Inline ICT is not as cumbersome as it used to be, and in the longer run, will help manufacturers save costs.

The idea of operating in-circuit test as part of the surface mount technology line is not new. Options available to volume manufacturers include modifying ICT systems with bridge handlers to receive printed circuit board assemblies from the input line to the tester. Others link test units to increase throughput.

Most days, the sum of what we do is greater than all the promises we make.

Industry chatter has long said M&A activity among the major SMT placement companies is inevitable.

Yet, throughout the gut-wrenching downturn of 2001-02, the widespread pause in 2008-09, and the subsequent fallout starting last spring, nothing concrete took place.

Rapid prototyping and first-article inspection are technologies that have been around for years, but should gain significant momentum in the coming months as companies look to cut the cost of new products. It can't happen soon enough: Years ago then-Flextronics CTO Nic Braithwaite told me he calculated a large, multi-board server program could conceivably cost $50 million to ramp, once all the ECOs and respins were accounted for.