PHOENIX – EMS provider Suntron Corp. announced that its Northwest Operations (NWO) facility in Newberg, OR, received ISO 13485 certification for medical product manufacturing. The facility's quality system is also certified to ISO 9001:2000 and AS9100.

“We are pleased to have received our ISO 13485 certification which demonstrates Suntron's focus on providing the highest quality services while maintaining strict medical manufacturing standards," said Paul Singh, president and CEO. "This key medical certification is a milestone in our continuous quality improvement initiatives that provides Suntron with a competitive advantage in highly regulated industries.This accomplishment is an important strategic step and vital to supporting our customers success in the medical device market.”

MINNEAPOLIS, MN --  The SMTA has finalized the conference program for SMTAI, held Sept. 25 - 29, in Rosemont, IL.

Technical sessions held on Tuesday and Wednesday are organized into tracks on Manufacturing and Assembly, Advanced Packaging, Substrates, RoHS and Process Control.

Full- and half-day educational courses, offered on Sunday and Monday, will focus on Manufacturing and Assembly, Advanced Packaging, Substrates, Soldering, Test/Inspection/Quality and Process Control. Of the 30 tutorials offered, 16 are entirely new and 13 will focus on lead-free and environment-friendly issues.

The Emerging Technologies Summit on Monday will feature sessions on Roadmaps, Turning Lead into Gold, Advanced Power Technology and will conclude with an Emerging Technologies panel.

The Contract Manufacturing Symposium on Tuesday will consist of paper sessions on Mid-Tier EMS Strategy and Models and Markets. The Lead-Free Symposium on Thursday will feature paper sessions on the Joint Council on Aging Aircraft (JCAA) / Joint Group on Pollution

Prevention (JCPP) Lead-free Solder Project and additional sessions on Process Implementation and Reliability.

Two workshops will be held on Thursday morning on Lead-free Reflow Soldering Using Convection Dominant Ovens and Emerging Technologies Today & Tomorrow - The Next 50 Years.

Free events include:

- The Opening Session on RoHS Compliance and Lead-free

- A presentation on iNEMI Roadmaps

- A panel discussion on environmental efforts beyond lead-free implementation

- A technical session on Process Improvement and Lean Manufacturing in PCB Assembly

- A presentation on Rapid Setup and Turnover

- A mini-conference on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology

- A panel discussion on the RoHS and WEEE directives

- A technical session on Lead-free Reflow

The Board Authority Live: Impact of Green Technologies will address the impact of environmental legislation on PCB design, fabrication and assembly.  It will cover issues like lead-free and halogen-free laminate selection, tin whisker reduction, lead-free reliability data and using HDI to reduce manufacturing costs associated with RoHS and WEEE Directive compliance.

Board Talk will once again uncover the truths and myths of electronics assembly, with all proceeds being donated to the Charles Hutchins Educational Grant ($25 SMTA members/$30 non-members).

The keynote during the Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Wednesday will feature Dan Shea, CTO of Celestica, dicussing " The Impact of  Temperature on Hybrid and Compliant Assemblies." 

Hudson, NH -- Machine Capability Analysis (MCA) testing helps pick-and-place equipment manufacturers and users comply with the new IPC-9850 performance standard, according to Michael Sivigny, general Manager of CeTaQ Americas.

MCA testing is a third party, objective evaluation methodology in which special vision algorithms, accurate glass plates and components are utilized for independent measurement of Cp and Cpk indices on production equipment. All brands and models of SMT printers, dispensers, placement and semiconductor machines are easily validated with the methodology. The software that operates the equipment provides statistical specification-based results on machine quality performance.

The IPC-9850 document standardizes the parameters, measurement procedures and methodologies used for the specification, evaluation and continuing verification of assembly equipment characterization parameters. The ANSI-approved standard also establishes the procedures to characterize and document machine placement capability of surface mount assembly equipment while maintaining a placement-accuracy-to-placement-speed relationship.

According to Sivigny, “CeTaQ machine capability analysis lets the user know if a machine is performing to manufacturer’s performance specifications, a key element in IPC-9850 compliance. If the machine isn’t performing to specifications, the user or manufacturer can use the information generated by the evaluation to correct offsets and bring the machine to its best possible performance condition.”

ARLINGTON, VA -– The monthly order index compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA) was flat in June, perhaps signaling a traditional summer lull.

"We typically get a steadying period in the summer," said Bob Willis, ECA president. "Last year, July was flat after 11 consecutive months of order growth; this year June is flat after months of ups and downs."

Unlike 2004, which started off with a spurt of growth that receded in the second half of the year, Willis thinks the pattern this year leans to modest but sustainable growth 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.

Fort Worth, TX – Allied Electronics (alliedelec.com), a subsidiary of Electrocomponents plc, has signed a distribution partnership agreement with Quantum Semiconductor International (qsalaser.com) for the company’s laser diodes.

QSI is a supplier of laser diodes in the power tool and barcode scanner market. The agreement gives Allied customers access to laser diodes designed for industrial, medical and academic applications. QSI laser diodes are used in applications such as leveling, alignment, distance measuring and range finding equipment. The initial stocking package will include both P-Type and N-Type in 635, 650, 670, 780, and 850 nm wavelength devices.

“Allied is excited to offer our customers the QSI America product line,” said Lee Davidson, president of Allied Electronics.  “Customers buying QSI from Allied will get a range of devices in stock and in the quantities our customers need.”

SAN JOSE -- Venture Outsource Group has reported a sharp rise in the number of employment searches it is conducting for EMS, ODM and technology OEM client companies.

The firm helps companies find candidates to fill internal postings for a variety of managerial and executive-level positions across the globe. In 2005, the firm has helped client companies fill nine positions. The company is on track to engage in more than twice the number of client search assignments it executed in 2004.

This is not necessarily a sign that the electronics outsourcing industry is improving as a whole, but may instead reflect the increasing role VOG is playing with company hiring activities in industry.  

Aurora, CO – Advanced Circuits, a quick-turn PCB manufacturer, has invested more than $1 million in new equipment to be installed between now and the end of the year. The investment will enable the company to keep its “On Time or It’s Free” guarantee.

New purchases include:

• Automated strip-etch-strip (SES) line.

• Debur equipment, offering cleaning for small holes.

• Lead-free hot air solder level (HASL) unit. 

• HASL pre- and post-clean lines.

• Handling equipment for the HASL and SES lines.

Dan Chouinard, VP of plant operations, said “Investing in new equipment allows us to not only produce superior boards, but also consistently ship them ahead of schedule. An extra day or two means a lot to our customers who are responsible for meeting tight deadlines and juggling numerous projects.”

Ashburn, VA – Recent studies by Zestron have concluded that the emergence of lead-free products will significantly increase the need for cleaning in the electronics industry.

“The use of alternative solvents with higher boiling points, increased rosin contents as well as more aggressive activators will change the particular application needs in the context of cleaning,” said Umut Tosun, application technology manager.

The study, which involved the 40 latest lead-free solder paste formulations, revealed that the removal of flux residues from soldered assemblies provided very satisfactory cleaning results.  In addition to flux residues, the company was also able to fully remove uncured, lead-free pastes from stencils and misprinted assemblies. Solvent and MPC-based products were used to conduct all trials.

For more info, visit: Lead-Free Cleaning: Moving from Eutectic to Lead-Free.

FREMONT, CA - Owens Design, a provider of turnkey product development outsourcing services, has partnered with Questar Products International to develop a line of automatic wire bonders built on Kulicke and Soffa’s  former Hybrid bonder platforms. The Questar Q2100 series bonders include capabilities for fine pitch, large table travel and ball bumping, as well as customizable software. 

John Apgar, president of Owens Design, said, “Our customer challenged us to come up with a cost effective design, replacing and upgrading older technology components, solving difficult electronics layout challenges, while packaging the system and all electronics in a very small footprint, and conforming to all SEMI and CE standards.”

Questar Products chose Owens Design due to its history in solving problems in complex electronics packaging and being able to design, prototype and continue to build ongoing machines in production volumes at prices that match or are below their own internal cost. 

Dennis Scott, president of Questar, said, “As a small company focused solely on delivering high quality wire bonding equipment at aggressive prices, we must partner with companies that can deliver on our customers high expectations. The fact that they could do both the design and the assembly made Owens an obvious choice.”

JERUSALEM – Shellcase Ltd., a provider of wafer-level electronic product miniaturization technologies, has developed a next-generation platform for optical devices, ShellUltraThin, that provides a true die-sized package.

Based on patented packaging technology, ShellUT provides x/y dimensions identical to the original chip and a reduced thickness. A glass-silicon structure, including a cavity between the image area and the glass, enables image-sensing capabilities through the packaging structure, allowing for the use of micro-lenses. Is available for captive and non-captive license for integration into existing processing lines.

Wafer-level packaging platforms enable economies of scale for manufacturers of semiconductor device, such as CMOS and CCD area array and linear sensors, other optical devices like photodiodes, as well as various types of RF-MEMS devices, memories and mixed signals.

The company estimates that its chip size packaging solutions are used in over 30% of the installed base of camera phone handsets worldwide.

WEST CHICAGO, IL – Sales of connectors for electronics products in 2004 hit an all-time high of $143 billion in the U.S. and $286 billion worldwide, boosted by consumer electronics and consumer electrical equipment such as home appliances and HVAC units which are increasing in electronics content.

Sales were driven by strong demand for digital audio, video and home information products, consumer electrical and electronics equipment, said Bishop and Associates in a research report. 

MELVILLE, NY – Nu Horizons Electronics Corp., a distributor of active and passive electronic components, posted first-quarter net income of $475,000, down from $1.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Sales for the quarter ended May 31 rose to $121.4 million from $118.2 million.