FEATURES

• Trade Shows
  What Drives the Crowd?
  A survey of 1,400 North American readers of Circuits Assembly and Printed Circuit Design & Fab finds engineers are most turned on by a great technical conference and location.
  By Mike Buetow

• Controlling Static
  Mastering ESD Control in Automated Handling Systems
  ESD control has always been critical to high production yields, but programs are generally geared toward operators. The best ESD control programs ensure such equipment is capable of handling highly sensitive devices.
  By Bob Taplett

• Cover Story
  Beating the RoHS Heat
  Once on the outs over environmental concerns, vapor phase improvements have broadened the process window, reduced changeover time and lowered peak temperatures.
  By Chris Munroe

• Trade Groups
  Trade Secrets
  Tax-exempt electronics trade associations took in over $110 million in revenues during fiscal 2006. The growth of the sector has led to a first-of-its-kind review of the last three years’ worth of tax filings.
  By Mike Buetow

• Morey Corp.
  True to Its Roots
  Most EMS companies talk customer service, or technology, or supply-chain management. This family-run Chicago-based company touts something else.
  By Mike Buetow

• Offshore Expansion
  The Road Abroad – Strategic Alliance or Greenfield Facility?
  A management insider explains the main models for establishing manufacturing in low-cost regions.
  By Paul Plante

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Fueled up.
  Mike Buetow

• Letters

• Talking Heads
  Nihon Superior’s Tetsuro Nishimura.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Focus on Business
  Where trust trumps execution.
  Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  Embedded applications are coming up.
  E. Jan Vardaman

• Screen Printing
  Verification and traceability.
  Clive Ashmore

• Tech Tips
  Intermittent BGA connections.
  American Competitiveness Institute

• Wave Soldering
  Air and joints.
  Ursula Marquez de Tino

• Test and Inspection
  Cutting AOI data to size.
  Jeff Bishop

• Process Doctor
  Inline vs. batch cleaning.
  Ravi Parthasarathy

• Pb-Free Lessons Learned
  Concerns from the board level.
  Chrys Shea

• Getting Lean
  Optimizing flow.
  Robert Hemmant

• Materials World
  Package-on-package configurations.
  Dr. Renzhe Zhao

• Equipment Advances
  Juki’s FX-3 placement machine.

• Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Apex Product Preview
Ad Index
Assembly Insider

On the cover: After 30 years, vapor phase is finally finding a place in soldering. (Images courtesy R+D Technical Services)