News
Cookson Electronics (Londonderry, NH) recently celebrated the expansion of its Polyclad Laminates electronics material manufacturing facility in Elk Grove, CA. More than 75 guests, including customers, state and local officials, media and company employees attended the event. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by tours of the new manufacturing area and a buffet luncheon.
The expansion of Polyclad's Elk Grove laminate and prepreg manufacturing area represents an over $20,000,000 investment initiative by Cookson Electronics in the state of California. The operation will be a major resource to the Americas and Pacific Rim-based printed wiring board fabrication industry, providing material supply, service and support. Products manufactured at the site will include Polyclad low and high Tg FR-4 products, including the recently introduced FR-370HR lead-free assembly-compatible CAF resistant materials.
The plant's design includes vacuum presses, automatic build-up lines and automatic fabrication equipment. Additionally, new lean manufacturing and advanced scheduling practices will accelerate product delivery speeds and reduce excess inventory problems for customers. The new plant is 43,200 sq. ft. and situated on 8.3 acres. The real estate enables Cookson Electronics the opportunity to expand both manufacturing capacity and personnel to meet future customer demands.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Siemens Dematic Electronic Assembly Systems Inc. (EAS, Norcross, GA) sponsored the Atlanta International School's (AIS's) International House of Technology (IHOT) in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Regional Championship competition held March 19-20 at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center in Duluth, GA.
FIRST is an international program designed to inspire interest in the sciences and challenge middle school and high school students to use their creativity, knowledge and leadership skills to build robots to compete with other robots. Siemens Dematic supported the team by providing a facility, tooling and funds necessary to complete their project. The competition is designed to foster students' interest in science and technology and to help them apply classroom lessons to real-world situations. The partnerships developed between schools, businesses and universities promote an exchange of resources and talent and expose students to new career choices.
The IHOT team was successful at the tournament and won the Rookie All Star Award. With this award, the team is now eligible to advance to the National Competition to be held in the Georgia Dome on April 18.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
CSA International (CSA, Northbrook, IL) and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) have adopted an expanded Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and completed the first phase of a mutual acceptance program for electrical components, the first milestones of an agreement the two testing organizations signed Nov. 10, 2003.
That agreement, which is designed to assist manufacturers in getting their products to Canadian and U.S. markets more quickly, without redundant testing, was the result of several months of negotiation between UL and CSA, with support from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Electro-Federation Canada and major electrical manufacturers.
The expanded MoU covers 50 additional component and 11 additional end-products categories as well as all of the 13 product categories covered in the original 1996 MoU, allowing manufacturers to obtain both UL and CSA certification and listing with a single product test conducted by either company.
With the completion of the first phase of the component agreement, CSA and UL now accept several component categories for use in low voltage distribution and industrial control equipment. As many as 52 additional component categories and 11 additional end-product categories are being considered under the agreement.
A complete listing of components and end-products covered by the expanded MoU and the component acceptance agreement is available at: www.csa-international.org/components and www.ul.com/components.
CSA is a provider of product testing and certification services for electrical, mechanical, plumbing, gas and a variety of other products. UL is an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization that has been testing products for more than 110 years.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Siemens VDO Automotive has completed the acquisition of Chrysler Group's Huntsville Electronics operations, advancing Siemens VDO Automotive to a top-three spot in the global automotive electronics supplier industry.
"Today is a great day for the future of Siemens VDO Automotive and the community of Huntsville," said Siemens VDO Automotive AG Group president and chief executive officer (CEO) Wolfgang Dehen during a company event unveiling the new monument sign. "Huntsville Electronics brings us additional capacity, capability and expertise to grow our core competencies in areas such as powertrain electronics, vehicle instrumentation and driver information."
This transition of ownership enables the manufacture of electronics to remain in the Huntsville, AL, community. The company plans to make the location one of its global electronics manufacturing and engineering centers of expertise.
As a subsidiary of Siemens VDO Automotive, the Huntsville plants will have access to a range of business opportunities within the rapidly growing global $125-billion automotive electronics market.
With the completion of the acquisition, Siemens VDO Automotive has complete access to Huntsville Electronics, including two facilities comprising 1.1 million sq. ft. of space and approximately 2,000 employees. Huntsville Electronics generated approximately $1 billion in annual sales last year.
Siemens VDO Automotive is a tier-one supplier of automotive electronic/electrical systems and components with applications covering gasoline and diesel powertrain technologies, safety and chassis systems, body electronics, plus interior products including infotainment systems.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
During a reception at Apex 2004, Soldertec Global awarded its Lead-Free Solder Co-operation Award to global solder materials manufacturer Indium Corp. and its customer Motorola.
The award recognizes the collaboration between the two companies. Indium's vice president of technology, Ning-Cheng Lee, and Motorola's Dr. Edwin Bradley and Dr. Vahid Goudarzi have developed a lead-free assembly process and solder paste that has been used to assemble more than 8 million cellular phones world-wide. The team shared their process details with the global electronics assembly industry.
The result of this co-operation is the Pb-Free Quickstart process, offering yields and benefits which are equal or better than similar processes using lead-bearing solders Benefits include a wide process window, component-friendly profiles and no requirement for nitrogen-reflow.
Several hundred process, quality and production engineers have been trained on the successful implementation of the process.
The Soldertec Global Lead-Free award, established in 1999, has been awarded to industrial consortiums, material suppliers and lead-free users from North America, Europe and Asia.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Foresite (Kokomo, IN) has licensed FinePoint to launch the newly developed C3. The C3 was designed by Foresite to create a method of localized extraction and cleanliness monitoring on electronic assemblies.
Focusing on a 0.1 in² area of a circuit board, the machine uses a steaming mechanism to extract a residue sample. The sample is collected in a disposable test cell and analyzed on the manufacturing floor. A 'clean' or 'dirty' reading is immediately seen, and samples that warrant further analysis can be sent to a lab for ion chromatography analysis.
Foresite president Terry Munson said, "Foresite saw a critical need for cleanliness monitoring on the manufacturing floor. FinePoint has dedicated itself to surface matter cleanliness and is well positioned to bring the C3 to market. Foresite will continue to develop surface matter solutions and provide process consulting for electronic assemblers."
Foresite Inc. (formerly CSL) is a process consulting house and analytical laboratory dedicated to solving reliability issues for electronic assemblies. With over 12 years of experience in the industry, Foresite specializes in failure analysis, process qualification and cleanliness investigation.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
In a drawing held during APEX 2004, Betatron Inc. (San Jose, CA), a contract assembler specializing in high-end prototype assembly, won the free use of Dage Precision Industries' (Fremont, CA) XD6500 digital x-ray system.
The winning entry was one of the more than 400 applications received during Dage's pre-APEX and APEX show promotion. Said winner, Mike Young, "I feel like the luckiest guy at the show! We've just received the latest and greatest x-ray inspection technology available today."
Dage Precision's managing director, Paul Walter, said, "With over 400 entries in this year's drawing and the sheer number of system demonstrations performed here at APEX, we're really pleased. Congratulations to Mike and to Betatron."
The integrated digital image acquisition technology, XiDAT, on the system's platform offers improved digital data processing, enhanced resolution, extensive grayscale definition and the Image Wizard software operating system. The x-ray system achieves high resolution and magnification levels through use of Dage's proprietary x-ray tube technology, focusing lens and optimized image chain.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
JPSA Laser (Hollis, NH) has announced the availability of UV laser refurbishment services for UV Excimer lasers. Refurbishing lasers saves customers money since the cost to replace UV lasers can be quite high. Additionally, refurbished lasers perform better than the product's original factory specifications through upgrades, modifications, better quality parts and designs used in the refurbishment engineering process.
"We can refurbish the complete laser if needed," said company president Jeffrey P. Sercel. "Our refurbishment includes everything that can go wrong with the laser, so the result is that the entire laser is like new. We also refurbish and replace modules such as tubes, valve banks, vacuum systems and pulse forming networks. JPSA stocks many different types of electrodes and top quality parts. We have a cleanroom facility to assemble laser tubes and we have ceramics manufacturing capabilities to make replacement parts. "
"Turnaround time for laser systems can vary based upon the extent of the refurbishment and the number of available in-stock parts," Sercel continued. "For example, tubes for some models are in stock for JIT tube exchanges. Refurbished lasers are leak-checked for 24 hours and burned in for 24 to 48 hours, over the course of a week in final test. A laser final test report is documented. Gas lifetime, power, energy and beam quality are verified."
Depending on customer requirements, lasers can be modified to meet expanding production needs.
"We modify lasers for better pulse-to-pulse, average power and better beam quality," Sercel said. "We have modified lasers for more than double the standard performance in certain cases."
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
FlexLink (Göteborg ,Sweden), a provider of flexible conveyor systems, announced the official opening of its new manufacturing facility in Allentown, PA, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 23. Fredrik Jonsson, global managing director, and Dave Clark, president of Americas operations, shared the honor of cutting the ribbon.
FlexLink's Americas headquarters recently relocated from nearby Bethlehem, PA; the move into the new facility has nearly tripled the company's manufacturing and office space. The move and expansion to a larger facility are part of FlexLink's planned growth strategy and has been driven in part by the need for more manufacturing space for its conveyor and automation business.
Clark said, "Our new 58,000 sq. ft. facility will allow FlexLink to provide the industry's best conveying and automation—hardware and software solutions, respectively—to the pharmaceutical, personal care, assembly, automotive, machined parts, electronics, filling and packaging markets. With over 100 employees in the North and South America, FlexLink is poised for substantial growth in 2004."
The new office can be contacted at at 6580 Snowdrift Rd, Allentown, PA, 18016; (610) 973-8200.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
The 13th annual PCB Design Conference West 2003, held March 15-19 at the San Jose Convention Center, received positive feedback from attendees and exhibitors alike regarding the five-day conference program of over 35 technical courses and the two-day product and service exhibition. The San Jose, CA-based venue, which is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, provided 1,482 attendees with an excellent setting for instruction, networking and face-to-face marketing opportunities.
"Trade shows and conferences in just about every market have been depressed in the last few years, so it is good to see that PCB design shows are following the same upward trend that we're beginning to see in other markets," said UP Media Group (UPMG, Atlanta, GA) president Pete Waddell. "We also are pleased that so many exhibitors have continued to include PCB West in marketing budgets that remain cautious and tight. Our exhibitors were enthusiastic about the quality of the attendee traffic on the show floor—to the extent that 72% of our 2004 exhibitors have already re-signed for 2005."
"DownStream Technologies decided to exhibit at PCB Design Conference West 2004 because the exhibition provides our company the most targeted access to the PCB design and manufacture professionals that we want to reach," said Rick Almeida, president of DownStream Technologies, an exhibitor. "We are very pleased with the leads that we were able to capture during the two-day exhibition and we've already re-signed for next year's show."
According to Waddell, PCB West conference attendees also were excited by the number and technical depth of courses taught during the five-day conference. Several special events were well attended and received praise from those who participated. These include the PCB Technology Forum and Welcome Luncheon, the Keynote Address by Mentor Graphics CEO Walden C. Rhines on "Breaking the PCB Design Process," the Opening Night Reception, the Pot O'Gold Party and Giveaway extravaganza and the PCB West Book Store, which featured participation by book publishers Prentice Hall and Wiley.
Dates for PCB West 2005 have been announced and the conference will be held March 7-11 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
UPMG's next trade show is PCB Design Conference East 2004, which will be held Oct. 4-8 at the Radisson Hotel Manchester in Manchester, NH.
UPMG is a privately held company that specializes in magazine publishing and trade show and conference production. UPMG currently publishes two high-tech magazines: Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture and Circuits Assembly. In addition, UPMG produces two annual conferences and trade shows for the design and manufacture industry—PCB Design Conference West in the Silicon Valley area, and PCB Design Conference East in the Boston, MA, area. UPMG also hosts the PCB Design Conference Road Series of courses in cities throughout the U.S.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
UP Media Group Inc. (Atlanta, GA) recently announced the winners of the Circuits Assembly 2004 Service Excellence Awards (SEAs) for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Providers and Electronics Assembly Equipment, Materials and Software Suppliers.
Participating companies' customers rated each company on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (superior) in five service categories: dependability/timely delivery, manufacturing quality, responsiveness to requests and changes, technology and value for the price.
From a part of each participant's entry fee, a generous donation of $5,000 was made on the their behalf to the Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA, Minneapolis, MN) Charles Hutchins Educational Grant. In turn, the $5,000 grant is awarded annually to a graduate-level student pursuing a degree and working on thesis research in electronic assembly, electronics packaging or a related field.
Established in 1997 in memory of past SMTA president and industry colleague Charles Hutchins, the grant is intended for the purchase of technical books and research materials and for participation in conferences related to electronics assembly and packaging, and donations are recognized throughout the year.
For more information on past recipients, current donors and student submissions, and for making donations securely on-line, visit http://www.smta.org/hutchins/hutchins.cfm.
Cosponsored by Circuits Assembly magazine, the Hutchins Grant is awarded each year at the SMTA Annual Meeting during the SMTA International Conference.
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
NEPCON Shanghai/Electronics Manufacturing Technology China (EMT China) will be held April 26-29 at the Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Centre. The Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) and the Electronics & Information Industry Sub-Council (CCPIT) of China are co-organizing the high-level surface-mount technology conference.
This year's program will consist of a keynote, technical sessions on lead-free technology and 0201 assembly and two half-day training courses on lead-free systems by industry expert and past SMTA president Dr. Jennie S. Hwang, H-Technologies Group Inc.
The Keynote and technical presentations will be given by the Ministry of Information Industry, Gartner Dataquest, Flextronics International, Indium Corp., ERSA, HITACHI, Kingston Technology Co., EKRA, Daiichi Jisugyo, Fuji, OK Interenational, Siemens Dematic and Solectron.
The first training course, Interconnection Technology and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Surface Finish and Component Coating is intended to provide broad-based information that enhances technology foundation in preparation for lead-free implementation. The presentation will be comprised of two parts: the first will cover lead-free solder interconnections and the second will address the properties and performance of lead-free PCB surface finishes and the component lead coatings.
The second course, Manufacturing Implementation, will focus on achieving yield, quality and reliability. The course will examine the key process modules, including solder paste printing and reflow, and the system compatibility between the BGA/CSP solder sphere, assembly solder paste, component coating and PCB substrate surface finish.
http://www.smta.org/education/symposia/symposia.cfm#nepcon_shanghai
Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.
Press Releases
- ROCKA Solutions Continues Expansion in Brazil with New Location in Manaus
- Juki America Announces New Regional Sales Manager for the Southwest Territory
- WittcoSales Welcomes New Team Member to Enhance Customer Experience and Service
- Critical Manufacturing Partners with Loftware to Deliver Seamless MES and Labeling Integration