Circuits Assembly - November 2008 - (Page 8)

NEWS In Brief Digi-Key Corp. (digikey.com) will distribute Altium’s (altium.com) Desktop NanoBoard, including a 12-month timed Altium Designer License. Digi-Key also plans to carry Altium’s NanoBoard plug-in peripheral and FPGA daughter boards. Also, DigiKey signed a global agreement to distribute Cree’s (cree.com) LED portfolio. Key Tronic Corp. (keytronicems.com) expects to begin a new EMS program with Kaz Inc. (kaz.com) that could be worth more than $25 million in annual revenue. The program, which wasn’t disclosed, should begin in December and could lead to other deals. Production would be conducted at Key Tronic’s manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico. MTI Electronics’ (mtielectronics.com) Menomonee Falls, WI, EMS facility recently received ISO13485 (medical) and AS9100 (aerospace) quality certifications. Asymtek (asymtek. com) expanded its facility in Singapore to include a modern lab with a full range of dispensing and coating equipment. The company is colocated in the facility with parent Nordson and fellow subsidiary EFD (efd-inc.com). Asymtek offers equipment service, product demonstrations and the latest technical data on dispensing at the site. DKL Metals (dklmetals.co.uk), the UK’s largest solder manufacturer, announced its products are now available for purchase in smaller quantities via the Surclean (surclean. co.uk) Web shop. Circuit Technology Center (circuitrework.com) acquired a Dage (dage. com) XD7600 XiDat X-ray system. Reed Exhibitions reported a record 25,912 attendees for its 14th annual Nepcon/EMT South China trade show (nepconchina.com) held in September. Next year’s Industry Edited by Mike Buetow REACH Update: 300 Chemicals on SIN List BRUSSELS – The EU environmental NGOs, via The International Chemical Secretariat (chemsec.org) has introduced a list of some 300 chemical substances considered of “very high concern” and suitable for disclosing, says Design Chain Associates (designchainassociates.com). The substances are compiled in the SIN (Substitute It Now) list (chemsec.org/documents/080917_reach_sin_list.pdf), introduced in mid September. NGOs believe these 300 chemical substances should be considered candidates for Substances of Very High Concern in REACH legislation, according to DCA. And DCA says this list should be taken seriously, as “serious scientists” compiled it. Previously, the European Chemicals Agency published a proposed list (http://echa.europa.eu/ consultations/authorisation/svhc/svhc_cons_en.asp) of 16 substances. If all goes according to plan, the first candidate list is expected to be approved – barring dissent – on Oct. 22, according to Geert Dancet, head of ECHA. According to article 33 of REACH, after that date, a manufacturer must disclose to customers if any of these 16 substances are contained in a product in an amount over 0.1% weightby-weight, also providing safe use information. Dancet indicated the expectation that the candidate list would be updated annually, but was somewhat noncommittal, says DCA. – Chelsey Drysdale IPC Rebuts Proposed RoHS Revisions BANNOCKBURN, IL – Calling certain proposed recommendations to the RoHS Directive “arbitrary and lack(ing) a sound scientific basis,” IPC (ipc.org) in September issued a point-by-point rebuttal to the German non-profit firm that devised them. The trade group summarized its stance in a white paper, “The Electronic Interconnection Industry Supply Chain’s Response to the Öko-Institut Recommendations for Proposed Revisions to the RoHS Directive,” a culmination of industry concerns voiced during a June meeting in Brussels. “The white paper has a long title for what is essentially a point-by-point summary of technical issues not considered by the Öko-Institut in their report,” explained Fern Abrams, IPC’s director of government relations and environmental policy. “It is important the commissioners understand the Öko-Institut recommendations are arbitrary, lack a sound scientific basis and would have a significant negative impact on our members and the industry.” Earlier this year, the Öko-Institut (oeko.de) proposed to expand the RoHS substance restrictions. The Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Ecology) is a non-governmental, non-profit environmental research firm. Previously, the group recommended the restriction of Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), the flame retardant used to protect more than 80% of PCBs, despite that TBBPA was found to be safe by a comprehensive European Union risk assessment, IPC said. In addition, Hexabromocylcododecanes (HBCDDs), several phthalate plasticizers, and all organic compounds containing chlorine and bromine are identified in a report as suggested bans. IPC will share the white paper with EU commissioners and other key decision makers; it is available for free download at ipc.org/ehs. – Chelsey Drysdale WKK Opening Factory in Ganzhou SHENZHEN – Wong’s Kong King International’s (wkkintl.com) EMS division, WKK Technology, is building a factory in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, about five hours north of Shenzhen, a move designed to mitigate lower profits. Chairman Senta Wong said wage inflation and regulations in Guangdong Province and the exodus of companies to Vietnam, India and inland China are behind the move. “We have to make a move (in order) to compete,” he said. The company will maintain its factory in Dongguan, where it will handle high-mix parts. The new factory will produce higher volume product. The company's electronics manufacturing services unit reported HK$2.4 billion ($308 million) in sales in 2007. 2008 has been a difficult year, Wong said, and the first three quarters of 2009 will also be difficult. The coming year “will depend on the US economy and Europe, which is not in good shape right now.” – Mike Buetow 8 Circuits Assembly NOVEMBER 2008 circuitsassembly.com http://www.chemsec.org http://www.digikey.com http://www.altium.com http://www.designchainassociates.com http://www.chemsec.org/documents/080917_reach_sin_list.pdf http://www.cree.com http://www.cree.com http://echa.europa.eu/consultations/authorisation/svhc/svhc_cons_en.asp http://echa.europa.eu/consultations/authorisation/svhc/svhc_cons_en.asp http://www.keytronicems.com http://www.kaz.com http://www.ipc.org http://www.mtielectronics.com http://www.asymtek.com http://www.asymtek.com http://www.oeko.de http://www.efd-inc.com http://www.ipc.org/ehs http://dklmetals.co.uk http://www.surclean.co.uk http://www.wkkintl.com http://www.surclean.co.uk http://www.circuitrework.com http://www.circuitrework.com http://www.dage.com http://www.dage.com http://www.nepconchina.com http://www.nepconchina.com http://www.circuitsassembly.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Circuits Assembly - November 2008

Circuits Assembly - November 2008 Contents Caveat Lector Industry News Market Watch Talking Heads Focus on Business On the Forefront Screen Printing Better Manufacturing RoHS Conversion for Medical Devices Supporting Full-Service Customer Requirements at the Regional EMS Level Speed Thrills Tech Tips Wave Soldering Process Doctor Pb-Free Lessons Learned The Defects Database Getting Lean Materials World Product Spotlight Ad Index Assembly Insider Technical Abstracts

Circuits Assembly - November 2008

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