News
TEMPE, AZ -- The manufacturing sector failed to grow in
November for the first time in 42 months despite gains in the broader economy. Computer and electronic products was one of eight industries reporting growth in November.
The monthly Institute for Supply Management report, issued today, showed November manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level since April 2003, as the PMI indicator fell to 49.5%. New orders and production both slumped.
The silver lining, said ISM spokesman Norbert Ore was new export order growth, which "continued as the weaker dollar continues to fuel that segment.
The monthly Institute for Supply Management report, issued today, showed November manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level since April 2003, as the PMI indicator fell to 49.5%. New orders and production both slumped.
The silver lining, said ISM spokesman Norbert Ore was new export order growth, which "continued as the weaker dollar continues to fuel that segment.
SAN FRANCISCO – Manufacturers looking for help on RoHS compliance will want to tune in to the upcoming Assessing and Maintaining Compliance webinar. The free online seminar will take place Dec. 13, 4 p.m. EST. The one-hour presentation will feature Ken Stanvick, senior vice president at Design Chain Associates, presenting on what companies need to do to maintain and demonstrate RoHS compliance; what an RoHS compliance audit really means; what needs to be audited within your company; and why to include suppliers and subcontractors in an audit.
http://www.eptac.com/rohs-weee/business.html
http://www.eptac.com/rohs-weee/business.html
ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit's previously announced assembly factory in the Ukraine will come online next spring, according to several reports.
Circuits Assembly first reported the plans in October.
Construction started on the plant in September. The finished plant will have an 85,000 sq. ft. footprint and employ 1,500 workers.
Circuits Assembly first reported the plans in October.
Construction started on the plant in September. The finished plant will have an 85,000 sq. ft. footprint and employ 1,500 workers.
SALEM, NH - Appli-tec, a provider of adhesives, sealants and encapsulants, has relocated its offices and manufacturing operations to 7 Industrial Way in Salem, NH.
According to President Timothy Walsh, the 20,000 sq. ft. facility increases the company's production area by 50.
Appli-tec has also increased the size of its manufacturing team by 20% in the past six months.
According to President Timothy Walsh, the 20,000 sq. ft. facility increases the company's production area by 50.
Appli-tec has also increased the size of its manufacturing team by 20% in the past six months.
TOKYO -- Panasonic Automotive Systems will launch a Thailand subsidiarynext month, the company said.
The unit will cover Thailand, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
"The establishment of the new company as a hub for development, manufacture and sales in Asia will lead to stronger cooperation among the PAS companies, realize global business opportunities and optimize Panasonic's product development and production system," said Toru Nishida, managing director, in a statement.
BEIJING -- Unit shipments of digital cable set-top boxes in China will quadruple to 12 million in 2010, according to research firm InStat.
The nation purchased 3 million STBs in 2005, the firm said.
The Chinese government is pushing cities to switch to digital cable TV from analog and most homes will opt for basic boxes, In-Stat says.
"Most of the digital STB shipment increases will come from basic set-top boxes. Most cable operators provide only basic services, and networks have not yet begun to install two-way networks. [T]hus, operators prefer basic boxes," said analyst Rebecca Tan.
Meanwhile, advanced-box shipments will reach 1.5 million by 2010, InStat said. Total revenue of cable STBs is forecast to reach $586 million by 2010.
The nation purchased 3 million STBs in 2005, the firm said.
The Chinese government is pushing cities to switch to digital cable TV from analog and most homes will opt for basic boxes, In-Stat says.
"Most of the digital STB shipment increases will come from basic set-top boxes. Most cable operators provide only basic services, and networks have not yet begun to install two-way networks. [T]hus, operators prefer basic boxes," said analyst Rebecca Tan.
Meanwhile, advanced-box shipments will reach 1.5 million by 2010, InStat said. Total revenue of cable STBs is forecast to reach $586 million by 2010.
RICHARDSON, TX -- TXP Corp. has expanded its facility by 16,488 sq. ft. to accommodate its newly expanded iPhotonics R&D team following the recent hiring of Siemens' former ONT staff.
The now 47,000 sq. ft. plant includes additional warehouse space and a staging area for the TXP's retrofit business.
The now 47,000 sq. ft. plant includes additional warehouse space and a staging area for the TXP's retrofit business.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Phoenix X-Ray, a maker of inspection equipment, has opened a service center in St. Petersburg. The company had announced the new site in February.
The site houses the company's 2D and 3D x-ray inspection equipment, and sales, service and applications engineers.
“Our new service center will offer the complete range of excellent consultation, and application services,“ said Dr. Stefan Becker, director of international sales, in a press statement.
The site houses the company's 2D and 3D x-ray inspection equipment, and sales, service and applications engineers.
“Our new service center will offer the complete range of excellent consultation, and application services,“ said Dr. Stefan Becker, director of international sales, in a press statement.
BANGALORE – Brady Corp., a $1 billion OEM of identification equipment and materials, has opened a manufacturing plant at Electronics City in Bangalore.
The plant will make products for use in cellphones and electronics manufacturing.
“The presence in Bangalore allows us to serve our customers better, strengthen key partnerships and extend our reach into the Indian markets,” said Allan Klotsche, Brady vice-president, Asia Pacific region.
The plant will make products for use in cellphones and electronics manufacturing.
“The presence in Bangalore allows us to serve our customers better, strengthen key partnerships and extend our reach into the Indian markets,” said Allan Klotsche, Brady vice-president, Asia Pacific region.
WASHINGTON, DC – A task force that includes the National Association of Manufacturers is urging President Bush to include funding for basic research performed by the Department of Defense in his American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).
“This study illustrates the importance of the Defense Department’s basic research programs to the nation’s economic competitiveness and national security,” said NAM president John Engler.
“This study illustrates the importance of the Defense Department’s basic research programs to the nation’s economic competitiveness and national security,” said NAM president John Engler.
By Bob Swiggett
Looking back 58 years to 1948, I recall five things that led me to found Photocircuits Corp., which became the first company in the world to manufacture printed wiring boards as its sole line of business. These five things were as follows:
1. I read a short report written by the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratory describing the “Autosembly” process for electronic assemblies using plastic boards with etched copper foil patterns where the axial lead components were inserted through holes in the board and dip soldered to the foil pattern;
2. I met Russ Davis, a salesman for the National Vulcanized Fibre Co., at the wedding of a friend, who pitched me on what he thought was going to be a great new product, copper foilclad plastic laminate;
3. I worked as a process engineer for Chemco Photoproducts, a company that made plastic film, process cameras, etching, and other equipment for photoengraving printing plates as well as operating three photoengraving plants. We really knew everything about printing and etching processes;
4. RCA had asked one of our plants to try photoetching coils for a new TV tuner using the new NVF copper clad plastic;
5. My boss at Chemco, A. Jay Powers, enthusiastically supported my request to set up a small laboratory and investigate the potential for what just might become a big business.
After visiting the Signal Corps and the National Bureau of Standards, the lab was put together in the cellar of one of Chemco’s buildings in Glen Cove, New York. In the beginning, there was no market and little interest. After World War II, military electronics was ‘dead’. Radio manufacturers claimed that they could handwire a five tube AC/DC set for 35 cents. TV was just coming alive. IBM didn’t have a single vacuum tube in any of its punched card equipment. The computer business hardly existed. Nobody had heard pf the transistor yet.
However, there were customers for complex rotary switches that we could make. Etched inductances such as the RCA tuner coils were interesting to many. We made large quantities of TV antenna filters and couplers, and other products.
Bell Labs came to us for a few small cards that they used to make the first logic circuits wit this new ‘transistor’ to be shown at their threeday symposium in 1950, where they introduced it to the world. It seems quite significant in retrospect that the only way that they could mount and interconnect these devices was on a printed wiring board. Amazingly, at the symposium, I sat next to three guys from a small geodesic test equipment firm from Texas – Texas Instruments. They expressed interest in getting a license.
Our antenna filters used twosided cards where conductors on opposite sides were interconnected by brass eyelets that were soldered. Temperatures on the roof produced open circuits. There was panic! This stimulated violent process development in our lab to produce electroplated holes that would not open. Solving this problem opened the doors to many new applications.
As quantities increased, we developed inks, screen printing machines, etching and electroplating equipment, solder masks, and other products and process tools. Military customers wanted better hightemperature resistance and strength than could be achieved with the early paperbased laminates. We tried many resins, and the best turned out to be a new ‘epoxy’ material in combination with glass cloth. Since the laminators such as NVF had only highpressure presses, they could not, at the time, use epoxy resins. We acquired a small press and began producing materials ourselves.
My brother Jim, fresh out of Princeton, brought order to our production systems, as well as pricing; still, we lost money operating out of a cellar and a garage. Despair set in, and we almost quit.
Then, in a stroke of good fortune, we convinced the Radiation Laboratory at M.I.T., then in technical control of the computers that were used by the SAGE early system, into using twosided plated through-hole boards. IBM, the prime contractor, gave us orders, as well as hope for huge longterm business. Since we were the only company capable at the time of producing plated holes, the Air Force forced us to teach IBM what we knew in order to create a second source. In return, we were guaranteed half the business.
Quitting, and failure, were thus avoided. We built a new 30,000 square foot facility in 1956 and became profitable in the much more efficient layout. The rest is history!
By 1957, several small competitors and captive shops had appeared. Inexperience and lack of uniform specifications led to unfortunate pricing. NEMA proved to be an ineffective answer to the need for a printed wiring board manufacturer’s association. So, we met with Al Hughes of Electrolab at our plant in Glen Cove, and then, by phone, set up a meeting in Chicago with w few other competitors; from that meeting came the organization of the IPC.
This recollection is excerpted from the upcoming book, From Vacuum Tubes to Nanotubes: An Amazing Half Century -- The Emergence of Electronic Circuit Technology 1957-2007, published by IPC. The book will be released in conjunction with the IPC’s 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated at Apex in Los Angeles in February.
Looking back 58 years to 1948, I recall five things that led me to found Photocircuits Corp., which became the first company in the world to manufacture printed wiring boards as its sole line of business. These five things were as follows:
1. I read a short report written by the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratory describing the “Autosembly” process for electronic assemblies using plastic boards with etched copper foil patterns where the axial lead components were inserted through holes in the board and dip soldered to the foil pattern;
2. I met Russ Davis, a salesman for the National Vulcanized Fibre Co., at the wedding of a friend, who pitched me on what he thought was going to be a great new product, copper foilclad plastic laminate;
3. I worked as a process engineer for Chemco Photoproducts, a company that made plastic film, process cameras, etching, and other equipment for photoengraving printing plates as well as operating three photoengraving plants. We really knew everything about printing and etching processes;
4. RCA had asked one of our plants to try photoetching coils for a new TV tuner using the new NVF copper clad plastic;
5. My boss at Chemco, A. Jay Powers, enthusiastically supported my request to set up a small laboratory and investigate the potential for what just might become a big business.
After visiting the Signal Corps and the National Bureau of Standards, the lab was put together in the cellar of one of Chemco’s buildings in Glen Cove, New York. In the beginning, there was no market and little interest. After World War II, military electronics was ‘dead’. Radio manufacturers claimed that they could handwire a five tube AC/DC set for 35 cents. TV was just coming alive. IBM didn’t have a single vacuum tube in any of its punched card equipment. The computer business hardly existed. Nobody had heard pf the transistor yet.
However, there were customers for complex rotary switches that we could make. Etched inductances such as the RCA tuner coils were interesting to many. We made large quantities of TV antenna filters and couplers, and other products.
Bell Labs came to us for a few small cards that they used to make the first logic circuits wit this new ‘transistor’ to be shown at their threeday symposium in 1950, where they introduced it to the world. It seems quite significant in retrospect that the only way that they could mount and interconnect these devices was on a printed wiring board. Amazingly, at the symposium, I sat next to three guys from a small geodesic test equipment firm from Texas – Texas Instruments. They expressed interest in getting a license.
Our antenna filters used twosided cards where conductors on opposite sides were interconnected by brass eyelets that were soldered. Temperatures on the roof produced open circuits. There was panic! This stimulated violent process development in our lab to produce electroplated holes that would not open. Solving this problem opened the doors to many new applications.
As quantities increased, we developed inks, screen printing machines, etching and electroplating equipment, solder masks, and other products and process tools. Military customers wanted better hightemperature resistance and strength than could be achieved with the early paperbased laminates. We tried many resins, and the best turned out to be a new ‘epoxy’ material in combination with glass cloth. Since the laminators such as NVF had only highpressure presses, they could not, at the time, use epoxy resins. We acquired a small press and began producing materials ourselves.
My brother Jim, fresh out of Princeton, brought order to our production systems, as well as pricing; still, we lost money operating out of a cellar and a garage. Despair set in, and we almost quit.
Then, in a stroke of good fortune, we convinced the Radiation Laboratory at M.I.T., then in technical control of the computers that were used by the SAGE early system, into using twosided plated through-hole boards. IBM, the prime contractor, gave us orders, as well as hope for huge longterm business. Since we were the only company capable at the time of producing plated holes, the Air Force forced us to teach IBM what we knew in order to create a second source. In return, we were guaranteed half the business.
Quitting, and failure, were thus avoided. We built a new 30,000 square foot facility in 1956 and became profitable in the much more efficient layout. The rest is history!
By 1957, several small competitors and captive shops had appeared. Inexperience and lack of uniform specifications led to unfortunate pricing. NEMA proved to be an ineffective answer to the need for a printed wiring board manufacturer’s association. So, we met with Al Hughes of Electrolab at our plant in Glen Cove, and then, by phone, set up a meeting in Chicago with w few other competitors; from that meeting came the organization of the IPC.
This recollection is excerpted from the upcoming book, From Vacuum Tubes to Nanotubes: An Amazing Half Century -- The Emergence of Electronic Circuit Technology 1957-2007, published by IPC. The book will be released in conjunction with the IPC’s 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated at Apex in Los Angeles in February.
BEAVERTON, OR – Axiom Electronics has completed a management buyout of the company from its former parent Ambitech International.
An EMS firm, Axiom operates a 24,000 sq. ft. plant and employs over 70 workers.
In a press statement, Axiom president Robert Toppel said, “Regaining our independence will tap the entrepreneurial spirit of Axiom’s best-in-class staff. We are very excited to be unencumbered from the past and able to facilitate the success and growth of our customers’ business through a combination of strategy, operations and technology prowess, and leadership."
An EMS firm, Axiom operates a 24,000 sq. ft. plant and employs over 70 workers.
In a press statement, Axiom president Robert Toppel said, “Regaining our independence will tap the entrepreneurial spirit of Axiom’s best-in-class staff. We are very excited to be unencumbered from the past and able to facilitate the success and growth of our customers’ business through a combination of strategy, operations and technology prowess, and leadership."
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