Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

KIC (San Diego, CA), a provider of thermal process development and control software, will be a co-presenter at the Indium Lead-Free QuickStart Seminar on June 16 in Nuremburg, Germany. The company will present the topic, "How to Implement Lead-Free Assembly at Your Factory," with Indium Corp. and Motorola.

The lead-free implementation seminar is designed for manufacturing management to "QuickStart" the lead-free learning curve. It covers printed wiring board finishes, components, alloys and surface-mount technology processes. It also reviews an actual implementation of a lead-free process, performed by Motorola, that has been used to assemble more than five million cellular phones to date. The workshop will finish with a section on establishing individual lead-free implementation plans.

The agenda will include an introduction, overview and presentations by Dr. Ning-Cheng Lee of Indium Corp., Mr. Peru of ACB, Dr. Manfred Suppa of Peters, Angus Westwater of Rohm, Mary Beth Allen of KIC, Eddie Hernandez of Hewlett Packard, Gerjan Diepstraten of Vitronics-Soltec, Ross Berntson of Indium Corp., Hans-Juergen Albrecht of Siemens, Mark Krmpotich of Scientific Atlanta and Vahid Goudarzi of Motorola.

Seminar topics include: the state of lead-free legislation, marketing and worldwide implementation; the current alloy systems in use, and why and how they were chosen; which PWB finishes are preferred in lead-free assembly; concerns with components and the status of lead-free components in the industry; best practices for setting up stencil printing, placement, inspection, reflow and wave; the effect of lead-free manufacturing on the reflow process, achieving and maintaining the tight process window; how to perform designed experiments (DOE) to optimize the lead-free process; and how to establish a statistical process control program.

www.kicthermal.com

Electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Flextronics (Singapore) and Hughes Network Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The DIRECTV Group Inc., have signed an agreement for Flextronics to acquire Hughes Network Systems' entire ownership stake of 55% in Hughes Software Systems (HSS, New Delhi, India), a provider of software products and services to telecom infrastructure companies.

HSS' shares trade in India on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange . The company reported revenue of approximately $80 million and net income of approximately $17 million in its fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Revenues grew approximately 63% in fiscal 2004 and are expected to grow 25% in fiscal 2005.

HSS provides convergent software solutions for fixed and mobile networks for both voice and data. Its products and services span a variety of domains, such as optical networks, wireless networks, satellite networks, switching systems, convergent networks and broadband networks. HSS' product portfolio includes protocol stacks and value-added frameworks and are comprised of licensable technologies focused on voice over packets (VoP), SS7, broadband and wireless (GPRS/UMTS) products that provide customers with open architecture solutions.

By partnering with HSS, Flextronics is the first EMS provider to offer embedded and application software development for telecom infrastructure products and customers. Flextronics can now provide a complete outsourcing solution to telecom original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close no later than October 2004 with an approximate total purchase price of $226 million.

www.hssworld.com

www.flextronics.com

The SMART Group (High Wycombe, UK), a European technical trade association, has announced the program for their sixth biennial European Conference to be held Nov. 16-18, 2004. The event, located at the Old Ship Hotel in Brighton, UK, includes a table-top exhibition, 9 half-day workshops, a gala-dinner, an ask the experts lead-free questions session and additional one-hour seminars.

Mark Hutton of BPA Consulting and Phil Zarrow of ITM Consulting will present keynote speeches covering the future worldwide demand for electronic systems and components and the true cost of going lead-free. A special presentation after the gala dinner will cover the Challenges of Manufacturing Electronics for Space.

Technical workshop topics include: Troubleshooting your lead-free reflow process; Components in a lead-free world; Lead-free reliability; Lead-free: a million and one practical issues; What does lead-free mean for electronics reliability?; X-ray and optical inspection for lead-free assemblies; and Troubleshooting your lead-free wave soldering process.

For more information, email: info@smartgroup.org.

www.smartgroup.org

Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials (CEAM, Jersey City, NY) has introduced a new dulling flux technology, ALPHA EF-9301. The product is compatible with both tin/lead and lead-free processes and is designed to help manufacturers meet environmental regulations without sacrificing productivity.

Tested under real-world conditions, the flux was shown to deliver higher first pass yields, more throughputs and require less rework than competitors. It reduces bridging on connectors and bottom side components and provides superior hole filling. Additionally, it minimizes solderballing, significantly reducing board handling time. The flux creates smooth, fully dull solder joints, easing the visual inspection process. It is designed for both spray and foam applications, eliminating the need for investment in additional equipment.

CEAM has also announced the worldwide availability of ALPHA OM-338, an ultra fine lead-free solder paste. The no-clean solder paste is designed for a broad range of applications and is formulated to minimize the transition concerns from tin/lead to lead-free processes. It yields print capability performance across various board designs and is ideally suited for ultra fine feature and high throughput applications.

The paste provides voiding resistance and maximizes reflow yields across a range of thermal profiles. Full alloy coalescence can be achieved at circular dimensions as small as 0.25 mm. Use of the paste results in print consistency and rapid cycle times. It can be applied at print speeds of up to 200 mm/sec. The high performance of the solder paste increases plant efficiency, increases yield and reduces rework requirements. It meets the highest IPC voiding performance classification and is reliable, ensuring product longevity. The paste is halide-free and compatible with either nitrogen or air reflow processing.

CEAM has also introduced ALPHA Vaculoy SACX307 lead-free wave solder alloy, which will be available worldwide through Cookson's global distribution network. The alloy delivers high yield and fast throughput, while meeting the strict lead-free environmental mandates.

Its fast wetting speed delivers improved solderability, outperforming all Sn/Cu based alloys. It provides excellent drainage and minimizes bridging defects. The alloy creates strong, mechanically sound joints with long-term reliability. The solder minimizes dross generation, resulting in low process maintenance and reduced product waste.

The process window supports the use of a wide range of flux technologies.

CEAM, a Cookson Electronics company, develops, manufactures and sells materials used in the electronics assembly process. CEAM supplies a full line of solder paste, stencils, squeegee blades, stencil and printed circuit board (PCB) cleaners, bar solder, cored wire solder, wave soldering fluxes and surface-mount device adhesives.

www.alphametals.com

The Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA, Minneapolis, MN) is again co-locating its annual conference, SMTA International, with the Assembly Tech Expo (ATExpo) show this fall at the in Rosemont, IL, on Sept. 26-20.

As emerging technologies help to stimulate the recovering economy, the SMTA has once again organized an Emerging Technologies Summit to address the latest trends in electronics manufacturing and assembly. The summit will consist of three paper sessions and a concluding panel discussion.

The first session, MEMS Technology Trends and Reliability, will feature papers on Qualification and Reliability for MEMS and IC Packages; Hybrid RF MEMS Circuit Packaging; and Methodology for Prognosis of Electronics and MEMS Packaging.

The next session, Emerging IC and 3-D Packaging, will feature papers on Camera Module Packaging Technology; Sub 100nm Silicon - The Impact of Next Generation IC Packaging; and Development of 3D-Redistribution and Balling Technologies for Fabrication of Vertical Power Devices.

The last session, New Materials and Processes, will feature papers on Injection-Molded Packages; Joining Technology with Low Melting Solders and Heat Resistant Adhesives; Jet Dispensing Underfills for Stacked Die Applications; and Low Cost Air Cavity Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) Packaging.

Moderated by Steve Greathouse of Intel Corp., the panel discussion will feature key industry participants who will respond to audience and moderator questions.

http://www.smta.org/smtai/symposium.cfm

Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials (Jersey City, NJ) is launching a new ALPHA Cored Wire product series using Cookson's manufacturing methods to create consistent flux cores, assuring repeatability with a Cpk rating of 1.826. Available in 10 tin-lead and lead-free alloys, the new cored wire complies with J-STD-004, IPC-SF 818 and ISO 12224 and is offered in the following ALPHA brands: SMT Plus, Reliacore 15, Telecore Plus, Cleanline 7000, Energized Plus and Pure Core.

Cookson Electronics developed a layer winding process that ensures consistent smooth pay-out for manual and automatic solder rework. In addition, special attention was paid to packaging the new core wire line. New color-coded spools make identification of the flux chemistry easy, and thick flanges help reduce the risk of wire damage during transit. New color-coded labels also assist with product identification by flux type and alloy, and shrink-wrapping of the spools keeps the wire shiny and clean in transit and during storage.

Cookson EAM, a Cookson Electronics company, supplies a full line of solder paste, stencils, squeegee blades, stencil and printed circuit board cleaners, bar solder, cored wire solder, wave soldering fluxes and surface-mount device adhesives.

www.alphametals.com

The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI, Herndon, VA), an industry-led consortium focused on strengthening the global electronics manufacturing supply chain, is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its electronics manufacturing roadmap with a special banquet the evening of June 22 at NEMI headquarters. Featured speakers are Mauro Walker, chairman emeritus of NEMI, speaking on the NEMI legacy, and Dr. Iwona Turlik, corporate vice president for Motorola and director of the company's Physical Realization Research Center, who will discuss innovation through nanotechnology.

Walker was instrumental in the organization of NEMI and served as the consortium's founding chairman. He retired from Motorola in 1998, where he was senior vice president and director of manufacturing. Walker has had a long career of accomplishment in the advancement of electronic manufacturing and manufacturing technology in industry, academia and professional societies. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on the topic of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. He is a recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers' (IEEE's) Special Manufacturing Technology Award and the Society for Manufacturing Engineers' (SME's) Total Excellence in Electronic Manufacturing Award. Walker is an IEEE fellow and founder of the IEEE International Manufacturing Technology Symposium. He was instrumental in the formation of the MIT Leaders for Manufacturing program as well the Georgia Tech and University of Illinois Manufacturing Research Centers.

Turlik has worked in the electronics industry and academia for more than two decades. She has been with Motorola since 1994 and was previously director of Motorola's Corporate Manufacturing Research Center. Turlik received her M.S. degree in electrical engineering and her Ph.D. in technical science from the Technical University of Wroclaw, Poland, where she started her professional career as a tenured faculty member. She has worked with Bell Northern Research and MCNC and was a tenured professor with the Electrical Engineering Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She was named one of the 10 most influential people in the printed circuit board (PCB) industry by PC FAB magazine and ATOMIC29 (2001-2002), and is an IEEE fellow. Turlik is a member of the NEMI board of directors and serves on the advisory boards of several colleges and universities.

The first roadmap, published in December 1994, was spearheaded by Walker and Lance Glasser, then director of the Electronics Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). These two individuals helped organize the National Electronics Manufacturing Framework Committee to study the challenges facing the nation in electronics manufacturing and to develop technology roadmaps and policy options with which to address these challenges. The resulting roadmap was published by the American Electronics Association (now AeA) and the Electronic Industries Association (EIA, now the Electronic Industries Alliance). NEMI was incorporated the following year (1995), and the consortium has published a roadmap every other year since 1994.

The tenth anniversary banquet begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30. The roadmap workshop, which will review year-to-date progress on the 2004 NEMI Roadmap and solicit feedback and input from workshop participants, is scheduled for Wednesday, June 23.

For more information, visit: http://www.nemi.org/roadmapping/june_TWG.html.

www.nemi.org

Electronics manufacturing professionals convened at the 14^th annual NEPCON Shanghai/EMT China electronics manufacturing exhibition and conference in Shanghai from April 26-29. According to the joint organizers Reed Exhibitions and the CCPIT - Electronics Sub-Council, the show attracted 13,528 industry professionals, an increase of 10% from last year show.

In an exhibiting area of 32,000 sq. meters, 650 companies exhibited their latest electronics production technologies. The show attracted surface-mount technology equipment and materials, test and measurement, electronics components and other sub assembly suppliers. Industry groups from 21 countries and regions participated, including China, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, the UK and U.S.

According to organizers, 80% of the industry suppliers were represented at the show, including Agilent Technologies, American Tec, Assembleon, DEK, Electronic Scientific Engineering, FlexLink, Fuji, Gelec, Kasion, Hitachi Hi-Tech, Leeport, Mydata, Nutek, Omron, Siemens Dematic, Sun East, Teradyne, Universal Instruments and Yamazen. Nearly 40% of exhibitors have rebooked their space for next year's show 2005.

George Yang, China Marketing Manager of Siemens Dematic China Ltd said, "China is playing an important part of Siemens' global growth. We see Shanghai as a fast-developing business hub. The fair was excellent for us, both the number and the quality of the visitors. It was better than last year and definitely exceeded our expectations."

"Compared to last year, this show was bigger and there were a higher number of visitors, said Nithia Devan, Marketing Communications Manager of Assembleon, Asia Pacific. "We had several qualified visitors plus important customers asking questions and attending demos on our machines...[W]e feel that by attending this show, we are letting the market know that we are here to offer solutions."

www.reedexpo.com

Elcoteq Network Corp. (Espoo, Finland), a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) for the communications technology industry, will expand its operations to Bangalore, India during 2004. The company claims to be the first EMS company offering manufacturing services to infrastructure and handset original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India.

Elcoteq will establish operations in Bangalore, initially operating in rented manufacturing space. The plant is expected to be operational within six to nine months. When fully operational, the plant is estimated to employ approximately 1,000 people.

"We are very proud to be the first global EMS company in the communications technology sector offering electronics manufacturing services in the country," said Hannu Keinänen, President of Elcoteq Asia-Pacific. "India is one of the fastest growing markets for mobile telecommunications, and we see great opportunities for manufacturing services in the area."

India, with a population of over one billion people, is one of the fastest growing areas for both handset OEMs and EMS providers. The key drivers underlying Elcoteq's decision to enter India are the large domestic market for mobile communications and its growth prospects coupled with other important factors such as the availability of a highly educated labor force, an attractive customer base and favorable cost levels.

www.elcoteq.com

On May 25-26, Henkel Corp., Engent, KIC, Speedline Technologies and Siemens Dematic presented a two-day Hands-On Lead-Free Technology Workshop at Engent's facilities in Norcross, GA. The program provided participants with information concerning lead-free materials and an understanding of upcoming process requirements and changes.

Unlike other lead-free seminars, about half of the agenda included hands-on training on the production floor. Attendees had a chance to visit and tinker with lead-free assembly at stations set up for screen printing and placement; reflow profiling; wave soldering; rework; and analytical tools for process validation.

Brian Toleno of Henkel, Dr. Daniel Baldwin of Engent, MaryBeth Allen of KIC and Keith Howell of Speedline also gave detailed presentations covering the challenges that lead-free technology brings to reflow and wave solder profiling and oven setup; alloy and equipment selection; compatibility studies for underfills, chipbonders and conformal coatings; and materials and process validation.

Each attendee was able to bring home a lead-free board they built, learning firsthand the impact of lead free on setup, assembly and visual inspection.

The course appealed to electronics professionals on all levels. James Seagle, process engineer at Z-World, and his colleague, Guy Martindale, senior process engineer, came to the event with very different agendas. Seagle, who has spent 11 years in electronics assembly and has attended many lead-free seminars, wanted the chance to apply his understanding of lead-free manufacturing.

"The hands-on approach of this workshop was very beneficial to me," said Seagle. "While the technical data presented in other seminars has been good, this workshop let me test my knowledge and take it to another level on the production floor."

Martindale, on the other hand, came to Z-World from the board fabrication industry and, coincidentally, his first day on the job was spent in the lead-free workshop. "This is a crash-course for me," he said. "But, there is no better way to learn something than by experiencing it. I think the production aspect of this workshop was invaluable."

Details will be announced soon regarding the location of the next workshop in the fall. Those who are interested in attending can contact Doug Dixon: (626) 968-6511; doug.dixon@loctite.com.

At the IPC Technology Market Research Council's (TMRC) May meeting in Baltimore, the speakers concurred on their midyear business outlooks for electronics manufacturing: Orders are steadily up, but modest for some sectors, with intense price pressures still reigning supreme.

Speaker Walt Custer of Custer Consulting Group gave his typical fast-paced look at the macro and micro conditions currently affecting the electronics industry. According to Custer, world electronic equipment production is headed up. It's estimated at $1.199 trillion for 2004, a hefty $100 billion jump from 2003's $1.090 trillion.

Another macro indicator for Custer is world gross domestic production (GDP), with every country/region except China, surprisingly, and Japan, not surprisingly, projected to experience growth in its GDP from 2003 to 2004. Overall, the world's GDP is estimated at 4.0 in 2004 from 2.4 in 2003, with the U.S. weighing in at 4.6 (2004) vs. 3.1 (2003). China will hit 8.3 in 2004 from 9.2 in 2003, with Japan at 2.5 in 2004 from 2003's 2.7.

January/February figures released at conference time reflected that industrial production worldwide is also up, with Germany (+1.8), the U.S. (+2.7) and China (+23.2) all experiencing positive percentage changes from one year ago. Even though the world is in a growth mode, however, Europe is doing less well overall, according to Custer. Case in point: Britain was at -1.3, with overall Europe at only +0.6.

Custer summed up by analyzing the end market situation for electronics manufacturing. Both the computer and semiconductor industries have resumed modest growth, with personal computers (PCs) and cell phones actually enjoying robust growth. Along with security and medical, military has been one of the main industries leading this upturn, but Custer had two cautions for the audience: 1) it's not that big of a market and 2) it's U.S. presidential administration-dependent. On the downside, automotive has had stable volumes, but severe price pressures continue; and telecom/datacom, once thought to be headed for recovery, hit a negative plunge in late 2003 from which it has not completely recovered.

Shawn Severson, senior vice president with Raymond James, Inc., presented his take on the electronics manufacturing industry from a Wall Street perspective. According to Severson's analysis of the macro landscape, conditions are improving. Management teams at electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers are indicating that business is better, with this positive sentiment the best that Severson has "heard in a long time." Overall, he predicted that 1) high-end information technology (IT)/telecom applications would make a recovery in 2004 and 2) investors in the EMS niche will be mostly concerned with EMS companies' ability to sustain the current recovery and growth throughout 2005.

Drilling down further, Severson indicated that EMS industry restructuring plans are mostly complete, with stabilized pricing and higher capacity utilization driving margins up. The caveat, however, is that EMS companies are still trying to re-price business they priced way too low during the downturn. Severson cited Solectron, in particular, for getting "into trouble" for not figuring out the cost of doing business and pricing accordingly; instead, Solectron's price-slashing was just an attempt to keep customers.

Other speakers focused on the overall theme of the TMRC meeting, which was disruptive technologies and how to cope as electronics manufacturers. Although lead-free and nanotechnology applications were the primary focus of these presentations, disruptive technologies are not the only bugbears challenging electronics companies' current growth. Other disruptions include the continued strength of the euro and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board's almost certain propensity to soon increase interest rates to avoid inflation and a rising U.S. domestic economy. The smart companies are the ones already planning for and addressing these issues. As Custer stated at the end of his presentation, "The law of the jungle will prevail. Financially and technically strong companies will survive."

Custer's statement clearly echoed that of keynote presenter Jack Shaw, who cited the example of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) being swallowed up by Compaq due in large part to DEC's not catching onto the PC revolution. He stated: "Every business in this room will learn to deal with disruptive technologies or they will become parts of businesses that have learned how to deal. It's not enough to accept change. It's not even enough to embrace change. You've got to seek out change."

Adapt to disruption or be swallowed: wise words for us all in this improving, but still challenging, electronics manufacturing environment.

Mack Technologies (Westford, MA), a contract manufacturer, has partnered with Ovation Products (Bethlehem, PA) to standardize on Grid-Lok fully automatic tooling for all DEK Screen Printers at their Westford facility.

The installations have provided an automated tooling option on every printer and feature Stealth Mode for zero-time support tooling setup when changing from one product to another. In addition, compliancy issues are eliminated as the support pins reset for every circuit board.

Mack process engineer Bill Dampier said, "Since our tooling is now fully automatic, our operators and setup personnel have no concerns with support tooling issues and are able to focus on other aspects of the assembly process. In addition, virtually no training was required to operate the system since it is triggered automatically by the host machine."

Quality engineer Eric Wolf stated that their printing process quality has stabilized due to the repeatable support of the system compared to conventional methods: "Our operators are no longer concerned about the printer tooling setup even for the most densely populated double-sided PCBs."

Ovation Products, a division of Airline Hydraulics, is a manufacturer of automated tooling solutions for the electronics assembly industry.

www.grid-lok.com

www.macktech.com