Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

MILWAUKIE, OR – ECD has added classes to its free online ECD-University Program.

Profiling A-Z covers how to determine what points to profile (trouble spots, at-risk/sensitive components); thermocouple attachment methods (strategies for success, what to use when); and thermal quality management’s core steps to profiling success (how to generate the oven recipe, how to document the results and build SPC data, and more).

Verification 101 shows how reflow oven verification is a key, yet often missing, stage in any complete thermal quality management program. It will be presented Feb. 23 at 8:00 am PST.

Visit www.ecd.com/ecdu for class schedules and registration information.

ECD manufactures thermal profiling equipment and software.

WOBURN, MA – Two free seminars on advances in limited access testing will be held in March.

Acculogic North American sales manager Bob Steel and application and flying probe product manager Greg Leblonc will present on Mar. 23 in Newton, MA, and Mar. 24 in Farmington, CT.

The seminars present recent advances in testing methodology, including design for test, new boundary scan tools, and flying probe testers.

The seminars are geared toward test engineers challenged with testing boards with little or no access, the need for faster test development cycles and better test coverage. Additionally, they are for those who work with an OEM or in a contract manufacturing environment, or who do production line tests.

Both seminars are sponsored by Acculogic and Precision Automation.

SMYRNA, GA – UP Media Group today announced a trio of electronics industry experts will moderate must-see chats during the third annual VIRTUAL PCB, the industry’s only virtual trade show and conference for the PCB design, fabrication and assembly markets. The two-day worldwide event takes place March 2-4, 2010.

MINNEAPOLIS – The SMTA has announced a series of webinars coming in March to be held in conjunction with Virtual PCB.

Go Greener in Your Cleaner, presented by Dr. Harald Wack at Zestron America, will take place Mar. 3. Attendees will learn about recent cleaning challenges, including the removal of flux residues under challenging low standoff components such as 0603 chip capacitors, while using pH-neutral de-fluxing agents, as well as alkaline chemistries with reduced VOC levels.

Also on Mar. 3, Root Cause Failure Analysis of PCB Assemblies will introduce the element of root cause failure analysis through the correlation of product and tooling design with assembly defects, including examples of actual product design, manufacturing tooling design, and SMT and PTH assembly process issues matched to actual product failures. The presentation will be given by Dale Lee of Plexus Corp.

Status of the Proliferation of Lead-Free Alloys: 2010, on Mar. 4, will provide an overview of the current Pb-free alloy proliferation, a discussion of new failure modes and how to minimize them and an outlook on how alloy convergence might occur. Ronald Lasky, Ph.D., PE, of Indium Corp. will present.

For more information, contact ryan@smta.org or visit http://www.smta.org/education/presentations/presentations.cfm.

Virtual PCB (www.virtual-pcb.com), the industry's only Web-based trade show and conference, is brought to you by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY and PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB.

ITASCA, IL – Illinois Tool Works reported mixed results for its January quarter, as total operating revenue increased 5% year-over-year, but organic revenues were down 2%.

The growth in revenue was due to acquisitions and currency translation, which contributed 1% and 6%, respectively.

ITW is the parent company of Kester Solder, Speedline Technologies, Vitronics-Soltec and other electronics assembly suppliers.

For the period ended Jan. 31, base revenues were up sequentially on greater demand in the North American automotive sector.

Operating revenues were $3.76 billion, with base revenues down 10.9% in North America and 9% internationally.

ITW said most end-markets have stabilized and expects a modest expansion in a variety of worldwide end markets in 2010, with fiscal first-quarter total revenue growth of 14% to 18%. The company forecasts fiscal year growth of 10% to 14%.