News
Pomona, CA – Everett Charles Technologies will consolidate two of its Capital Equipment Group’s wholly owned German business units, atg Test Systems and Luther Maelzer Gmbh. The reorganization is anticipated to be complete by year-end. Till then, both existing operations will continue to service their respective customers. The units manufacture electrical test systems and related products for the bare PCB industry.
Pat Flynn, ECT president and CEO, said in a statement, “This move will leverage the considerable engineering and software talents of each company to the benefit of their respective customer bases and the market in general.”
Pat Flynn, ECT president and CEO, said in a statement, “This move will leverage the considerable engineering and software talents of each company to the benefit of their respective customer bases and the market in general.”
The consolidated unit will be headed by atg’s managing director, Uwe Rothaug. Hans Higgen, L&M’s managing director, will assume responsibility for the R&D engineering team while atg’s Viktor Romanov will manage the flying probe systems R&D effort.
Carpinteria, CA - NuSil Technology, a manufacturer of silicone-based materials, has opened its first technical support office in Asia.
The office, located in Penang, Malaysia, will specialize in optoelectronics and electronic packaging, served by the company’ s Lightspan products and its low-outgassing electronic packaging materials respectively.
T.Y. Lim is the application engineer heading the office.
According to a press release, the company has noticed recent growth in the Asian optoelectronics industry.
NEW YORK -- 2008 will be the year MEMS take off in cellphones as the technology's small size, flexibility, and performance advantages become big drawcards, ABI Research said today.
According to ABI, MEMS finds five major application areas in the cellphone: RF filters, adaptive tuning circuits, resonators and oscillators, audio microphones, accelerometers and motion sensors. The challenge is their cost compared to incumbent solutions, but as volumes pick up for MEMS components in these newer markets, there will be a concomitant decrease in cost, the research firm asserts.
MEMS technology for consumer markets has been discussed for at least 10 years, says principal analyst Alan Varghese. "The traditional challenges for MEMS related to the difficulty of reliably manufacturing components at high volumes, effective packaging techniques, long-term device reliability, technology cost and supply chain robustness, all of which had a damping effect on the industry. However the MEMS industry has been addressing these concerns, and innovative solutions are being offered in high volume markets such as mobile phones and consumer devices."
According to ABI, MEMS finds five major application areas in the cellphone: RF filters, adaptive tuning circuits, resonators and oscillators, audio microphones, accelerometers and motion sensors. The challenge is their cost compared to incumbent solutions, but as volumes pick up for MEMS components in these newer markets, there will be a concomitant decrease in cost, the research firm asserts.
MEMS technology for consumer markets has been discussed for at least 10 years, says principal analyst Alan Varghese. "The traditional challenges for MEMS related to the difficulty of reliably manufacturing components at high volumes, effective packaging techniques, long-term device reliability, technology cost and supply chain robustness, all of which had a damping effect on the industry. However the MEMS industry has been addressing these concerns, and innovative solutions are being offered in high volume markets such as mobile phones and consumer devices."
COPENHAGEN -- Lego, the maker of the ubiquitous
building blocks and other toys, will outsource most of its production to
Flextronics over the next three years, with the EMS
provider taking over some Lego plants. Other production will be moved to Flextronics’
plants in Eastern Europe and Mexico.
No financial terms were immediately disclosed.
The move breaks new ground for Flextronics. "It's not electronics, it's plastic molding," said Alexander Blanton, an analyst at Ingalls & Synder told TheStreet.com. "This is the first major piece of business that I have seen of that nature."
BANNOCKBURN, IL – After nearly 15 years and plenty of promise but few successes, the IPC today disbanded its Government Relations committee.
The committee has been a focal point for years, having acted as the trade group’s member liaison to its lobbying activities. It coordinated an annual industry lobbying day, and helped to raise the industry’s awareness – if not its influence – at the congressional level.
The committee has been a focal point for years, having acted as the trade group’s member liaison to its lobbying activities. It coordinated an annual industry lobbying day, and helped to raise the industry’s awareness – if not its influence – at the congressional level.
PALO ALTO, CA -- New analysis from Frost & Sullivan reveals that the worldwide SMT cleaning equipment market generated revenues of $34.3 million in 2005 and is likely to reach $55 million in 2012.
"Lead-free manufacturing has caused process changes in the SMT line that have placed more emphasis on cleaning," notes F&S industry manager Keith Robinson. "With more residue left on the assembly during lead- free manufacturing, industries that did not historically clean are likely to do so between 2006 and 2010, thus creating new market opportunities."
Pb-free manufacturing requires higher preheating and heating temperatures, causing changes in the flux that make it more difficult to clean. It also calls for an increased amount of flux, which leads to more residues on the assembly. Defects can occur in products if the assembly is not thoroughly cleaned, thus creating increased demand for SMT cleaning equipment.
Pb-free assemblies more difficult to clean, causing concerns among electronic assemblers about the feasibility of becoming Pb-free compliant in 2006. Moreover, cleaning Pb-free materials is highly demanding and places increased stress on the entire cleaning process.
"Some companies have been very proactive in educating customers on how to clean lead-free assemblies effectively," says Robinson. "SMT vendors will need to be very aggressive in addressing customers' needs in 2006, because this is a critical year for the SMT cleaning equipment market."
"Lead-free manufacturing has caused process changes in the SMT line that have placed more emphasis on cleaning," notes F&S industry manager Keith Robinson. "With more residue left on the assembly during lead- free manufacturing, industries that did not historically clean are likely to do so between 2006 and 2010, thus creating new market opportunities."
Pb-free manufacturing requires higher preheating and heating temperatures, causing changes in the flux that make it more difficult to clean. It also calls for an increased amount of flux, which leads to more residues on the assembly. Defects can occur in products if the assembly is not thoroughly cleaned, thus creating increased demand for SMT cleaning equipment.
Pb-free assemblies more difficult to clean, causing concerns among electronic assemblers about the feasibility of becoming Pb-free compliant in 2006. Moreover, cleaning Pb-free materials is highly demanding and places increased stress on the entire cleaning process.
"Some companies have been very proactive in educating customers on how to clean lead-free assemblies effectively," says Robinson. "SMT vendors will need to be very aggressive in addressing customers' needs in 2006, because this is a critical year for the SMT cleaning equipment market."
Apart from electronics manufacturing, the medical device, aerospace and defense industries are likely to increase their demand for SMT cleaning equipment. F&S predicts that these industries will be the primary markets for SMT cleaning equipment in North America and Western Europe. In China, the expanding space program is likely to provide new opportunities to equipment vendors.
Press Releases
- Altus Partners with Sellectronics to Enhance Manufacturing Capabilities with PVA Delta 8 System
- ITW EAE Celebrates Major Milestone in Domestic Manufacturing Expansion
- Micro Technology Services Selects PBT Works CompaCLEAN III for Advanced PCB Cleaning Performance
- Indium Corp. is Electrifying the Future with Advanced Materials Solutions at Productronica