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New Services and Capabilities: Board Fab to LED Attach
March 12, 2009 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
EMS providers and PCB fabs announced new capabilities on their lists of services, including Molex's automated LED bonding capabilities, NBS's ITAR registration, Sunburst's added placement range, and Electronic Interconnect's SMT PCB design and manufacturing services. Also, TechBridge Solutions formed to offer low-cost electrical engineering and PCB layout.
Electronic Interconnect Technology Inc. (EI) can manufacture all types of SMT PCBs, including mixed technology boards, single-sided, double-sided, and multi-layer. The board fabricator offers design consultation and can manufacture PCBs with component footprints from standard to fine pitch, and BGA and micro-BGA land patterns. Class I, II, and III SMT PCBs can be fabricated from materials including FR-4, FR-6, FR-8, CEM-1, CEM-3, aluminum-clad (Thermagon), flex, Keratherm, Arlon, Duroid, Rogers, polyamide, and Kapton. Surface finish/plating options include solder (HASL), lead-free solder (HASL), electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), organic solderability preservative (OSP), immersion silver, white tin, immersion tin, immersion nickel, hard gold, and others. EI also applies solder resists. The company offers a range of data verification services, running extensive DRC/DFM analysis on all incoming Gerber files, prototypes, or production. www.eiconnect.com.
EMS provider NBS Corporation received its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) registration from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. ITAR regulates the manufacture, export and transfer of defense articles, information and services. It is a set of U.S. government regulations that controls the export and import of defense-related articles and services on the United States Munitions List. The regulation restricts sensitive information and technologies only to be shared with US persons, unless special approval is acquired. To qualify for ITAR registration, NBS met strict requirements for corporate structure, security, record keeping, and procedures to allow the company to manufacture PCBs for sensitive military and intelligence applications. The company also has ISO9000-2001 and ISO14385 certifications. www.nbscorp.com.
Sunburst Electronics, a contract manufacturer of electronic controls and wholly owned subsidiary of Bliley Technologies Inc., added a full MYDATA production line to service military, medical, and other high-reliability markets. The line includes Linescan Vision System and advanced-level software, allowing Sunburst to now mount small, complex components with high accuracy. The new equipment also permits faster production speeds, as well as extended board handling and component ranges. www.bliley.com, www.sunburstelectronics.com.
TechBridge founder Dave Castine has been involved with PCB design and the EDA software industry since the early 1980s. He is joined by industry sales veteran Deac Descoteaux, who has experience in promoting engineering services, recruiting, and job placement. Citing economic conditions and the availability of skilled design talent in the workforce, TechBridge will off early-stage customers special rates on its services from engineers and firms that specialize in every aspect of electro/mechanical design. The in-house project manager is a senior level EE. The company also will offer Web collaboration and daily status updates. EDA partners include Cadence Design Systems, with ALLEGRO PCB DESIGN, ORCAD PCB DESIGNER, ORCAD CAPTURE, and ALLEGRO DESIGN ENTRY HDL (CONCEPT); and Mentor Graphics, with EXPEDITION, PADS, and DxDESIGNER. www.techbridge-solutions.com.
Molex Incorporated increased its manufacturing footprint by adding fully automated LED bonding capabilities in China. Molex has been applying LEDs to flex circuits for over 20 years through two methods to bond and encapsulate the components for robust electrical and mechanical reliability. Silver printed circuits on polyester used in membrane switches cannot handle soldering temperatures, Molex reports, so the company uses alternative processes, such as anisotropically (Z-axis) conductive adhesives and fully conductive epoxy that accommodates the company's high-speed SMT lines. Assemblies may also include the bonding of other electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors, seven-segment LEDs and ICs to the thick film circuits, opening the technology to other applications. Integrated components allow more flexibility in the membrane switch and user interfaces and can provide a low-cost, robust alternative to PCBs and other discrete lighting components, such as light pipes, Molex claims. www.molex.com.