Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

Latest News

EXPORT, PA – Advanced Manufacturing Technologies recently finished renovations on a 30,000 sq. ft. production facility and corporate headquarters in Westmoreland Industrial Park.

The structure permits the contract electronics manufacturer to consolidate operations under one roof.

Key features include conductive flooring, global humidity control and the addition of a second level of administrative offices. The space can house upgraded automation equipment and includes an employee meeting room.

SMYRNA, GA – UP Media Group Inc. seeks abstracts for PCB Design Conference West 2009, to be held Sept. 14 - 18 in Santa Clara, CA.

The event includes a five-day technical conference and two-day exhibition.

PCB West annually provides a conference and exhibition focused on the design and manufacture of PCBs, HDI and other advanced circuits.

The five-day conference is comprised of a three-day technical conference and a professional development certificate program of one- and two-day courses.

Papers and presentations of the following durations are sought for the technical conference: one-hour lectures and presentations; two-hour workshops, and half-day (3.5 hour) seminars.

Papers and presentations of the following durations are sought for a professional development certificate program of in-depth courses: one-day tutorials (7 hours of instruction) and two-day tutorials (14 hours of instruction).

Suggested paper and presentation topics include high speed, high frequency and signal integrity; component placement; EMI/EMC analysis; thermal analysis; Pb-free processes (especially how they affect design and fabrication); environmental legislation (REACH, RoHS, etc.) and its effects; RF and microwave design; packaging design; mixed-signal design; area arrays; FPGA design and implementation; embedded passives and active devices; flexible circuitry; HDI design and technologies; PCB design/layout basics; component library creation and management; design for manufacture, test and assembly; design (including analog, digital and power supplies); PCB fabrication; surface finishes; industry forecasts, and business and supply chain issues.

Papers and presentations must be noncommercial in nature and should focus on technology, techniques or methodology. If selected, final papers and presentations will be due in July.

Printed Circuit Design & Fab and Circuits Assembly magazines are media partners for the event.

Submit abstracts by Mar. 17 at www.pcbwest.com/speakers/abstract.shtml.

For more information, visit www.pcbwest.com.

MALMO, SWEDEN – EMS firm PartnerTech reported fourth-quarter net sales slipped 1.2% year-over-year to SEK 651.2 million.

ELKHART, IN – BAE Systems has awarded EMS provider CTS Corp. a $24 million manufacturing contract to provide electronics assemblies for the A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

CTS EMS anticipates the manufacturing phase will commence at its California facility beginning mid 2009, and will continue through 2010.

CTS EMS will provide line-replaceable units for power control, system control and distribution.

MARLBOROUGH, MA – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted DownStream Technologies a patent for certain technology covering the automation of PCB documentation in an electronic release package file.

The patent is related to technologies in DownStream’s BluePrint-PCB software.

The patent further covers the core technology contained in the BluePrint-PCB shape engine, which is configured to display simultaneous views of a PCB CAD database; the use of reconfigurable objects that display different views of the CAD database; the technology behind BluePrint’s template elements that can be customized and linked to the CAD database, and technology that automates engineering change orders (ECO) in the CAD database as reflected in the release package.

BluePrint-PCB was released in 2006 for automating the creation of comprehensive electronic PCB documentation.

SAN JOSE – The Semiconductor Industry Association is lauding the $15 billion set aside for funding scientific research programs as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR 1) now headed for President Obama’s desk.

The bill includes significant funding increases for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy Office of Science, and the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy.

HONG KONG -- Surface Mount Technology (Holdings) Inc. reported a December quarter loss of HK$2.9 million on a 24% drop in revenue to HK$573.7 million.

SIOUX FALLS, SD – Raven Industries today said fourth quarter sales would likely fall short of previous guidance. On the whole, Raven expects to report a 22% decline in fourth quarter net income on a 3% rise in sales.

CHENNAI -- Jabil Circuit reportedly will relocate its Nokia assembly programs currently in Chennai to China.

According to the report, Jabil will end its operations in the Sriperumbadur corridor by March 31. The fate of the site's 600-some workers is not clear. Jabil has not commented on the reports, and government officials have not received any preliminary paperwork from Jabil notifying the state of pending closures.

Jabil reportedly invested over $100 million in the facility.

ARLINGTON, VA -- Electronic component orders fell in January for the third consecutive month, according to the monthly index compiled by the Electronic Components Association (ECA). The 12-month average, comparing this year’s results to last year’s, continued a descent that began last summer.

“We might just have to get used to words such as ‘downslide’ for the next several months,” says Bob Willis, ECA president. “Electronic components are the building blocks for all things electronic, so our market is inextricably linked to the economy and spending. Like everyone else, electronic component manufacturers are looking to stay as healthy as possible until better times arrive.”

BANNOCKBURN, IL – A survey of electronics supply chain companies reveals more than 40% say customers have changed sourcing from Asia to North America or Europe in the past two years.

The IPC survey of executives and marketing professionals at EMS, PCB and suppliers in North America and Europe was conducted in November, and 50 companies responded.

According to IPC, 42% of respondents have seen some level of program migration back to the West.

“There has been some speculation recently within the electronic interconnect industry that some customers may be changing their sourcing patterns and shifting some business back to North America and Europe from Asia for a variety of reasons,” said Sharon Starr, director of market research. “The goal of the survey was to confirm this trend, estimate the financial impact on the industry and identify the drivers of the trend. Although the intent was not to produce statistically significant data, we definitely saw some evidence of regional shifts.”

The respondents estimated an average of 2.5% growth in their 2007 and 2008 business was attributable to this trend. Quality concerns was the issue cited most often as the primary driver of this trend. Other key contributors were transportation costs, currency exchange rates, long supply lines and communication difficulties, says IPC.

NEENAH, WI -- Plexus Corp. is headed to Romania. The EMS company has signed a deal to lease a 72,000 sq. ft. facility in Oradea, on the Hungary/Romania border, its first in the Eastern European nation.