Hot air solder leveling in the lead-free era
Stephen Tisdale, Gary B. Long, Roger Krabbenhoft, Kostas Papathomas, Ph.D., and Terry Fischer

Although the advantages of hot air solder leveling (HASL) in providing the most robust solderable finish for printed circuit boards are well recognized, in the years leading up to the implementation of the EU RoHS Directive in July 2006, the conventional wisdom was that it would have no place in the new lead-free electronics manufacturing technology.
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Conquering SMT stencil printing challenges with today’s miniature components
Robert F. Dervaes, Jeff Poulos, and Scott Williams

This article discusses new developments in stencil laser and material technology and shows how these advancements, when combined, provide comparable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional electroformed stencils. The results are improved yields, cycle time reductions and significant cost savings.

Rajinder Kumar, chairman and managing director of Bergen Group of Companies, a technocrat turned entrepreneur, is a visionary in Indian electronics industry.

Assembléon’s true capacity on demand program solves today’s dynamics in electronics manufacturing
Royal Philips Electronics subsidiary Assembléon is launching the industry’s first True Capacity on Demand production initiative.
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Essemtec Benelux now supplies stencils
Essemtec Benelux delivers stencils and accessories produced by Christian Koenen GmbH – high Tech Stencils in Ottobrunn close to Munich.
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Balver Zinn Group launches new stencil cleaning material
Cobar BV, a member of the Balver Zinn Group, announces the launch of Cobar MCI-2330, a new stencil cleaning agent.
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LPKF ProtoLaser S structures PCBs
The new LPKF ProtoLaser S system structures complete layouts on printed circuit boards without chemicals.
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Tyco Electronics and FCI cross-license power connectors
Tyco Electronics announces their MINIPAK HDL power distribution connector family has been licensed with FCI Electronics.
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Sahasra Electronics installs Timco Z-Check 600/S solder paste measurement system
Sahasra Electronics Pvt Ltd based in Noida has a unique technology portfolio where it combines electronic manufacturing services and PCB manufacturing through its fully owned subsidiary Nano Electrotech Pvt. Ltd., which is also like Sahasra Electronics based in Noida Special Economic Zone, near New Delhi.
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KIC’s RPI wins the 2009 Innovation Award
KIC announces that it has been awarded the 2009 EMAsia Innovation Award in the category of Process Control Software for its RPI in-line inspection system.
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Agilent Technologies' new 18-GHz differential TDR Probe Kit improves ergonomics, usability
Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced a new probe kit for making differential time-domain reflectometry (TDR) and time-domain transition (TDT) measurements. ....................................................................................................................

High-speed on-demand electronics production finally becomes reality with the new SIPLACE SX
With the SIPLACE SX, Munich-based technology leader Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems (SEAS) introduces a placement machine that opens the door to totally new manufacturing concepts and delivers significantly more efficiency in response to increasingly frequent product changeovers and massive demand fluctuations.

.... more product news

PC shipments up 7 per cent in 2009
The Indian PC market witnessed a 7 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth in shipments in Q1 of calendar year 2009 over Q4 of 2008, according to an IDC study.
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ODMs in A-Pac expand into other commoditized markets to offset economic slowdown
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "Strategic Assessment of the Asia Pacific Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) Markets" to their offering.
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Vi Technology selects iNETest Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. as new distributor
Vi Technology appointed iNETest Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. as authorized distributor in India for their growing range of innovative inspection equipment and software solutions; to address a wide range of applications for PCB assembly, final test and back-end semiconductor production.
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AT&S provides ZTE with most advanced PCBs for 3G data card application
Leading-edge technology asks for most advanced printed circuit boards. This is also true for one of the most fashionable 3G data cards – ZTE’s MU350, the smallest dual-mode (TD-HSDPA/TD-CDMA) data card currently available on the market.
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Dell bans e-waste export to developing countries
PC maker Dell Inc. is formally banning the export of broken computers, monitors and parts to developing countries.
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Siemens opens Training Center at Bangalore
Siemens in India inaugurates their first SIPLACE Training Center at Bangalore, to provide specialized SMT skills training to SIPLACE customers and NTTF students.
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Emerging economies offer lucrative migration opportunities for EMS providers, reports
Electronic manufacturing service (EMS) outsourcing will continue to be impacted by three conspicuous factors, namely, providing support for OEM base, servicing local end markets, and identifying low-cost manufacturing options.

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SMTA China awards Global SMT & Packaging Media of the Year 2009
Trafalgar Publications Ltd., publishers of Global SMT & Packaging, the leading B2B magazine on electronics manufacturing on three continents, was honored to receive the Media of the Year Award from SMTA China.

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Essemtec AG and Promass Assembly Systems B.V cooperate for board handling systems
Essemtec AG, Switzerland, and Promass Assembly Systems B.V. Netherlands decided to cooperate in providing board handling systems for SMT-production, AOI-lines, Marking-lines, Coating-lines Reflow-, Wave Solder lines and Final Assembly Lines.

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Data I/O announces new distribution partnership with Le Champ in SE Asia
Essemtec AG, Switzerland, and Promass Assembly Systems B.V. Netherlands decided to cooperate in providing board handling systems for SMT-production, AOI-lines, Marking-lines, Coating-lines Reflow-, Wave Solder lines and Final Assembly Lines.

.... more breaking news

IT hardware industry wants stable policy regime, relaxed taxation in Union Budget
MAIT in a memorandum submitted to the Union Finance Minister on June 02, 2009, has stressed the need for a stable policy regime for the IT hardware industry and for growth-oriented measures to boost domestic IT consumption.
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ELCINA calls for a fair deal for electronic components and hardware industry
ELCINA submitted its recommendations for Foreign Trade Policy and Union Budget for 2009-10 to the Finance Ministry and other concerned government departments during April and May 2009.
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MAIT-Emerson study reveals power cuts cost India Inc over Rs. 43,000 crores in 2008-09
Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) the apex body representing the IT hardware industry in India and Emerson Network Power (India), the global leader in Business-Critical Continuity today announced the findings of their joint study on Network Power Downtime.


.... more association news