CircuiTree articles from November 2003

CircuiTree archives from November 2003

Intel (greed) inside.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I read the [press release] regarding Craig Barrett's comments in Chengdu with both amazement and disdain ["Intel CEO: U.S. Not Doing Enough to Keep Electronics Business" CircuiTree Web Site]. Intel had maintained some of the highest profit...

Beating a path to China.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... Steve Gold's column ["(Re)Invention is the Mother of Necessity," September 2003] was poignant, but I would add to the gist of it. The old adage "build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door" still rings true. However,...

Don't blame the Chinese; Indians don't.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I am a bit disappointed to point out our very informative and readable CircuiTree has become thinner in size. It is very much in keeping with the tough business conditions prevailing in the market at present. The only refrain that has become...

'Splinter group' or grassroots movement?(The Way We See It)(United States Printed Circuit Association )
November 1, 2003... Japan has one. China has one. Korea, too. The U.K. has one, as do France, Germany and Italy. India? Yup. Heck, even Hong Kong has one--and Hong Kong isn't even a nation! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Is it time for the U.S. to form its own...

Optimization and evaluation method for optical inspection systems; AOI systems do not add functionality or structural elements to a PCB--but they do save hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in yield loss, scrap cost, and penalties.(Printed Circuit Board)(Automated Optical Inspection )
November 1, 2003... If an ideal AOI system existed, it would detect each and every real defect, running high throughput with no false alarms. Modern AOI systems offer improved optics, more powerful hardware and smarter algorithms that help bring inspection...

Outsourcing total PCB fabrication.(Printed Circuit Board )
November 1, 2003... In the PCB industry, the name of the game is to serve the customer. North American PCB fabricators often face the challenge of meeting customer demands for services or processes they cannot do in-house, such as immersion gold, scoring, mass-lam...

You can't have it both ways.
November 1, 2003... You like being able to buy a new DVD player for $99, but you hate the unemployment numbers. You purchase a $59 ceiling fan but you can't understand why the manufacturing sector is lagging in what seems to be an otherwise moderate economic...

Lenthor Engineering.(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Milpitas, CA -- Lenthor Engineering added to its management group by hiring John Rolle as Director of Quality. Rolle brings over ten years of first-hand board fabrication experience as well as his background in Quality Systems and Management....

MEC.(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Milwaukee, WI -- MEC, formerly Milwaukee Electronics Corporation, named Jim Winistorfer General Manager at MEC Midwest. He will be responsible for all operations and functions at MEC Midwest in Milwaukee, and will direct company-wide sales and...

Pacothane Technologies.(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... New York, NY -- Pacothane Technologies appointed David M. Griesel as Managing Director, Asia Pacific. He will be responsible for leading the Sales, Distribution and Marketing efforts for the line of Pacothane Products throughout the Asia...

Park Electrochemical Corp.(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Lake Success, NY -- Park Electrochemical Corp. elected Steven P. Schaefer as Senior Vice President, Technology. In his new position, he will be responsible for the company's research and development efforts, and he will continue to lead the...

Rogers Corp.(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. selected Frank Gillern as the new Vice President of Rogers Advanced Circuit Materials Division (ACMD), in Chandler, Ariz. He replaces Robert Daigle, who recently was named Vice President of R&D, CTO at Rogers. In his...

TT electronics.(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... TT electronics appointed Neil Rodgers to its Board. He will assume the post of Chief Executive in April 2004 following the retirement of Sheridan Comonte. A qualified accountant, Rodgers joined TT electronics in 1992 as a divisional finance...

Executive explanations: Rogers' Harry Kenworthy.(Interview)
November 1, 2003... Harry Kenworthy is Vice President of Manufacturing for Rogers Corporation, as well as the company's Six Sigma Executive Champion. Headquartered in Rogers, Connecticut, Rogers develops and manufactures high-performance specialty materials, which...

Advances in reinforcement structures: fine lines in high yield (part XCVIII).
November 1, 2003... The classic woven-glass reinforced epoxy base material has served the industry well as a low cost platform for interconnects, with reasonable dimensional stability and dielectric properties. The need for improved impedance control and better...

How to get started in HDI with microvias.(High Density Interconnect)(Editorial)
November 1, 2003... Editor's Note The following is as an abstract on high density interconnect (HDI) technology. Our readers can find the full article of this free technical contribution to the industry by visiting www.circuitree.com. In addition, readers can...

Lasers and flexible circuits: a 'flexible' technology for a flexible technology.
November 1, 2003... Flexible circuits are about as close as one can get to an ideal interconnection technology. They offer freedom of design and layout that is unparalleled among competitive interconnection methods. However, it is sometimes the very advantages of...

Christopher Group acquires EPC Corp.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Santa Ana, CA -- Christopher Group Inc. purchased all assets and intellectual property of EPC Corp. (Dallas, TX), and will relocate EPC's manufacturing to Christopher's California headquarters. EPC, a manufacturer of verification and repair...

C.A. Picard to combine facilities.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Costa Mesa, CA -- C.A.Picard Production Technology (Costa Mesa, CA) and C.A.Picard Inc. (Battle Creek, MI) will combine their production facilities. C.A.Picard Inc. (Battle Creek) will become the manufacturing center for all PCB-related...

Rogers grows cell phone materials business.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Rogers, CT -- Rogers Corp. announced that increasing amounts of its high performance specialty materials are being designed into new cellular telephones that offer improved features and are more compact and "user-friendly" in their design. A...

DownStream Technologies first half revenue up 10%.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Bolton, MA -- DownStream Technologies announced that revenues for the period ending June 30, 2003 were up 10% over the same period last year. The company cited many factors for the growth including an ability to transition customers after the...

ACS Technologies reports new orders.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Farmington, AR -- ACS Technologies Inc. announced South Coast Circuits (Santa Ana, CA) placed an order for the patented TruCure model TC243. Chuck Benson, president of South Coast Circuits stated, "The big issue facing U.S. PCB fabricators is...

Adeon Technologies sells FineTrak to Cirtron PCB Services.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Adeon Technologies B.V. sold the first FineTrak FT300 series laser photoplotter to Cirtron PCB Services (Leamington Spa, UK). The FineTrak FT300 is manufactured by Fujifilm Electronic Imaging Ltd (FFEI) in the UK. The 3-laser model (FT303) is...

WISE Software continues GerbTool sales.(Suppliers)(WISE Software Solutions Inc. reached distribution agreements with Cybernet Systems Co. Ltd. (Japan), InterSys Ltd. (Korea), and SUPCAD (Czech Republic))(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Newberg, OR -- WISE Software Solutions Inc. reached agreements with Cybernet Systems Co. Ltd. (Japan), InterSys Ltd. (Korea), and SUPCAD (Czech Republic), for distribution of the GerbTool product line. These appointments will allow WISE...

Polyclad Laminates to close Nantes, France operation.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Londonderry, NH -- Polyclad Laminates Inc. intends to close its Nantes, France operation. The closure, currently under discussion with the local unions, would impact 64 manufacturing and administrative employees. Polyclad would continue to...

Taconic purchases Teradyne laminates plant.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Petersburgh, NY -- Taconic purchased Teradyne's laminate facility in La Verne, California. The former Synthane Taylor plant will be used to manufacture TacPreg[R] prepregs and TacLam[R] laminates for high layer count high-speed digital and...

Sovereign Circuits installs HMS Hollmuller horizontal electroless line.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... HMS Hollmuller announced that Sovereign Circuits has purchased and installed its horizontal electroless line. The PTH Speedline installed at Sovereign combines deburr, desmear and electroless processes in a single horizontal line. National...

Markets and forecasts: 4th quarter 2003.(Finance & Forecast)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... This is the first in a series of regular quarterly columns that deals with the information technology sector, and the market trends that influence it. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For the first time in years, the overall picture for the U.S....

Fabfile Network focus on Colorado.
November 1, 2003... It's a mystery. How can a little state like Colorado (population 5 million) with 11 centrally located PCB facilities maintain annual PCB sales of $79 million (North American production) in these tough times? As a miniaturized metaphor for the...

Implementing a simple corrosion test method to detect "black pad" phenomenon in electroless nickel/immersion gold plating; a quick and simple method to assess the acid corrosion resistance property of as-plated EN deposits.
November 1, 2003... Over the past several years, electroless nickel/immersion gold (ENIG) plating continues to be applied significantly in the electronics industry for its excellent planarity, solderability and wire bondability during multiple solder reflowing,...

Electronic Materials and Processes Handbook.
November 1, 2003... Charles Harper's popular handbook is now appearing in its 3rd edition (McGraw Hill Handbooks, copyright 2004, ISBN 0-07-140214-4). Since edition No. 2 was issued in 1994 there have been remarkable changes in electronic designs and packages that...

Global recovery accelerates but what can North America expect?(Market Outlook)
November 1, 2003... The October IPC TMRC meeting in Minneapolis was great. Not only were the speakers excellent but the audience was upbeat! Market conditions have recently improved, and PCB manufactures and their suppliers now see some reason for optimism....

Elo-Chem, CSM join forces.(CSM Products and Elo-Chem have joined)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... CSM Products and Elo-Chem have joined forces to create Elo-Chem-CSM GmbH. The new company produced an etching recycling system, combining simple metal recuperation to an integrated alkaline etching and recycling process. Visit...

The 'hottest thing' in rheology.(Products)
November 1, 2003... Ashland, VA -- A new environmental chamber from Anton Paar enables rheological measurements from -100 [degrees]C to +1000 [degrees]C, and is available as an accessory for all Physica MCR rheometers. The CTD-1000 can accommodate plate-plate and...

Telmec shows range of scoring machines.(Products)
November 1, 2003... Munich -- At Productronica, Telmec will show its new range of scoring machines: the small and compact SL13.11 and the fully automatic X-Y cutting SL13.20. Telmec will also present the SL2000, a conveyorized vertical electro-plating line for...

Production Solutions offers new In-Line PCB support system.(Products)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Poway, CA -- Production Solutions Inc. introduced its new In-Line Red-E-Set substrate support system for use in screen printers, dispensing systems and automated assembly machines. Unlike other optional in-line board support systems, the...

Transene offers range of PCB plating chemicals.(Products)
November 1, 2003... Transene Company offers a complete range of electroless plating chemicals for PCB applications. Nickel, gold, copper, silver, and tin are available as immersion or electroless plating solutions. The high purity formulations are manufactured...

Cadence ships Or CAD 10.0 release.(Products)
November 1, 2003... San Jose, CA -- Cadence Design Systems Inc. shipped its OrCAD[R] 10.0 release, with new features. It now addresses specific design tasks of both PCB designers and electrical engineers with the introduction of three new Unison design suite...

Schmid shows off latest development at Productronica.(Products)
November 1, 2003... Munich -- Gebr. Schmid will display its new product developments and the "Schmid service portal," an interactive service in the Worldwide Web, at the Productronica. The product highlights include the direct structuring of photoresists and...

Mentor Graphics announces TeamPCB.(Products)(engineering software aids in printed circuit board design)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Wilsonville, OR -- Mentor Graphics Corp. announced TeamPCB, a new design collaboration tool for implementing and managing team design processes. For PCB designs that are too large or complex for a single person or team to complete in the...

Westwind to give Collet Maintenance Demos.(Products)
November 1, 2003... Munich -- At Productronica, Westwind (Booth B3.445) will provide free Collet Maintenance Demonstrations. Correct maintenance of drilling spindles is essential in ensuring excellent performance and long life. Westwind's essential demos, each...

Glenro reveals conformal coating dip coater.(Products)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Paterson, NJ -- Glenro's conformal coating machines dip coat PCBs with conformal coatings and then dry or cure the PCBs in one fully enclosed unit that can be operated by only one person. The PCBs are hung on the conveyor by an operator and...

Thank god for the medical market'.(Seeing the Light)(medical device industry bucks the general business downturn)
November 1, 2003... The expression that makes up this month's title is one I have heard many times recently from people in many different companies, including quite a few in the laser and interconnect industries. Everyone knows about the downturn in business...

Samtec, Teraspeed join forces.(Fabrication)(Arrow Electronics and Teraspeed Consulting Group LLC, have joined forces to help customers better design and implement interconnect systems)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Samtec, represented by Arrow Electronics, and Teraspeed consulting group LLC, have joined forces to help customers better design and implement interconnect systems. Teraspeed, headed by signal integrity expert Scott McMorrow, and Samtec are...

Stevenage Circuits gets UL flex, flex-rigid recognition.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Stevenage Circuits Ltd. is seeking to compete in the flex arena after obtaining UL recognition for hybrid flexible and flexible rigid PCBs. The approval allows full V0 release to 14 layers with 6 layers of flexible substrate in various...

STP closes doors.(Fabrication)(German printed wiring board fabricator STP Elektronische Systeme closed its doors at the end of July)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Sindelfingen, Germany -- German PWB fabricator STP Elektronische Systeme closed its doors at the end of July. After a long struggle to survive since filing for Chapter 11 in June 2002, the former IBM facility at Sindelfingen (near Stuttgart)...

Circuit Science earns ISO certification.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Plymouth, MN -- Circuit Science Inc. announced that it received its ISO 9001:2000 certification.

GSPK awarded contract.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... GSPK Circuits Ltd have been awarded a two-year supply agreement worth [pounds sterling]300,000 per year from Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd. The company will supply printed circuit boards; both single and double sided and multi-layer as well...

Parlex reports negative fourth quarter.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Methuen, MA -- Parlex Corp. reported revenues of $18.8 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2003 versus $23.5 million for the same period in the previous fiscal year. Operating loss was $2.1 million versus $7.5 million for the same period of...

Circuit Check opens direct office in Southeast Asia.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Maple Grove, MN -- Circuit Check Inc. established its first regional support center in Southeast Asia. CCI has hired Mr. JJ Ong has joined to be the new Circuit Check as Director of Asian Sales and Customer Support and will be based in Penang,...

Circuit services now ISO compliant.(Fabrication)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Bellevue, WA -- Circuit Services WorldWide announced that its Quality Management System has been registered compliant with ISO 9001:2000 by Underwriters Laboratory.

PFG Fiber Glass plant begins operations in Kunshan.(joint venture of PPG Industries and Nan Ya Plastics Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Kunshan, China -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony in Kunshan, China, recently celebrated the lighting of the furnace for a fiber glass plant serving the world's largest integrated PCB manufacturing campus. PFG Fiber Glass (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., a 50-50...

Between a rock and a hard place.(News from Northbrook)(Buy America Act hotly debated in industry and the House of Representatives)
November 1, 2003... Over the past few months, the "Buy America Act" has become one of the more deeply debated issues in the electronics interconnect industry. The IPC threw its support of the provision in an effective grassroots campaign. However, the Act created...

High-wire act: laminators balance business demands in a shifting market.
November 1, 2003... Last month, CircuiTree published an article that discussed the decline of Western laminate manufacturers ["Decline of the Laminate Industry?" October 2003]. To get another perspective, Polyclad Laminates provides a more in-depth look regarding...

A tool for process improvement.(Between the Conductors)
November 1, 2003... Fabrication of printed circuits involves complex multi-dependant operations that rely on the materials, equipment, and processes used in their manufacture. With so many possibilities, it's safe to say that there are no two complete...

TMRC analysts: PCB survivors face brighter future.( )
November 1, 2003... Minneapolis, MN -- Members from North America's printed circuit community met in early October during IPC's TMRC Meeting to learn what they could expect in the near future regarding technology and business trends. While the speakers tempered...

Sun: new technology could render PCB obsolete.(Board Buyers)
November 1, 2003... The PCB could become obsolete thanks to a new method of transmitting data created by Sun Microsystems. The new technology, which reportedly achieves wafer scale integration by placing hundreds of chips in contact with one other, has been...

Flextronics: our PCB business is now profitable.(Board Buyers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Milpitas, CA -- Flextronics International Ltd. thinks the worst is over. According to CEO Michael Marks, the company's PCB business is back in the black over the last six weeks. Demand for PCBs is improving from customers like Motorola, H-P,...

IBM, Agilent team up on optical interconnects.(Board Buyers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Palo Alto, CA -- IBM and Agilent Technologies Inc. announced they are teaming up to advance the performance of optical interconnects as part of a multi-year, $30 million project with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)....

Sanmina-SCIs Phoenix plant gets military certification.(Board Buyers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... San Jose, CA -- Sanmina-SCI Corp. announced its PCB facility in Phoenix, Ariz., has received MIL-PRF-31032 certification by the Defense Supply Center, Columbus (DSCC).

Dig deep for true root cause.(View from the Middle)(proper root cause analysis needed for proper corrective action and customer satisfaction)
November 1, 2003... One of the most frustrating parts of a customer's life is dealing with a performance issue that hasn't been properly addressed by the supplier. Most companies have some form of a corrective action system in place to handle customer complaints,...

SMTA-CCA Golf 'Get-Together' proves fun in the sun.(Surface Mount Technology Association's charity golf tournament gains momentum)
November 1, 2003... In the early part of 2000, during a Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) dinner meeting, the topic of golf was raised at Frank Kurisu's (Soldermask Inc.) table. As the conversation evolved, an idea was germinated to have the SMTA put on...

IPC's international conference: on bare die and component packaging.(IPC Professional Development)
November 1, 2003... December 8-9, 2003 Fiesta Inn, Tempe, AZ Make it smaller! Bare die attach offers the thrilling promise of mounting ICs without a package. Attaining the smallest form factor and highest performance can make the difference between a...

Flex & chips: IPC International Conference on flexible circuits and chip scale packaging.(IPC Professional Development)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Workshops and Tutorials: December 9, 2003 Technical Conference and Tabletop Exhibits: December 10-11, 2003 Flexible circuitry and chip scale packaging (CSP)--what seems to be two unrelated topics are, in fact, two technologies which...