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1 2 Keeping the Classic Mustang Running Publication Date: 1/4/2010 By Dale Lillard, President, Lansdale Semiconductor, Inc., Phoenix, AZ If you've never designed a nuclear power plant, you might not have given much thought to its electronic control system — the nerve center of everything that goes on there. Just what kind of product technology should a nuclear power design engineer use to build that all-important control system ... Collaboration Takes the Sting Out of PCB Design Publication Date: 11/25/2009 By Nolan Johnson, Sunstone Circuits, Mulino, OR In August 2008, IPC made the assertion that 75 percent of the impact on the manufacturability and profitability of a printed circuit board (PCB) design occurred in the design phase, and only 25 percent of the potential impact to make a design profitable took place once it was complete. Given the importance ... Outsourcing Quality Management: Bridging the Divide Publication Date: 10/23/2009 By Chris Rehl, Director of Marketing, Cimtek, Needham, MA As product innovation demands and tighter margins buckle down on the electronics manufacturing industry, changing how products are brought to market, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers are becoming ever more critical to each other's successes ... How Partial Underfilms Help BGAs Publication Date: 10/8/2009 By Steve Hall, Alltemated, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL Lead-free assembly has created a difficult hurdle for the PCB assembly process, especially for CSP and BGA packages. Current soldering technology requirements for RoHS compliance requires brittle alloys, which along with miniaturization, is reducing joint sizes and prematurely fatiguing ... Automated Reballing Tool Fulfills MIL Needs Publication Date: 7/2/2009 By A.J.G. Strandjord, T. Teutsch, and G. Azdasht, Pac Tech — Packaging Technologies, Santa Clara, CA There has been a growing demand to automate the rework and repair processes associated with BGA packages (reballing). Historically, there have been three main reasons for reballing these packages: deformed balls, damaged balls, or missing balls. Selecting the Right Circuit Breaker Publication Date: 6/2/2009 By Michael Manning, VP of Engineering Automation Systems Interconnect, Inc., Mechanicsburg, PA A circuit breaker, to most design engineers, is thought of as a low-cost commodity component that usually doesn't get much attention when designing a new piece of equipment or system. In fact, on many occasions I have heard someone say, "It doesn't matter; I just need a circuit breaker." Yet a circuit ... Pentagon: Building Lasting Partnerships Publication Date: 4/27/2009 By Randy Morrison, Pentagon EMS, Beaverton, OR Today's economic climate is very reminiscent of 2002. There are differences, of course. In 2002, 9-11 had just happened, the dot-com bubble had burst, and everything tightened up. Everybody was required to do more with less. Companies slashed underperforming areas of their businesses and put limits ... Pathway to Tighter Cost Management Publication Date: 2/9/2009 By Michael Foster, Samsung/Dynatech Technology, Inc., Edgewood NY Components can be a large part of the raw materials costs that go into building a circuit board. Diligently managing the purchasing process ensures the best possible part at the lowest possible price, and today's MRP systems provide the pathways from driving demand to purchasing to receiving and delivery ... How R&B Plastics Integrates Motion Control Functionality Publication Date: 12/11/2008 By Jim McMahon Like most blow molding original equipment manufacturers, R&B Plastics Machinery, LLC (R&B) has to coordinate different machine motions very closely. Its machines had been using closed-loop hydraulic motions with dedicated motion control cards, which are not only expensive, but also somewhat difficult ... Bluetooth® Integration Made Simple Publication Date: 10/31/2008 By Dave Rizzo, Technical Writer, droadmap@pacbell.net The demand for Bluetooth® technology can be attributed to a number of factors including maturation of the technology, the lower cost of Bluetooth implementation, and the convenience and cost savings of going wireless. As a result, while Bluetooth technology has already made serious inroads in such consumer areas as cell phones and video gaming, it is now prime for other markets as well. Fields where Bluetooth can be used to advantage include automotive, security, aerospace, defense, monitor and control systems, factory automation, transportation, point-of-sale and other transaction-related systems, as well as consumer electronics... Core Competencies Drive Business Strategy and Success Publication Date: 10/1/2008 By Nolan Johnson, EDA/CAD Product Manager, Sunstone Circuits, Mulino, OR The U.S. PC board industry has been working its way through a well-documented softening in the market during the past few months, and the data is concerning. Since 2001, the number of PCB fabrication companies has declined steadily as approximately 30 U.S. fabricators close each year. This trend is not just a consolidation of the industry. Growth in total PCB fabrication sales year-on-year in the U.S. is marginal. The industry's current dynamic is not of healthy U.S. companies absorbing the lesser performers (consolidation), but of business moving overseas, making the U.S. manufacturing pie smaller overall. Flying Probe Testers Filling Production Needs Publication Date: 8/20/2008 By Mark Harding, Digitaltest Inc., Concord, CA When flying probe test systems were introduced, it was to address the need for an in-circuit prototype test system. Prototype testing requires detection of shorts and opens, as well as the verification of the presence and value verification of all analog components. Until the flying prober, pre-launch designs needed costly modified or brand new test fixtures. Accurate Part Reading Using High-Performance Vision Publication Date: 7/23/2008 Sensor used to identify location co-ordinates or fiducials. By Anna Allen With the overriding market trend for smaller products across many industry sectors, companies are obliged to review and redesign their products on a regular basis. Particularly relevant for devices such as mobile phones and Personal Navigation Devices (PND), the demand for more compact units is continually on the rise. This was the situation for Sarantel Ltd. Outsourcing Rework, Reball & X-Ray Publication Date: 6/10/2008 By Gary Miller, President, Mini Micro Stencil, Inc., San Marcos, CA Our motto is "Rework Solutions" and it is the very essence of what Mini Micro Stencil is all about. Ask us which branch of our business is the fastest growing, and the answer is simple: contract rework. This is an area that is becoming increasingly cost-prohibitive for OEMs and EMS providers to do in-house. Tester Helps Airbase Services Keep Airlines Flying Publication Date: 6/10/2008 By Tom Popolo, Director of Military and Avionics Accounts, DiagnoSYS Systems, Inc., Kissimmee, FL Imagine another flight delay because the in-flight coffee maker or cabin intercom doesn't work? It's happened. With seat-back video, on-demand movies, more audio channels and pending in-flight WiFi access, passenger cabin electronics are rapidly becoming more complex than cockpit systems. Add in the already vital flight systems and communications systems needed to deliver passengers and crews safely to their destinations. Web Marketing: 250,000 Electronic Components Publication Date: 6/10/2008 By Scott Fawcett, Head of eCommerce, Electrocomponents plc, Oxford, UK How do you make purchasing your products easy and accessible for review when you are the global supplier of almost 250,000 electronic components with over one million product attributes? How do you sort and update the mass of data without losing sight of the overall picture — your customers? And how do you make your data available to the market before your competitors? 3D on a Budget Pays Big Dividends Publication Date: 6/10/2008 By Greg DeMars, Director of Business Development, Alibre, Inc., Richardson, TX It's been over 10 years since Cliff Griffin left the corporate world to start his own firm. A veteran user of AutoCAD and fluent in 2D design, Griffin selected AutoCAD LT in 1995 when he launched Griffin Laboratories based in Temecula, California. Specializing in small medical devices for speech pathologists, Griffin found 2D to be adequate for most of his design work. The drawbacks, he notes, were mostly with supplier communications. Tactile Pressure Sensor Film Helps Hold Tolerances Publication Date: 6/10/2008 Capacitors after being pressed. By Arlene Gleicher, Technical Information Specialist, Sensor Products, Inc., Madison, NJ As an innovator of film capacitor technology, SB Electronics designs and manufactures products that are on the cutting edge of today's demanding electronics applications. To maintain continuous improvement of its manufacturing processes, David Bryan, Manufacturing Engineering Manager for SB Electronics, Touch Screen Technology: Managing Multiple Choices Publication Date: 6/10/2008 By Ed Sullivan, Hermosa Beach, CA Though increasingly widespread and user-friendly, touch screen technology is still very much a specialty, and is therefore outsourced by equipment manufacturers. But outsourcing any electronic subassembly can be a slippery slope for OEMs, since ultimately the end product will have their brand name on it. Global manufacturers in the automotive, aircraft and other major industries are experiencing quality issues that will certainly testify to that.  Software Partner Reshapes Marketing Program Publication Date: 6/10/2008 By Bruce Cameron, Senior Vice President for CRM Solutions, CDC Software, Atlanta, GA Sharp Electronics Corporation's business products division was in an enviable position at the forefront of a new technology. It was the industry leader in a market with just four or five competitors, and it sat in the driver's seat for eight years before the market became more competitive.