MARKHAM, ON -- EMS provider Artaflex hired former SMTC cofounder Paul Walker to provide consulting advice. Instead, he bought them out.

SMYRNA, GA – CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY is now accepting entries for its 2011 New Product Introduction Award for electronics assembly equipment, materials and software suppliers.

The 4th annual NPI Award recognizes the leading new products for electronics assembly during the past 12 months. Awards are selected by an independent panel of practicing industry engineers, and are presented by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY.

The 2010 winners included Production Solutions; Aqueous; Kyzen; Assembléon; Europlacer; Data I/O; Polyonics; FCT Assembly; KIC; R&D Technical Services; DEK; Panasonic Factory Solutions; Microscan; Valor; Cobar Solder Products; Speedline Technologies; Juki; SEHO Systems; EVS International; Acculogic; Koh Young, and Henkel.

How does it work?
Entrants must submit a single registration form for each product and category entered. All entries must include a 250-word (maximum) statement describing the product in terms of its innovation, compatibility, cost-effectiveness, design, speed/throughput improvements, ease of use, and maintainability and reparability; a PDF or Word file of corresponding technical product literature and/or product specifications, and a high-resolution (266 dpi or greater) digital image (.jpg, .tif or .eps).

Email information to cdrysdale@upmediagroup.com.

The entry fee is $500 per product.

To be eligible, entries must have been introduced to market (any region) no earlier than April 1, 2010.

Evaluations will be based on the following:
• Creativity and innovation
• Compatibility with existing technology
• Cost-effectiveness
• Design
• Environmental friendliness
• Expected reliability
• Flexibility
• Expected maintainability/reparability
• Performance
• User-friendliness

Awards Ceremony
The awards ceremony will take place April 12, 2011, during the IPC Apex trade show in Las Vegas.

Categories

Equipment:
Automation tools (conveyors, feeders, etc.); bonders; cleaning equipment; component placement – high-speed; component placement – multi-function; device programming; dispensing equipment; labeling equipment; process control tools; rework and repair tools; screen/stencil printing; soldering – reflow; soldering – wave; soldering – selective; soldering – other (vapor phase, hot bar, laser, etc.); soldering – hand tools; software – process control; software – production; software – management (ERP, MRP, etc.); test and inspection – AOI; test and inspection – AXI; test and inspection – ICT

Materials:
Adhesives; cleaning materials; coatings/encapsulants; underfills; flux, and soldering materials (paste, bar, wire, core, etc.)

For more information, visit http://circuitsassembly.com/cms/npi-award.

For 2011 terms and conditions, visit http://www.circuitsassembly.com/cms/magazine/206/5891.

To register, visit https://www.regonline.com/2011_npi_award_presented_by_circuits_assembly.

The deadline for entries is Feb. 10, 2011.

CHENGDU, CHINA -- Foxconn reportedly will invest $2 billion to build an assembly plant here, according to several published reports today.

CLEVELAND – Keithley Instruments next week will broadcast a free, web-based seminar on electrical measurement of high-brightness LEDs. 

The one-hour presentation, scheduled for on Oct. 28, will provide an overview of the common electrical measurements performed on high-brightness LEDs, and how to overcome the challenges associated with those measurements.  

Topics to be covered include the effects of self-heating in LEDs and how to avoid them; how to relate forward voltage to junction temperature; the effects of noise in your forward voltage measurements, and the testing differences between DC and AC LEDs.

To register for this event, visit www.keithley.com/events/semconfs/webseminars.

NEW YORK -- With electronics assembly revenues set to rise at least 7% per year over the next four years, warranty and repair services opportunities will be abundant, a new report says.

DOWNERS GROVE, IL -- Dover reported third-quarter earnings from continuing operations were up 107% to $222.8 million.

ELKHART, IN -- CTS Corp. will nearly double its existing manufacturing site in Ayutthaya, Thailand, the company said today.

LAS VEGAS – Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak will keynote the annual Apex Expo conference next April.

“Woz," a Silicon Valley icon, helped invent the PC with his design of Apple I and II, and contributed to the development of the Macintosh.

His talk, “How to Foster Creativity and Innovation in a Technical Environment,” takes place April 12 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Convention Center. He will also sign copies of his autobiography iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon.

STOCKHOLM – Note reported same-factory third-quarter sales of SEK 271.9 million ($40.8 million), up 23% year-over-year.

ROSARITO, MEXICO – EMS provider Victron says it has increased volume at its recently opened facility here.

The facility provides a full suite of services from PCB assembly to system assembly and order fulfillment logistics. Victron has also added in-circuit testing and a range of functional testing capabilities that includes subsystem and final system integration for medical and industrial OEMs.

Victron provides end-to-end manufacturing solutions from design services through complex product manufacturing of full system integration, product fulfillment and logistics.

SAN JOSE – Annual silicon shipments will total 9.14 billion square inches in 2010, up 39% from this year, a new SEMI study predicts.

MINNEAPOLIS -- CyberOptics today reported third-quarter net income of $948,000, reversing last year's loss of of $841,000, as demand levels returned to normal.