Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

News

The nickel content of screen print stencils appears to be the figure of merit when migrating to lead-free assembly, according to DEK's study on the impact of stencil materials on paste volume repeatability, paste-on-pad registration and process window.

In the study, paste volume repeatability was close to 90% for pure nickel stencils, with electro-form only slightly ahead. After printing with nickel electro-form stencils, as well as pure nickel and high-nickel-content stencils cut by a YAG laser, the experiment showed pure nickel electro-form to be marginally ahead of pure nickel laser cut. Both types showed better results than other stencils, including acrylic and stainless steel.

The research also shows that lead-free pastes using the Sn96.5Ag3.0Cu0.5 solder alloy continue to display differences in performance. The differences concern the effect of each paste's rheology on its aperture release characteristics, which impacts deposited volume repeatability.

Other factors affecting release efficiency include stencil aperture dimensions and aspect ratio.

DEK collected over five million data points for its experiments. The results show it is important to evaluate a candidate solder paste extensively before adopting it for production. Some assemblers may need to consider migrating to a nigh nickel-content stencil supplier.

The full results are available from DEK representatives or www.dek.com/leadfree.

Round Rock, TX -- In response to mounting pressure from environmentalists, Dell is lowering its cost of recycling for businesses and consumers.

For a limited time, Dell will refurbish or re-cycle an unlimited number of old computer systems with no upfront cost (provided the technology meets certain specifications). Asset Recovery Services will remove customers' old hardware and refurbish or recycle it based on strict environmental guidelines.

Dell has also reduced the price of computer recycling for consumers from $15 to $10. The company continues to offer free recycling to consumers who purchase new desktop or notebook computers. Its global donation partner, the National
Cristina Foundation, also offers U.S. consumers a no-charge donation program for used computers.

According to a report on MSNBC this morning, electronics waste activists actively campaigned for the recycling improvements, and are now seeking to target cell phone manufacturers and Apple Computer for its iPod gadgets.

MANSFIELD, TX - FCI Electronics, a supplier of high-speed connectors, named Mouser Electronics as a global distributor.

FCI makes connectors, mod jacks, sockets, and other components for BGAs, backplanes and other electronics assemblies.

Mouser Electronics, a privately-held company and subsidiary of TTI, has a base of over 100,000 business customer and focuses on design and prototyping.

TORONTO -- Celestica Inc., a top EMS provider, today announced first-quarter revenue of $2.15 billion, up 7% from 2004. The GAAP net loss for the quarter ended March 31 was $11.6 million, versus a loss of $12.1 million last year.

The company took $31.9 million in restructuring charges during the quarter.

The results were in line with Jan. 27 revenue guidance of $2 billion to $2.23 billion.

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Sypris Solutions Inc., a maker of of electronics for military and automotive applications and a provider of EMS services, today reported revenue rose 39% to a record $124.2 million for the first quarter, up from $89.4 million last year.

Net income dropped to $600,000, versus $3.3 million a year ago, on cost overruns and new program launches.

The results met company expectations.

In a press statement, Jeffrey T. Gill, president and chief executive, said, "Revenue continued to climb while the costs associated with the increase in manufacturing capacity, launch of new programs and disruption of material deliveries began to abate from the levels experienced during the fourth quarter. We expect these cost overruns to continue during the second quarter at a declining rate as the new manufacturing cells are completed and new programs enter full production, after which we expect margins to gradually return to historical levels."

For the quarter, backlogs rose 22% to a record $261.7 million. it was the ninth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in bookings.

Sales of electronics declined to $35.6 million, compared to $40.9 million for the prior year and were down 23% sequentially from the fourth quarter. The compay said the drop was normal and cited seasonality in government's procurement cycles. Gross profit for the quarter was $5 million, down from $7.9 million, due to continued decline in shipments for data systems products.

ANGLETON, TX -- Contract manufacturer Benchmark Electronics Inc. today reported sales of $510 million for the March quarter, up 6% from $481 million last year.

First-quarter net income was $16.9 million, up 11% from $15.2 million a year ago.

Cary T. Fu, president and chief executive, called the results "excellent in light of the soft economic conditions seen recently in the technology marketplace."

For the quarter, operating margin was 4.4%, and return on invested capital was 13.8%.

As of March 31 Benchmark had cash and short-term investments of $344 million and no outstanding debt. 

Inventories increased by $39 million to $295 million; inventory turns were 6.4 times.

Benchmark guided for second quarter revenue of $525 million to $550 million.

OYSTER BAY, NY -- A new war among automakers is on the verge of breaking out. The battle: safety as the key differentiator for vehicle lines.

"There are a host of cutting-edge safety systems in varying stages of development that will alter the consumer's perception of what makes for a safe vehicle," says ABI Research senior automotive analyst Robert LaGuerra. "What is interesting is that automakers disagree about how they define a safe vehicle."

LaGuerra adds that automakers are tackling the issue of safety from varying perspectives. From electronic stability control, adaptive cruise control and telematics systems, to blind-spot detection, lane-departure warning, driver monitoring, and pedestrian-based safety systems, all will be used in some combination to make for a safer vehicle.

Automakers such as Honda and Mercedes are among the first to introduce systems promoting pedestrian safety, while GM may be the first to introduce both ESC and reactionary safety systems such as OnStar as standard equipment across all its North American models.

ABI cautions that there are still issues to be overcome, including high systems costs, the ability to have on-board safety systems communicate with each other, decisions about how much control should be taken away from the driver in an emergency, plus software and processor limitations in assessing an emergency situation on a real-time basis. ABI suggests that further systems integration will not only enhance the level of safety, but help reduce overall system costs.

Minneapolis -- The Harsh Environment Electronics Workshop cosponsored by SMTA and Auburn University will be held June 28-29 in Indianapolis. The workshop will address concerns related to harsh environment electronics and challenges for auto electronics. It aims to combine the needs of end-users with the capabilities from research and industry.

Will addresses the challenges of meeting expanding temperature ranges (-55°C to +150°/200°C) with increased vibration, higher packaging density and longer reliability. Next-generation requirements for automotive electronics are explored from the systems level and potential supply based solutions are presented.

Industrial needs for non-automotive vehicle requirements will be addressed, with session topics on:
- Thermal Interface Materials
- Component Reliability
- Module Overmolding
- Systems Design
- Lead-Free Soldering and Solder Alternatives

The workshop will also feature a panel discussion on lead-free for harsh applications.

Bannockburn, IL - As the electronics industry races to meet the EU's RoHS Directive, IPC and Soldertec Global --a division of Tin Technology-- are sponsoring the third International Conference on Lead-Free Electronics on June 7-10 in Barcelona.

Critical lead-free issues include new alloys and materials evaluations, inspection changes, tin whiskers, lead-free on advanced packages like chip scale and flip chip, and reliability. Assembly operations will face increased assembly costs (perhaps 15% higher) and will impact areas beyond manufacturing such as field support, sales, marketing and training.

Conference topics and educational courses will cover:

Policy development: European/Asian/other legislation or voluntary activity on hazardous materials and recycling; Legislative compliance and policy enforcement methods;

Supply chain issues: Standards for marking and test; Materials declarations, part number, obsolescence, etc.;

Production issues: Design for lead free production; Component solder, board development, availability and lead-free compatibility; Examples of implementation; Reflow, wave, hand soldering, inspection, repair, rework and test;

Cost issues: Tin whiskers; Reliability test data and method developments; High reliability product sectors (automotive, aerospace, etc.)

Environmental considerations: Toxicity and risk; Recycling; Substitutes for other hazardous substances.

HERNDON, VA -- A new standard for simplifying materials declaration being jointly developed by several leading trade groups will be circulated for industry review in June.

In a joint statement, IPC, iNEMI and RosettaNet said the draft of IPC-1752 will be released for a 60-day industry review on June 1.

The standard will integrate existing efforts, including recommendations from a pair of iNEMI projects plus RosettaNet's e-business process standards for material composition.

SHANGHAI -- UGS, a provider of product lifecycle management software and services, announced that Alcatel-Shanghai Bell has selected its Tecnomatix eM-Execution software for its board assembly operations and to provide traceability support and lead-free compliance.

Alcatel-Shanghai Bell will implement eM-Execution to provide full component, product and process traceability to comply with both customer and regulatory requirements. Alcatel-Shanghai Bell is also the launch customer for the new eM-Execution Lead Free solution as it prepares to meet the July 1, 2006 RoHS regulations.

"As the telecom solutions provider, we will continue to improve our product and process traceability to ensure quick response to market demands. We rely on UGS to further improve our shop floor data collection, analysis and management to meet the new Lead Free regulations," said Martin Lehnich, executive vice president of Alcatel-Shanghai Bell.

Tecnomatix is the digital manufacturing brand of UGS, which acquired Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. on April 1.

LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND -- Cadence Design has closed its design services unit in Scotland's "Silicon Glen" and up to 60 staff are expected to lose their jobs.

In a published report, the company confirmed it had put its local design services staff on a 30-day consultation period from April 10, and that "a significant number" of the 90 staff were likely to lose their jobs.

Tim Barnes, vice president for marketing at Cadence, said, "We made a strategic decision two years ago to focus on our software products, which design and develop integrated circuits for semiconductor makers and others.

"As part of this strategy, we must balance our design-service capabilities as makes sense. Our core business is software."