Author Archives: Mike

About Mike

Mike Buetow is president of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (pcea.net). He previously was editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and PCD&F, the leading publication for printed circuit design and fabrication. He spent 21 years as vice president and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversaw all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 30 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow

Patent Case Has Heads Swiveling

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PVA’s shot across the bow of the conformal coating industry is sure to raise the hackles of some of the equipment manufacturers, but it’s hard to see that they have much choice but to go along.

To recap: In October 2000 and September 2002, respectively, the US PTO issued PVA a pair of patents 6,132,809 (the ‘809 patent) and 6,447,847 (the ‘847 patent). The ’809 patent covers the utilization of multiple nozzles on a conformal coating applicator. In short, this would cover any robotic conformal coater with more than one application head. The ‘847 patent covers the rotation around at least a single axis. In other words, if the head rotates, it is covered by the ‘847 patent.

I’m no patent attorney, but those patents appear very broad to my untrained eye. But I do know that an issued patent is a valid patent. PVA is in a strong position here.

This week, PVA issued a cease-and-desist letter to Specialty Coating Systems , citing 33 potential infractions of the two patents. Other than a press release informing the same, the two sides are, as far as I can tell, now letting their lawyers to the talking.

But for those who follow the conformal coating industry, allegations of infringement shouldn’t stop with SCS. The use of a rotating application head is hardly unique among conformal coating equipment. PVA’s complaint may start with SCS, but I would almost guarantee it won’t end there. Readers should talk to their conformal coating equipment suppliers about what this might mean for them.

In Praise of Parrish

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Congrats to old friend Mel Parrish, who has been named chair of the Technical Activities Executive Committee, which oversees all IPC technical programs.

This is a significant achievement. Mel, who has a long and storied history dating to the soldering schools China Lake, has spent the last several years at STI Electronics Inc., and has intimate knowledge of the IPC’s best-selling standards (IPC-A-610, IPC-A-600 and J-STD-001) and the correlated training programs.

It’s a well-deserved nod.

B2it Expansion?

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Old friend Dominique Numakura of DKN Research is reporting Dai Nippon Printing of Japan plans to expand manufacturing capacity of B2it motherboards in China 100 to 200% as part of a joint venture with Unimicron of Taiwan.

DNP holds a patent on B2it, a build-up printed circuit board fabrication process common in cellphones, digital cameras, and other handheld electronics.

Add Ons

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Now that the worst of the financial meltdown is (hopefully) behind us, one of the trends to watch will be how quickly EMS companies expand capacity.

Plexus, which has always been conservative in its approach, said this week it would first consider adding to its Penang, Malaysia, base, which is currently its largest campus, as well as alternatives in China and possibly Thailand. It said its next investment in Europe would likely be in Oradea, Romania, where the company already has two sites and feels “a more permanent location in very close proximity” would be in order.

Celestica, on the other hand, said it is looking to acquire fairly modest-sized health-care businesses, but hasn’t indicated plans to add capacity.

Flextronics and Jabil appear more set on building up manufacturing capabilities for alternative energy products. Foxconn, of course, looks like it might invest just about anywhere.

‘Now and Forever’

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“[A] good argument can be made for having a strategy.”

That’s how the editor-in-chief — repeat — editor-in-chief of a publication in our industry led off his April issue’s editorial (which, by the way, arrived on my desk today — did they forget for three weeks to mail it?). And no, it wasn’t tongue-in-cheek. And it gets worse from there. There’s so much going on the industry, and thus so much to write about, I am amazed at the grasping at straws that takes place by what are supposed to be informed industry observers.

As my old boss at SMT used to chortle when he’d read patently obvious statements presented as new wisdom, “now and forever.”

Comparing Top 50 Lists

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John Tuck has issued his annual list of the top 50 EMS companies.

Years (and years) ago, Tuck, for those who are newer to the industry, was editor of Circuits Manufacturing, the predecessor to CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY, and was one the gold standard for technical editing.

I’ve taken a look at his list, and, like last year, found a few discrepancies. For instance, it would appear John is using aggregate company revenue, instead of parsing the financial reports to separate now-EMS sales.

Compared with the CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Top 50, the top 10 are identical, save for no. 7 and 8. John flip-flops Venture and Elcoteq, which could be due to variations in currency conversion (Venture is Singaporean, Elcoteq is nominally based in Luxembourg).

Like last year, John inflates the position of Universal Scientific, ranking it tenth even though a majority of the firm’s sales come from OEM products, not EMS. Once those non-EMS revenues are subtracted, CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY dropped USI to 18th.

Kudos, however, for finding Japan’s Sumitronics, the offshoot of materials conglomerate Sumitomo. Same goes for Topscom of Hong Kong, which had 2009 sales of $300 million. I’ve never heard of SRI Radio Systems of Durach, Germany. Back to the Internet for me.)

That said, John misses on some biggies. Absent from his list is Team Precision, which had EMS sales of $446 million last year. Ditto Computime (2009 sales: $288 million) and Victron ($250 million).

And Hitachi Computer Products, which ceased EMS operations last month, should have easily made the list.

Military electronics manufacturer DRS Technologies is a consistent placer on the MMI Top 50, although I’ll be cussed if I can figure out whether they actually do EMS work in the traditional sense, or are more like an OEM with a very particular niche.

One oddity: Despite estimated sales of $445 million, France’s Eolane is no. 48. I reckon that’s because John misread the company’s first-half financial statement, mistaking it for a final-year report. (Just a guess.)

Also, Wong’s Electronics and WKK Technology are broken out on the MMI list, although they actually are the same company.

Despite the occasional variation, I love reading John’s work, and always look forward to his list.

Apex Conference: What Was Published

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For those who missed last week’s Apex/Expo conference (which is almost all of you), here’s a look at the technical conference:

IPC Printed Circuits Apex Expo 2010

Production of Flexible Circuits in Reel-to-Reel Horizontal Production Systems — Stephan Kenny, Atotech

A New System for Automatically Registering and Exposing Solder Mask and Other Photopolymeric Materials Requiring High Energy Lamp Sources — Lionel Fullwood, WKK Distribution Ltd.

Toughened Laminates for Printed Circuit Boards: Correlation of Drillability to Material Properties — Lameck Banda, Dow Chemical

Lead-free Flux Technology and Influence on Cleaning — Ning-Cheng Lee, Indium

Selecting Cleaning Processes for Electronics Defluxing: Total Cost of Ownership — Mike Savidakis,Petroferm

Validity of the IPC R.O.S.E. Method 2.3.25 Researched — Mike Bixenman, D.B.A., Kyzen Corporation

The Use of Inkjet Printing Technology for Fabricating Electronic Circuits: The Promise and the Practical — Thomas Sutter, Dow Electronic Materials

Industrial PCB Development using Embedded Passive & Active Discrete Chips Focused on Process and DfR — Arnaud Grivon, Thales Corporate Services, France

A Novel Primer Coating on Organic Substrate for Reliable Inkjet Printed Circuit — Minsu (Tim) Lee,, Doosan Corp. Electro-Materials BG, South Korea

PCB Design and Assembly for Flip-Chip and Die Size — Vern Solberg, STC-Madison

The Universal PCB Design Grid System — Tom Hausherr, Valor Computerized Systems

A Strategy for Via Connections in Embedded Sheet Capacitance Design — J. Lee Parker, JLP

Lead-Free Acceleration Factors: Overview, Testing and Validation — Jean-Paul Clech, Ph.D., EPSI

Solder Creep-Fatigue Model Parameters for SAC & SnAg Lead-Free Solder Joint Reliability Estimation — Werner Engelmaier, Engelmaier Associates

Nanotechnology for Lead-Free PWB Final Finishes with Organic Metal — Jim Kenny, Enthone Cookson

Comparison of the Electrochemical and Physical Properties of Nanocrystalline Copper Deposition in the Fabrication of Printed Wiring Boards — David Lee, Johns Hopkins University

Chemical “Kick Start” for the Autocatalytic Formaldehyde-Free Electroless Copper Plating Process — Tafadzwa Magaya, Atotech Deutschland, Germany

OA Flux Cleaning Studies on Highly Dense Advanced Packages Parameters . Mike Bixenman, D.B.A., Kyzen

Case Study – “Limitations of DI-Water Cleaning Processes” Umut Tosun, ZESTRON America

Copper Pad Dissolution and Microstructure Analysis of Reworked Plastic Grid Array Assemblies — Beverley Christian, RIM

Robust Automated Void Detection in Solder Balls and Joints — Bonnie Bennett, Intel Corporation

Advances in Automatic Monitoring of Stencil Printing Processes — Dick Johnson, DEK International

Zoom Fixtures for ATE — Gary St. Onge, Everett Charles Technologies

Investigation of Process Feasibility / Compatibility and Solder Joint Reliability of Tin-Lead Dippable Solder Paste Ball Grid Array (BGA) Component Rework/Repair — David Hillman, Rockwell Collins Douglas Pauls, Rockwell Collins

NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project: Mechanical Shock Test — Thomas Woodrow, Ph.D., Boeing

Copper Tin Intermetallic Crystals and Their Role in the Formation of Microbridges Between the Leads of Hand-Reworked Fine-Pitch Components — Jeff Kukelhan, BAE

The Challenges of Counterfeit Components — Hal Rotchadl, Premier Semiconductor Services

The Black Swan Effect in Military Applications — Jack Stradley, Rochester Electronics LLC

Conformal Coatings for Tin Whisker Risk Management — William Fox, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control

Effect of Soldering Method, Temperature, and Humidity on Whisker Growth in the Presence of Flux Residues — Keith Sweatman, Nihon Superior Co., Ltd., Japan

Bridging Supply Chain Gap for Exempt High-Reliability OEMs — Hal Rotchadl, Premier Semiconductor Services

Benefits and Limitations of Universal, Low Pin-Count Automated Test Equipment for Printed Circuit Assemblies — Heiko Ehrenberg, GOEPEL Electronics LLC

A Flexible Fixturing System for In-Circuit Test of High Node-Count Circuit Boards — Robert Jukna, Jabil

Effective Transition of Electronics Production Between Manufacturing Sites — Paul Novak, Delphi Corporation

Migrating from Paper to Interactive Paperless Work Instructions — John Stimadorakis, ScanCAD International, Inc.

Telecommunications Case Studies Address Head-In-Pillow (HNP) Defects and Mitigation through Assembly Process Modifications and Control — Russell Nowland, Alcatel-Lucent

Addressing the Challenge of Head-In-Pillow Defects in Electronics Assembly — Mario Scalzo, Indium Corporation

Thermal Effects on PCB Laminate Material Dielectric Constant and Dissipation Factor — Scott Hinaga, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Impact of Moisture Content on Printed Circuit Board Laminate Thermal Properties — Bhanu Sood, Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering, UMD

Assessment of Moisture Content Measurement Methods for Printed Circuit Boards — Christopher Hunt, Ph.D., National Physical Laboratory, UK

Understanding SIR — Eric Bastow, Indium Corporation

Effects of Solder Mask on Electrochemical Migration of Tin-Lead and Lead-Free Boards — Xiaofei He, University of Maryland

Solder Paste Residue Corrosivity Assessment: Bono Test — Celine Puechagut, Inventec

Photochemical Machining (PCM) for Cost-effective, Rapid Production — David Allen, Cranfield University

Photochemical Machining and Photoetching: What Can It Do For You? — Mike Lynch, United Western Enterprises Inc.

Precision Parts Made by Photochemical Machining — Anthony Marrett, PrecisionMicro Ltd

Selection of Dip Transfer Fluxes and Solder Pastes for PoP Assembly — Ning-Cheng Lee, Indium Corporation of America

PCB Assembly System Set-Up for PoP –Gerry Padnos, Juki Automation Systems

Embedded Packaging Technologies: Embedding Components to Meet Form, Fit, and Function — Casey Cooper, STI Electronics, Inc.

Printable Materials and Devices for Electronic Packaging — Rabindra Das, Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc.

Improvements in Microwave Laminates for Power Amplifier Reliability and Efficiency — George Kang, Arlon-MED

Effects of Moisture Content on Permittivity and Loss Tangent of Printed Circuit Board Materials — Bhanu Sood, Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering, UMD

Low Loss & Novel Halogen-Free Laminates for High-Frequency Device Applications — Anderson Cheng,, ITEQ Corporation

Determining Dielectric Properties of High Frequency PCB Laminate Materials — John Coonrod, Rogers Corporation

Design to Manufacturing Standards – What’s Now; What’s New, What’s Next? — Dieter Bergman, IPC

IPC/JEDEC J-STD-609A, Marking and Labeling of Components, PCBs and PCBAs to Identify Lead (Pb), Lead-Free (Pb-Free) and Other Attributes — Fern Abrams, IPC, Jack McCullen, Intel, Lee Wilmot, TTM Technologies, Inc.

The Value of IPC-2152 — Michael Jouppi, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

IPC-2221, Keeping Pace with the Times — Gary Ferrari, FTG Circuits

Thermal Cycling Reliability Screening of Multiple Pb-free Solder Ball Alloys — Joe Smetana, Alcatel-Lucent

Achieving High-Reliability, Low-Cost Lead-Free SAC Solder Joints Via Mn Or Ce Doping — Ning-Cheng Lee, Indium Corporation of America

Low-Silver BGA Assembly Phase II-Reliability Assessment Fifth Report: Preliminary Thermal Cycling Results — Chrys Shea, Shea Engineering Services

Module Assembly Process Panel — Dongkai Shangguan,, Flextronics Corporate Technology Group

Module Assembly Material — Steven Greene, STR

Module Assembly Equipment — Patrick Hofer-Noser, 3S Industries AG

Module Assembly Standards — David Torp, IPC- Association Connecting Electronics Industries

Module Certification — Richard Bozicevich, TUV Rheinland Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory

Creep Corrosion of OSP and ImAg PWB Finishes — Chen Xu, Lucent Technologies

An Investigation into Hand Sanitizers and Hand Lotions and Potential Risks to High Performance Electronics — Douglas Pauls, Rockwell Collins

Relationship of Via Size and Cleanliness –Eric Camden, Foresite

Where are REACH SVHC in Electronic Products and Parts? — Walter Jager, Intertek

Round Robin Testing in Support of IPC J-STD-709 Combustion: Sample Preparation Methods for Ion Chromatography Analysis of Br and Cl — Javier Falcon,, Intel Corporation

Effect of Board Clamping System on Solder Paste Print Quality — Rita Mohanty,Speedline Technologies, Inc

Stencil Design Considerations to Improve Drop Test Performance — Jeff Schake, DEK USA Inc.

Fighting the Undesirable Effects of Thermal Cycling — Gabe Cherian, Cherian LLC

Comparative Analysis of Solder Joint Degradation Using RF Impedance and Event Detectors — Michael Azarian,, University of Maryland

Poor Metrology: The Hidden Cost — Michael Cieslinski, Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America

Using DMAIC Methodology for MLP Reflow Process Optimization — Dennis Lang, Fairchild Semiconductor

Head-On-Pillow Defect – A Pain in the Neck or Head-On-Pillow — BGA Solder Defect Chris Oliphant, Research in Motion Ltd., Canada

A Novel Approach to Experimentally Create and Mitigate Head-in-Pillow Defects — Guhan Subbarayan, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Challenges Toward Implementing a Halogen-Free PCB Assembly Process — Chris Anglin, Indium Corporation of America

A Novel Halogen-Free Material for High Speed PCB — Minsu (Tim) Lee,, Doosan Corp. Electro-Materials BG, South Korea

Halogen-Free Flame Retardant Epoxy Resins — Edward Peters, Sabic Innovative Plastics

Stencil Options for Printing Solder Paste for 0.3 mm Pitch CSPs and 01005 Chip Components — William Coleman, Photo Stencil Inc.

Effect of Squeegee Blade on Solder Paste Print Quality — Rita Mohanty, Speedline Technologies, Inc

Stencil Printing Transfer Efficiency of Circular vs. Square Apertures with the Same Solder Paste Volume — Chris Anglin, Indium

Drop Test Performance of Medium Complexity Lead-Free Board After Assembly and Rework — Jason Bragg, Celestica Inc.

Pad Cratering Evaluation of PCB — Dongji Xie, Flextronics International USA

Effect of Environmental Stress and Bias Conditions on Reliability of Embedded Planar Capacitors — Mohammed Alam, University of Maryland

Basic PCB Level Assembly Process Methodology for 3-D Package-on-Package — Vern Solberg, STC-Madison

Designing the PCB for Efficient Pop Underfill — Brad Perkins, Asymtek

Reliability Evaluation of One-Pass and Two-Pass Techniques of Assembly for Package-on-Packages under Torsion Loads
Vikram Srinivas, Center for Advance Life Cycle Engineering

Progress in Developing Industry Standard Test Requirements for Solder Alloys — Kristen Troxel, Hewlett-Packard Company

Characterizing the Lead-Free Impact on PCB Pad Craters — Brian Roggeman, Universal Instruments Corporation

Challenges in Reflow Profiling Large & High Density Ball Grid Array (BGA) Packages Using Backward Compatible Assembly Processes — Raiyomand Aspandiar, Intel Corporation and Robert Kinyanjui, Sanmina-SCI

Health Care, Allocation Cause for Cynicism

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Warning: Cynicism ahead.

Two stories will dominate the EMS industry over the course of 2010: component shortages and health care reform. And, being naturally suspicious, I expect the industry to take full advantage of both.

To wit: It is clear that parts shortages began in the third quarter last year and are steadily mounting as demand intensifies. Component suppliers are reticent to bring massive amounts of new capacity online, and even while the SEMI equipment order books show dramatic year-over-year gains, much of that capacity won’t come into play until 2011. So problems with parts availability and even allocation will be here for some time to come.

For the past several quarters, EMS companies have been turning in improving results, but aren’t missing the opportunity to call attention to parts shortages as a reason why revenues aren’t even better than they were. In a way, the maneuver says, “Hey, we did great, but look at what we could have done,” implying that analysts should build that “potential performance” into their outlooks. It’s like getting a A- on an exam, then suggesting to the teacher how well you would have done had you had actually bought the textbook.

Then there’s health care. The ink wasn’t yet dry on the bill before AT&T said it would cost the company $1 billion in charges. That’s some mighty fast accounting from a company that still can’t get my $200 cellphone bill straight. Expect in the coming months lots of companies to “bury” operating inefficiencies and less-than-stellar financial results in their “health care” accounting.

Hey, I told you I was going to be cynical today.

Siemens Says

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Siemens Electronics Assembly says its October-February 2010 orders for placement machines were the same as the entire previous 12 months.

The company credits China and the rest of Asia, adding that orders from Europe are on the rise, too.

“For the period from October through February, global new order bookings more than tripled compared to the same period last year,” the company said.

Blowback from China

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Those seers who predicted America’s infatuation with China would backfire are looking awfully smart these days.

As Business Week reports today,

Nearly a decade after China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, many foreign companies say the warm reception they once received has turned frosty. While China can still be highly profitable, some question how long that will last as Beijing changes the rules to give a lift to its domestic companies, especially state-owned enterprises.

The piece goes on to quote government officials and others who share several anecdotes suggesting China is no longer a “level playing field.”

News flash: It never was a level playing field. When the laowai (foreigners) showed up, they were “partnered” with Chinese enterprises, usually failing, government-owned or -backed businesses with out-of-date equipment and no management prowess. We got what we wanted (entree into the world’s most populous, and arguably, cheapest, place to manufacture), and so did the locals (massive investment, access to Western business methods, and most important, customers).

But for those critics who counseled against the rush, recent events are making them look more and more prescient. Like a novice bodybuilder on steroids, given its new muscles, China wasting no time in flexing them, whether it be in currency markets, its ever-changing tax laws, its military buildup, its bull-snorts over mining the moon’s minerals, and so on.

And given China’s eons-long history of opening the door to outsiders only to slam it shut again, in hindsight, should we be at all surprised?