ATLANTA -- The first revision of IPC-7525, “Stencil Design Guidelines” was circulated for vote in February, and could be published shortly. Among the proposed changes: Refined aperture configurations and area ratios, and new guidelines for printing adhesives.

For its latest revision, the task group behind IPC-SM-840D, “Qualification and Performance of Permanent Solder Mask,” focused on terminology, consolidation, the Pb-free dilemma and test methods.

In a recent interview with Circuits Assembly, longtime task group chair Dave Vaughan, marketing manager, Taiyo America, noted that revision D began simultaneously with the Solder Mask Handbook. In fact, it began with the term “solder mask” itself.

HONG KONG — Wong’s Kong King (WKK) Distribution Ltd. and Source Electronics have opened their first joint programming facility, in Hong Kong. The two companies plan to open a programming center in the Shanghai area and in two more undisclosed locations in the near future. Hong Kong-based WKK Distribution is an electronics equipment and materials distribution company. Source Electronics provides IC programming and testing to assemblers and semiconductor manufacturers.