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2008 Issues

FEATURES

  • Nepcon China
    China Goes ‘Upmarket’
    Among Chinese suppliers, the learning curve is clearly shortening, making the annual Shanghai show a must-see. But can what some call the world’s leading SMT show fend off a competitive challenge?
    By Mike Buetow

  • Inovar
    Out of the Garage
    The snow-capped mountains of Cache Valley provide an eye-pleasing backdrop to a cresting EMS company.
    By Mike Buetow

  • Cover Story
    Improving Production Line Performance
    Balanced lines are thought to be standard for efficient production, yet in some cases, the total buffer capacity has to be spaced unevenly. The latest research shows why deliberately unbalancing the buffers may be beneficial.
    By Dr. Sabry Shaaban and Dr. Sarah Hudson

  • Productivity Tools
    Manufacturing Steps Onto the Enterprise IT Stage
    The concept of a single, comprehensive information solution collapses when one enters the manufacturing, quality and process engineering offices, and certainly the factory floor. This has led to a new category of “enterprise level” tools called manufacturing operations system (MOS) software.
    By Jason Spera

  • Wave Control
    Measuring and Controlling Wave Height and Dwell Time
    When something changes in the process, the solder wave is often the culprit. A novel direct measurement, closed-loop system can resolve problems regulating critical parameters such as wave height and dwell time.
    By Ken Kirby

FIRST PERSON

  • Letters

  • Caveat Lector
    As the earth moves.
    Mike Buetow

  • Talking Heads
    iNEMI’s Dr. Haley Fu.
    Mike Buetow

TECH TALK

  • Screen Printing
    Correlating 2-D and 3-D SPI.
    Dr. Rita Mohanty

  • Better Manufacturing
    Feeling heat over China.
    Phil Zarrow

  • Wave Soldering
    Copper dissolution gets the yank.
    Ursula Marquez de Tino

  • Tech Tips
    Soldering SAC-finished parts with SnPb solder.
    American Competitiveness Institute

  • Test and Inspection
    Quick looks at the latest in boundary scan.
    Ted T. Turner

  • Process Doctor
    Quick analytical tests for surface cleanliness.
    Ravi Parthasarathy, Dr. Harald Wack and Dr. Helmut Schweigart

  • Pb-Free Lessons Learned
    Diagnosing fab problems.
    Chrys Shea

  • Getting Lean
    The design scale.
    Chris Munroe

  • Eastern Advances (324KB PDF in Chinese)
    Why you need DfX.
    Keyan Zhao and Sanqian Cai

  • Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Semicon West Product Preview
Product Spotlight
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the cover: Correctly designed unbalanced lines can increase throughput. (Photo by Tom Mc Nemar)

FEATURES

  • Quality Control
    Eliminating Board Defects
    Quality product starts with DfA and the master drawing. But fabricators and assemblers have their place, too.
    By Zulki Khan

  • SEA and NPI Awards
    ‘Inspiration to Innovate’
    The 2008 edition of Circuits Assembly’s Service Excellence Awards was notable for the continuing dominance of Aegis as it was for the ascent of several previously under-the-radar EMS companies who made their mark for the first time. Plus: The NPI Award makes its debut.
    By Chelsey Drysdale

  • Cover Story
    Evaluating Manufacturability and Operational Costs for New Conformal Coating Processes
    Higher density components and smaller footprint layouts make the conformal coating process more challenging in terms of achieving acceptable first-pass process yields and cost-effective cycle times. This study of seven assembly process variables identified the three most critical variables and their impacts.
    By Jason Keeping

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    Connecting the bumps.
    Mike Buetow

  • Talking Heads
    DEK's John Hartner.
    Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

  • Focus on Business
    The longer, the better?
    Susan Mucha

  • Global Sourcing
    Slapped by the “invisible hand.”
    Jennifer Read

TECH TALK

  • Screen Printing
    A 55° squeegee angle enhances print quality.
    Clive Ashmore

  • Reflow Soldering
    Yield improvement, one defect at a time.
    Ursula Marquez de Tino

  • Test and Inspection
    No test points? No problem.
    Chris Jacobsen

  • Process Doctor
    Brush cleaning, clarified.
    Terry Munson

  • Pb-Free Lessons Learned
    When prevention isn’t an option.
    Chrys Shea

  • Getting Lean
    View to a thrill.
    Robert Hemmant

  • Materials World
    RoHS compliance versus Pb-free capability.
    Dr. Renzhe Zhao

  • Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Product Spotlight
Assembly Insider
Ad Index

On the cover: Novel test procedures and processes demonstrate that comparisons among various cleaning agents, masking materials, coating materials and application equipment can be made. (Photo courtesy Asymtek)

FEATURES

  • Component Packaging
    Design and Modeling of High-Speed, High-Density 3-D CSPs and Memory Modules
    DDR2 pushed memory clock frequencies to 400 MHz and data rates to 800 Mbps. DDR3 further pushes clock frequencies to 800 MHz, while DDR4 is up to 1.6 GHz. New packaging technologies such as die stacking and package-on-package (PoP) are being developed to accommodate the advances.
    By Dr. Frank Y. Yuan and Richard Crisp

  • Benchtop Cleaning
    The ‘Big Brush Off’ Revisited
    In rework and repair, if you can’t rinse, you can’t clean. A prescription for cleaning a board after hand-soldering.
    By Mike Jones

  • Cover Story
    Impact of Soldering Atmosphere on Solder Joint Formation
    This collaborative effort between Flextronics and Vitronics Soltec investigated different techniques that can significantly reduce nitrogen consumption without affecting final assembly quality. Alternative nitrogen supply methods were studied, such as applying nitrogen only on the reflow areas in combination with different oxygen ppm levels during reflow process and their impact on the secondary wave soldering process of copper OSP PCBs.
    By Ursula Marquez de Tino, Dr. Denis Barbini and Wesley Enroth

  • Packaging Developments
    Beyond Moore’s Law
    Evolving 3-D system-in-packaging architectures require advanced co-design tools linked with modeling and simulation capability to facilitate effective collaboration between system, device and packaging engineers, and new materials that meet environmental requirements. But as an integrator of components and technologies from different areas, SiP is positioned to become a primary architecture.
    By Dr. W.R. Bottoms

  • Protecting Parts
    ESD Control For Class 0 ESDS Devices
    A summary of problems associated with protecting state-of-the-art devices with standard ESD controls, and specific controls necessary for reliable protection for devices sensitive between 20 and 100V.
    By Roger Peirce

  • Program Management
    Growing Your Brand
    For nearly three decades, Sue Mucha has led EMS marketing teams at companies large and small, public and private. Now the Circuits Assembly columnist has written about her experiences prepping EMS teams on growth strategies in a new book.
    By Mike Buetow

  • ESD Standards
    This Year’s Model
    ESD qualification methods for ICs have a history requiring performance to human-body-model levels of 2kV, and in some cases 200V for machine model levels. New investigations on target levels establish more realistic levels for HBM and MM.
    By Dr. Charvaka Duvvury and Dr. Harald Gossner

FIRST PERSON

  • Caveat Lector
    Broken chains.
    Mike Buetow

  • Talking Heads
    KPS’s Pierre de Villemejane.
    Mike Buetow

TECH TALK

  • Screen Printing
    Equipment assessment methods.
    Dr. Rita Mohanty

  • Better Manufacturing
    Big, bad black pad.
    Phil Zarrow

  • Tech Tips
    Pulled apart.
    American Competitiveness Institute

  • Reflow Soldering
    ‘Weighing’ thermal profiling.
    Dr. Denis Barbini

  • Process Doctor
    Finding chemistry in cleaning.
    Dr. Mike Bixenman

  • Pb-Free Lessons Learned
    Paging Ben Franklin.
    Chrys Shea

  • Getting Lean
    Don’t design in cost.
    Chris Munroe

  • Equipment Advances
    Siemens’ X4i placement machine.

  • Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Apex Product Preview
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the cover: Flux chemistry can dramatically affect solder joint results. (Photo by Mariano Ruiz)

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