Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007 - (Page 4)

OUR LINE Big Plans for 2008 months, reflect on events that have occurred and begin our preparations for the upcoming year. It has been a particularly interesting year for UP Media Group and for me. It is certain that 2008 holds much promise. On the personal side, as we come into December, I will pass the 18-month mark in my tenure with UP Media Group. I’m no longer the “new kid.” Time has literally flown KATHY by. Despite spending my entire career in the PCB industry, I am entering NARGI-TOTH 2008 with a much better understanding of the challenges designers and fabricators face in this rapidly changing environment. I thank you all for your contributions to my education this year; it has been great. I hope to continue to provide my insights on the issues within our industry in the months and years to come. Change is a given. Being proactive in a changing environment is the difference between the leaders and the followers. In the past six months, UP Media Group, Printed Circuit Design & Fab and a number of other UPMG properties have undergone some significant changes. These proactive changes are part of a series of definitive actions that have been undertaken with the intent to better serve our readership and marketing partners. With the support of a very creative production and marketing staff, we have changed the name of the magazine and revitalized the PC Fab brand with the launch of our new name, Printed Circuit Design & Fab. From the many discussions I have had over the past few months, it seems like this change is welcome and brings the design and fab communities closer together. The PCB Design Conferences are moving and growing as we enter 2008. The new brand for these conferences is simply PCB Shows. As we move into the latter part of the decade, PCB Shows will add a number of smaller regional events to the annual two-show program, addressing the need for educational excellence at the local level throughout the U.S. We are also expanding the program to address some of the critical up and downstream topics important to the PCB supply chain, from the design seat through fabrication and into assembly. To the traditional topics of high-speed, HDI and EMC design, we have already added new tutorials to address DfM and DfA topics, including final finishes and laminate materials. We look to designers, fabricators, assemblers and the supply base to help us keep this program fresh and educational for our technical audience. Papers, tutorials and workshops are sought on these and other topics that affect the PCB supply chain for the upcoming PCB East in May in Chicago. Go to pcbeast.com for more information on how to make a presentation or attend the conference. Some the biggest advances with the magazines and newsletter involve the next big publishing trend: digital enhancement. Last month, we introduced a rich media digital version of PCD&F. We invite all our subscribers to give the new format a try. If you currently receive the magazine in printed form, you can register on our Web site to receive the digital version for a three-month evaluation. I think you will like the features this media affords, such as embedded video capabilities and other more interactive message delivery enhancements. In November, we ramped our PCB UPdate e-newsletter to daily from weekly. The newsletter, which covers the design, fab and assembly industries, is an “opt-in” publication. If you don’t subscribe, you can do so by going to pcbupdate.com/subscribe. PCB UPdate is your first stop for all the PCB industry news and commentary. Perhaps the most exciting of our new products for 2008 is Virtual PCB, a two-day, online trade show and conference. Set for Feb. 12-13, Virtual PCB is an interactive, online event that will feature a trade show and technical seminars. Over the course of the live show, attendees will be able to watch Webinars and other technical presentations and have free access to leading industry suppliers and their products – all live and in real-time. The event will then be archived for viewing for three months, during which time all the exhibitor materials and tutorials will remain available. This digital opportunity is not intended to replace a traditional trade show, but it will provide an opportunity for immediate, lower-cost access to information about new products and processes. And it will reach a wider group of industry professionals who may not travel to shows. For more information, visit virtual-pcb.com. Change is inevitable. Managing change and shaping it into a positive force takes vision. In the upcoming year, UP Media Group will continue to be the industry leaders by bringing our vision alive through our media products. We look forward to sharing that vision with you. Wishing all of our readers a safe and joyful holiday season and happy and prosperous New Year. 4 I pcdandf.com EDITORIAL EDITOR: Kathy Nargi-Toth, 678-589-8866, knargitoth@upmediagroup.com EDITORIAL OFFICE: 2400 Lake Park Drive, Suite 440, Smyrna, GA 30080 678-589-8800; fax 678-589-8850 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Dr. Eric Bogatin, Be The Signal; Michael Carano, Electrochemicals; George Dudnikov, Sanmina-SCI; Jack Fisher, Interconnect Technology Analysis; Happy Holden, Mentor Graphics; Istvan Novak, Sun Microsystems T’S the time of year when many of us look back over the past 12 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Dr. Hayao Nakahara COLUMNISTS: Bruce Archambeault, Peter Bigelow, Dr. Eric Bogatin, Michael Carano, Dominique Numakura, Dr. Abe Riazi, Susy Webb PRODUCTION MANAGING EDITOR: Katherine Haddox, khaddox@upmediagroup.com PRODUCTION MANAGER: Javier Longoria, jlongoria@upmediagroup.com SALES SALES ASSOCIATE: Kamden Robb, 678-589-8843, krobb@upmediagroup.com EXHIBIT SALES MANAGER: Brooke Anglin, 678-589-8833, fax 678-589-8850, banglin@upmediagroup.com KOREA SALES: Young Media Inc., +82 2 2273 4818, fax +82 2 2273 4866, ymedia@ymedia.co.kr PRINT REPRINTS: Edward Kane, FosteReprints, 866-879-9144 ext. 131, fax 219-561-2009, ekane@fostereprints.com ELECTRONIC REPRINTS: pcdf_reprints@upmediagroup.com LIST RENTAL: Jennifer Schuler, 918-496-1476, fax 918-496-9465 WEBINARS: Frances Stewart, 678-817-1286, fstewart@upmediagroup.com, pcbshows.com/webinars CIRCULATION DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT: Jennifer Schuler CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES/ ADDRESS CHANGES: fax 918-496-9465, jschuler@upmediagroup.com UP MEDIA GROUP, INC. PRESIDENT: Pete Waddell VICE PRESIDENT, SALES AND MARKETING: Frances Stewart, fstewart@upmediagroup.com VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION: Mike Buetow, mbuetow@upmediagroup.com SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Ronda Faries, 678-589-8827, rfaries@upmediagroup.com Printed Circuit Design & Fab is distributed without charge to qualified subscribers. For others, annual Subscription Rates in U.S. funds are: $80 (U.S. and Canada), $145 (all other countries). Single copy price is $8.50. All subscription and single copy orders or inquiries should be directed to Printed Circuit Design & Fab, P.O. Box 35646, Tulsa, OK 74153-0646, jschuler@upmediagroup. com, fax 918-496-9465. Photocopies and issues on Microfilm/Microfiche (16mm, 33mm or 105mm) are available from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106, Telephone 313-761-4600. Printed Circuit Design & Fab is published monthly by UP Media Group Inc., 2400 Lake Park Drive, Suite 440, Smyrna, GA 30080. ISSN 1543-6527. GST 124513185/ Agreement #1419617. Periodicals postage paid at Smyrna, GA, and additional mailing offices. © 2007, UP Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Printed Circuit Design & Fab is forbidden without written permission. PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB DECEMBER 2007 http://pcdandf.com http://pcbeast.com http://pcbshows.com/webinars http://pcbupdate.com/subscribe http://virtual-pcb.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI 2007 PCB Designer Salary Survey Interconnect Strategies Positive Plating RF Design Ad Index Noise Reduction Supply Chain DfM Off the Shelf Marketplace The Signal Doctor

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.