SofTech Inc. (Tewksbury, MA), a provider of design-through-manufacturing productivity solutions, and Cimmetry Systems (Cambrige, MA), a provider of visualization and collaboration solutions for the A/E/C, Engineering, Manufacturing and Electronics markets, have announced a partnership. SofTech will license Cimmetry's AutoVue visualization and collaboration technology for its ProductCenter product lifecycle management (PLM) solution.
Integration of the visualization technology will extend the collaboration capabilities of the PLM, enhancing the solution's document management, design integration, configuration control, change management and enterprise integration capabilities for optimizing product development. The PLM users will gain capabilities to view, markup and collaborate in real-time on native product data of virtually any type, including: 3-D CAD parts and assemblies, 2-D CAD drawings, EDA PCB/IC layouts and schematics, scanned and raster documents, vector files, office documents and graphics.
AutoVue allows users to view, markup and collaborate in real time on over 200 native formats including: CATIA, Pro/Engineer, Unigraphics, SolidWorks, Inventor, Solid Edge, JT, AutoCAD, MicroStation, Mechanical Desktop, Cadence Allegro, Mentor Board Station, Orcad, PADS, Microsoft Office, Visio, PDF and TIFF. It is available as a Windows desktop application or a thin-client server based solution.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Universal Instruments Corp. (UIC, Binghamton, NY) announced recently that it has established requisites for a long-term partnership with Shanghai, China-based DaimlerChryslerSIM Technology (DCSIM Tech.). DCSIM Tech. is a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology.
According to UIC, the objective is to build local expertise in advanced electronics packaging. The two companies will invest in China's future in these technologies by training engineers, working with local suppliers, increasing local infrastructure and supporting local company projects for first- and second-level packaging.
"Our vision is to build an industry capable of servicing local Chinese component manufacturers and assemblers as well as export markets throughout Asia and worldwide," said Richard Boulanger of UIC's SMT Laboratory. "Both businesses will invest substantial resources to nurture local technical expertise and enhance the local infrastructure in Shanghai and Suzhou."
"Both companies are well positioned to develop China's high-tech electronics industry," stated Dr. Xiaoming Xie of DCSIM Tech. "As one of the major players on the local market for many years, I am pleased that this agreement has established long term objectives, as a high level of ongoing commitment is the only truly effective way to establish China as a global center of excellence."
Under the draft terms, UIC—with laboratories in Binghamton and Suzhou, China—will also help sponsor a student from DCSIM Tech. to join the electronics packaging program at Binghamton University. DCSIM Tech. will offer students and other resources such as failure analysis and reliability testing for specific Universal projects.
FocalSpot, Inc. (San Diego, CA), a provider of inspection and rework/repair solutions and services, recently announced that contract manufacturer Vanguard EMS (Portland, OR) has selected Den-on Instruments, RD-500 for advanced rework applications, including rework of lead-free assemblies.
Designed for both lead-free and standard solder, the system is a vision-based, semi-automated reflow, removal and placement rework station for printed circuit assemblies, surface-mount devices (SMDs) and connectors. The system combines high-powered top and bottom heater configuration with auto-profiling technology to efficiently heat and reflow rework applications—from small personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cell phones to personal computer (PC) motherboards and multi-layered avionics back planes.
Vanguard selected the system based on its efficient heating technology, ease-of-use and price performance. FocalSpot's product manager, Raymond LaFleur, was tasked during the evaluation to demonstrate the performance of the machine on several demanding applications, including lead-free rework.