UK based PCB producer Stevenage Circuits Ltd has decided to change its photo imageable solder mask from green matt spray resist, to matt spray resist.
After extensive testing, Stevenage Circuits Ltd has decided to change its photo imageable solder mask from the Electra Polymers EMP 110/1972 green matt spray resist, to the Sun Chemicals (Coates) XV501T4 ImagecureSMART matt spray resist. The ImagecureSMART resist conforms to IPC SM840C class H, and offers a number of technical advantages for both the fabrication process and for the increasingly challenging designs, Stevenage Circuits said.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The European PCB industry in comparison
Only 5 European countries were able to increase their PCB production in 2006: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy.
The German PCB industry is leading the European production. The industry was able to increase production to €1054 million in 2006 (2005: €981 million)
Only 5 European countries were able to increase their PCB production in 2006: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. The ZVEI association has released figures for the European PCB industry, covering the years 2005 and 2006. The most recent figures for 2007 will be presented at the SMT Show in June in Nuremberg.
All other European countries had to report a decrease in production. The most prominent decrease was registered in Great Britain (€278 million to €252 million) and Spain (€193 million to €167 million).
The German PCB industry is leading the European production. The industry was able to increase production to €1054 million in 2006 (2005: €981 million)
Only 5 European countries were able to increase their PCB production in 2006: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. The ZVEI association has released figures for the European PCB industry, covering the years 2005 and 2006. The most recent figures for 2007 will be presented at the SMT Show in June in Nuremberg.
All other European countries had to report a decrease in production. The most prominent decrease was registered in Great Britain (€278 million to €252 million) and Spain (€193 million to €167 million).
Time
12:44 AM
Tags:
pcb,
PCB Industry
European PCB manufacturers need to specialize more
As more and more production is being moved to facilities in Asia, European PCB manufacturers need to broaden their portfolio and specialties in order to survive.
In Europe, many companies focus on survival and profitability, rather than growth and capacity increase. Aspocomp for instance specialises in mobile phones, while Schweizer focuses on automotive. However, the problem with specialisation is that it is not always a guarantee for survival or growth. Companies need to learn that in order to survive they may need to add further specialties and expertise to their portfolio.
Additional to that many social differences between the regions and companies exist and have to be accounted for. European companies for instance have a lot more social conscience than North-American or Asian companies. European companies generally have more automation than North-American companies but not necessarily more than the larger Asian companies. North American companies have less employee turnover than European companies.
Turnover in Asia is mixed. Japan seems to be very good with employees having some loyalty. China seems to have a problem with turnover, greatly increasing the Chinese learning curve, experts said during the ECWC 11 World Conference held in Shanghai, China. North American companies have always led in providing special function technology. Thick copper, high speed materials, mixed laminates, difficult build-ups and special surface finishes. This may be the niche that continues to keep the North American PCB industry alive. Increasingly these PCB suppliers are being asked for shorter cycle times.
In Europe, many companies focus on survival and profitability, rather than growth and capacity increase. Aspocomp for instance specialises in mobile phones, while Schweizer focuses on automotive. However, the problem with specialisation is that it is not always a guarantee for survival or growth. Companies need to learn that in order to survive they may need to add further specialties and expertise to their portfolio.
Additional to that many social differences between the regions and companies exist and have to be accounted for. European companies for instance have a lot more social conscience than North-American or Asian companies. European companies generally have more automation than North-American companies but not necessarily more than the larger Asian companies. North American companies have less employee turnover than European companies.
Turnover in Asia is mixed. Japan seems to be very good with employees having some loyalty. China seems to have a problem with turnover, greatly increasing the Chinese learning curve, experts said during the ECWC 11 World Conference held in Shanghai, China. North American companies have always led in providing special function technology. Thick copper, high speed materials, mixed laminates, difficult build-ups and special surface finishes. This may be the niche that continues to keep the North American PCB industry alive. Increasingly these PCB suppliers are being asked for shorter cycle times.
Time
12:43 AM
Tags:
pcb,
PCB assembly,
PCB suppliers
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
New CEO at NCAB Danmark
PCB trading company NCAB Denmark is changing its CEO as the former CEO Tanja Christabel left the company and changed industry.
Bjarne Nielsen, former Sales Manager at PCB producer Elcon in Denmark is the new Chef Executive Officer for NCAB Denmark.
Bjarne Nielsen has in the past been running PCB producer Permeta in Denmark which was purchased by Elcon in 1999. At Elcom he was appointed Sales Manager where he worked since then.
PCB trading company NCAB has a strong focus on growth at all of its local offices; however Germany is the market in where the company put most of its focus at the moment.
Bjarne Nielsen, former Sales Manager at PCB producer Elcon in Denmark is the new Chef Executive Officer for NCAB Denmark.
Bjarne Nielsen has in the past been running PCB producer Permeta in Denmark which was purchased by Elcon in 1999. At Elcom he was appointed Sales Manager where he worked since then.
PCB trading company NCAB has a strong focus on growth at all of its local offices; however Germany is the market in where the company put most of its focus at the moment.
Time
11:40 AM
Tags:
PCB producer,
PCB trading
Brandner invests in new equipment
Estonia based PCB producer Brandner has invested in new drilling power.
Explosive grow of micro-hole usage has been achieved at PCB producer Brandner through additional investments in the drilling power. The company now has a capacity of 1.000.000 holes per day the company said.
Explosive grow of micro-hole usage has been achieved at PCB producer Brandner through additional investments in the drilling power. The company now has a capacity of 1.000.000 holes per day the company said.
Time
11:32 AM
Tags:
pcb makers,
PCB producer
Monday, October 6, 2008
PCB market for Flex boards to increase
Flex has become the preferred technology for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). High-volume, surface-mount PCB applications, flip-chip and BGA packaging designers are also using flex circuits for their applications.
They are thinner, weigh less than rigid PCBs and have the ability to bend to fit into tight spaces. Flexible Printed Circuit Boards (FPC) addresses the increasing demand to maximize available space within the electronic assembly. Recently, the market for FPC has grown four times the rate of rigid boards.
Rigid-flex circuits are hybrid constructions that contain both rigid and flexible substrates laminated together into a single package. They usually have at least one FPC with the rigid PCBs and are multi-layered and double-sided. Copper traces in the flex section provide interconnection between the separated rigid portions.
Rigid-flex allows designers to replace multiple PCBs interconnected with connectors, wires, and ribbon cables within a single package, offering improved performance and reliability. This also offers cost reduction in terms of purchasing, supply chain and assembling. Rigid-flex allows designers to reduce weight while increasing the reliability of the interconnection. They also allow designers to work in 3D. The flex portions can be folded, twisted and rolled to follow the design of the mechanism. The electrical properties of the connectors are enhanced due to defined shielding and isolation. Rigid-flex circuits can accommodate EMI shielding layers, through-hole assembly, controlled impedance and other customer-specified electrical requirements, said Frost. Rigid-flex is quickly finding acceptance in a number of industries. From hand-held consumer electronics such as cell-phones, mp3 players to military aerospace industry, rigid-flex is gaining popularity. The medical devices industry has adopted rigid-flex for devices such as hearing aids and pacemakers.
Cost and design issues are the main challenges facing the rigid-flex market. Rigid-flex needs a different manner of design from the standard rigid PCBs.
The cost of the material used in the fabrication of the products is very high due to which the manufacturers of simple electronic applications that do not benefit from the advantages of flexible circuits and tend to avoid the products. The cost of raw material involved is a huge deterrent apart from the fabrication costs which works out to as much as five times that of a standard rigid PCB.
Driven by demand from medical, aviation and military industry as well as industrial and consumer electronics, the market for rigid-flex PCBs is growing extremely fast. The industry has maximum demand from communication and consumer electronics industries, according to Frost.Even though the flexible printed circuit market segment currently holds only a small portion of the entire printed circuit industry, its development has dramatically altered the landscape of the printed circuit market.
Among the different FPC types, rigid-flex is anticipated to the fastest growing accounting for about 33% of the total revenues from in flexible PCBs industry in 2012.
The industry is witnessing a convergence of rigid and flex. High Density Interconnect (HDI) with increased performance and functionalities, coupled with the increasing demand and applications in the end-user industries, is expected to drive the growth of the rigid-flex PCB market. With technology utilized in the rigid-flex expected to stabilize in the next 5-7 years, it is projected that this market will experience strong growth.
They are thinner, weigh less than rigid PCBs and have the ability to bend to fit into tight spaces. Flexible Printed Circuit Boards (FPC) addresses the increasing demand to maximize available space within the electronic assembly. Recently, the market for FPC has grown four times the rate of rigid boards.
Rigid-flex circuits are hybrid constructions that contain both rigid and flexible substrates laminated together into a single package. They usually have at least one FPC with the rigid PCBs and are multi-layered and double-sided. Copper traces in the flex section provide interconnection between the separated rigid portions.
Rigid-flex allows designers to replace multiple PCBs interconnected with connectors, wires, and ribbon cables within a single package, offering improved performance and reliability. This also offers cost reduction in terms of purchasing, supply chain and assembling. Rigid-flex allows designers to reduce weight while increasing the reliability of the interconnection. They also allow designers to work in 3D. The flex portions can be folded, twisted and rolled to follow the design of the mechanism. The electrical properties of the connectors are enhanced due to defined shielding and isolation. Rigid-flex circuits can accommodate EMI shielding layers, through-hole assembly, controlled impedance and other customer-specified electrical requirements, said Frost. Rigid-flex is quickly finding acceptance in a number of industries. From hand-held consumer electronics such as cell-phones, mp3 players to military aerospace industry, rigid-flex is gaining popularity. The medical devices industry has adopted rigid-flex for devices such as hearing aids and pacemakers.
Cost and design issues are the main challenges facing the rigid-flex market. Rigid-flex needs a different manner of design from the standard rigid PCBs.
The cost of the material used in the fabrication of the products is very high due to which the manufacturers of simple electronic applications that do not benefit from the advantages of flexible circuits and tend to avoid the products. The cost of raw material involved is a huge deterrent apart from the fabrication costs which works out to as much as five times that of a standard rigid PCB.
Driven by demand from medical, aviation and military industry as well as industrial and consumer electronics, the market for rigid-flex PCBs is growing extremely fast. The industry has maximum demand from communication and consumer electronics industries, according to Frost.Even though the flexible printed circuit market segment currently holds only a small portion of the entire printed circuit industry, its development has dramatically altered the landscape of the printed circuit market.
Among the different FPC types, rigid-flex is anticipated to the fastest growing accounting for about 33% of the total revenues from in flexible PCBs industry in 2012.
The industry is witnessing a convergence of rigid and flex. High Density Interconnect (HDI) with increased performance and functionalities, coupled with the increasing demand and applications in the end-user industries, is expected to drive the growth of the rigid-flex PCB market. With technology utilized in the rigid-flex expected to stabilize in the next 5-7 years, it is projected that this market will experience strong growth.
Time
3:03 AM
Tags:
pcb,
pcb market
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
New CEO at NCAB Danmark
PCB trading company NCAB Denmark is changing its CEO as the former CEO Tanja Christabel left the company and changed industry.
Bjarne Nielsen, former Sales Manager at PCB producer Elcon in Denmark is the new Chef Executive Officer for NCAB Denmark.
Bjarne Nielsen has in the past been running PCB producer Permeta in Denmark which was purchased by Elcon in 1999. At Elcom he was appointed Sales Manager where he worked since then.
PCB trading company NCAB has a strong focus on growth at all of its local offices; however Germany is the market in where the company put most of its focus at the moment.
Bjarne Nielsen, former Sales Manager at PCB producer Elcon in Denmark is the new Chef Executive Officer for NCAB Denmark.
Bjarne Nielsen has in the past been running PCB producer Permeta in Denmark which was purchased by Elcon in 1999. At Elcom he was appointed Sales Manager where he worked since then.
PCB trading company NCAB has a strong focus on growth at all of its local offices; however Germany is the market in where the company put most of its focus at the moment.
Time
10:28 AM
Tags:
pcb china,
PCB factory,
PCB producer
Weaker demand in Asian handset PCB market
According to industry sources quoted by DigiTimes.com, handset printed circuit board makers expects a fall in the first-quarter sales due to lower demand from mobile handset makers.
Orders from handset vendors such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple and HTC is not reaching previously expected levels, according to DigiTimes. It looks like orders from these manufacturers will stay flat or drop up to 10 per cent during the first quarter in 2008. This is due to a weaker demand on the mobile phone consumer market in China. Also orders from Motorola remains weak and there is no sign of any planned increase.
Unitech Printed Circuit Board expects a 5-10% drop in the first quarter, according to DigiTime’s source. Unitech's handset PCB shipments for the fourth quarter rose 3% sequentially to 25 million units, according to DigiTimes sources.
Orders from handset vendors such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple and HTC is not reaching previously expected levels, according to DigiTimes. It looks like orders from these manufacturers will stay flat or drop up to 10 per cent during the first quarter in 2008. This is due to a weaker demand on the mobile phone consumer market in China. Also orders from Motorola remains weak and there is no sign of any planned increase.
Unitech Printed Circuit Board expects a 5-10% drop in the first quarter, according to DigiTime’s source. Unitech's handset PCB shipments for the fourth quarter rose 3% sequentially to 25 million units, according to DigiTimes sources.
Time
10:27 AM
Tags:
pcb,
pcb market
Brandner invests in new equipment
Estonia based PCB producer Brandner has invested in new drilling power.
Explosive grow of micro-hole usage has been achieved at PCB producer Brandner through additional investments in the drilling power. The company now has a capacity of 1.000.000 holes per day the company said.
Explosive grow of micro-hole usage has been achieved at PCB producer Brandner through additional investments in the drilling power. The company now has a capacity of 1.000.000 holes per day the company said.
Time
10:26 AM
Essemtec launch new pick-and-place
The batch-type pick-and-place machine allows for faster loading/unloading of PCBs compared to systems without a conveyor.
The system automates PCB handling like an inline machine but offers 50 percent more feeder capacity as a batch type. The FLX2010-BLV system is capable of processing small components (01005 chips) up to large-size PCBs (780x600 mm).
The FLX Series offers many modular add-ons. For instance, an integrated paste and glue dispenser can save stencil costs for prototyping and increase flexibility. Additionally, the MIS software package offers tools for production planning, feeder optimization and quality assurance, and enables the planning and control of the component stock. Connection to an existing ERP system also is possible.
The system automates PCB handling like an inline machine but offers 50 percent more feeder capacity as a batch type. The FLX2010-BLV system is capable of processing small components (01005 chips) up to large-size PCBs (780x600 mm).
The FLX Series offers many modular add-ons. For instance, an integrated paste and glue dispenser can save stencil costs for prototyping and increase flexibility. Additionally, the MIS software package offers tools for production planning, feeder optimization and quality assurance, and enables the planning and control of the component stock. Connection to an existing ERP system also is possible.
Time
10:25 AM
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