator acquiring a facility owned by an Asian company? It happened in May. New England's Epec (New Bedford, MA) acquired Gultech's North Carolina prototype facility, giving Epec a...

Flexible FR-4: a low-cost replacement for polyimide-based circuits.(flexible circuitry)
June 1, 2004... With today's ever smaller packaging requirements, electrical, mechanical and industrial designers are continuously searching for any solution that allows them to squeeze that extra feature into their product, makes that product slightly smaller...

The Del-Mar Electronics show: a low cost alternative venue.(Fein-Lines)
June 1, 2004... With little fanfare, the latest Del Mar Electronics show--and now the new MedCon, bio tech and medical show--were held at the Del-Mar fairgrounds just north of San Diego, California in late April. The show was larger this year, growing to about...

Endicott Interconnect Technologies.(People)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Endicott Interconnect Technologies (EI) announced that Jay Desai has joined the company as Vice President of Sales. Desai brings to EI 20 years of experience in the electronic interconnect business, holding positions in both engineering and...

Uyemura International Corp. (UIC).(People)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... George Milad is promoted to National Accounts Manager for Technology. This position will allow George to continue his work with the IPC and also to continue work with large accounts, OEMs and other industry associations. He will be a central...

Rogers Corp.(People)(Michael L. Cooper)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. announced that Michael L. Cooper, currently Vice President and CIO, will become Vice President, Asia. He will be responsible for all manufacturing and staff functions at Rogers' manufacturing facilities located in...

Teradyne.(People)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Boston, MA -- Teradyne announced that its Chairman and CEO, George Chamillard, would transition out of his CEO role over the next few months and continue as the company's Chairman. Teradyne's Board of Directors has named Michael Bradley to...

Prestwick Circuits.(People)(Hodi Mirafsari)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... TT electronics Prestwick Circuits, a subsidiary of global electronics manufacturing company TT electronics plc, appointed Hodi Mirafsari as its environmental engineer. Mirafsari will oversee and manage Prestwick's environmental initiatives to...

Labtech.(People)(Mark Gullotti)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Rochester, NH -- Labtech (U.K.) appointed Mark Gullotti as the company's national sales manager for North America. He will develop and service North American customers in a broad range of market sectors.

Polyclad Laminates appoints Scott Trevino OEM Marketing Manager.(People)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Londonderry, NH -- Polyclad Laminates Inc., a Cookson Electronics Company, recently named Scott Trevino OEM Marketing Manager. He is responsible for all OEM marketing and services activities on the West Coast. Prior to joining Polyclad, he...

MacDermid appoints Stephen Largan as President.(People)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Waterbury, CT -- MacDermid announced the appointment of Stephen Largan as President. Mr. Largan will have responsibility for all of the business lines of the Company. Dan Leever Chairman and CEO said, "I am delighted to be able to announce...

Tyco's Printed Circuit Group pays $6 million EPA fine.
June 1, 2004... Pembroke, Bermuda -- Tyco Printed Circuit Group, Limited Partnership (TPCG) has entered a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act. Under terms of the plea...

Ready for MID?(CircuitsUnusual)(Molded Interconnect Devices for shaping printed circuits)
June 1, 2004... Some may recall the 3D Circuits initiative of the 1980s. Proponents hoped that molded circuits would garner a nice chunk of the printed circuit market. Plastic molding, combined with any number of conductor-generating processes, was used to...

AT & S China adds fourth production line, employee count.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Shanghai -- AT & S said it will expand its Shanghai staff by 20 percent, adding 160 new positions, while also building a fourth production line. Company spokesman Reinhold Oblak said AT & S China expects its sales will more than double this...

Coretec completes loan details for Proto Circuit acquisition.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Toronto -- Coretec Inc. completed an expanded loan facility with the Bank of Montreal with the funding of a $3.4 million term loan, associated with the recent acquisition of Proto Circuit Inc. of Ohio. The company used CDN $0.8 million of the...

Circuit CAD Corp. begins flexible circuit production.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Centerville, OH -- Circuit CAD Corp. (CCC) has begun production on various types of flex circuits with an established customer base. In addition, the company will pursue a developing need for long length reel-to-reel, and fine line flexible...

Data Circuits Systems courts military orders.(Fabrication)(certification)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... San Jose, CA -- Data Circuit Systems Inc. (DCS) attained certification and qualification to military specification MIL-PRF-55110F by DSCC (Defense Supply Center Columbus), and DCS is now approved to offer its PWB manufacturing services to its...

Merix: orders continue to improve.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Forest Grove, OR -- Merix said its third quarter sales increased 100% to $44.1 million compared to $22.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2003 and increased 19% compared to $37.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004. Gross margin...

Samtec partners with Flex Interconnect Technologies.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Flex Interconnect Technologies (FIT) has been selected as a strategic partner by Samtec in providing flex circuits. While Samtec designs and manufactures flex circuits, the company focuses on controlled impedance, multilayer flex circuit...

Prestwick Circuits turns 35.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... TT electronics Prestwick Circuits, a subsidiary of global electronics manufacturing company TT electronics plc, celebrated 35 years of manufacturing PWBs in April 2004. Founded in April 1969 with the objective of creating a precision...

Signum Circuits closes doors.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Selkirk, UK -- Signum Circuits closed its doors in April, with its remaining assets going into receivership. The closure meant the end of 105 jobs at the plant. Representatives from KPMG Corporate Recovery are discussing if Signum can recover,...

Shanghai surprises: tours of Shanghai Unitech Electronic and Parlex Shanghai reveal that China offers more than a low cost manufacturing environment. Meet two companies that promise to change the way PWB technology is researched and developed on the mainland.(Company Profile)
June 1, 2004... If you ask most PWB manufacturers in North America and Europe how they plan to compete with China's low cost manufacturing environment, you'll probably get a variety of answers. Value-added services. Quick turn orders. They might even assent to...

Challenges and solutions in fine line AOI.(Accent On Information )
June 1, 2004... High Density Interconnect (HDI) substrates incorporate fine line PCB technology--boards with narrower lines and spaces, thinner cores and higher aspect ratios. As technology is pushed to its limits, there is usually a reduction in yield. The...

Red, White or Blue, Sir? An illuminating look at the options available when choosing your next optical scanning system.(printed circuit boards manufacture)
June 1, 2004... Back in the last century, the PCB manufacturer investing in optical scanning equipment [1] had little choice when considering illumination for his new system. The illumination system is the component of the optical scanning equipment...

ManiaBarco raises the stakes in AOI: an interview with ManiaBarco's David Freeman reveals why the company waded into an already competitive AOI market--and why he thinks the Argos 8008 can hold its own.(Interview)
June 1, 2004... As a long-time PCB fabricator turned technical consultant, I am occasionally asked for objective advice and opinion by people about to commit to capital investment, and I try to stay up-to-date on what equipment is available and who are the...

Fine lines in high yield (part CV): laser Direct Imaging update.(TechTalk)
June 1, 2004... During the past year PWB fabricators have shown a renewed interest in LDI after about two years of relative dormancy. It appears that there are several drivers for this development. The growing need for: "true position" imaging of small...

DuPont introduces WB Series.(Products)(DuPont Electronic Technologies)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Research Triangle Park, NC -- DuPont Electronic Technologies introduced its newest offering in Europe for semiconductor packaging, DuPont WB Series dry photoresist for wafer bumping. According to DuPont, WB dry photoresist is an attractive...

Intercept Technology reveals Pantheon 5.0.(Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Atlanta, GA -- Intercept Technology Inc. released Pantheon v5.0, featuring improved area fill performance, automatic ink resistor generation, parametric wire bond breakout generator, area rules, fill rules, auto-via select, interactive routing...

Rogers features new products at Del Mar show.(Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. featured its new product for the R/flex[R] 3000 family of Liquid Crystalline Polymer (LCP)--based circuit materials at this year's Del Mar Electronics Show. Complementing the R/flex 3600 LCP single-clad laminate, the...

Rika Denshi receives patent for palladium cobalt.(Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Attleboro, MA -- Rika Denshi was issued a patent for its palladium cobalt plating. The patented concept involves any test probe with a palladium cobalt plated plunger. Palladium cobalt is a unique alloy that combines the metallurgical traits of...

Mitsui Copper Foil (M) attains ISO/TS 16949:2002.(Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Mitsui Copper Foil (M) Sdn Bhd (MCF) recently attained the ISO/TS 16949:2002 (First Edition) certification. This certification is based on a comprehensive and detail audit by third party international Certification Body and is recognized by the...

Park Electrochemical shows off N4380-13 RF.(Products)
June 1, 2004... Lake Success, NY -- Park Electrochemical Corp. introduced its new N4380-13 RF materials. Now available through Park's Neltec business unit (Tempe, AZ), the substrate material has been developed with a dielectric constant of 3.8 and is available...

Iwaki Walchem changes name.(Products)(Iwaki America)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Walchem Corp. (U.S.) and Iwaki Co. Ltd. (Japan) announced a name change for their joint venture manufacturing and sales company in Holliston, Mass. Formerly "Iwaki Walchem Corp.," the new name, "Iwaki America," more accurately defines the...

Digitaltest, The Test Connection team up.(Products)(US Digitaltest Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Concord, CA -- US Digitaltest Inc., a division of Digitaltest GmbH, announced The Test Connection Inc. (TTCI) of Reisterstown, MD has been named as a Certified Support Partner, covering the east coast of the U.S. The addition of a Certified...

Finishing touches for Flexible Circuits.(FlexibleThinking)
June 1, 2004... Over the last few years, PCB finishes have become increasingly important. There are a number of reasons for this. Some relate to attempts to reduce cost. Other reasons relate to functional concerns such as when the finish must serve more than a...

Dell CFO: we are starting to see upticks.(Board Buyers)(James Schneider)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... San Francisco, CA -- Dell's CFO said he believes the company could achieve $80 billion in annual revenue, from $41 billion last year. "There's no reason why we can't be at 30 percent market share, and we'd be an $80 billion company right now,"...

Alcatel exec hints company to sell mobile phone ops in China.(Board Buyers)(Christian Reinaudo)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Shanghai, China -- Christian Reinaudo, Alcatel's regional president in China, hinted that French-based company is considering selling its cell phone business to a Chinese buyer. Alcatel Shanghai Bell currently employs 6,000 people. Telling...

Kronos, Flextronics ink deal.(Board Buyers)(Kronos Advanced Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Belmont, MA -- Kronos Advanced Technologies Inc. selected the design services of Flextronics. Kronos will be working with Flextronics Design and Electrical Engineering Groups to prepare the Kronos power supply and related electronics for mass...

Siemens: cell phone market to grow 10 percent.(Board Buyers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Hanover, Germany -- Siemens expects the global cell phone market to grow ten percent this year and said it continued to gain market share as it promised to include picture messaging on all of its handsets. "We expect global handset sales to...

Plexus expands in Malaysia.(Board Buyers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Neenah, WI -- Plexus Corp. announced that its Board of Directors had approved an expenditure of approximately $12 million to expand the company's operations in Penang, Malaysia. The authorization includes the purchase of an existing 164,000...

Flextronics: 4Q sales break record.(Board Buyers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Singapore -- Flextronics' net sales for the fourth quarter were a record $3.8 billion, which represents an increase of $708.6 million, or 23% over the March 2003 quarter. Net sales for the fiscal year reached a record $14.5 billion, which...

nVIDIA announces major advance in computer graphics technology.(GeForce 6 series graphics card)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... San Francisco, CA -- nVIDIA fired the latest salvo in their ongoing graphics card war with ATI. CircuiTree attended an invitation-only event in San Francisco where nVIDIA unveiled the GeForce 6 series graphics card. The fullday event included...

Pesky component shortages limit PCB growth.(MarketOutlook, printed circuit boards industry)
June 1, 2004... To quote my colleague Ed Henderson "strong market currents are overpowering seasonal factors in the U.S. PWB industry." The second quarter is typically the weakest but this year's spring slowdown is quite muted. Equipment orders remain strong,...

3M scales volume production for Embedded Capacitor Materials.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Austin, TX -- The 3M Electronic Solutions Division is scaling up volume production of its 3M brand Embedded Capacitor Material at the company's manufacturing facility in Cumberland, Wisconsin. Production can accommodate standard and custom...

Intelicoat names CCI Eurolam distributor in France, Germany.(Suppliers)(Composants pour Circuits Imprimes - Eurolam)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Mathews, NC -- CCI Eurolam was named distributor for InteliCoat Tecnilith APF Artwork Protect Film for customers in Germany and France. The company will carry all varieties of the APF Artwork Protect Film, including new matte and super matte...

Christopher Associates announces installation at ISU Petasys.(Suppliers)(HC 610 hole inspection system)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Christopher Associates Inc. installed a HC 610 hole inspection system at ISU Petasys (Sylmar, CA). The HC 610A (auto-focus) is capable of inspecting printed circuit substrates after drilling or plating, or at final inspection for missing, extra...

CCMP celebrates tenth anniversary.( CCMP Inc. )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Anaheim, CA -- Speculating that it is possibly North America's last independent source for mass lam, CCMP Inc. celebrated ten years in business in April. According to sales VP Bill Schwerter, "Experts thought we were nuts starting up in '94....

Orbotech snags major order from AU Optronics.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Yavne, Israel -- Orbotech Ltd. received a major order for AOI systems from AU Optronics. This AOI equipment is to be utilized in Taiwan's first sixth generation TFT-LCD fab currently under construction by AU Optronics at the Taichung Science...

PerfecTest announces installations.(Santa Light Circuits)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Redmond, WA -- PerfecTest Corp. announced that the following companies have purchased and installed PerfecTest P4 systems for controlling inner layer registration in high-density multilayer PCBs: Unimicron (Shenzen, China), Unimicron, Taoyuan,...

PTC acquires OHIO Design Automation Inc.(PTC Technology, OHIO Design Automation Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Needham, MA -- PTC announced it acquired OHIO Design Automation Inc., a New Hampshire-based leader in electronics design collaboration software. The allcash transaction is valued at approximately $12 million. Major OHIO-DA customers include...

Speedline, Georgia Institute of Technology form technology agreement.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Speedline Technologies Inc. formed an exclusive agreement with the Georgia Institute of Technology for the license of patent-pending closed-loop printing technology. The intellectual property facilitates the closing of the loop between an AOI...

Viking Test Services announces four more sales.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Viking Test Services announced that Viasystems Mommers (Echt, Netherlands) have purchased a 32" X 48" MicroCraft bare board tester. This tester is capable of testing the largest PWBs with a huge array of test features. The machine can test...

IPC GR Committee tackles issue of international trade.(NewsFromNorthbrook)(Government Relations)
June 1, 2004... The two-year economic down-turn and the rapid emergence of China as a global center for manufacturing during that same period, coupled with the slow pace of the economic recovery in the PCB sector has pushed the issue of international trade...

Tin whisker growth: substrate effect understanding CTE mismatch and IMC formation.(Intermetallic compounds)(Coefficient Of thermal Expansion)
June 1, 2004... It is well recognized that both IMC formation and CTE mismatch are largely affected by the substrate material and underlayer/barrier between Sn and substrates, as well as aging conditions. This article, published in an abridged version,...

Events.(Calendar)
June 1, 2004... June 2-4, 2004 JPCA Show Toyko, Japan E-mail: show@jpcanet.or.jp June 14, 2004 The Board Authority Live: Permanent PCB Materials Hyatt San Jose (San Jose, CA) Email: peg@circuitree.com or visit www.circuitree.com...