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News
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Compiled by SMT Staff
PCB Book-to-bill ratioNovember Book-to-Bill Remains Steady
BANNOCKBURN, Ill. - The IPC IMS/PCB book-to-bill ratio for November 2005 held steady at 1.13. IPC reports the book-to-bill for rigid PCBs was strong at 1.14, as was the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio, rising slightly to 1.16. For these segments combined, sales billed (shipments) for November 2005 increased 8.6% year-over-year, and orders booked increased 20.5% from November 2004.
November’s overall book-to-bill remained positive, and combined orders booked for November 2005 increased 20.5% compared to this time last year.
Federal Electronics Assists OEMs with RoHS
CRANSTON, R.I. - Federal Electronics has introduced a line of services to assist OEMs with the conversion and re-engineering of products to meet the RoHS Directive, effective July 1, 2006. The solution is designed for companies with a focus on the high-mix, high-complexity, and low- to medium-volume electronics market that are at risk of non-compliance by the deadline. The service will help companies with limited internal resources to manage the conversion. The solution includes a bill of materials (BOM) analysis and conversion to RoHS-compliant materials for copper and fiber optic interconnect, mixed-technology printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), and higher-level assemblies; assistance in the selection of compliant substitutes and second sources; engineering design assistance where there is a need for PCBA redesign work; continual notifications and BOM management as suppliers issue end-of-life statements for existing components; BOM cost and lead-time analysis during conversion; and production conducted within lead-free-compliant processes.
DAPC Appoints QA Director
STONEY CREEK, Ontario - Dynamic & Proto Circuits Inc. (DAPC) has appointed Stephen Hazell to director of quality assurance. Hazell will be responsible for the corporate quality program. Bringing over 20 years of experience in the PCB industry, Hazell has experience in lean manufacturing, six sigma, MIL, and ISO/IPC standards.
Rohm & Haas Builds CMP Facility in Asia
PHOENIX - Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, CMP Technologies, broke ground on its Asia Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center at the Hsinchu Science Park, Chunan satellite campus in Taiwan. The facility adds to the company’s Asia business and should be in commercial production by the first quarter of 2007. Rohm and Haas plans to invest $50 million in the six-acre facility, which will include a 4,500-square-meter plant for advanced manufacturing of next-generation chemical and mechanical planarization (CMP) products, a 2,000-square-meter technical center, and 3,000 square meters of office space. The applications lab will contain standard analytical equipment for pad and slurry analysis, as well as a 300- to 500-square-meter Class 10 clean room equipped for CMP polishing, cleaning, and metrology. The company expects to employ up to 160 people at the facility by 2010.
Indium Hires Product Specialist
CLINTON, N.Y. - Jordan Ross has joined Indium Corporation as an Engineered Solders Product Specialist. Ross holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York, Institute of Technology, and has nine years experience in the carbon fiber composite manufacturing industry. Ross will be based at Indium’s Clinton, N.Y., facility, and will report to Ross Berntson, director of solder products.
MCA Can Test Live QFPs
HUDSON, N.H. - CeTaQ Americas introduced a new capability for testing live QFPs during Machine Capability Analysis (MCA) testing that is said to improve test relevance and accuracy. MCA testing is a third-party, objective method using special vision algorithms, accurate glass plates, and components for the independent measurement of Cp and Cpk indices on placement equipment. During the live testing, actual fine-pitch QFP components and various types of leaded devices used in product assembly can be used. The pick-and-place machine places the components on the test fixture, and the components are analyzed against specification data from component data sheets. Comprehensive certification reports validate performance, which allows users to improve product quality and optimize performance. The QFP components are not harmed during testing, and can be returned to parts inventories for assembly after passing capability inspection.
Howell Joins P. Kay Metal
LOS ANGELES - P. Kay Metal announced that Keith Howell has joined the company as product manager for its MS2 molten solder surfactant. Howell holds an engineering degree from the University of Illinois and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Rochester. Howell has nearly 15 years experience in wave soldering, most recently as product manager for Electrovert wave soldering systems at Speedline.
MEMS Market to Double Over Five Years
BERLIN - The “NEXUS Market Analysis for MEMs and Microsystems III, 2005-2009,” predicts that MST/MEMS sensors and actuators will consolidate their position in established IT markets for read/write heads and inkjet heads, reports enablingMNT researchers. The technologies also are expected to create new opportunities in areas such as microphones, memories, micro-energy sources, and chip coolers.
The technology is expected to remain in the automotive sector within high-volume applications, including air bags and tire pressure monitoring systems. The consumer electronics sector will see the most growth, with forecasts calling for it to quadruple its share from 6% in 2004 to 22% in 2009. Drivers include rear- and front-projection TVs, HDDs serving equipment such as DVD recorders, digital cameras, camcorders, and portable MP3 players. Mobile phones, which already feature motion sensors, will see a rise in functions such as liquid lenses for camera zoom, fingerprint sensors, microfuel cell power sources, gas sensors, and weather barometers.
The report states that read/write heads will continue to dominate the market at 50%. Microdisplays will take the second position, nudging inkjet heads into third place. Of the 26 products focused on in the market, 14 will hold market volumes over $100 million. New products such as microfuel cells, fingerprint sensors, and liquid lenses will comprise $250 million in five years.
Variosystems Selects Aegis Software Solution
PHILADELPHIA - Aegis Industrial Software Corporation will provide Variosystems with new product introduction (NPI) and MES software solutions throughout their facilities worldwide. Variosystems plans to convert all facilities to a paperless environment to ensure revision control with production data (bills of materials and assembly drawings), as well as on actual production line processes. Aegis’ integrated software modules will collect quality data automatically to accelerate feedback and allow improvement of all processes across the facility’s network. “We selected Aegis after carefully evaluating our requirements for manufacturing software and conducting extensive research on the available solutions on the market,” said Alfred Langguth, director of operations and development, Variosystems. “An important issue for us was that the software we selected focused on the electronics manufacturing industry, and therefore knew and understood our requirements and goals.”
EMA Expands RoHS/WEEE Solutions
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - EMA Design Automation released the Engineering Data Management (ED) suite to help engineering teams create RoHS/WEEE-compliant products. EDM is a database management system that allows companies to control product design data with specific emphasis on environmental-compliance material content. The environment supports various versions of RoHS data, including RoHS 5 (NIE exemption) and RoHS 6 requirements. The system manages relevant product design data, including ECAD and MCAD with the capability to develop RoHS/WEEE reporting documentation. EDM provides bill of material (BOM) versioning, ECO generation, full library and workflow management, and document archival for engineering work groups. This gives design engineers full control of data, enabling them to provide high-quality information that will be included into enterprise PDM/PLM and ERP systems.
VJ Electronix Appoints Asian Support Manager
SHIRLEY, Mass. - VJ Electronix Inc. appointed Raymond LeFleur as manager of the company’s Asian Support Center. In this position, LeFleur will manage local support and train customers on the applications of VJ Electronix’s Lead-free Rework and Process X-ray equipment. He also will manage the regional spare parts office in Bangkok, Thailand. LeFleur brings 18 years of experience in applications and support of X-ray and advanced rework systems, which include lead-free applications, and previously worked at such companies as Teradyne, GenRad, Nicolet X-ray Systems, and SRT.