ATLANTA -- Join a pair of industry experts next week for a two free moderated chats on surface mount processing and cleaning.

MANASSAS, VA – Zestron will host a Printed Circuit University chat session on July 9 from 2 to 3 pm Eastern.

This moderated PCB Chat will focus on the importance of cleaning within the SMT process. Topics of interest include why clean PCBs, failure mechanisms and their impact on product reliability, surface analytics, conformal coating integrity, as well as stencil, misprint and maintenance cleaning opportunities.

Attendees can submit questions privately via www.pcbchat.com up to two hours in advance of the chat, or while the chat is live. As questions are answered, they appear online in sequential fashion. Following the chat, the transcript is made available for on-demand viewing and is also searchable.

To participate, register for free as a member of Printed Circuit University at www.printedcircuituniversity.com.

PCB Chat is hosted by UP Media Group.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Olin King, the man some credit with founding the modern contract electronics assembly industry, has died.

TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in June for the first time since July 2009, says the Institute for Supply Management.

The June PMI was 49.7%, down 3.8 percentage points. New orders dropped a staggering 12.3 percentage points to 47.8% compared to May. Production registered 51%, down 4.6 points, and inventories were down 2 points to 44%. Customer inventories were up 5 percentage points to 48.5%, while backlogs were 44.5%, down 2.5 points.

“The PMI registered 49.7%, a decrease of 3.8 percentage points from May’s reading of 53.5%, indicating contraction in the manufacturing sector for the first time since July 2009, when the PMI registered 49.2%. The New Orders Index dropped 12.3 percentage points in June, registering 47.8% and indicating contraction in new orders for the first time since April 2009, when the New Orders Index registered 46.8%. The Production Index registered 51%, and the Employment Index registered 56.6%. The Prices Index for raw materials decreased significantly for the second consecutive month, registering 37%, which is 10.5 percentage points lower than the 47.5% reported in May. Comments from the panel range from continued optimism to concern that demand may be softening due to uncertainties in the economies in Europe and China,” said Bradley J. Holcomb, ISM spokesperson.

The overall economy grew for the 37th consecutive month, says ISM.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Tablet PCs, such as Apple’s iPad, are expected to be the growth driver for the mobile PC market over the next few years, says NPD DisplaySearch.

Tablet shipments will surpass notebook shipments in 2016. Overall mobile PC shipments will grow from 347 million units in 2012 to more than 809 million units by 2017, says the firm.

While notebook PC shipments are expected to increase from 208 million units in 2012 to 393 million units by 2017, tablet PC shipments are expected to grow from 121 million units to 416 million units in this period, for a compound annual growth rate of 28%.

A key driver for tablet PC growth is adoption in mature markets (including North America, Japan and Western Europe), which will account for 66% of shipments in 2012 and remain in the 60% range throughout the forecast period, says the research firm.

Tablet PC shipments into mature markets will grow from 80 million units in 2012 to 254 million units by 2017.

Building on convenience-oriented features, including instant-on capability, long battery life and extreme portability, tablet PCs are expected to evolve in form factor and performance, making them a compelling alternative to notebook PCs. Tablet PCs are expected to incorporate multi-core processors, increasingly stable operating systems, growing app libraries and higher resolution displays.

In addition, notebook PCs are also evolving to meet the challenge from tablet PCs. Thinner form factors, higher resolution displays and touch functionality features are expected to increase. The notebook PC market will remain the largest part of the mobile PC market during the forecast period, accounting for 60% of mobile PC shipments in 2012, declining to 49% by 2017.

ATLANTA -- In some ways it looked like the Siemens of old.

BANNOCKBURN, IL -- After 29 years, an IPC icon is departing.

WUXI, CHINA -- Nam Tai Electronics's long-awaited expansion in Wuxi has begun.

SAN JOSE -- Ultratech has acquired the rights to a collection of patents from IBM covering fundamental patents in packaging such as C4 bumping, ball grid arrays, lead-free solders and 3D packaging.

SAN DIEGO -- Qualcomm's chief executive won't rule out acquiring a chip fabrication plant or buying up large amounts of electronic components to overcome supply chain inventory problems.

NEW YORK -- A new investigative report from human rights watchdog group China Labor Watch claims "rampant" labor rights violations at Foxconn's Shenzhen factory and nine other plants in China that supply Apple.

SAN JOSE – Tessera Technologies said its wholly-owned subsidiary, DigitalOptics, has completed its acquisition of certain assets of Vista Point Technologies from Flextronics.