Gen3 Systems has announced the release of revised Surface Insulation Resistance (SIR) standards designed to improve reliability and integrity testing of products assembled with lead-free solder.

Gen3 Systems, a company dedicated to 'Engineering reliability in Electronics' has announced the release of revised Surface Insulation Resistance (SIR) standards designed to improve reliability and integrity testing of products assembled with lead-free solder. IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) has published a new SIR test standard (IEC 61189-5) on August 31, 2006. Additionally the US-based IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries) will also shortly release new SIR testing standards: IPC-TM-650 2.6.3.7 and IPC 9201A SIR Test Handbook.

In addition, the IPC recently published a standard, employing SIR techniques, to determine the influence of sub-surface reactions known as CAF (Cathodic (or Conductive) Anodic Filamentation).

The new standards, for both individual materials and production process characterisation, adopt different test parameters for humidity, temperature, test duration, voltage bias, measurement frequency and test coupon, to take into account the effects of new production processes when using lead-free assemblies.

Lead-free assemblies are rapidly becoming the norm following the EU's Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) legislation that passed into law on July 1, 2006.

Any manufacturer now wishing to import electronic assemblies into the EU must ensure the printed circuit boards (PCBs), components and solder contain no lead.

Similar RoHS legislation is likely in many US states and China in the near future.

'What is not widely appreciated is that modern lead-free electronic circuit production is dominated by chemistry, and pretty aggressive chemicals at that,' says Gen3 Systems' MD Graham Naisbitt.

'Ionic residues arise from a multitude of manufacturing process 'contaminants' such as unreacted plating residues, improperly cured solder resists, soldering fluxes and inadequately cleaned assemblies (including those manufactured using no-clean processes).

Other contaminants may be non-ionic in nature, left behind, for example, by surfactants increasingly used to aid no-clean flux do its job.' These ionic contaminants (in the presence of electric potential and humidity) can cause failure due to electro-chemical reactions.

Exhaustive research by the world-renowned national physical laboratory (NPL) in the UK, and Concoat Systems (the forerunner of Gen3 Systems), determined that measurements of changes in SIR would be a valuable, if not essential, metric in determining the susceptibility of electronic circuits to electro-chemical failure.

However, to date, SIR testing has only been used to characterise individual process chemistries such as solder.

In addition, NPL's research has now shown the test parameters used for these tests have yielded grossly misleading data.

Now the revised standards define SIR testing procedures that can be used to characterise a process using a test vehicle assembled with the actual process materials used for modern lead-free, no-clean technology.

In the new procedure the assembly under test is driven to failure to establish at what point reliability is compromised by the reactions of ionic (and non-ionic) residues.

This is important because of the differences in lead-free assembly compared with production using eutectic solder (60% tin(Sn) and 40% lead(Pb)).

The IPC is now recommending lead-free alloys such as SAC305 (Sn96.5% Ag3.0% Cu0.5%) for electronics assembly.

These solders require much higher reflow and flowsoldering temperatures (219 deg C compared to 183 deg C for eutectic solder).

'The higher processing temperatures typical of lead-free assemblies change how contamination forms.

For example, all fluxes leave residues, but at elevated temperatures, these residues are more likely to be absorbed into the substrate increasing the overall ionic contamination,' says Naisbitt.

Gen3 Systems manufactures the Auto-SIR insulation resistance testing system.

The system has been developed in collaboration with the NPL.

The Auto-SIR tests to all major international standards, including the revised versions specifically recommended for lead-free assemblies.

The Auto-SIR employs Frequent Monitoring Trend Analysis (FMTA).

This can be used to monitor long-term process condition trends.

Naisbitt is a member of the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) TC91 WG3, the working group that formulates test standards for the assembly industry.

He is also Leader of Solderability Testing Standard IEC 60068-2-69, Co-leader of Solderability Testing Standard IEC 60068-2-54, and Member of IPC-J-STD 002 and IPC-J-STD 003.

Further information: SIR testing SIR testing was established as a method for evaluating electronic assembly materials and processes as one measure of reliability.

The objective of SIR testing is drive test coupons to failure to determine at under what conditions failure-inducing electrochemical reactions occur so that these conditions can be avoided during routine assembly.

Electrochemical failure occurs in the presence of electrical potential, moisture (from a humid environment) and ionic residue.

If any of these is not present, electrochemical reactions can't occur.

The ionic residue can come from unreacted plating residues, improperly cured solder resist or from flux.

These residues can cause corrosion, metal migration or dendritic growth leading to early failure.

SIR testing is performed with industry standard test coupons etched with patterns designed for the purpose (typically interdigitated combs).

The insulation resistance of a test pattern is monitored at intervals as temperature and humidity are varied.

Revised tests recommend test coupons complete with components.

There are several standards from organisations such as International Electrochemical Commission (IEC), IPC, International Standards Organisation (ISO) that largely replace the now defunct Bellcore specification.

Each defines different humidity, temperature, test duration, voltage bias, measurement frequency and test coupon.

It is recommended that technicians refer to the latest version of the IPC-9201 The SIR Handbook for detailed guidance on the subject.

New campaign provides a one-stop shop for displays, visible and non-visible LEDs.

As part of its commitment to bringing the very latest technology to design engineers, Farnell InOne, the international distributor of electronic and industrial components, has launched its latest 'Technology First' initiative on rapidly developing optoelectronics technology. The new 'Technology First' campaign will offer the only complete range of optoelectronic technology available to the market, including displays, visible and non-visible LEDs, through a dedicated catalogue and the Farnell InOne website. 3,500 optoelectronic parts are available as part of the campaign - 2,000 of which are new to the industry - from a wide range of manufacturers such as Avago Technologies, Omron and ST Microelectronics.

Jamie Furness, EDE development manager at Farnell InOne, comments: 'Optoelectronic technology has developed and improved very rapidly in recent times.

LEDs have become more powerful, allowing them to have high levels of brightness whilst retaining efficient power monitoring.

This means that where design engineers may have had to use bulbs in the past, they can now use LEDs, opening up many new avenues.

Where LEDs were principally used in areas such as the mobile phone, handheld PC and game console markets, they can now be applied anywhere from the medical world to the security industry.

'As such, we feel it's really important to make sure that design engineers have all the support needed to make informed decisions that will help them achieve real benefit from these cutting edge developments.

Kozio has announced that evaluation versions of the company's kDiagnostics software product now ship with ADI Engineering's new Sidewinder XScale IXP465 Access Gateway Reference Design.

Kozio has announced that evaluation versions of the company's kDiagnostics software product now ship with ADI Engineering's new Sidewinder XScale IXP465 Access Gateway Reference Design. Kozio's turnkey validation package includes proven test suites for DDR SDRAM, Flash, Mini-PCI and connected devices, 10/100 Ethernet, Ethernet Switch, FXS and VoIP ports, USB 2.0 ports, USB 1.1 device port, SATA 1.0 host port, ATA port, RS-232 port. This validation suite is provided for evaluation purposes, and a complete validation package can be configured for custom IXP465 boards in just two weeks.

'We've been working with Kozio for more than two years to make it easier to prove out our hardware board designs, and kDiagnostics is a key product for us' notes Barry Dallavalle, software director of ADI Engineering 'It has proven to be extremely useful, and is a cornerstone of the factory test production we do for our customers, and a key part of testing boards that are returned.

Kozio is extremely responsive and very technically capable, and they are a pleasure to work with.' Kozio continues to expand its FullCircuit evaluation program, and continues to expand its long-running partnership with ADI Engineering This release of Kozio's validation software supports the new XScale IXP465 processor; Intel's latest processor in the IXP4XX family, and includes updates to its automated VoIP and USB test packages.

'We are pleased to continue our strong and productive partnership with ADI Engineering as they expand their offering of XScale reference platforms,' stated Joseph Skazinski, president of Kozio.

'This year we are shipping on twenty processor reference platforms for PowerPC and XScale, and are very pleased with how our evaluation program has taken off.' kDiagnostics' USB validation suite verifies the operation of Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 and 1.1 host and devices.

Tests and commands are provided to perform a full reset of the host controller, start the host controller running, perform device enumeration tests, validate the basic functionality of an internal USB device, and display information about internal USB devices, including USB 2.0 support, bulk transfers, and supported endpoint packet sizes.

In addition, mass transfers to a connected USB storage device are offered when the device supports such a feature.

The Voice/Audio test commands verify the higher-level functionality of voice channels utilizing SLIC (Subscriber Line Interface Circuit) components.

Tests in this category validate data transfer to and from SLICs using the high-speed serial interface.

Tests include voice recording and playback from a connected telephone and D-F (Dual Tone Multiple Frequency) tone generation and detection (also known as touch tone dialing).

Low-level commands are available for generating dial tones, busy signals and can also be used to generate a perfect 1 kHz test tone.

Kozio's support is available immediately for any custom IXP465 board design.

Kozio can deliver turnkey diagnostics for custom boards using the Intel XScale IXP465 in two weeks after a purchase order is received, and even sooner, if required.

Kozio provides proven hardware validation software for automating and accelerating the development of new processor-based devices.

Kozio's software is proven during processor validation and through processor reference platform partnerships.

Product developers using Kozio products save time during board bring-up, during production test, and throughout the product lifecycle.

Using Kozio's products saves development effort and reduces the risk of processor-based projects.

Leading automotive supplier, ArvinMeritor has extended the use of its GBP 0.5 million Komax Systems (formerly Sibos) automated assembly system.

Leading automotive supplier, ArvinMeritor has extended the use of its GBP 0.5 million Komax Systems (formerly Sibos) automated assembly system by arranging for it to be rejigged and retooled for a new production job in China. Komax Systems is represented in the UK by production automation specialist, Contax . The original Komax automation system was tooled up for a product manufactured at ArvinMeritor's factory in Tennessee, USA in 2000.

Production started in 2001, and the Komax system proved very successful.

When the product was discontinued, ArvinMeritor wished to retain their Komax system and redeploy it at another site.

Explained Rupert Mander, Industrialisation Manager at ArvinMeritor, 'The system had worked well for us and we decided to find another use for it.

It was designed in a flexible manner and we wanted to exploit this to ensure that we had full use of the system during its lifecycle.' ArvinMeritor identified a new task for the Komax system, producing the locking mechanism for car doors at its factory in China.

The system was duly shipped from the USA via the UK to Komax's factory in Switzerland where it was retooled and sent on to China.

'This is a perfect example of maximising investment,' commented Contax's managing director, Mike Rapson.

'When our customers purchase a high quality system they need to be sure that they will reap the rewards over a long period of time.

'ArvinMeritor wanted to extend the life of their automation system, and found that it was more cost effective to have it re-tooled and shipped half way around the world than to replace it.

They know that it performs well and it was worth the initial investment and the extra cost of retooling.' He continued, 'New is not always the only solution.

In circumstances where our customers have made a major capital investment in a system, we would always seek to maximise its use, by reconditioning or retooling it where required.'

A comprehensive family of coatings, adhesives, encapsulants, potting, sealing and masking products cover micro-electronic and opto-electronic manufacture, rework and repair.

Ever increasing sophistication is the story of adhesives in the electronics industry and market leaders Intertronics are at the forefront of that movement in the UK. The Dymax range of adhesives from Intertronics is a comprehensive family of specialist coatings, adhesives, encapsulants, potting, sealing and masking products for micro-electronic and opto-electronic manufacture, rework and repair. In particular they are valuable for unitising/strain relief, wire tacking, heat dissipation and ruggedising of assemblies.

The Dymax UV curing adhesives are ideal for wire tacking and thermal management situations, offering fast cure times with ease of use and high in-situ performance.

They are easy to use, low cost UV cure adhesives that cure in seconds so offering increased productivity over epoxies, silicones and hot melts.

The 'on demand' cure feature of these resins means no rework as a result of adhesive migrating onto solder pads or through holes.

Dymax adhesives are ideal for bonding heat skinks and heat sensitive components, wire and component tacking, strain relief of large parts and securing hand inserted components prior to wave soldering.

Distributor of electronic and industrial components, repair and operations products and services, is one of the first suppliers to migrate its complete catalogue to emarketplace, Zanzibar.

Farnell InOne, international distributor of electronic and industrial components, repair and operations products and services, is one of the first suppliers to migrate its complete catalogue from the OGCbuying.solutions Catalist service to its new emarketplace, Zanzibar, allowing public sector buyers direct access to the full Farnell InOne range. The transition of over 130,000 Farnell InOne products to the new system is the largest on the Zanzibar site and enables buyers direct access to the distributor's range over the internet to transact end-to-end requisitions, orders and invoices. The Zanzibar website is a key part of the Government's procurement strategy and is accessible by all public sector organisations in the UK, allowing government departments both choice and financial savings in their procurement efforts.

Mark Peers, Public Sector Business manager of Farnell InOne commented: 'As one of the first suppliers to make the transition from Catalist to Zanzibar, we can offer our public sector customers buying efficiency with both major procurement savings and a wealth of e-procurement benefits - from online transactions to e-invoicing'.

'This means that the full Farnell InOne linecard - from tooling, to lighting, maintenance and repair equipment and our full RoHS compliant catalogue - is now available across the entire public sector.'

The Electronics Assembly Systems Division of Siemens' Automation and Drives Group has gained the Global Technology Award for its Siplace D-Series placement machine platform.

The Electronics assembly systems Division of Siemens' Automation and Drives Group (A and D) has been honoured with the Global Technology Award for its Siplace D-Series placement machine platform which was introduced earlier this year. The Global Technology Awards, now in its second year, are designed to recognise companies and people that are achieving the highest standards and driving the industry forward. The new Siplace platform impressed the independent panel of judges with innovations such as the digital vision system, linear direct drives and state-of-the-art software that produce significant time and cost savings in the manufacturing process.

The award was presented at the Assembly Technology Exposition in Rosemont, Illinois, USA.

The new Siplace platform, which was globally introduced in May 2006, meets the requirements for both standard and high-performance applications.

It is based on the modular Siplace platform and features the digital Siplace vision system as well as the latest Siplace software.

With this combination, it meets the needs of all electronics manufacturers in terms of flexibility and price-performance ratio.

Equipped with the innovative digital camera technology, the machines of the Siplace D-Series are able to recognise and reliably place an extremely wide range of components at maximum placement speed.

Its special high-resolution sensors identify components based on their geometry and colour.

Furthermore, the vision system can be pre-optimised for the next measurement to quickly and reliably detect faulty components.

This is extremely beneficial when placing components with leads that are difficult to distinguish from the background.

The vision system then transfers this new data to the Siplace Pro programming system, which makes it available to the placement machine.

Any adjustments can be made directly on the machine or offline on the Vision Teaching Station.

Representing the award sponsor, Global SMT and Packaging, Trevor Galbraith summed up the award: 'The independent jury of Chinese, European and American industry experts felt that the D-Series from Siemens AandD met all the criteria required for this prestigious award.

It was judged on the supplier's capability to meet industrial challenges and apply existing technologies in a creative manner.

The panel also felt that the system excelled in overall quality, economic efficiency and consistent performance.' Ray Bruce, divisional director of the UK and Ireland EA division of the Siemens Automation and Drives Group commented: 'I am delighted to accept this award and that the D Series has achieved this recognition.

It is testament to our ongoing work and commitment to build solutions that deliver true technological and efficiency advantages to our customers.'

Quadrant has introduced to the UK a new range of DC appliance connector cables from Pro Car designed to power mobile electronic devices.

Quadrant has introduced to the UK a new range of DC appliance connector cables from Pro Car designed to power mobile electronic devices such as LCD-TV, DVD players, satellite receivers, TFT displays and other equipment in the automotive, marine, leisure and industrial industries. Manufactured by Pro Car, a German company with a high reputation for top quality DC plugs, socket outlets and connectors for connecting accessories and equipment to on-board electrical systems, this new range comprises 2A and 8A versions both of which connect a Universal plug to either a 2.1mm or 2.5mm diameter connector via a two metre, 2-core flat cable. The 2A version has a cable diameter of 0.4mm2 and connects to a right angle connector while the 8A version has a 0.75mm2 cable with a straight angle connector.

A version with a 12V DC 70W voltage regulator with an input voltage of 10.5 to 13.8VDC and an output voltage of 13 to 14VDC connects to a 2.5mm diameter connector and guarantees 12V even if battery runs low.

A high-reliability surface mounter, which can place components to an accuracy of +/- 45 micron provides a cost-effective pick-and-place system that enables rapid return-on-investment.

Sony Manufacturing Systems Europe has extended its successful range of cellular electronic production equipment with the announcement of a new high-reliability surface mounter which can place components to an accuracy of +/-45 micron. The SI-F130AI high-speed mounter provides a cost-effective pick-and-place solution that enables rapid return-on-investment. The F Series has been proven in Sony's own production facilities and by third parties over an extended period of time.

'Our ethos is to provide real return-on-investment at every point in the cycle,' said Kazuo Ito, UK-based managing director of Sony Manufacturing Systems Europe.

'At the outset we offer flexible rentals, so that via leasing, our customers can increase their production capacity by 25,900 components/h (CPH) for just EUR 2,500/month'.

'By cutting maintenance requirements we also reduce lifetime cost: the small footprint of our cellular mounters allows us to provide maximum productivity per square metre of factory space.' Featuring an advanced 'third generation' Sony developed rotary 'planet' head that can move freely in two directions, and with an overlapping process to pre-load components, the SI-F130AI achieves tact times as low as 0.139s.

The device also features an ejector system that reduces PCB load/unload time to zero, further cutting cycle time.

The SI-F130AI is only 120cm wide and less than 145cm deep.

All Sony chip mounters are designed so that multiple cells can be connected in-line, within a small space, giving full flexibility to meet any low, medium or high mix production and throughput demands.

Equipped with high-speed 'on-the-fly' parts recognition, the SI-F130AI features an image processing system that automatically generates image data for complex new parts.

Its compact cellular design extends Sony's approach of offering a market-leading combination of speed, placement accuracy, and small footprint, to help create production lines that are flexible and expandable and thus improve cost-performance figures.

To facilitate its customers' advanced manufacturing operations, Sony Manufacturing Systems collaborates with Sony's Financial Services division to provide a range of monthly rental or finance options.

These give customers access to the latest technology, whilst managing capital expenses.

Sony Manufacturing Systems has worked closely with its software partner, Sony TiMMS, to offer further integrated hardware/software solutions for customers with more complex data handling and process requirements.

The TiMMS system not only provides industry leading mounter optimisation, but also real-time lean manufacturing control between procurement, design, manufacturing and test, improving inventory management and ensuring that their final product is not only completed most cost-effectively, but is fully traceable before and throughout its life cycle.

* About Sony - Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets.

With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be one of the Worldandacute;s Leading Consumer Brands.

Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 54.96 billion (yen 7,475 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 and it employs approximately 156,500 people worldwide.

In Europe, Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 12.61 billion (yen 1,715 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 136 to the EUR.

Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 8.22 billion (yen 1,118 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.

* About Sony Manufacturing Systems - drawing on a wealth of Sony experience and expertise in manufacturing, Sony Manufacturing Systems Europe (SMSE) provides manufacturing equipment and devices to aid technology development, design and quality assurance for a broad spectrum of industries.

These include automotive, aerospace, medical, systems manufacturing, consumer electronics and surface mount technology (SMT).

The SMSE product portfolio includes SMT equipment, measuring systems for motion and quality control, factory automation equipment and data recorders, as well as DUV lasers and optical disc analysers.

With its headquarters at Weybridge, UK, SMSE is the European arm of Sony Manufacturing Corporation, Japan.

It operates as a division of Semiconductor and Electronic Solutions (SES), a division of Sony United Kingdom - Show quoted text -

Jadoo Power Systems has announced that Jadoo and technology partner Millennium Cell was chosen as fuel cell technology providers for the Greater Columbia 'Fuel Cell Challenge.'

Jadoo Power Systems has announced that Jadoo and technology partner Millennium Cell was chosen as fuel cell technology providers for the Greater Columbia 'Fuel Cell Challenge'. The Greater Columbia 'Fuel Cell Challenge' is a groundbreaking plan involving unprecedented integration of hydrogen fuel cell technology into multiple aspects of the City and University. Columbia's vision is to become the first planned end-to-end fuel cell city by building an innovation pipeline around fuel cells in three phases: Discovery, Development and Deployment.

Jadoo's line of N-Gen Fuel Cell Power Units and XRT Extended Runtime Accessories were awarded to various companies, governmental agencies and university research groups for use with a variety of sponsored projects.

Emergency Responders as well as Professional TV Broadcasters will benefit from the latest in fuel cell technology.

Features such as long runtime, zero degradation and rapid recharge make Jadoo's fuel cells an attractive power alternative for current 'brick' battery and generator users.

'Columbia is excited that the initial wave of projects includes a family of fuel cell products that already are commercialized and have an economic value proposition,' said City of Columbia Mayor Bob Coble.

'Building a knowledge economy in Columbia centreed around leading edge fuel cell technology is what this challenge is about.' 'Maintenance issues involved with gas generators and back-up battery usage is no longer a problem with the Jadoo XRT fuel system,' said Deputy Director Harold Reaves with the City of Columbia Department of Homeland Security.

'Predictable, reliable, off-grid power in a portable package will help our department respond more efficiently in emergency situations.' 'At ETV we love being on the cutting edge of education and technology, and we are very excited to be using Jadoo's N-Gen power units,' said Moss Bresnahan, President and CEO, SCETV.

'Thus far, our engineers are very impressed, and we are pleased to be part of this commitment that South Carolina is making in hydrogen fuel cell use.' Jadoo's XRT provides extended power support for a variety of battery operated applications when the grid is either unavailable or unreliable.

The XRT is a 100 W, 110VAC / 12VDC power support system with over 2200 Watt-hours runtime.

It is ideal for off-grid, critical applications, such as portable radio and laptop battery recharging, powering mobile law enforcement surveillance installations as well as providing back-up power for critical communication devices like satellite phones and modems.

The XRT currently uses six metal hydride canisters for fuel storage, which weigh approximately 30 total pounds.

Together with Millennium Cell, Jadoo is developing a chemical hydride-based fuel canister for the XRT that will deliver the same runtime at half the weight.

In the second phase of this program, the chemical hydride canister will be deployed in the applications targeted as part of this initiative.

'Millennium Cell is pleased to be partnered with Jadoo and South Carolina to provide an innovative, light weight fuel canister for the XRT.

We continue to be impressed with the initiatives in South Carolina and are honoured to be part of the first round of awards in this world class program,' said Adam Briggs, President of Millennium Cell.

'Being involved with the projects that Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge has awarded is very exciting,' said Larry Bawden, President and CEO at Jadoo.

'It is exactly what is needed to 'jump-start' large scale interest and draw attention to the new opportunities and applications that exist for hydrogen fuel cell power.

Columbia is truly developing a new economy around the latest in commercially-viable, alternative power.

Production automation system specialist, Contax , has recently installed four phoenix x-ray systems at different organisations in Scotland.

Production automation system specialist, Contax , has recently installed four phoenix x-ray systems at different organisations in Scotland. The users include: Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems, Kelvinside Electronics and two further electronic manufacturing companies. Selex Sensor and Airborne Systems, has purchased the phoenix x-ray nanome|x system to support the Captor Radar Tranche-2 Programmme for the Eurofighter Typhoon military aircraft.

Two major units of the system are manufactured by Selex in Edinburgh.

The printed electronic circuit assemblies within these units have a high population of BGAs, and the nanome x is used to provide diagnostics in the event of any test failures.

Commented Steve Touhey, production engineering Manger for Radar and Advanced Products at Selex Sensor and Airborne Systems, 'Without the diagnostic capabilities of the nanome x, the inspection and assessment of individual BGA joints, especially on micro-BGAs would be nigh impossible'.

'We chose this system because of its ease of use, clarity of image and downloadable software, which was specifically designed for the inspection of voids within BGA joints'.

He continued, 'In a perfect world, the nanome x would not be needed.

However, in the event of a test failure occurring its capabilities should ensure that the time taken to identify the route cause is kept to an absolute minimum,' he said.

Another user, Glasgow-based contract electronics manufacturer, Kelvinside Electronics Limited (KEL), specialises in supplying the military, medical, oil and gas industries, all of which have very high quality standards.

KEL has purchased the phoenix pcb|analyser to examine BGAs on circuit boards.

Explained David Baird, Managing Director at Kelvinside Electronics, 'We decided to purchase the phoenix pcb|analyser due to being awarded two large military contracts which involves a lot of BGA analysis.

This has provided us with a number of advantages.

Not only do we have greater control over reporting, but we have seriously reduced our turn-around time due to a much improved throughput of PCB assemblies'.

He concluded, 'Contax had recommended the phoenix system, and we were very happy with the demonstrations and reference sites.

The system is now in place and working extremely well for us.

It is on our network, and information taken from each board is stored and available to our clients.

In fact, the system has already proved so invaluable, that we have not yet had time to examine its full potential,' he finished.

OK International celebrates 60 years of manufacturing tools for the electronics assembly industry.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of OK International, the leading supplier of production assembly equipment. OKi has come a very long way since 1946, when it first opened its doors for business, but the company's direction and success today owe a great deal to its early years, and the vision of its founders. At its inauguration, OK Machine and Tool Corporation was a specialist in the precision machining of metal parts, primarily for the defence industry.

Over the following years, its focus evolved to the point that by the 1970s, it had moved into the manufacture and distribution of wire wrapping products for telephone switching systems.

Drawing on its expertise and knowledge of the telecommunications industry, it was then just a short step for OKi to make its processes available to the broader electronics industry.

Later, in 1989, OK International made the strategic decision that was to initiate the formation of the company we know today: it resolved to dedicate its resources to the development, manufacture and marketing of its own products, primarily for solder/desolder and rework.

Over the next few years, in alignment with that strategy, it acquired Metcal, Techcon and Impell.

Together with its own acquisition in 2000 by Dover Corporation, these acquisitions strengthened OK International's competencies in the manufacture and development of soldering, dispensing and fume filtration systems, and broadened its product line with patented technologies and products.

They also helped it to expand its customer base, markets, and geographic presence.

Today, thanks to these developments, OK International employs 300 people in 8 sites worldwide.

Its tools and systems are supplied to the global market through various channels including over 100 leading local distributors, and it counts the world's top OEMs and blue chip companies among its clients.

If getting to the top is no mean feat, staying there is even more of a challenge.

With this in mind, the company determined in 2005 that the time was right to strengthen its position by rebranding all its products under a single name.

The New OKi brand was launched at Productronica in the same year; a move that, for Paul Weaver, OK International's Vice President of European Sales, was faultless.

A year on, he notes: 'The principal benefit for our customers, our distributors and OK International itself, is clarity'.

'Before, with our multiple brands, it was sometimes difficult to deliver the message that we supplied equipment for every player and every part of the assembly workbench'.

'Now, our message is unequivocal, we offer the full range of soldering, rework, fume extraction and dispensing products, at all levels, from entry level to high-end tools and systems'.

'Now our clients are clear that they can source all of their equipment from us, whatever their application, whatever their technical requirements, whatever their budget'.

Of course, the message is important, but the messenger is even more important, and for OK International, its distributors are partners, to be supported locally, with a local sales message.

Again, where this was prohibitive as a multi-brand strategy, the single brand has facilitated its introduction.

Weaver: 'With our new localised marketing resources, we can concentrate on the specific needs of our local markets'.

'This is particularly important for our European distributors and customers, who receive local support and a local, rather than a global message'.

OK International has also opened up new sales channels, such as catalogue sales of its more mainstream products; a move that has proven highly successful in bringing in new clients.

The new message, new energy, new sales support and distribution channels, and new products mean significant growth in sales volumes.

This, in turn means more base materials handling, and more products coming off the manufacturing lines and moving through to the final customer.

It is clear that this must all be managed properly, as Weaver emphasises: 'The differentiator between us and our competitors is in our management of our total supply chain - from our vendors to after sales customer care'.

To this end, the company has been busy setting up new systems such as e-Kanban to streamline materials and production handling, and improving its consignment inventory management systems.

The result is lower cost manufacture and improved lead-times, all to the benefit of OK International, its distributors and its clients.

In driving these recent changes, OK International continues to demonstrate the determination and vision that have been the hallmark of its management since its inception 60 years ago, and there is no doubt that these qualities will continue to benefit the electronics industry well into the 21st Century.

The Schaffner Group, based in Luterbach, Switzerland, has announced it has expanded its competence by acquiring Jacke Transformatoren, a German company that develops power quality technologies.

The Schaffner Group, based in Luterbach, Switzerland, has announced it has expanded its competence by acquiring Jacke Transformatoren , a German company that develops power quality technologies. The acquisition is a strategic move to strengthen Schaffner's technological base and to become the first international company to offer solutions combining EMC, power quality and energy supply for systems and devices with globally recognised quality and performance standards. Schaffner has its US headquarters in Edison, N.J.

With its core markets of rail vehicles, alternative energy, ship-building, telecommunications, and transformer engineering, Jacke is an excellent addition to the internationally positioned Schaffner Group.

The merging creates a unique EMC and power quality competence which provides the foundation for new, innovative solutions to increase the operational safety and efficiency, as well as the productivity and profitability, of electrical and electronic systems.

Schaffner Jacke will continue its engineering and production operations in Banduuml;ren, Germany under its current management team.

Flomerics has released the results of a new online survey highlighting engineers' views on integration between mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software.

Flomerics has released the results of a new online survey highlighting engineers' views on integration between mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. When asked how important MCAD integration is for typical CFD users, 46% say it is 'very important today' and an overwhelming 68% say it will be 'very important in the future'. When the results are confined only to users of mechanical CAD software, these percentages increase to 52% and 74% respectively.

When asked what 'CFD integrated with MCAD' means, most people chose the option describing the tightest level of integration: 'A fully-embedded solution in a single environment'.

'The CFD user interface looks and operates like the MCAD software and the CFD solver interacts directly with the 'native' MCAD solid model data'.

'Most commercial CFD codes today are unable to solve directly using the native MCAD geometry,' said Ivo Weinhold, EFD Product Manager for Flomerics.

'Even vendors claiming 'Upfront CFD' capability actually require a translation from the native MCAD data into some neutral format such as Parasolid before the CFD analysis is performed'.

'The problem with this approach - apart from being slower - is that once transferred into the CFD environment all the design intelligence associated with the geometry such as assembly hierarchy, constraints and features are lost and only dumb geometrical entities remain'.

'This survey confirms that what engineers want is a familiar and consistent user interface for both the MCAD and CFD software, and full bi-directional associativity between the analysis data and the MCAD model'.

'Engineers also benefit from employing native CAD data and native kernel functions for meshing, preprocessing, and results visualization'.

'All of these requirements are satisfied by our EFD family of CFD software'.

The MCAD/CFD survey is based on over 600 completed responses from engineers using both CFD and mechanical design software in a broad range of industries.

The top three industries represented were aerospace and defence (32%), education (27%) and automotive (23%).

81% of respondents use CFD software and 55% use MCAD software.

The EFD family of CFD software from Flomerics includes EFD.Pro - a fully embedded CFD solution within the Pro/ENGINEER environment; EFD.V5, - a fully embedded CFD solution within the CATIA environment, and EFD.Lab - a general-purpose fluid analysis tool that includes a built-in solid modeler.

The analysis engine at the heart of the EFD product suite is the same analysis engine used by SolidWorks in their tightly-integrated CFD software - CosmosFloWorks.

All the software products in the EFD family work directly with the native CAD geometry and require no translation of data, so the solid model maintains intelligence such as assembly hierarchy, constraints, and features.

Users can take advantage of the existing data to conduct 'what if?' analyses directly from within their chosen design platform.

EFD makes it easy to perform flow simulation because it analyses the geometry and generates the computational grid in the background while the user only needs to interact with the familiar MCAD interface.