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News
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Grants Fund Chip Manufacturing Campus
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Silicon Border Development has finalized agreements with Mexican federal and Baja California state governments on a development grant and expanded agreement for a science park that will create an alternative for centralized semiconductor operations in North America. Mexico’s federal government and the State of Baja California will give Silicon Border Development a grant to develop the park in Mexicali. A portion of the grant comes from Mexico’s federal Prosoft program, which was formed to support technological development throughout the country. The expanded agreement with the State of Baja California gives Silicon Border an additional 24 months of exclusivity for developing a technology-focused park, including commercial land use and access to mission-critical water, electricity and gas within a 15-square mile area near San Diego. “The dual support from out North American neighbor is important in establishing momentum and moving to the next step in our development roadmap,” said DJ Hill, chairman of Silicon Border. “We are excited to tap the tremendous synergy that is possible between the U.S. semiconductor industry and the Mexican manufacturing community to increase the stability and success of the global high-tech supply chain.”
PCB Book-to-bill ratioNovember Book-to-Bill Falls Below 1.0%
NORTHBROOK, Ill. - The IPC IMS/PCB book-to-bill ratio for November 2004 fell from 1.0 to 0.96, calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period for the companies in IPC’s survey sample. IPC also reported a book-to-bill of 0.88 for rigid PCBs and 1.28 for flexible circuits. For these two segments combined, sales billed (shipments) in 2004 increased 4.1% year-over-year, and orders booked increased 27% from November 2003.
November’s overall book-to-bill level fell from October, although orders booked for November 2004 increased 27% from last year.
Partnership Targets RFID Technology
QUEBEC, Canada - Juki Automation Systems Europe signed an OEM reselling agreement with Cogiscan to integrate RFID smart feeder technology in SMT placement machines. The Cogiscan solution will replace previous smart feeder technology that requires electrical contact between the feeder and the machine feeder bank. The RFID smart feeder technology is called IFS-X, or the next-generation of Intelligent Feeder Systems. Juki’s software uses the information captured by the RFID smart feeders to enable applications, including feeder setup validation and real-time inventory, as well as component lot traceability.
SMT China Applies for BPA Membership
SHELTON, Conn. - SMT China has applied for membership in BPA Worldwide, which will track circulation for SMT China based on business/distribution, demographics and geographic coverage. The magazine will have 12 months to complete the initial circulation audit.
“The strong growth of SMT China has made it a perfect time to apply for membership with BPA Worldwide,” said Whenhai Chen, publisher of SMT China. “Our firm commitment to our recipients and advertisers will be enhanced by our future membership in BPA.” BPA Worldwide is a not-for-profit media-auditing organization governed by a tripartite board of media owners, advertising agencies and advertisers.
Henkel Opens Irvine Facility
IRVINE, Calif. - The electronics group of Henkel opened its Irvine, Calif. Research and Applications Center. The 53,000 square foot facility will house R&D and applications engineering for Henkel’s die attach, semiconductor underfill, encapsulant and semiconductor mold compound products. Applications engineering activities for the company’s electronics assembly materials also will occur at this facility. The facility marks the global headquarters for the electronics group and is the first of several facility openings planned. Most of the Irvine facility is dedicated to R&D laboratory featuring an analytical and failure analysis lab and will focus on developing advanced materials for electronics assembly and semiconductor packaging. The grand opening of the facility is slated for Feb. 21, 2005.
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Pick-and-Place Machine Installed at Auburn University
EINHDOVEN, The Netherlands - The Laboratory for Electronics Assembly and Packaging (LEAP) at Auburn University has installed an Assembleon ACM Micro into its SMT and flip-chip line. Providing fine-pitch and high-placement accuracy capability for 01005 chip components, advanced flip-chip devices and 3-D modules, the ACM Micro is expected to enhance research and educational programs at the university. The system is compatible with laminate and ceramic substrates and also will be used to assemble 50-µm thick silicon die onto flex substrates. LEAP provides electronics manufacturing, packaging, characterization, reliability testing and failure analysis capability for research in electronics assembly and packaging. The laboratory supports research efforts of the NASA-JPL University Consortium for Extreme Environment Electronics, the NASA Center for Space Power and Advanced Electronics and the NSF Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics.
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SMTA Awards Industry Leader
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The SMTA’s International Excellence in Leadership Award is given to outstanding members in the association. Abby Tsoi, a member of the Hong Kong Chapter, received the 2004 International Excellence in Leadership Award for his commitment to SMTA and leadership in forming his local chapter. Tsoi saw the need for a local SMTA chapter and devoted several resources to create the Hong Kong chapter. “I was surprised that I was awarded the award because there are many outstanding leaders in various chapters of SMTA,” said Tsoi. “As one of the leaders of SMTA Hong Kong Chapter, I have gained experience and leadership skills from different events throughout the year.” Tsoi is the first recipient of this award.
Deal Supports Soldering Systems in Mexico
STRATHAM, N.H. - Vitronics Soltec has partnered with InterLatin to offer local service and support for all Vitronics Soltec soldering systems installed in Mexico. The companies initially teamed up two years ago. As part of the partnership, InterLatin will provide Vitronics Soltec’s customers with local service and support as well as spare parts from stock.
Inspection Seminars to Continue in 2005
STAMFORD, Conn. - FEINFOCUS has established a technical seminar series that encompasses North America, Europe and Asia. The series, which took place in 2004, stems from the company’s recent developments in X-ray technology. Led by Udo E. Frank, Ph.D., director of the technology development, the series was conducted with the support of FEINFOCUS distributors in each region. Seminars covered topics from basic to advanced X-ray inspection technology including computed tomography and wafer bump inspection. Due to interest in the series, FEINFOCUS plans to expand the seminars into 2005, with further information to be posted on the company’s Website.
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Fluxing Technology Receives Patent
DES PLAINES, Ill. - Kester has been awarded a patent (US Patent 6,819,004) for its reflow encapsulant technology including material and method of use. The patent covers an epoxy-fluxing technology that enables no-flow underfill. The patented methods and materials are said to allow flip chips to attach to electronics assemblies without the need for underfill adhesive processes. This technology helps assemblers halve the number of process steps to save money and time. Kester’s technology uses a dual-function epoxy. The epoxy first acts as a flux during initial soldering processes, then acts like an adhesive during encapsulation processes. This combines the soldering or fluxing step and the encapsulation step into one process. The newly patented products will be marketed under the SE-CURE product line.