Design Software

- Intuitive placement and routing
- Dynamic copper pour
- Full rules engine for automatic DRC
- High-speed design rules
- Heads-up display length matching
- Rigid-Flex, embedded components, and chip-on-board
- Revision control and PLM integration

Design Software

- Intuitive placement and routing
- Dynamic copper pour
- Full rules engine for automatic DRC
- High-speed design rules
- Heads-up display length matching
- Rigid-Flex, embedded components, and chip-on-board
- Revision control and PLM integration




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buetow
in-chief
f there is one takeaway from the Symposium on Counterfeit Parts and Materials sponsored by SMTA and CALCE that took place in August, it is that the problem is getting worse. This should be alarming, given the amount of attention that has been paid to the presence of “fake” parts in the supply chain.
Discussion of counterfeits in the supply chain usually starts with the military. It’s the one sector that has both the budget and the concentration of sourcing to effect change.
It was less than a decade ago that the US found fake electronic parts in military aircraft. The discovery spurred a yearlong investigation resulting in bipartisan legislation (remember what that is?) establishing new policies and practices for counterfeit avoidance.

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Cadence named Patrick Davis product manager director. He has nearly 25 years’ experience as a PCB designer and manager with Rocket EMS, Summit Computer and Millennium Design.
Aotco Metal Finishing has acquired Plating for Electronics, a provider of specialty anodizing, electroplating, and laser marking services based in Waltham, MA.
All Flex has developed etched foil heaters for medical diagnostics, DNA testing, P.O.C. instruments and cancer diagnostics.
The committee is developing a series of test methods to enhance the assessment of an OSP’s ability to meet performance requirements of high-temperature soldering. The latest document is in draft form and should be ready for a membership vote by spring, the task group chairman said.
IPC-4555, Performance Specification for High Temperature Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP) for Printed Boards, is a reboot of an effort begun more than a decade ago. In 2008, the task group attempted a similar standard, but was undone when a key OEM disputed the results of the solderability data. Unable to reach consensus, the task group disbanded the effort.
GENT, BELGIUM – Ucamco released a Gerber job format specification that includes a schema that provides support for Gerber job format software developers.
The schema provides a definition of what can and cannot be inside a Gerber job file. It can be used programmatically to check a Gerber job file for errors and is mainly intended for reading or writing Gerber job files.
Any JSON schema reader that can parse a draft-07 schema can be used to read it and check Gerber job files against it for errors. (CD)

Cogiscan appointed Sandipan Halder key account manager. He previously worked for NuEnergy.ai as an account executive, and also spent nearly three years in channel sales at Honeywell.


Indium promoted Andy Mackie to principal engineer and manager, thermal interface materials applications.

Inovar named Kent Johnson senior director of quality assurance. He has significant experience in defense, medical, aerospace, and nuclear power across a range of industries and a technical MBA from the University of Utah.
Apple’s patent application notes it may be beneficial to incorporate electrical components into fabric, but since fabric is flexible, new techniques are required. The company’s invention covers interlacing equipment: for example, weaving equipment, knitting equipment, and braiding equipment.
Woven fabric may include insulating and conductive material, and conductive strands may form signal paths through fabric, coupled to electrical components such as light-emitting diodes and other light-emitting devices, ICs, sensors, and haptic output devices.
End products for next-generation fabric intertwined with electronics could relate to smartphones, computers, or other portable electronic devices, Apple says in the application.
Apple’s patent application was filed in March, but some of the original work dates to 2019. (CD)
ATLANTA – East West Manufacturing in September announced the acquisition of Universal Electronics in a deal between privately held contract electronics manufacturers. Terms were not disclosed.
Whitewater, WI-based Universal Electronics builds printed circuit board assemblies, box-build assemblies, and performs testing and new product introduction. It was founded in 1980. It has nine SMT lines across its 87,000 sq. ft. plant in Whitewater and 40,000 sq. ft. plant in East Troy. It has estimated sales of more than $60 million, according to the CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Directory of EMS Companies.
UEI advances East West’s strategic focus on growing its domestic electronics manufacturing capabilities and expanding its US manufacturing operations, the company said in a press release. The acquisition extends East West’s geographical reach in the Midwest, where the site is close to many current customers.
The purchase of UEI continues an acquisition plan by East West that includes prior buys of Team Manufacturing in 2018 and General Microcircuits and Adcotron in 2019.
“We are excited to partner with UEI to expand our manufacturing operations to the Midwest,” said Scott Ellyson, cofounder and CEO, East West. “UEI has an incredible reputation for putting its customers first and has an established presence in a variety of high-growth sectors such as medical, industrial, telecommunications and defense. This acquisition allows us to offer greater domestic, higher mix, lower volume, quickturn electronic manufacturing services. Our collective design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities will enable us to provide even greater levels of service and support to customers on a global basis.”
“The leadership team and associates here at UEI are excited about becoming part of the East West family. Our culture, capabilities and customer-first focus align perfectly,” said Rick Jensen, owner and president, UEI. “We expect the new combined company to help our customers continue to grow.” (MB)
The new facility will provide more capacity, with a total of 205,000 sq. ft., bringing total capacity of Mexico operations to 330,000 sq. ft., including existing capabilities in Mexicali. It is scheduled to be operational in the third quarter of 2021.
“We are thrilled to announce our plans for a significant expansion of our manufacturing capacity in Mexico,” said Stephen P. DeFalco, chairman and CEO, Creation Technologies. “This expansion builds on our current Mexico operations, where we have over 700 dedicated employees focused on providing outstanding service to our customers’ high-reliability needs.”
The site will have space for up to 12 automated SMT lines and will be a purpose-built greenfield facility designed for Lean factory flow.
The facility will provide dedicated areas for PCB assembly, system integration and test, as well as forward and reverse logistics. (MB)
DUNKIRK, NY – EMS firm Gowanda REM-tronics will shutter its plant here Nov. 15, eliminating 69 jobs, according to reports.
Staff received a letter stating Gowanda Components Group and its affiliates have been “adversely affected” by economic factors. The company said trouble in the avionics and fiberoptic sensor markets led to the “shutdown of entire industries,” affecting orders.
The factory supplies to the aerospace, industrial, medical and military industries. (CD)
Trends in the U.S. electronics equipment market (shipments only).
Until recently, time management focused on how to reduce interruptions from various activities and events, such as unwanted phone calls, perpetual cubicle chats, and the length and focus of conference room meetings. Historically, those were leading contributors to inefficiency and wasted time. That was then; this is now.
FOCUS ON BUSINESS
Here are five areas that stand out to me:
IT. Companies that were already supporting employees working remotely as a result of business travel, remote home offices or a need to work in multiple time zones more comfortably had an edge in converting a larger portion of the workforce to work-at-home scenarios. VPNs, internal systems capable of supporting secure and fast access to remote users, videoconferencing tools, seamless transfer of work phones to mobile phones, and existing policies/training on maintaining security in home office environments are all key elements enabling employees to effectively work at home. Companies with these in place simply had to scale up to accommodate a larger user base. Systems strategy has also been integral in managing the supply chain and forecasting disruption driven by Covid-19. Companies with systems that can quickly assess inventory levels, material availability and production status globally were better off than those with facility-specific systems or systems that required much manual interpretation to gather that information.
“[America] can no longer clearly identify the pedigree of its microelectronics,” she said. “Therefore, we can no longer ensure that backdoors, malicious code, or data exfiltration commands aren’t embedded in our code.”
According to Lord, a variety of price pressures – ranging from government regulations to labor costs – have driven manufacturing of electronics offshore and created not only an economic imbalance but a security threat as well. “That’s what we need to reverse,” she said.
Breadboarding for “science projects.” Ever seen a breadboard? In PCB design terminology, a breadboard is a rectangle with a grid of plated through-holes set on the same pitch as a DIP package (FIGURE 1). The holes will accept axial-leaded components as well as the odd transistor package. Notice the rows of pins are tied together but can be cut as required by the mad scientist in the lab. Jumper wires on the leads create the rest of the circuit. Development boards can usually afford a slimmed down version of this.
In my last column, I enthused about using augmented and virtual reality to create experiences and environments that help people interact and enhance their well-being. Physical augmentation, with technologies such as powered exoskeletons, have industrial and therapeutic applications and could also be used to help people with mobility problems get outdoors to tackle activities such as hill walking. Lack of mobility can have negative effects on the state of mind, as well as physical condition, so an assistive technology that tackles both these challenges could help us establish healthy approaches to aging and help us all keep engaged with the world around us for longer.
These clearances often are 0.004″ to 0.005″ wide. This may seem like plenty of room, but Pareto analysis tells us this can lower overall manufacturing yield. These clearances often lead to unexpected yield loss, depending on certain design and processing factors. Believe it or not, etching these moats or clearances is difficult, due to the closed-ended, circular nature of the clearances. They do not image or etch well and are prone to shorting.
– George Washington Carver
PCEA updates. The PCEA Educational Committee discusses the importance of well-rounded technical curricula, as well as how they started in the industry. It covers PCEA educational resources, including technical books, papers, and lunch-and-learn webinars, as well as chapter presentations and field trips. Upcoming presentation topics include materials, high speed, advanced placement and routing, power distribution, and flexible circuits. You will also learn more about the PCEA’s mentor pairing program.
This conclusion comes from my observations of building Class 3 and aerospace 1mm pitch products, and the challenges, setbacks, redesigns, returned product, and field failures we all endure.
Ideally, we would have the following allowances in a design for performance, layout, compliance and yield:
1. Ensure the build priorities are thought-out and communicated to the team. Don’t assume the team should know your project’s priorities. We like to start development builds by explaining we are not building things: PCBA, subassemblies, or finished units. Rather, we are building information, developing the process, and solving problems. The units being built will never be sold and are not useful on their own; they are a means to an end, not an end unto themselves. Do we want to solve problems 10 at a time or 10,000 at a time? When the team asks if they can move forward, even though the MES system is not set up to collect data, or asks why Lean matters in a build of 40, we ask if their solution meets the stated goals or is just a shortcut to get the units out.


Most multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) have no marking and cannot easily be distinguished from their package, which gives unscrupulous vendors opportunities for fraud. Here, the authors introduce several test methods for MLCC compliance verification, namely 1) the effect of DC bias on capacitance, 2) capacitance temperature characteristics, 3) high-voltage testing of DCW (dielectric withstand voltage) and IR (insulation resistance), 4) cross-section (dielectric layer and terminal comparison for flex types), and 5) electron microscopy (EDS) material analysis to match with known good device chemical composition.
One important step must be performed before testing Class II capacitors. This is referred to as the “capacitor precondition test.” The standard way to do this, according to Murata, is to perform a heat treatment at 150+0/-10°C for 1 hr., then let the part sit for 24±2 hr. at room temperature, then measure its electrical characteristics.
In the wake of Covid-19, SMTA International is virtual this year, and so is the Women’s Leadership Program! It is a challenging time for everyone, but we can concentrate on developing our careers by charting a positive course now. Join the “Road Trip” for a program of technical presentations, speed networking and a connection reception. Although some aspects of the WLP will be different – such as two speakers instead of three, and a completely virtual event – we believe it will still be one of the best platforms to connect with colleagues within our industry.
Virtual networking can be an effective way to build professional relationships. The virtual program this year can be especially beneficial for parents who may have to limit their travel due to family commitments at home and helpful to everyone in overcoming the challenge of obtaining travel funding. (No travel cost is associated with the virtual program this year!)
Today, stencil tension is more important than ever. Historically, when stencil thicknesses averaged 200µm, one was far more likely to retire a stencil from damage than from wear. Now, however, with the exceptionally thin 60µm foils required for miniaturized designs, tension loss can occur sooner, as repeated stencil pressure during the print stroke eventually reduces stencil elasticity. As has been addressed in this column, there is a proven correlation to changing tension and the output of the printing process.2
FIGURE 2 is a dendrite under a component that caused intermittent failure. This was the result of not evaluating a new solder paste correctly after a change in solder paste supplier, plus a failure to change the reflow profile.













Authors: Richard Ott, Ph.D.
Abstract: The push toward globalization, combined with the proliferation of commercial and consumer products containing ICs, has led to rapid semiconductor business growth in Asia. ICs specifically produced for military applications make up a small percent of the total market, ranging from 0.1 to 1%. Due to low-volume requirements, the military is not capable of meaningful influence, resulting in a larger disparity between commercial and military requirements. Most IC fabrication and considerable intellectual property design is performed overseas, while domestic, trusted foundry options are often two to three process nodes (three to eight years) behind state-of-the-art (SOTA), with 50% higher cost. To take advantage of SOTA technologies, US military systems are forced to utilize commercially available supply chains. Offshore design, production, and independent distribution of ICs provide adversarial opportunity for malicious insertion and component counterfeiting, motivated by strategic objectives or economic gain. To combat this, while maintaining access to SOTA technologies, the US military must develop an approach to minimize platform and infrastructure risk, enabling cutting-edge capability to be delivered to the war fighter. Data-driven assurance methods provide an opportunity to deliver such capability, along with an understanding of associated risk. (SMTA Symposium on Counterfeit Parts and Materials, August 2020)
