News
The monthly order index compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA, Arlington, VA) continued its slow upward movement in March, creating hopes that profits will follow.
"We're continuing to see a gentle increase that is consistent with our conversations with manufacturing executives," said Bob Willis, ECA president. "The prevailing hope from manufacturers is that average selling price (ASP) will begin to rise in concert with sales."
According to Willis, manufacturers are reporting some isolated supply shortages, which could spur demand and raise ASPs. Recently, UBS Securities reported that multi-layer chip capacitor (MLCC) supply is expected to fall short of demand in the second half of 2004, which could create a 5 to 15% price increase. In other areas, however, even substantial growth will not ease price pressures. Market researcher IDC predicts a compound annual growth rate of 15% for LCD panels between 2003 and 2007, with 56% growth in 2004 alone. But, IDC predicts the market will be oversaturated during that period, leading to price erosion.
The ECA represents manufacturers and producers of passive and active electronic components, component arrays and assemblies, and materials and support services. It is a sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), comprising more than 2,100 members that reportedly represent 80% of the $430 billion U.S. electronics industry.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Self-laminating
labels (SB) from Tyco Electronics (Harrisburg, PA), a business segment
of Tyco International Ltd., can mark and identify wires and cables used
in most
applications. The labels use thermal transfer technology for
marking, employing a translucent vinyl film substrate with a permanent
acrylic adhesive. The labels are supplied with a white printable area
that is over-laminated upon application with the translucent portion of
the label. The labels are used in a range of electrical and electronic
application, as well as in factory automation and communications
equipment.
The
self-lamination of the labels protects the printed area from exposure
to oil, solvents, water and abrasion. The labels conform to round,
irregular or flexible surface and are suitable for use in applications
where the cable or wire is flexed repeatedly. For added application
flexibility, labels can be flagged around a wire compared to
traditional wrapping.
SB self-laminating labels have a typical shelf life of two years and a service temperature of -40 to 82°C. The minimum application temperature is 10°C.
These labels can be imprinted with the T308S or T312M thermal printers.
Thermal transfer ribbons from Tyco Electronics are recommended.
www.tycoelectronics.com
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
The
RO06plus oven from ESSEMTEC (Glassboro, NJ) offers the new possibility
to run test cycles with a duration of up to 18 hours. This function is
mainly used in the area of
component or material testing, for special curing applications or for
burn-in in temperature ranges up to 300° C.
The
oven also offers the possiblity to solder printed circuit boards (PCBs)
with standard or lead-free pastes. The integrated full convection
chamber ensures low delta-t values and narrow process windows. The
compact design allows oven use even in narrow locations like
development or testing laboratories.
The
motorized drawer moves the parts or PCBs automatically into the heating
chamber as soon as the programmed base temperature is reached. After
finishing the temperature cylces, the automatic drawer system moves the
pieces out into an integrated cooling zone.
An additional N2 connection with integrated flow meter allows oven operation with an inert atmosphere.
Software
records temperature profiles of the parts/PCBs, as well as the oven
temperature itself, in real time. Protocols from the software can be
saved, printed and compared with original profiles.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Viscom, Inc. (Norcross, GA) recently announced the addition of Frank Marangell as the company's new vice president of sales. In this role Frank will manage the business in the Americas.
Marangell brings 14 years of experience in the automated optical inspection (AOI) business, and he has an engineering degree and MBA.
Currently living in Boston, MA, Marangell will be relocating to the company's U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, GA.
Agilent Technologies Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) and Digi-Key Corp. (Thief River Falls, MN), an electronic component distributor, recently announced that they have signed a distribution agreement. The agreement allows Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group (SPG) to make an array of its products accessible to designers via Digi-Key's distribution channel and real-time online service and support site.
Digi-Key's inventory of Agilent products includes a full range of LEDs and displays, optocouplers, motion control encoders, radio frequency (RF) and microwave devices and infrared and optical transceivers. These products are used in applications that span industrial, office automation, consumer electronics, home appliances, signs and signals, wireless, networking and automotive markets.
"The addition of Digi-Key to our global distribution network will help us reach more engineers in the critical early stages of their designs," said Frank Robertazzi, vice president of worldwide distribution for Agilent's SPG. "Digi-Key's catalog distribution channel provides another avenue for our customers to purchase samples and order literature and early production quantities online at any time."
Kester (Des Plaines, IL) recently announced that chief technology officer Dennis Bernier was honored by IPC—Association Connecting Electronics (Northbrook, IL) with a Distinguished Committee Service Award. The award was presented at the IPC APEX/Expo held in late February in Anaheim, CA.
Bernier was honored as one of 12 members for their leadership and significant contributions in the development of IPC J-STD-004A, Requirement for Soldering Fluxes.
This award is given to IPC committee members who have made an exceptional contribution to a specific standard, guideline, round robin test program or other IPC program.
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