CircuiTree articles from May 2008

CircuiTree archives from May 2008

Hall pass.(My Line)
May 1, 2008... Ripping on IPC by industry press is a pretty easy thing to do and is something that is done with a fair amount of regularity. As former staff of the organization, I've had my moments where it would have been juicy to lay into them, but I choose...

Hello, Moto--company board orders split, Asia divisions face problems.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Schaumburg, Ill. -- Motorola, Inc.'s board of directors commenced a process to split the company into two independent, publicly traded companies: a Mobile Devices business and a Broadband & Mobility Solutions business. According to Greg Brown,...

Mentor Graphics, Agilent Technologies release EDA integrated solution to cut RF-PCB development time.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Wilsonville, Ore., and Santa Clara, Calif. -- Mentor Graphics Corp., the leader in PCB design solutions, and Agilent Technologies Inc., the leader in radio frequency (RF) design solutions, have developed both industries' first integrated design...

Millennia Group receives ITAR registration.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Pittsburgh -- The Millennia Group, Inc., completed registration under the U.S. Department of State's International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). ITAR regulates the manufacture, export, and transfer of defense articles, information and...

DuPont celebrates 40th anniversary of Riston dry-film photoresist.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Research Triangle Park, N.C. -- DuPont Printed Circuit Materials celebrated the 40th anniversary of DuPont[TM] Riston[R] dry-film photoresist. Over the past 40 years, a broad portfolio of Riston films has been developed for use in every major...

Neves receives IPC's Hall of Fame Award.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Bannockburn, Ill. -- Bob Neves, Microtek Laboratories, received the 2007 IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award, IPC's highest level of recognition, honoring members who make extraordinary contributions to IPC and the electronic...

Former Aspocomp employees raise claims.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Helsinki, Finland -- Twenty-one former employees of Aspocomp Group Oyj's subsidiary Aspocomp S.A.S. have raised claims against Aspocomp Group Oyj in French court; these employees were not involved in previous litigation. Claims total EUR...

Camtek revenues steady for fourth quarter.(Industry Review)(Financial report)
May 1, 2008... Migdal Haemek, Israel -- For Q4 FY 07, Camtek Ltd. reported revenues of USD 21 million, equivalent to the USD 21 million reported for Q4 FY 06. Net income (without impact of FIN 48 review) for Q4 FY 07 was USD 0.3 million, or USD 0.01 per...

Coretec numbers down for Q4 and FY 07.(Industry Review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Toronto -- Coretec Inc. reported revenues of USD 18.9 million for Q4 FY 07, an 18.5 percent decrease from Q4 FY 06 and a 13.7 percent decrease from Q3 FY 07. Gross profit for Q4 FY 07 was 16.1 percent of sales compared to 22.7 percent for Q4 FY...

Park Electrochemical declares quarterly dividend.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Melville, N.Y. -- Park Electrochemical Corp.'s board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of USD 0.08 per share. The dividend was payable May 8 to stockholders of record at the close of business on April 10.

IDC predicts double-digit growth for PC market despite current economic environment.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Framingham, Mass. -- According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, worldwide PC shipments are predicted to grow 12.8 percent in 2008, reaching 302 units. IDC projects growth to continue at above 11 percent in 2009, followed by high...

Flextronics and Nokia recognized for commitment to excellence in Lead-Free Electronics in Asia.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Bannockburn, Ill. -- Flextronics Industrial and Nokia Telecommunications Ltd. Dongguan Branch received certification from IPC for Lead-Free Electronics Assembly Process Capability in Asia. This certification demonstrates critical processes for...

Rogers net sales down in fourth quarter.(Industry Review)(Financial report)
May 1, 2008... Rogers, Conn. -- Rogers Corporation reported net sales from continuing operations of USD 108.7 million for Q4 FY 07. This is compared to USD 120.9 million for Q4 FY 06. Net sales from continuing operations for 2007 were USD 431.4 million,...

Rogers announces quarterly dividend at increased rate.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Toronto -- Rogers Communications Inc.'s board of directors declared quarterly dividends totaling USD 0.25 per share on each of its outstanding Class B Non-Voting shares and Class A Voting shares. This dividend was paid on April 1 to...

China's inflation hits a near 12-year high in February.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Beijing -- According to the AFP, China's inflation hit a near 12-year high in February at 8.7 percent. This figure marks the steepest rise in consumer prices since May 1996. While food prices were up 23.3 percent over February 2007, non-food...

Titan Global Holdings to reorganize.(Industry Review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Dallas -- Titan Global Holdings, Inc.'s board of directors approved a plan of strategic reorganization that will split Titan into four separate public companies, creating significantly greater opportunities for building stockholder value. Titan...

Valor reports record revenues of USD 42 million for 2007.(Industry Review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Yavne, Israel -- Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. reported record revenues of USD 42 million for 2007, an increase of 14 percent over 2006. Q4 FY 07 revenues were USD 10.6 million, a 6 percent increase over Q4 FY 06. Q4 FY 07 net profit was USD...

Pecht receives Lifetime Achievement Award from IEEE Reliability Society.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... New York -- Michael Pecht received the IEEE Reliability Society's Lifetime Achievement Award, based on his major contributions to the Reliability Society, Reliability Research, and Reliability Education. Pecht is the founder of the Center for...

EMA unveils Timing Designer Design Kit program.(Industry Review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Rochester, N.Y. -- EMA Design Automation[TM] released a vendor participation program where part manufacturers can contribute kits to EMA's TimingDesigner[R] Design Kit library; GSI Technology was the first participant by contributing kits for...

Parker new sales manager for JPSA.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Manchester, N.H. -- J. P. Sercel Associates Inc. (JPSA) appointed Matt Parker sales manager, central region. In this role, Parker will be responsible for coordinating sales activity and working with reps and sales organizations in the central...

Flex-Ability appoints Mannion new sales manager.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Hartlepool, U.K. -- Flex-Ability appointed Pat Mannion sales manager. In this role, he will predominantly cover the North of England, Wales, and Scotland, and he will also be helping to further develop the company's export market, which...

MFLEX appoints Meshgin CEO.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Anaheim -- Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (MFLEX), named Reza Meshgin chief executive officer, replacing Phil Harding, who will continue to serve as chair of MFLEX's board of directors. Meshgin joined MFLEX in 1989 and was named president and...

atg Luther & Maelzer GmbH receive iF Product Design Award.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Wunstorf, Germany -- atg Luther & Maelzer GmbH received the 2008 iF Product Design Award for excellent and outstanding industrial design for its PCB universal grid tester LM800 and flying probe tester S1. This is one of the oldest design awards...

Direct Logix announces third year of record revenue growth.(Industry Review)(Financial report)
May 1, 2008... Las Vegas -- Direct Logix Inc. reported record license shipments and revenue to global PCB manufacturers for FY 07; this marks the third consecutive year of record revenue growth. Revenue grew by over 65 percent in 2007.

Orbotech reports revenue increase.(Industry Review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Yavne, Israel -- For Q4 FY 07, Orbotech Ltd. reported revenues of USD 103.6 million; this is compared to USD 82.3 million in Q3 FY 07 and USD 103.3 in Q4 FY 06. Net loss for Q4 FY 07 was USD 1.1 million, or USD 0.03 per share (diluted),...

Prototron appoints Meiners to regional sales position.(Industry Review)(Prototron Circuits' Chris Meiners)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Redmond, Wash. -- Prototron Circuits appointed Chris Meiners to manage Prototron sales efforts in Texas and Oklahoma. In this role, Meiners will be responsible for all sales eff orts in the southern Midwest region. Meiners has more than 20...

Finn Baastrand new sales rep for Ventec.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Suzhou, China, and Leamington Spa, U.K. -- Ventec Electronics Co. Ltd. and Global Ventec Laminates UK Ltd appointed Finn Baastrand sales rep for Denmark and Scandinavia.

Ascentech provides Henkel with lab equipment for resistance and solderability testing.(Industry Review)
May 1, 2008... Chester, Conn. -- Ascentech, LLC, provided Henkel Corporation's Electronics Technology Center, Irvine, Calf., with laboratory equipment for surface insulation resistance and solderability testing. The MUST III Solderability Testing and the...

AMB Technic and NORANA new Asymtek distributors.(Industry Review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Carlsbad, Calf. -- Asymtek added two new distributors to market its automated fluid dispensing and conformal systems throughout Poland and Turkey: AMB Technic, Kolo, Poland, and NORANA, Izmir, Turkey. These companies will provide Asymtek's...

Fine lines in high yield (part CLII): immersion and electroless metallization processes.(Tech Talk)
May 1, 2008... The term electroless, as in electroless nickel process, is a curious one and has led to considerable confusion. In its literal meaning, it labels processes that proceed without applying an external electrical potential to drive the reaction....

Government Relations = profit.(Fein--Lines)
May 1, 2008... Are those of you who have P&L statement responsibility taking advantage of the R&D tax credit available to you? Did you know that you may be able to claim a tax credit, not a deduction but a credit, of tens or even hundreds of thousands of...

The pros and cons of tool selections.(Ask the Flexperts)
May 1, 2008... Q: Why is there such disparity in tooling setup charges from model to model? Are there more cost-effective tooling choices for final trim? A: Tooling can be very expensive, but by balancing real-world needs with our desires we can find...

How to update your DNC network with modern computers and software.(Cover story)
May 1, 2008... Why Direct Numerical Control Is Still With Us Many printed circuit board fabricators have their drilling and routing machines connected to a host computer using a direct numerical control (DNC) system. Typically there is a rack of short...

Lean sigma part IX.(View From the Middle)
May 1, 2008... The topic Voice of the Customer always creates some confusion in the context of lean practices. Although there should be no disagreement on the point that everything starts and ends with the customer, people typically have a difficult time...

A crap shoot, or a full house for Expo's new home?(Vegas)
May 1, 2008... As IPC show management walked away from Los Angeles last year following IPC Printed Circuits Expo[R], APEX[R] and the Designers Summit, the feeling wasn't exactly rosy. The industry trade group had worked hard to spin the positives of downtown...

Area array packaging--then and now.(Circuits Unusual)
May 1, 2008... High-volume packaging was presumably launched during WWII, when ceramic modules were mass-produced for proximity bomb fuses. Alumina ([Al.sub.2][O.sub.3]) was found to be a highly robust substrate and is still widely used today. The war-era...

What's happening-2010: part 2 - the impact of technology roadmaps 1992 to 1997.(CircuiTree 20-Year Retrospective)
May 1, 2008... The semiconductor industry was the first industry to embrace roadmapping. It saw the market erode due to Asian production and determined a need to define the status and future of the industry. Working under the Semiconductor Industry...

Using statistical tools in electronics manufacturing.
May 1, 2008... Within the electronics manufacturing industry, statistical tools are commonly used in process development, troubleshooting, and improvement. Two strategies in use are Six Sigma and the Shainin[R] system. These systems use a set of statistical...

Back to basics part 21-polymer coatings for flexible circuits: basic coverlayer and cover coat issues.(Flexible Thinking)
May 1, 2008... Those who have followed this series from the beginning will recall that there are several types of flexible polymer insulation cover coating systems available. Each of the materials accounted for in those discussions has its own advantages,...

Have you considered the new markets of solid-state illumination?(Happy Thoughts)
May 1, 2008... By now I'm sure you have noticed that light emitting diodes (LEDs) are beginning to show up everywhere in our everyday life. I think it is a BIG deal when high brightness (HB) LEDs start to appear in our Maglite (1) flashlights! This is the...

Resilience: electronic equipment demand holds in a difficult economy.(Market Outlook)
May 1, 2008... The global electronics industry took a hit in early 2008. A combination of U.S. financial woes (which ultimately impacted consumer and business spending worldwide), the normal post-Christmas seasonal consumer electronics slowdown, Lunar new...

A Personnel high in the rockies.(Shop Talk)(RJR Circuits Inc.)(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... In this new column, CircuiTree will highlight North American PCB shops. As these shops battle to keep their customer base, there are stories to be told of how they came into business, how they stay in business, and the philosophies that keep...

Events.(Conference news)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... Suzhou PCB Show May 14 - 16, 2008 Expo Plaza Suzhou, China www.circuitex.com/en/ EIPC Summer Conference May 29 - 30, 2008 Dresden, Germany www.eipc.org JPCA Show June 11 - 13, 2008 Tokyo Big...