Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

POINTE CLAIRE, QUEBEC -- EMS provider Triton Electronik will acquire Positron Technologies for an undisclosed sum, according to the Canadian Press. The combined company will have sales of more than C$140 million, the report stated.

BANGALORE – The Electronic Industries Association of India called on the government to level the playing field for domestic component makers, saying the field is falling behind thanks to imports and the high cost of local production, say published reports.

SAN JOSE – Tessera Technologies has filed a new complaint requesting the U.S. International Trade Commission investigate the unlawful importation, sale for importation and sale after importation of certain small-format BGA semiconductor packages and products including these packages.

Tessera’s complaint is directed at a variety of products, including certain DRAM memory chips, DRAM memory modules and computer systems incorporating such chips and modules.

Companies named as respondents include A-DATA Technology, Acer, Acer America, Centon Electronics, Elpida Memory, International Products Sourcing Group, Kingston Technology, Nanya Technology, Peripheral Device and Product Systems, Powerchip Semiconductor, ProMOS Technologies, Ramaxel Technology, SMART Modular Technologies, and TwinMOS Technologies.

None of these companies is a Tessera licensee.

The complaint seeks an exclusion order barring the importation, sale for importation or sale after importation of products that Tessera believes infringe its technology and are unlawfully competing with licensees.

The ITC is expected to decide whether to initiate an investigation within 30 days.

Tessera also has filed a concurrent action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against these same companies.

In both complaints, Tessera seeks remedies for infringement of four U.S. patents. Licensed companies include DRAM manufacturers Samsung, Hynix, Qimonda and Micron.

PALO ALTO, CA – Software capability and feeder designs represent the key highlights for new surface mount placement machines. In particular, an easy configuration process for the automated assembly line emphasizes the changeover during production and zero-downtime feature. Better robotic controls, user interface, programming, RFID tags, intelligent feeder designs and other add-ons all assist with easy configuration, reports research firm Frost & Sullivan.

The company finds market and product demands have resulted in smaller, lighter PCBs capable of carrying more components. These demands have led to a higher requirement for replacement accuracy and throughput, thereby necessitating continuous improvements in the SMD assembly process, says Frost.

“Leading SMD placement equipment manufacturers are introducing new machines with faster placement rates and higher accuracies,” notes Frost technical insights research analyst Krishnakumar Srinivasan. “This is achieved by the improvement of the vision system, servo system, feeder design, fixating system, optimization software and nozzle design.”

With the introduction of 01005 packaging, manufacturers have to return to the drawing board to provide design support for these components. While placement rate and accuracy at one end continue to be performance marking factors of the process and equipment, the industry has started looking at other aspects of technology like solder material, packaging and conveyor systems as trivial entities that impact the development curve of advanced SMD placement technologies, says the firm.

“Modular designs are becoming more important in the new SMD placement systems,” says Srinivasan. “With the increasing mix of product types and packaging, new machines need to provide higher versatility and robustness in handling these challenges. This has direct impact on the head technology, line-balancing strategies, optimization issues and vision systems.”

The emergence of hybrid placement machines addresses the need to support production environments with high product mix. These machines help maximize throughput while reducing wear and tear caused by changeovers, without causing unnecessary downtime, according to the firm.

VELDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – Assembléon has established a direct sales and service presence in Germany.

Beginning in February, Assembléon staff will handle sales and service. Until Jan. 31, GPS Technologies will provide service to customers.

“The local presence with our direct sales and service force in Germany, Austria and Switzerland enables us to offer Assembléon’s complete product range, including the X-Series, M-Series, and the flagship A-Series Pick & Place platform … This is a significant step forward in our ability to service customers in this country, and underlines the importance of these customers for Assembléon,“ comments Harm van Leeuwen, director regional center Europe.

EDINA, MN – SMTA requests papers for SMTA International, taking place Aug. 17 - 21 in Orlando.

The deadline for abstracts is Jan. 7.

For more information, visit http://www.smta.org/smtai/call_for_papers.cfm.

In addition, the association requests papers for SMTA China Shanghai (Nepcon China), Shenzhen (Nepcon South China), and Tianjin (Bohai Electronics Week).

The abstract deadline for Shanghai (in conjunction with Nepcon China) is Jan. 8.

For more information visit http://www.smta.org/education/education.cfm#call.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The 5th annual Medical Electronics Symposium will be held Jan. 29-31 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA, the SMTA says.

The keynote presentation, titled The Imminent Revolution of Medical Electronics, will be given by Celeste Null, director of biomedical engineering, Intel Corp. on Jan. 30.

The technical program will consist of six sessions and a plenary session.

The symposium will feature topics concerning patient care and technology, eco-compliance, reliability, optimizing component selection, ultra small SiP for medical applications, and benefits of lean flow manufacturing.

Two tutorials on automatic test equipment will be offered Jan. 31. The morning tutorial will cover Strategies for Comprehensive and Cost Effective Automatic Testing for Medical Electronics; the afternoon tutorial will continue with Utilizing DFT and BIST to Complement Automatic Testing of Medical Electronics.

The Medical Electronics Symposium, previously held in Minneapolis, will be co-located with the Medical Device and Manufacturing Expo West.

For details and to register, visit http://www.smta.org/education/symposia/symposia.cfm or contact Melissa Serres, melissa@smta.org.

ALPHARETTA, GA – Exerra Inc. has appointed four manufacturing representatives in North America for eP30 series printers.

B. R. Peterson and Assoc. represents Exerra products in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Electronic Assembly Products covers Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

Southwest Systems Technology represents Exerra throughout Texas and Mexico.

Techsystems Intl. covers Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego County and Tijuana.

Exerra offers the eP30 series of inline printers and the eP20 series of standalone printers.

AUSTIN, TX – Twenty-three percent of the 20.1 million LCD TV units shipped in the third quarter were made by contractors such as TPV, Jabil, AmTRAN, Quanta, Proview, Vestel and Wistron, says the latest report by research firm DisplaySearch.

Many LCD TV OEMs – including Grundig, HP, Polaroid, Vizio, ViewSonic and Westinghouse – outsourced 100% of their manufacturing.

Philips outsourced more than 60% of its LCD TVs shipped in the quarter. Some intend to increase their outsourcing share for certain regions and products as the market expands, while other brands intend to bring more volume in-house as they expand into new regions, according to DisplaySearch.

More than two million LCD monitor panels shipped in the third quarter were used for LCD TVs, a significant leap from 900,000 in the prior quarter.

LCD TVs under 26" will increasingly use LCD monitor panels, says the firm.

Some 23.7 million LCD TV modules were shipped from TFT LCD makers, while LCD TV manufacturers shipped 20.1 million units, the report adds. These variances reportedly were a result of supply chain, assembly lead-time, buffer stocks and channel inventory.

TPV led the TV set subcontract manufacturing market with a 19.9% share, followed by Proview, Jabil and AmTRAN.

The main customer for TPV is Philips, and the main customer for AmTRAN is Vizio; the main customer of Proview is Polaroid, and the main customer of Jabil is Philips, says DisplaySearch.

Philips was the top customer of LG.Philips LCD; Samsung LCD TV was the top customer of CMO and CPT. Sony was the top customer of AUO and Samsung (including S-LCD).

In addition, each of the top-five suppliers looked to their top-five customers for at least 50% of their volume, with the exception of CMO, concludes the report.

ARLINGTON, VA – Electronic component orders dipped slightly in November for the second month in a row, according to the Electronic Components Association. The 12-month average, which compares order growth to the previous year, was level.

SAN JOSE – Gartner Inc. lowered its 2007 semiconductor forecast to 2.9%, down from 3.9%.

The research firm also tempered its estimates for 2008, saying growth will hit 6.2%, versus earlier predictions of 8.2%. However, Gartner raised its 2009 forecast to 8.5% growth, up from 6.1%.

ATLANTA – UP Media Group, parent company of Circuits Assembly and Printed Circuit Design & Fab, announced today that support for Virtual PCB, the industry's first virtual trade show and conference for the PCB design, fabrication and assembly markets, continues to grow, as leading industry suppliers sign on to exhibit at the Feb. 12-13 event.