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AUSTIN – DisplaySearch today raised its forecast for 3D-capable TV shipments, as hype turns into “real products.”

The research firm said shipments would grow from 2.5 million in 2010 to 27 million sets in 2013, dominated initially by developed regions, with North American shipments accounting for more than half of shipments this year.

“In 2009, we saw the first 3D-capable TVs, with the market greatly accelerating at CES 2010. Now we are seeing the hype turning into real products,” said Paul Gray, director of TV electronics research. “The key issue will be how consumers react to the initial product launch, and what the industry will learn from the feedback of early adopters. Complications in the TV supply chain – especially 3D content shortages – remain the biggest hurdles to overcome.”

The video processing and extra display performance required for 3D remain relatively costly compared to entry-level models, says the research firm. As a result, 3D is constrained by the penetration of double or quadruple frame rate sets in the market.

While 3D is forecast to show rapid growth, DisplaySearch indicates only 27% of 40" or larger sets shipped in 2013 will be 3D-capable. Furthermore, Blu-ray Disc and HD broadcast have low penetration in Western Europe, and as a result, a content gap remains that needs to be filled before 3D can flourish.

LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES – Electronics manufacturing services Integrated Micro-Electronics today announced the official opening of its factory in Chengdu, a large city in southwestern China.

SAN JOSE – February worldwide semiconductor sales were $22 billion, up 56.2% year-over-year, and down a slight 1.3% sequentially.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC bestowed its highest corporate honors on Raytheon Co. and DuPont yesterday, citing the firms for their contributions to the trade group.

LAS VEGAS – Juki executive Bob Black received the IPC President’s Award at Apex this week.

The award is presented to IPC members who have exhibited ongoing leadership in IPC, and have made significant contributions to the association and the electronics interconnect industry.

President and CEO of Juki Automation Systems, Black has nearly 35 years of senior executive management experience in the circuit board and semiconductor industries. He has provided leadership over the past 20 years to the industry and IPC through the Surface Mount Council, the Surface Mount Equipment Manufacturers Association steering committee and the IPC Apex Trade Show Subcommittee.

Black is a current IPC board member, serving a four-year term.

LAS VEGAS – Circuits Assembly yesterday announced the winners of its 2010 Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers and Electronics Assembly Equipment, Materials and Software suppliers.

LAS VEGAS -- Heraeus will cease solder production at its North American manufacturing facilities, CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY has learned.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC published IPC-A-600H, Acceptability of Printed Boards, and IPC-6012C, Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards.

IPC-A-600H features 95 new and updated photos and illustrations, for a total of 326. The standard offers expanded coverage on topics such as solder mask coverage, etchback, plated-hole wall integrity, via fill, and flexible circuits. It also addresses copper cap-plating of vias and copper-wrap plating.

Criterion for how much a flex circuit can be bent or folded is now available. The document addresses coverlays sometimes used to protect flex circuits.

IPC-6012C addresses determining how many boards and/or test coupons to check. A document used for specifying circuit boards, IPC-6012 details frequency of inspection, instructing how many panels must be examined within a production lot for a given performance class.

Before the completion of the latest revisions, the standards’ next series of enhancements were being planned, including finer geometries, high-density PCBs, the proximity of microvias and stacked microvias that go from one layer to another.

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- DfR Solutions and ARINC have created a partnership to provide reliability and DMSMS support to the commercial government and defense industries.

BANNOCKBURN, IL — IPC today released J-STD-001E, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies, the culmination of a four-plus year effort to update the industry consensus soldering specification.

TEMPE, AZ – US manufacturing grew in March for the eighth consecutive month, with the PMI registering 59.6%, up 3.1 percentage points, says the Institute for Supply Management.

CHONGQING, CHINA – Hon Hai Group (Foxconn) will recruit more than 6,000 workers in the next six months here at its new PC manufacturing factory, according to published reports.

The firm also plans to expand the plant`s workforce to some 10,000 by 2011, all to accommodate a forecast annual output of more than 10 million notebook PCs.

The company also is pushing its suppliers to move into Chongqing, in an effort to vertically integrate a PC supply chain there. In the future, 80% of the facility’s bill of materials will be sourced locally, chairman Terry Gou said.