Luminary Micro's Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit, paired with the IAR Embedded Workbench KickStart Edition development tools, has been launched by the company.

Luminary Micro, a semiconductor company that designs, markets, and sells ARM Cortex-M3 processor-based microcontrollers, announced the immediate availability of its Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit paired with the IAR Embedded Workbench KickStart Edition development tools. The IAR Embedded Workbench is a powerful set of essential build and debug tools for embedded projects using both C and C++. The KickStart Edition allows projects of up to 32KB code size, enabling users to take advantage of the power of the Stellaris LM3S811 ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller.

'The KickStart Edition of IAR's Embedded Workbench - with its generous 32KB evaluation limit for code - combined with one of Luminary Micro's most popular hardware evaluation platforms provides a powerful platform for users to put the kit to full use doing real work,' said Luminary Micro Chief Marketing Officer Jean Anne stand.

Measuring just 3.5' by 1.5', the Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit is exceptional for its compactness and versatility, spanning the design spectrum from evaluation to prototyping to application-specific design by functioning as both an evaluation platform for the Stellaris LM3S811 microcontroller and a serial in-circuit debug interface for any Stellaris microcontroller-based target board.

The kit features: 50 MHz Stellaris LM3S811 ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller, 96x16 pixel OLED display, User-programmable push button and LED, Convenient reset push button and power indicator LED, Thumbwheel potentiometer input to the on-chip ADC Serial in-circuit debug interface over USB, Stellaris Peripheral Driver Library, which provides a convenient, no-hassle method of initializing, programming, and controlling peripherals on Stellaris microcontrollers, The KickStart Edition of the IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM supporting up to 32KB code size, Port and example application using FreeRTOS.org small footprint real time operating system, Stellaris CD packed with datasheets, schematics, applications notes, and programming examples.

In addition, the IAR KickStart Edition Evaluation Kit also supports demonstration applications available for download and trial on-line.

Demonstrations include: FreeRTOS.org from FreeRTOS.org, uC/OS-II from from Micrium, CMX-RTX from CMX, EmbOS RTOS from SEGGER Microcontroller Systeme.

The board is powered over USB (cable included) and contains silk-screened through-hole-mount pin headers that can be user populated with pin stake headers for use in hardware prototyping.

utilising a standard 20-pin ARM JTAG debug cable (also included), the Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit can be used as a serial in-circuit emulator for the user's application-specific target board.

'The LM3S811 microcontroller at the heart of the kit is a representative example of how Luminary Micro has put ARM's groundbreaking Cortex-M3 processor core to use in a highly cost-effective way,' said Mats Ullstrom, Product Director at IAR Systems.

Forge Europa, a leading UK based manufacturer of LED components, displays and LED assemblies will be showing new products .

Forge Europa, a leading UK based manufacturer of LED components, displays and LED assemblies will be exhibiting at ICE 2007. At the exhibition, Forge Europa will be launching a new range of standard and custom designed LED assemblies along with new product developments such as aLED high power LED lighting assemblies, high intensity LEDs and long life LED technology. These aLEDs consist of a high power LED mounted onto a thermally optimised substrate complete with a connector or solder pads.

This takes the headaches of thermal design away and gives an easy to use sub-assembly.

The standard aLED range consists of 1w hexagonal shaped assembly, 1w triple cluster assembly, 1w lighting strip in single colour and in red, green, blue for colour mixing, and 1w double and triple LED lighting strips.

Additionally a diverse range of standard optics giving wide, medium and narrow beam patterns in a variety of sizes can also be supplied to fit the aLED devices, thus giving the lighting or gaming and casino designer a complete solution.

Also on show for the first time will be a new 6 pin surface mount RGB device with dazzling intensities of: red 275mcd, green 580mcd and blue 190mcd.

This is a versatile LED allowing users to mix colours and create specific colours including white.

As each chip can be controlled individually this makes it possible to produce light sources that are fully dimmable with no colour shift.

This item can be supplied binned for RGB or alternatively binned for white balance for those applications where consistency of white is critical.

This part is supplied in a top LED format but has a low profile design so only measures 3.2x1.8x1.45 making it ideal for situations where space is critical such as decorative edge lighting.

These LEDs are perfect for full colour displays, full colour backlighting, and attention grabbing lighting for gaming or casino equipment.

If you have a specific LED assembly requirement, customised solutions can readily be provided to meet specific applications.

Forge Europa can design tailor made assemblies to individual specifications.

As well as new products and services, the full range of Forge Europa LED Lamps and Displays will be on show so that visitors will have the chance to see the variety of ISO 9001 quality assured optoelectronics products.

Specialists have noticed that being RoHS compliant and lead-free brings all sorts of new issues - so they believe that now is the time to look at manual soldering, - such as solder/desolder tips.

Has moving to lead-free caused soldering or desoldering tip problems? The specialists at Intertronics have noticed that being RoHS compliant and lead-free brings all sorts of new issues - so if you have sorted out your machine soldering changes they believe that now is the time to look at your hand soldering, either as part of your normal assembly process, or during rework and repair. Peter Swanson, managing director at Intertronics, suggested that: 'First check that your soldering iron tips are themselves RoHS compliant.

All Plato Soldering Tips manufactured since January 2004 are tinned with lead-free solder.' Swanson also believes that higher temperatures and high tin content solders, common in lead-free soldering processes, place additional strain on soldering iron tips.

He said that: 'many of our customers report that the tip life of our competitors' product has been badly affected when going 'lead-free'.

The long life of a Plato Soldering Tip reduces tip changes, decreasing the total number of tips used and decreasing production time - and saves money.

Some have reported five times the life of their previous tip.' It has been found that it can be even worse for desoldering tips, where there is extra abrasion during use.

Plato is the one of the largest manufacturers of soldering iron tips in the world, producing tips to fit the most popular soldering irons and soldering stations.

The long life and fast heat recovery of Plato Soldering Tips increases user effectiveness and decreases production times.

This is because Plato Soldering Tips are constructed from highly conductive premium grade copper to transmit heat to the work more quickly than other brands of soldering tips.

This quick heat recovery enables more joints to be soldered per minute, thus reducing manufacturing time and costs.

Intertronics supply replacement soldering and desoldering tips for: Weller, Pace, Ersa, Hakko and Edsyn and their experience shows that using a high quality Plato Soldering Tip increases soldering speed and decreases the total cost of manufacture.

Lead-free is mandatory but ever since the earlier introduction of lead-free solder paste there has been the question of how advanced a reflow oven should be.

Kaisertech, supplier of the Dima range of ovens, says the success of a reflow oven is not measured by size or the amount of heating zones but by the ability to create every possible reflow profile. A simple calculation will help to explain what is needed. For most lead-free reflow profiles the board needs about three to five minutes in the process chambers.

For manufacturers that produce only small batches of boards the speed of the conveyor is not really important.

If the oven runs at 20cm per minute a tunnel length maximum of 100cm (20cm x 5min) is required, or if the oven runs at 40cm per minute a tunnel length maximum of 200cm (40cm x 5min) is required.

The number of zones needed is a similar story.

High throughput ovens are using several zones, but in practice these zones are set at the same temperature.

Dividing one long zone into several smaller zones makes it easier to keep the temperature uniform over a longer distance.

In theory only three zones plus one cooling zone are required (ramp-soak-peak), but in practice it is easier to create an ideal profile when adding one extra heating zone.

Both the Dima Breeze and Solano ovens have been developed to provide powerful convection heating irrespective of the size and mass of the components.

Additionally an unlimited variation of temperature profiles is achieved by tunnel designs that include four top four bottom heating zones.

Forced hot air heating maintains consistent edge-to-edge temperatures, regardless of component size or density.

To eliminate the possibility of damage caused by static both have as standard equipment an air ioniser in the cool down zone.

An upgrade for hybrid pick and place systems make them capable of handling 0201 components utilising a new feeder which has much better and more accurate index steps.

Striving to have to most flexible and accurate Pick and Place machine available in its range, DIMA is proud to announce the successful upgrade for their Hybrid Pick and Place Systems making it capable to handle 0201 components. Being able to handle as many different components shapes and sizes available in today's market has always been the challenge for the DIMA Hybrid Pick and Place machines. Especially for those companies that have small to medium production series of many different kind of PCBs a flexible Pick and Place machine is a must.

Not only short changeover times but also the capability to handle almost every available component is important.

The Hybrid Pick and Place machine could already handle components ranging as small as 0402 up to 42 x 42mm large components.

Even 16mm high components and 0.4mm fine pitch components are being handled without problems.

By introducing a special feeder and pick up tool the Hybrid Pick and Place is now capable of accurately handling 0201 components.

Handling the 0201 component introduces a few new issues into a pick and place machine.

The smaller dimension and lower mass of an 0201-device compared even to its 0402-cousin hold the key to the likely increase in defect rates.

Because the nozzle is almost the same size as the component, there is a higher probability of miss-picking the component from the paper tape.

Moreover, the components can also move significantly, relative to their size, in the tape, unless the tolerance between the pocket dimensions and part dimensions are tightened.

Also, electrostatic effects resulting from separating the cover foil from the paper tape have a greater tendency to displace the lightweight components before it can be picked.

Finally since the smaller component dimensions allow closer spacing on the PCB, placement resolution must be almost twice as high for 0201s as for 0402s.

DIMA has succeeded in overcoming all these points of attention for the Hybrid Pick and Place machine utilising a new feeder that uses the same body as a standard 8mm feeder but with much better and more accurate index steps.

Compared to the standard 8mm feeder this new feeder uses 6 times more micro steps with a step repeatability of 30 micron.

Furthermore a special pick up tool has been developed to accurately pick up and place the 0201 component allowing interspacing of 150 micron.

Integration of this new feeder and tool will be possible not only on a new Hybrid Pick and Place machine, but DIMA also offers the possibility to upgrade all the Hybrid Pick and Place machine of their existing customers.

During Nepcon 2006 in Birmingham, UK (May 9 - 11) and during SMT 2006 in Nuernberg (Nuremberg), Germany (May 30 - June 1), DIMA SMT Systems will live demonstrate the new Hybrid Pick and Place capabilities.

DIMA SMT Systems also manufactures a full range of stand-alone and in-line systems for the SMT industry like stencil printers, reflow, curing and drying ovens, selective Conformal coating systems and dispensing systems.