CircuiTree articles from November 2008

CircuiTree archives from November 2008

More with less.(Lead Wire)(IPC Midwest)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Doing more with less. It's a phrase you hear a great deal in a struggling economy, and it got me thinking about my first trade show experience in the printed circuit board industry--IPC Midwest. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the weeks and...

Correction.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2008... Last month's feature "Using a Static Timing Analysis Tool... " was erroneously printed with information missing from its figures. The correct figures can be seen on the Web version of the article on circuitree.com. We apologize to the author,...

IPC releases PCB industry results for August.(The Wire)(printed circuit boards shipments data reports)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
November 1, 2008... Bannockburn, Ill. -- IPC released the August 2008 findings from its monthly North American PCB Statistical Program, reporting that rigid PCB shipments were up 2.5 percent and bookings were down 14.9 percent from August 2007. Rigid PCB shipments...

Ertmann named president of Cookson's Assembly Materials Group.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... South Plainfield, N.J. -- Richard J. Ertmann was promoted to president of Cookson Electronics' Assembly Materials Group; in this role, he will be responsible for its global businesses, Alpha [C] and Cookson Electronics Semiconductor Packaging....

BPA releases market flex report.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Surrey, U.K. -- In the new BPA report, Flexible and Flex-Rigid Printed Circuits--Markets and Technologies 2008-2013, BPA reviewed applications for flex and flex-rigid printed circuits in each market sector to determine its potential market...

Tessera enables faster time-to-market with new product launch services.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... San Jose, Calif. -- Tessera Technologies, Inc., announced its Product Launch Services, which will provide early access to its OptiML [TM] wafer-level camera technology. Through these services, Tessera will deliver state-of-the-art imaging...

North American semiconductor equipment industry posts book-to-bill ratio of 0.83.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... San Jose, Calif. -- For August 2008, North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted USD 884 million in orders and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, according to SEMI's August 2008 Book-to-Bill Report. The bookings figure is...

Ellen Kullman elected DuPont president.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Wilmington, Del. -- DuPont's board of directors elected Ellen J. Kullman president and director, effective October 1, and CEO, effective January 1, 2009. Charles O. Holliday, Jr., chair and CEO, will serve as chair of DuPont and a member of the...

YESTech wins AOI and x-ray contract with Catalyst.(The Wire)(Catalyst Manufacturing Services)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... San Clemente, Calif. -- YESTech won the contract to provide AOI and x-ray inspection solutions to Catalyst Manufacturing Services. Catalyst will utilize YESTech's F1-Series AOI as well as the YTX-3000 and new X3 (AXI) for automated inspection...

Jabil to expand headquarters, add nearly 900 jobs.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Jabil Circuit, Inc., selected St. Petersburg to remain its worldwide headquarters, and the company will build and equip new worldwide headquarters and manufacturing, research, and development facilities, estimated at USD...

Rogers unveils new web site with customer focus.(The Wire)(Website overview)
November 1, 2008... Rogers, Conn. -- Rogers Corporation unveiled a dynamic new Web site, reflecting today's imperative to provide succinct Web site content that addresses customers' needs for real-time market and product information rather than simply projecting a...

Park electrochemical releases second quarter results, declares cash dividend.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Melville, N.Y. -- For Q2 FY 09, Park Electrochemical Corp. reported sales of USD 55,599,000, compared to sales of USD 60,541,000 for Q2 FY 08. Park's sales for the first six months were USD 115,399,000 compared to sales of USD 117,618,000 for...

Mania Belgium appoints Scanditron Danmark.(The Wire)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Mania Belgium NV appointed Scanditron Danmark A/S as its agent in the Nordic countries, the Balticum, and Poland to promote its entire product range. Mania Belgium will directly support the UCAM software and the SilverWriter and older Barco...

Zuken joins Synopsys HSPICE Integrator Program.(The Wire)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Munich and Westford, Mass. -- Zuken joined the recently launched Synopsys HSPICE[R] Integrator Program as part of the company's ongoing strategy to advance its high-speed design flow and increase capabilities for simulation of highly complex...

Advanced Assembly receives ISO certification from Underwriters Laboratories.(The Wire)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Denver -- Advanced Assembly received ISO 9001:2000 certification from Underwriters Laboratories. This recognizes that Advanced Assembly reaches the standard for defining quality policies and objectives, roles and responsibilities, and...

HEIDENHAIN selects Valor's end-to-end DFM solution.(The Wire)(Valor Computerized Systems )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Yavne, Israel -- Valor Computerized Systems was selected by HEIDENHAIN to provide its DFM software for design verification, which will enhance HEIDENHAIN's ability to validate the quality of designs and ensure they are ready for bare board...

Sierra Midwest receives ITAR Registration.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Chanute, Kans. -- Sierra Midwest, a division of Sierra Circuits, received its ITAR Registration. Sierra Midwest is now registered with the United States Department of State, within the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance, Compliance and...

Elcoteq receives Excellence in Environment Management award.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Espoo, Finland; Richardson, Tex.; and Hong Kong -- Elcoteq SE's manufacturing plant in Bangalore, India, received the 2007-2008 ELCINA - Dun & Bradstreet first place award for Excellence in Environment Management. Elcoteq was presented this...

IDC expects worldwide PC shipments to grow more than 15 percent in 2008.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Framingham, Mass. -- According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, worldwide PC shipments should grow by 15.7 percent in 2008 to reach 311 million units. Growth is also expected to remain in double-digits through 2011, with growth above 9...

DDi Corp. repurchases more than one million shares in private transactions.(The Wire)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Anaheim, Calif. -- DDi Corp. repurchased 1.2 million shares of its common stock for USD 6.7 million in cash in privately negotiated transactions under its announced share repurchase program. DDi Corp. has repurchased 2.9 million shares for a...

Hon Hai releases August numbers.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Taiwan -- For August 2008, Hon Hai reported nonconsolidated, unaudited sales of TWD 143.570 billion, a 43.05 percent year-over-year increase. For the first eight months of 2008, accumulated, unaudited sales were TWD 889.241 billion, a 25.67...

ALPHA Virtual Trade Show launched on Web site.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... South Plainfield, N.J. -- ALPHA[R] launched its Virtual Trade Show, which will bring Web site visitors the ALPHA trade show experience complete with featured product information, access to its downloadable full-line product guide, and a feature...

Taiwan IC makers urged to explore semiconductor market in China.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Taipei -- According to Pricewater-houseCoopers Global Technology Center, Taiwan semiconductor makers should partner with EMS/ODM companies to explore the IC market in China due to the lower self-sufficiency rate for ICs there (as reported by...

Merix awarded key military certification.(The Wire)
November 1, 2008... Beaverton, Ore. -- Merix Corporation received MIL-PRF-31032 certification for its factory in San Jose, Calif. This military certification establishes strict performance and verification requirements and was awarded in recognition of Merix's...

Fine lines in high yield (part CLVIll): forty years of dry-film photoresist technology.(Tech Talk)
November 1, 2008... When Jack Richard Celeste of the DuPont Company submitted his patent application for a dry-film photoresist to the U.S. Patent Office on September 11, 1968, he could have hardly imagined how his invention was going to change the world of PCB...

Back to basics part 21 - stiffeners and reinforcements for flexible circuits.(Flexible Thinking)
November 1, 2008... Stiffeners and reinforcements are common elements in flexible circuit design, and their primary function is supporting components mounted and interconnected on a flexible circuit. These important add-ons can be fabricated from a wide range of...

Weighing the pros and cons of Internet-based business relationships.(Cover story)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... Offshore outsourcing has caused its fair share of pains for the U.S. PCB manufacturing industry. The large-scale production moving offshore has resulted in a drastic decline in the number of North American PCB fabricators in recent years. Since...

Tales from the road: lean is everywhere.(View From the Middle)
November 1, 2008... One of the fascinating things about lean is that it is occurring everywhere, and many times without the knowledge of the person or organization doing it! How can this be? Most lean principles fall under a very old-fashioned ideal that some of...

Flex circuit versus rigid PCB rules and methods.(Ask the Flexperts)(Interview)
November 1, 2008... Q: I was tasked with generating a drawing for a flex circuit we want to have fabricated. Do I use the same rules and methods used for a rigid PCB drawing? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A: Some drawing features should be done the same as they...

Creating a streamlined manufacturing process for operational PCBs.
November 1, 2008... PCB manufacturing grows more and more complex, seemingly with each day. It involves critical steps and requires detailed parameters about PCBs being manufactured so that they can be efficiently built and will function correctly. This article...

Lots of new materials from Asia.(Happy Thoughts)
November 1, 2008... Irecently finished up a new activity, the creation of the HDI Handbook. While putting that book together and doing research on HDI materials for chapter five, I collected a lot of information on new materials from Asia. [ILLUSTRATION...

The next RoHS-like trend is upon US--plan well.(Fein-Lines)(Column)
November 1, 2008... In my previous column, I wrote about the potential opportunity that photovoltaics offer the PWB fab industry and suggested that the increased use of solar was something we all could support because it was good for a number of reasons. And it...

Not a pretty picture.(Market Outlook)(Nicolas Khoury appointed at Akrometrix)(Elite Material expands its capacity)(printed circuit boards in high demand)
November 1, 2008... As I write this column in early October, global economic chaos prevails. Tear up the prior forecasts and start over! Based upon the latest available monthly data (primarily through August), global electronic equipment growth was deteriorating...

Correction.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2008... In our October report, Prototron Circuits received ITAR registration in Tucson, Ariz., only.

3M offers 2 mm Board-to-Board Stacking Connectors and Box Headers.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... 3M Electronic Solutions Division's Board-to-Board Stacking Connectors and Box Headers, Series 95X for high-volume applications expands the 2 mm board-to-board and wire-to-board solutions from 3M. They offer a lower-cost, 10 [mu]" gold solution...

Version 2008 of Analog Office design environment from AWR.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... AWR[R]'s Version 2008 of its Analog Office design environment is targeted for radio frequency integrated circuit design; Version 2008 includes hundreds of enhancements to the user interface and design flow that increase user flexibility and...

Temperature instrumentation from Minco.(Technical Product Spotlights)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Minco's new line of temperature instrumentation, including transmitters, controllers, controllers, indicators, and accessories, is designed to work with Minco temperature sensors and heaters but can also work with a wide variety of other...

IPC Guide to Environmental Megatrends steers companies through environmental regulations and issues.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... IPC's Executive's Guide to Environmental Megatrends That Will Shape the Future of the Electronics Industry helps executives in the electronics industry steer their companies through the increasingly costly and complex landscape of worldwide...

Industry's first bidirectional ECAD-MCAD collaboration capability from mentor and PTC.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... Mentor Graphics Corporation delivered the industry's first design collaboration capability between ECAD and MCAD design solutions, enabling teams to use this design solution from the inception to the manufacturing process. Mentor Graphics'...

IBM to develop computational scaling solution extending semiconductors to 22 nm.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... IBM announced the semiconductor industry's first computationally based process for producing 22 nm semiconductors; this is in response to demands for smaller and more powerful and energy-efficient devices for cloud computing and...

High-frequency PCB co-design that obsoletes file translation from AWR and Mentor.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... AWR and Mentor Graphics Corporation's AWR Connected[TM] for Mentor Graphics is a new synergy of design flow between AWR and Mentor Graphics that obsoletes file translation between Mentor's industry-leading Expedition Enterprise design...

TUVRheinland's test and measurement guide.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... TuVRheinland's test and measurement guide for global manufacturers of electrical test and measurement equipment provides information these equipment manufacturers require to help them conform to international product safety and regulatory...

LiveBOM for PCB123 version 3.1 from sunstone.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... Sunstone Circuits' LiveBOM[TM] is an interactive bill of materials functionality, within PCB123[TM] design software. Providing designers with real-time pricing, availability, and technical part information from board-level component distributor...

Isola's square weave laminate products patent.(Technical Product Spotlights)
November 1, 2008... Isola Group, S.A.R.L., offers proprietary square weave laminate products that can help address the electronics industry's needs for better dimensional stability. The new laminate products incorporate square weave glass core materials--including...

Anderson Power Products' addition to Power Pak Series.(Technical Product Spotlights)(T-Pak, an electrical splitter)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Anderson Power Products[R]'s new addition to its Power Pak series is the Powerpole "T-Pak," which features a two-way electrical splitter for one incoming circuit and two outgoing circuits that makes it ideal for industrial and commercial...