SAN JOSE, CA -- X-line Asset Management will hold an online auction Aug. 16-17 for the liquidation of over 275 pieces of SMT, PCB and ETM equipment from a variety of sellers. X-line forecasts the value of the equipment to be over $1 million from companies within the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Tto view the auction catalog and bid, visit xlineassets.com.

X-line is also liquidating high-tech manufacturing equipment from the Anaheim, CA, facility of APW Ltd. APW Ltd. provides global capabilities in the design manufacturing and integration of electrical and mechanical solutions. Brands such as Sanyo, Heller and CR Technologies are up for bid (xlineassets.com/apw.shtml).

The company has also agreed to liquidate the 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility of EMS provider Selectronics Corp. (Round Rock, TX). Equipment is available for immediate sale, contact sales@xlineassets.com.

Fort Worth, TX – Allied Electronics has launched an online RoHS Knowledge Center to help design engineers, purchasers and other industry professionals comply with emerging green laws, such as the EU’s RoHS legislation set to go into effect next year.

The Website (www.alliedelec.com/RoHS) is designed to keep customers up-to-date on RoHS and other green laws affecting the electronics industry in North America. It will feature manufacturer updates and a listing of the company’s RoHS-compliant products.

In addition, the site features a RoHS search functionality that will display products that are RoHS compliant. Users can enter a part number to determine a component's RoHS status.

STAMFORD, CT — Feinfocus, a COMET business unit and manufacturer of high-resolution microfocus x-ray inspection systems, formed a technology alliance with INNOV-X Systems, a manufacturer of high-performance portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers. The companies are collaborating to introduce products to the electronics assembly and semiconductor packaging markets.

COMET recently exhibited the INNOV-X Hawk-i solder paste analyzer at Semicon West, which offers yield accuracies of 0.1 – 0.5%. It uses an air-cooled microfocus x-ray tube with a spot size of 0.2 – 6 mm for precise analysis. Powered by proprietary user-friendly parameter software, it can detect even slight variances in a solder joint. Features a standard Windows computer with single-button operation. Options include an enhanced spot size of 0.1 – 13 mm, a joystick with automatic x-y stage positioning and a liquid sample adapter with specialized liquid analysis software.

Hsin-Chu, Taiwan -- The world's leading made-to-order microchip maker, Taiwan Semicon-ductor Manufacturing Co, said yesterday that sales last month fell 9.9% year-on-year but rose 3.7% from the previous month due to increased demand.

Haverhill, MA – Dage Precision Industries has opened its East Coast demonstration center and application lab.  An alliance with Circuit Technology Center allows Dage to showcase its digital x-ray inspection technology in Circuit Technology Center’s 30,000 sq. ft. facility located in Haverhill.

“The Circuit Technology Center continues to be recognized as one of the most innovative providers of circuit board repair, rework and training in the U.S.,” said Charley Dennehy, president of CTC.  “We remain totally focused on the intricate needs of high reliability circuit board repair, including rework, upgrades and modification.”

ARLINGTON, VA – The monthly order index compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA) jumped by more than 20% above July 2004, after a flat June and slight downturn in May.

"Last year, a flat July preceded a drop during the second half of the 2004 year," said Bob Willis, president. "This year, performance has fluctuated from month to month during the first half of the year, but overall the market has been positive. Buyers were cautious over the first half of the year, but now seem to be more confident that solid performance will continue over the second half."

The ECA represents manufacturers and producers of passive and active electronic components, component arrays and assemblies, and materials and support services.  It is a sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). 

Ogaki, Japan -- Ibiden Co. plans to set up its second printed circuit board plant in Beijing at a cost of 8 billion yen to supply PCBs to major cell phone makers, company sources said.

According to a release in a local paper, the company will produce thinner PCBs to help its corporate customers build smaller phone handsets with more functions at lower cost.

The new plant, functional by next summer, will have 30,000 sq. m of floor space and be built adjacent to the firm's existing 28,000-sq.-m facility. It will have about the same output capacity as the older plant, which turns out some 60 million PCBs a year.

Malaysia -- P.I.E. Industrial Bhd, a one-stop integrated electronic contract manufacturer is adding new production lines this quarter to cater to a surge in demand for its industrial electronic products. 

Group managing director Alvin Mui told StarBiz that the group was allocating RM6mil to buy new assembly machinery and equipment from the U.S. and Japan. 

“The new machinery and equipment we are installing now have the capability to handle lead-free electronic components assembly,'' he added. 

Mui said the group had recently secured orders from new customers in Japan, the U.S. and Europe to assemble PCBs and industrial electronic products such as barcode scanners, battery chargers and battery packs. 

He added that for the first half ended June 30, the group generated RM7.45mil in pre-tax profit compared with RM5.2mil for the first half of 2004. 

Revenue amounted to RM92mil compared with RM69mil previously.   

GREELEY, CO -- FCT Assembly will continue its Lead-Free Seminars in Missouri and Minnesota in August. The seminar gives an overview on the actual production experience in Asia and covers wave, reflow, repair and board finishes.

The free seminars will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will include lunch. The dates are August 22 in Kansas City, August 23 in St. Louis and August 25 in Minneapolis.

For information, contact Bob Gilbert at 970-988-6243 or bgilbert@fctassembly.com.

To register, go to www.fctassembly.com and click on “Seminars and Trade Shows.”

Teddington, UK – The National Physical Laboratory is hosting a two-day Master Class on Solder Joint Reliability on Oct. 12-13.  Industry expert Werner Engelmaier, known as “Mr. Reliability,” will lead the class.

The class will be split into four half-day sessions: 1) Fundamentals in Solder Joint Reliability, 2) Failure Mode and Root Cause Analysis (Fatigue, Brittle Fracture, ENIG) & Acceleration Models, Reliability Tests and Screening Procedures, 3) Reliability Issues for Lead-Free Soldering, 4) Interconnect Failures and Design for Reliability for Plated-Through Holes/Vias, including Lead-Free Solder Impact.

Engelmaier’s background enables him to address the issues underlying electronic packaging from a system’s point-of-view, dealing with synergistic interdependence of material behaviour, processing aspects, thermal design, functional and environmental requirements.

He established the Product Reliability Main Committee of the IPC and has been Chairman since its inception. Author of over 150 technical publications, he holds two patents.

For more info: www.npl.co.uk/ei/news/

Carlsbad, CA– Asymtek and Emerson & Cuming will host a seminar in Taoyuan, Taiwan, to address new solutions for hand-held and computing manufacturing.  The free workshop, help August 19, will discuss how technology evolution impacts material selection and processing.

Industry speakers will discuss lead-free regulations and other factors affecting new processing technology, like thermal management solutions and jet dispensing rather than needle dispensing for optimum throughput requirements.  

The free seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sunrise Country Club, with a buffet lunch. For information, contact Patrick Lee, Asymtek regional sales manager at 886-2-2902-1860, plee@asymtek.com; or Andy Yang, Emerson & Cuming’s Greater China sales manager at 886-9-3219-2400, andy.yang@nstarch.com.

ASHBURN, VA– Cleaning tests were recently conducted by Kester and Zestron during a combined technical training workshop at Zestron’s Application Technology Center in Ashburn.

Excellent cleaning results were reportedly achieved as Zestron’s cleaning agents were able to fully remove solder paste and flux residues from Kester’s lead-free and eutectic products. The two parties then worked to optimize application parameters for the tested products.

Application recommendations based on the testing are now available through Kester.