Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - News

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GerbTool version 14.0 offers fully revised support of NC drilling and milling, and enhanced netlisting support that streamlines the comparison process of Gerber-to-D356. Includes DfM support for embedded passive technology. The DfM analysis features help designers and fabricators deploy either additive or subtractive passive resistor materials within their printed circuit-based products

Allows users to work with multiple tool tables and control every aspect of their NC data, down to feed, speed, plunge and extract rates of the machine spindle. Can accommodate complex assembly sub-panels or manufacturing production panels. 25 new DfM analysis queries provide a general analysis of any PCB; results can then be used for job quoting, pre-sales analysis or pre-production reviews.

Increased collaboration with free Internet Explorer-based GerbTool database reader allows users to share datasets with other team members, inside or outside of the company.

Release highlights include:

Embedded Passive Support, Alignment Checking

Termination Bar Overlap Checking, Extension Checking, Width Checking

Advanced Tool Table Support

Multiple Tool Tables

NC Feeds and Speeds

NC Plunge and Extract Rates

NC Compensation Index Tables

NC Tool Linking

Maximum Hits

Tool Reordering for Export

User-Defined Break Tabs

Enhanced Interactive Milling

Drilled Text

Operator Messages

Operator Stop Command

MCM/LTCC Layer Stack-Up

Enhanced Information Queries

Updated Internal Net Names

Importing Databases, Internal versus External Netlist

Import Netlist Only (ODB++, PADS ASCII)

Explode Nets, Preserve Nets

Net Compare, Check Pad Sizes

GT-Reader Internet Browser Plug-In

WISE Software Solutions Inc., wssi.com

Accutronic, a flat-belt-driven, powered live-roller accumulation conveyor with 24-volt electric actuation is said to offer quiet, positive transportation and true zero-pressure accumulation of cases, cartons and totes.

Reduces noise and removes lubrication requirements associated with chain-and-pad-driven live roller conveyor. 24-volt electric stepper motor lift mechanism eliminates the need for the compressed air, increasing installation flexibility and producing energy savings.

Features an automatic sleep mode, which disengages the drive if no product has rolled by in eight seconds, and detectors built into the photo-eye sensors that shut the system down five seconds after sensing a product jam. Photo-eye sensors, factory installed and aligned, and control modules are delivered ready to run.

Designed for medium-duty, high-speed accumulation lines. Offers speeds up to 400 ft./min. on transportation and up to 240 ft./min. on accumulation.

Weight capacity is 35 lb./ft. for live loads, 100 lb. per package. Provides release rates of up to 95% and acceptance rates up to 100%.

Available in three-, six-, nine- and 12-foot lengths with a standard zone length of three feet. Available widths between frames are 16", 22", 28", 34" and 40".

FKI Logistex North America, fkilogistex.com

Smart Sonic ultrasonic stencil cleaning process cleans at very low power density (watts/liter) as early research by GEC Marconi and the EMPF Laboratory indicated that lower power density equals higher safety.

Recent studies indicate that ultrasonic power densities of 10 watts per liter or less are desirable for the safe cleaning of populated PCBs. These stencil cleaners have always been rated at 10 watts per liter and still clean any type of solder paste from fine-pitch stencils.

Cleans all types of solder paste at low power densities due to the cleaning efficiency of their proprietary 440-R SMT Detergent and the mechanical efficiency of the ultrasonic transducers.

Smart Sonic, smartsonic.com

29 x 29" VectorGuard stencils allow customers to reduce changeover time and ease stencil handling and storage challenges in applications requiring a large image area.

The large format foils are available in popular thicknesses, including 0.005" (0.127mm) and 0.006"(0.152mm).

Customers can also use the 29 x 29" frameless system in machines that do not have an adjustable chase, including non-DEK machines, or where they prefer not to use side bar extensions. The system then becomes a straight swap for existing framed foils.

Customers invest only in the frame, which comes complete with a footpedal to control the air supply during mounting, and the foils themselves.

Extruded aluminium edges and plastic corners add rigidity and streamline frame mounting and tensioning, making larger foils feasible.

DEK, dek.com

FEINFOCUS Graphical User Interface (FGUI) software version 2.2 offers real-time background subtraction. Background subtraction reduces shading in x-ray imagery, a common problem in x-ray inspection that limits image contrast.

Shading appears as a slight fading of intensity from the image center toward the periphery, the degree of which depends largely on the sample or structure being x-rayed. The FGUI enables users to activate an automatic background subtraction process, loading a previously produced background image from one of the many buffers available. The gray values of the background image are automatically subtracted from those of the active x-ray image in real-time -optimizing image contrast and facilitating interpretation of the inspection results.

The inspection software has several new capabilities, including an AVI recorder, 16-bit image processing, seamless integration of Direct Digital Detectors (DDD) and image saving in a variety of formats (e.g. TIF, BMP and JPG). New image-processing operators have also been added, such as an electronic film operator.

FEINFOCUS, feinfocus.com

Squeegees now available with the entire blade coated with Permalex. Reportedly reduces solder paste sticking. Infuses the blade with a polymer lubricant, developed through a multi-step metallurgical bonding process. Said to reduce stencil pulling and stretching, improving pad registration and stencil life.

Transition Automation Inc., transitionautomation.com

Agilent Technologies' automated test solution for functional, at-speed test reduces the cost of testing high-speed, system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices. Part of the 93000 SOC Series, the high-speed I/O solution enables functional testing of high-pin-count devices, such as next-generation PC chipsets up to speeds of 3.6 Gb/s.

Enabled by the Pin Scale 3600 Digital Card, offers per-pin scalability from 800 Mb/s to 3.6 Gb/s. High-speed SOC devices are widely used in computer, digital consumer, communications and networking products.

Each pin offers both single-ended and differential I/O test capabilities to test a range of interfaces including DDR, G-DDR, PCI Express, S-ATA, HyperTransport and Front Side Bus (FSB). The automated test equipment can be matched to the device through software scaling, pin by pin.

Features a test processor per-pin architecture, which localizes all test processing, resulting in minimal measurement overhead and higher throughput. Delivers a differential pin edge placement accuracy (EPA) of better than ±30 ps.

With up to eight independent clock domains, can satisfy timing needs for concurrent at-speed testing of multiple buses running at non-friendly speed ratios (bus fractions).

Available in various data-rate, memory and pin-count configurations.

Agilent Technologies Inc., agilent.com

Built in rugged stainless steel and fully rated for product washdown, the Stainless Steel Conveyor meets the needs of food, beverage, and consumer goods manufacturers.

Has side frames built in 304 polished stainless steel; all fabricated parts available in stainless steel. Can be wet-cleaned after production runs. Corrosion-resistant construction reduces wear and tear and extends conveyor component life.

Expands on the company's rollerless conveying system, offering styles for zero-pressure accumulation, transportation, incline, decline and metering. Uses a modular plastic-belt conveying surface, eliminating the need for rollers and providing a continuous surface for product conveying. The belted surface also decreases the number of moving parts, simplifying maintenance, installation and start-up.

Operates at speeds up to 300 ft/min., has a live load weight capacity of 70 lb./ft and can convey a variety of items, from shrink-wrapped packages to corrugated boxes.

FKI Logistex, fkilogistex.com

T612M-DS double-sided thermal transfer printer can simultaneously print on the front and back of the marker. Offerscost savings through halved print time and reduced waste.

Can process all TMS SYSTEM SIX heat-shrinkable markers, from 2.4 to 57.2 mm.

Rated for heavy-duty cycles, incorporates a 300-dpi (12-dpmm) print head. The printer-marker system is also suitable for general-purpose, high-volume industrial use.

The data printed onto the two sides of each marker can be identical, different, same-side up or flipped. Offers nominal print speeds of 50 to 128 mm/second and is available in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish language configurations.

Tyco Electronics, tycoelectronics.com

The In-Sight 5100C color vision sensor performs a range of color inspection tasks in a number of major industries. Can be used in the electronics industry to verify the correct position of color LEDs at electrical test stations. In-Sight 5101 is a high-resolution (1024 x 768) industrial-grade vision sensor for high-accuracy gauging applications that require increased resolution for inspecting small objects, or capturing images of larger parts.

The self-contained vision sensors meet IEC specifications for shock and vibration, and achieve an IP67 (NEMA 6) rating for dust and wash-down protection - without the need for a separate industrial enclosure. Include vision spreadsheet interface and software to simplify application development and network administration.

Cognex Corp., cognex.com

The DEK Instinctiv user interface acts as the portal to technical support services via the Internet and is now available on the Micron-class Galaxy and Europa platforms.

The UI draws on human factors techniques to display complex machine and process data in an easily digestible form. Features advanced graphical techniques, real-time indication of consumables levels and extensive on-board help and error recovery.

Using wireless broadband connectivity across the shop floor, combined with up to the minute security features including Internet firewall and Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP), Micron-class machines can now be connected to DEK knowledge servers via IPsec VPN tunnel technology without requiring extra cabling.

www.dek.com

PALO ALTO, CA-- Agilent Technologies Inc. (agilent.com) has developed bead probe methodology for in-circuit test of high-speed and high-density printed circuit boards (PCBs). Bead probe technology addresses the needs of electronics contract manufacturers for accurate testing of increasingly complex PCBs, such as those used in communications and computing.

As board circuitry gets smaller, traditional bed-of-nails test solutions become problematic. Because on-board test target sizes are shrinking, this approach is no longer capable of reliably contacting hyper-small test targets, which have an unacceptable performance impact on high-frequency signals. Likewise, boundary-scan cannot solve this problem because it does not offer 100% coverage of defects.

Bead probe technology circumvents these issues by placing very small, hemi-ellipsoid beads of solder directly onto a board's copper traces. A bead probe, only a few mils tall, protrudes above the solder mask. When partially flattened by a fixture-based, flat-faced target probe, it gives low-contact resistance needed for testing.

Bead probes are easily fabricated, using the same steps as solder masking/stenciling.

"Bead probes are particularly well suited for highly dense layouts or gigabit signals and, according to our tests, have a negligible impact on circuit performance during normal operation," said Kenneth Parker, engineer/scientist for Agilent's Electronic Manufacturing Test Division. "Bead probes let us approach an ideal of layout-independent, test-point placement -- a great benefit in high-density, high-frequency design that will revolutionize the normally adversarial relationship between board designers and test engineers."

Currently being tested by Agilent's high-volume manufacturing partner, full licensing of the technology is expected to be available by mid-2005.