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News

Shropshire, UK – UK Manufacturers may get another six-month reprieve to implement the EU’s WEEE legislation, if a report from B2B Compliance proves true.

According to the report, the government is considering a proposal to delay the legislation until June 2006, with producer responsibility commencing in January 2007.

As yet, however, no further delays have been posted on the Department of Trade and Industry’s Website. Last August, the DTI announced that responsibility would not commence until June 2006, pushing back the deadline (originally, Aug. 15, 2005, then delayed to January 2006) due to insufficient preparations.

Munich – Markets for microsystems will double over the next five years from $12 billion in 2004 to $25 billion in 2009, a CAGR of 16%, according to a market report by NEXUS.

MST/MEMS sensors and actuators are predicted to continue to consolidate their position in established IT peripheral markets for read/write heads and inkjet heads, in addition to creating new opportunities for microphones, memories, micro energy sources and chip coolers.

The automotive sector remains a major application field with several high-volume safety products including air bags and tire pressure monitoring systems.

Helping propel the market is the meteoric rise of the consumer electronics segment, forecast to almost quadruple its share from 6% of the market in 2004 to 22% in 2009 (a CAGR of 50%).

“The growth of consumer electronics for MST is breathtaking,” said Dr Henning Wicht, managing director of WTC. “In this segment we see rear and front projection TVs for home theater, as well as HDDs serving the increasing storage requirements of digital equipment such as DVD recorders, digital cameras and camcorders, and portable MP3 players. A big driver is the mobile phone, which already features motion sensors and is amenable to a battery of additional sensors and functions like liquid lenses for camera zoom, fingerprint sensors, microfuel cell power sources, gas sensors and weather barometers.”

Of the 26 products analyzed in the report, 14 will have market volumes over $100 million, and completely new products such as microfuel cells, fingerprint sensors and liquid lenses will worth a combined $250 million in five years.

The study, NEXUS Market Analysis III, was coordinated by WTC (Wicht Technologie Consulting) on behalf of NEXUS (The Network of Excellence in Multifunctional Microsystems).

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC has released its 2004-2005 International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Connections. This version of the roadmap features more input from Asia and Europe than in previous years, and is split into two volumes.

The roadmap provides direction for product and process development for companies building electronic and optoelectronic equipment. Each chapter contains specific recommendations addressing current, near-term, mid-term and long-term requirements, proposed actions and opportunities.

SINGAPORE -- Solectron Corp. today opened a facility dedicated to manufacturing medical products such as high-performance liquid chromatographs and fluidics subassemblies.

The Singapore Medical Center of Excellence is sited in Chai Chee, Singapore's Techno Park, and employs staff who have worked at leading medical OEMs.

GREENVILLE, SC -- Kemet Corp. today announced a definitive agreement to purchase the tantalum capacitor business of Epcos AG for $101.9 million. The deal is expected to close next spring, subject to standard closing conditions and receipt of required regulatory approvals.

SHANGHAI -- Tyco Electronics is "aggressively" expanding its operations in Shanghai, adding thousands to its workforce while it trims its capacity in the U.S. and Europe.

According to a report today from Deutsche Bank analyst Carter Shoop, Tyco is Electronics hired 4,000 employees in China in fiscal 2005, and plans to add another 6,000 to 7,000 in fiscal 2006. A new engineering center is planned as well.

SAN FRANCISCO -- 2005 was a year for consolidation among distributors, and market conditions will drive further merger activity in 2006, an analyst said today.

In 2005, Avnet bought Memec, Arrow acquired Ultra Source, World Peace teamed with SAC and RichPower. Also, Yosun acquired two smaller Asia-based distributors for Texas Instruments.

"Look for more of the same in 2006," wrote Carter Shoop, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, in a research note issued today.

Shoop said that lack of growth in North America and Europe, "coupled with incentives from suppliers to develop a more comprehensive Asian footprint and pressure from customers to offer a broader line card, are driving consolidation in the fragmented Asian distribution market."

Munich, Germany, and Westford, MA – Zuken has signed an eight-year, $1.2 million contract with the Transportation Systems Group (TS) of Siemens. Zuken will provide an integrated, enterprise-wide PCB design environment for the group's Rail Automation Division.

After identifying the need for more advanced schematic and library software for PCB design, Siemens TS decided to implement Zuken’s CR-5000 design environment. It is already installed in sites in Braunschweig and Berlin.

Siemens TS is a leading supplier to the railways industry. The Rail Automation Division, based in Braunschweig, provides products and services from electrical interlockings and level crossing protection systems to power supply systems.

Hudson, NH – CeTaQ America has enhanced capability for testing live QFPs during Machine Capability Analysis (MCA) testing.

“Rather than using dummy components, the ability to use the live QFPs brings MCA testing right up to the electronics manufacturer’s real-world manufacturing scenario,” Michael Sivigny, general manager, said in a statement. “This makes our testing methodology the most relevant and accurate that it can possibly be.”

MCA testing is a third party evaluation methodology that uses special vision algorithms, glass plates and components to measure Cp and Cpk indices on production equipment. All brands and models of SMT printers, dispensers, placement and semiconductor machines are validated. The goal is to verify that a machine is performing to the manufacturer’s original specifications, and make any necessary corrective adjustments if it is not.

In testing placement accuracy, for example, the actual fine pitch QFP components and various types of leaded devices can now be used. The pick-and-place machine places components on the test fixture marked with local reference points and fiducials. The components are analyzed against data from component data sheets. Measurements and statistical data are collected for calculating Cp and Cpk indices on side overhang, toe overhang and lead pitch, for example. These results can be used to feedback quality of incoming component material to component suppliers. The QFP components are not harmed during testing and can be returned to parts inventories for assembly after passing capability inspection.

ATLANTA -- Visiprise completed its merger with HMS Software, forming a manufacturing software environment provider with more than 270 employees and more than 200 customers.

To facilitate the transaction, Visiprise closed on over $30 million of new financing led by Investor Growth Capital and Westbury Partners. This financing also included participation from the company’s current investors.

Visiprise has re-organized into industry business units (IBUs), creating more focus around the company’s selected vertical markets – aerospace and defense, electronics, automotive and specialty vehicles, and medical devices.

Visiprise focused on high-volume, high-mix manufacturing environments with HMS Software adding low-volume asset and labor-intense manufacturing capability.

Menlo Park, CA - Arena Solutions released its Fall ’05 PLM updates this week, available immediately to new and existing subscribers. The latest release for the on-demand solution enables collaboration with suppliers; management of regulatory standards (such as RoHS, and WEEE); and customization options through a point and click, Web-based interface.

"We realize that PLM is a cross-enterprise application that involves multiple companies, all of which are affected by recent trends in outsourcing, the need to access the evolution of a products, etc.," CTO Erik Larkin told CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY last week. "Multiple customers use it to access data, provide product records and engage with suppliers, and this 45th upgrade reflects the increased needs for collaboration, compliance management and customization."

The release also introduces Arena PLM Enterprise Edition, with increased customization; adaptable compliance management; advanced reporting features for product performance visibility; and integration into applications such as CAD, EDA and ERP.

Design for Compliance (DfC)

On-demand, scalable compliance management enables manufacturers to comply with current regulations, as well as pending and future regulations.

"Arena recognizes the increased public interest in regulations, which will extend past the upcoming RoHS deadlines," said Larkin. "Compliance management and documentation diligence are integrated into our solution, with all information available down to the design level to enable DfC."

"In today’s global economy compliance is not achieved in isolation, but through a collaborative effort between a manufacturer and their supply chain," Michael Topolovac, CEO, said in a statement. "[We] enable simplified collaboration and shared responsibility for product manufacturing across the entire value chain."

Web-Based Collaboration

The Fall release extends collaboration capabilities to address the earlier research and discovery phase of supplier engagement. Subscribers can find new supplier relationships via the Supplier Marketplace, an online directory of product design firms, CMs, component suppliers and fabricators.

User interface improvements are based on the latest Web standards including AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).

Point and Click Customization

A simple, point and click interface allows companies to tailor their PLM to best match their product data and business processes - without having to pay high-customization costs or write a single line of code. Companies can customize their data model within Arena PLM to define and classify the unique nature of their products, down to the component level. They can also model business processes tailored to their best practices, such as product enhancement requests, new part number creation or even cost reduction improvements. Users can also organize and present information, such as BOM and item specifications, in customized views and forms.

Minneapolis, MN – The SMTA has a new resource on its Website (smta.org) for Environmental Compliance & Lead-free Technology, which includes an event listing, related links and technical resources such as technical articles and reference books.

The event listing features SMTA activities at the local, national and international level that focus on environmental compliance and Pb-free technology.

Related links include further information to legislation for the RoHS/WEEE/EU Directive, other industry organizations involved in environmental compliance and Pb-free technology and various company Websites.