MULINO, OR -- Sunstone Circuits and NXP Semiconductors are collaborating to build and certify the complete NXP parts catalog within Sunstone’s PCB123 V3.2 design software.

Design engineers can search the manufacturer’s parts library, including certified footprints and schematic symbols, and then order parts in real-time from Digi-Key’s online database via PCB123’s LiveBOM tool.

“By eliminating the need for designers to build out their own parts libraries, we are saving designers a tremendous amount of time and energy, which translates into greater productivity and reduced costs throughout the entire design flow,” said Sunstone president and chief executive Terry Heilman.

Digi-Key president and COO Mark Larson said, “We know our colleagues at NXP share our view that providing reliable information and getting components in front of engineers at the point of part selection through the integration of our information databases into design software such as the PCB123, is another way of providing our mutual customers within the engineering design community with superior service.”

“NXP continually looks for industry innovators to collaborate with to best serve our customer base,” said John Tuley, senior director, distribution Americas of NXP Semiconductors. “Sunstone Circuits and its world-class PCB123 software, combined with Digi-Key’s electronics parts database, present design engineers with the perfect solution to quickly and easily design and build prototype PCBs – creating unique opportunities for NXP and our customers.”

MINNEAPOLIS – SMTA requests papers for SMTA International, to be held Oct. 4-8 in San Diego.

SINGAPORE – Singapore's exports to the US fell 44.4% year-over-year in February, pulling the nation's shipments down 24%.

Weak demand for electronics was among the reasons cited for the drop. Electronics exports dropped 31.9% to S$3.5 billion.

Shipments to the country's 10 top trading partners were down, except China. Sales to US customers dropped to US$673 million, but the percentage drop actually climbed slightly from a 50% plunge in January. Shipments to the European Union fell 36.7%, and sales to Japan dropped 38.9%.

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HELSINKI – Nokia said it would cut up to 1,700 jobs, or about 1.3% of the company’s work force, in response to sluggish demand and the poor outlook for near-term recovery.

The company said the cuts will come in its device and media segments, plus corporate development and global support.

Cellphone sales were down 5% to 315 million cellphones in the fourth quarter, Gartner reported, and grew 2% sequentially despite the holiday buying season.

TEDDINGTON, UK – National Physical Laboratory scientists are researching what use of Pb-free solder alloys could mean for tin pest and tin whiskers.

NPL has been studying the allotropic phase transformation in tin and its alloys, commonly known as tin pest, to measure the implications of adopting Pb-free solder manufacturing practices.

The firm has received funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. It seeks industry support for the work on the order of £5,200 per company for the 14-month project. 

Also, NPL has developed a measurement system and test method to assess the ability of different conformal coatings to stop or slow down tin whisker growth. The method can help conformal coating suppliers modify coatings to inhibit whisker initiation, growth and penetration for electronics.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Illinois Tool Works today reported operating revenue fell 21% for the three months ended Feb. 28. The drop included a 20% fall in base revenues and a 7% fall in contributions from currency translation, partially offset by a 7% increase from acquisitions in the period.

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MALMO, SWEDEN -- An arbitration board has found in favor of top 40 EMS firm PartnerTech Åtvidaberg AB in its case against Swe-Dish Satellite System AB.

The board ruled Swe-Dish is to pay PartnerTech almost SEK 23 million for invoice claims and costs.

The ruling will raise PartnerTech's reported earnings for the first quarter by more than SEK 3 million. 

ROGERSTONE, UK -- TT Electronics said full-year profits fell 37% on weaker volumes, especially for its automotive components.

For the year ended Dec. 31, the pretax profit before exceptional items was 21.1 million points ($29.5 million). Revenue rose 7.2% to 584.3 million pounds, boosted by foreign exchange and acquisitions. Organic revenue was down 1.7%.

About 40% of TT's revenue came from automotive sales, and the company is trying to lower its exposure to that market to 25 to 30%.

TT, which has laid off 1,295 workers since 2008, said it would fire more staff than previously announced in January, and has implemented short-time working and temporary shutdowns across a number of sites.

CHICAGO -- Methode Electronics reported third-quarter net sales fell 41.7% to $80.8 million from a year ago. Net income plunged $36.8 million to a loss of $27 million. The company took charges of $32.7 million for goodwill and intangible assets, and restructuring charges of $3.8 million, during the period.

The results were also hampered by timing: there was one less week in the company's fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31 vs. a year ago.

SMYRNA, GA – Solder vendors are denying reports of plans to eliminate a type of flux classified in industry standards as rosin mildly activated (RMA).

On an industry email forum Friday, an engineer at a large defense contractor said he had heard from solder reps of a consensus to discontinue RMA fluxes due to a lack of general use.

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WASHINGTON, DC – The National Association of Manufacturers' top commerce official is calling the Obama administration's trade policies "pragmatic" and open.

In a statement released on the trade group's website, NAM vice president for international economic affairs Frank Vargo called President Obama’s trade policy agenda "a pragmatic one aimed at opening markets and improving the U.S. role in the world economy. ... [I]t talks about improving trade agreements rather than reopening them, and it calls for greater emphasis on seeing that small and medium-sized firms can become more effective exporters and competitors in the global economy." Vargo said the latter is "a very important goal" for NAM, whose membership is largely made up of small- and medium-sized businesses.

"We were pleased to see that the agenda calls for correcting the current imbalance in the Doha Round, and seeking a strong and balanced market-opening outcome. The NAM has been pressing hard for such an approach and will work closely with the President’s trade team to achieve that important goal."

He also lauded the Administration for "reaching out to all stakeholders in framing its agenda."

Vargo also noted the agenda's call for a strong and effective stance on IP protection, which NAM sees as "one of the most essential parts of the NAM trade agenda."