Author Archives: Mike

About Mike

Mike Buetow is president of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (pcea.net). He previously was editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and PCD&F, the leading publication for printed circuit design and fabrication. He spent 21 years as vice president and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversaw all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 30 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow

The Top 50 EMS Companies Chat

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The electronics manufacturing services industry in 2012 saw something of a changing of the guard as major European players like Elcoteq, ElectronicNetwork and SRI Radio Systems dropped off the map, and dependable stalwart industries like military and PCs experienced slow growth.

What did we learn from the events of last year, and what will the future of the EMS industry look like? Come chat with me on April 23 over at PCB Chat from 12 noon to 1 pm (Eastern). I will also discuss the annual CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Top 50, which was released in April.

(Membership in PCB Chat is free, but you do need to register first.)

 

EU to Feel Conflict Crunch?

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Is Europe about to get its environmental comeuppance?

After perhaps billions of dollars were spent transforming the electronics supply chain to reflect the European Commission’s RoHS and WEEE directives, the EC is now considering adopting a version of the US law governing conflict minerals.

The US law, promulgated last year, mandates businesses using or trading in certain minerals must have impeccable documentation proving they were not mined using forced labor in the DRC.

As contributor Barbara Jones wrote last month, approximately 6,000 companies in the US may be subject to the reporting requirement, and the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that the compliance costs industry-wide could hit $16 billion.

RoHS, of course, brought painful and, some say, unnecessary costs on the electronics industry, even those companies that were either exempt or otherwise not selling to European customers, as suppliers migrated toward lead-free products in order to ensure compliance. Many companies that were not directly covered by RoHS found themselves scrambling for lead components, for example.

Now that the US has taken the lead on conflict minerals, however, Europe might find itself forced to play geopolitical catchup for a change. The EC is accepting public comment through the end of June, and while it hasn’t tipped its hand as to whether rules are in the offing, it says here political pressure will lead Brussels to enact rules for European businesses as well.

I’d call it payback, expect it will end up costing everyone.

 

Robotics Competition an Eye-Opening Experience

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Ever wondered, as you survey the ever-greying and balding crowd at a trade show, where our next crop of engineers, technicians and scientists will come from? Gary Ferrari and I* had just this conversation at a recent Designers Council event –how do we attract young men and women to our industry?

One possible resource is FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics – a not-for-profit organization that helps students ages 6 to 18 to discover and develop a passion for science, technology, engineering and math.  (FIRST Robotics was founded by Dean Kamen, inventor and entrepreneur, whose inventions include the Segway PT and the first drug infusion pump.)

This past Friday, I had the privilege of attending the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition Peachtree Regional, presented by Georgia FIRST Robotics. It’s one of 60+ competitions taking place throughout the country the next few weeks. Wow! What passion, creativity and inventiveness from public, private and home-schooled high school students.  They work in teams alongside professional engineers and mentors to design, build and program robots; they apply real-world math and science concepts; they learn and use sophisticated hardware and software. In the process, they develop critical skills such as design, project management, programming, teamwork, and strategic thinking – plus have the opportunity for college scholarships.

(A shout out to two of our PCD&F customers – National Instruments and Altium – for being Crown sponsors of First Robotics).

I was given a personal tour of the “Pit” – 10 x 10′ working spaces for each team – and the “Arena Floor” by the TERAdactyls team from Suwanee, GA. (There are some great team names, by the way. Two of my favorites were “CircuitRunners” and “GLAMbots”). On the Arena Floor I saw robots in action playing the Ultimate Ascent game involving pretty complicated maneuvers shooting Frisbees to hit specific targets and climbing pyramids.  Imagine a high school science fair with a heavy dose of DRAGONCON and WWE and you’ve got the picture.

The sheer creativity of the teams, the enthusiasm and obvious love for science and technology was so evident.  And young women – lots of them – just as engaged as their male counterparts.s

Cisco was lead sponsor for this event, and local high tech companies such as Rockwell Collins, Novelis and Lockheed Martin were among the sponsors.  NCR and Spectral Response were just two of many  companies providing judges.  (Note: The Atlanta SMTA Chapter has selected Georgia FIRST as its designated charity for its April 18 Expo and robot demonstrations will be held on the exhibit floor!)

If you get a chance to attend one of these events, go for it!  The passion, creativity, energy and enthusiasm of these kids will amaze you.  (And you might want to take some job applications with you just in case!)

*By Frances Stewart, vice president of marketing and sales at UP Media Group.

China v Japan

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I’m not sure what to make of this video describing the economic impact of a war between China and Japan. Now, please understand that I think the odds of this happening are almost impossibly remote under the current administrations. When economies dip, nationalism almost always rises, and China at its upper levels is an All-Star when it comes acting insulted.  And its relevance to most of our readers is both high and low, as any major dispute — be it military or an extensive trade war — would have consequences for up almost every industry, not just electronics manufacturing. Yet there’s little on a practical level that our readers could do about it.

But whether you agree with the hypothesis, it’s an incredibly creative way to tell a story.

The March Issue of PCD&F/CA

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… is now out.

The cover story, “Bridging Technology between Conventional 3D and TSV 3D Stacking,” looks at two new multi-die DRAM packages with thin profiles that minimize wirebond length.

Among the other features:

  • My recap of the Apex Expo trade show in February.
  • Some key areas of the Benchmark Electronics’ Robotics manufacturing process, from a prototype or new-build stage to steady-state production.
  • The new IPC-2221B design standard.
  • Designing high-speed, small area boards.
  • Determining whether a process generate an electrostatic charge, and if so, how much.
  • We answer the question, Can a flex circuit be made with platinum or gold conductors rather than copper?
  • Selective soldering dwell times.
  • And the latest in a yearlong PCD&F series highlighting promising new enterprises in printed circuit board design looks at startup CircuitHub’s user-driven parts library.

Check it out.

 

Robots on Trial

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This Boston Globe article poses interesting questions about the legal and moral responsibilities of robots (yes, robots).

In summary, does the legal system need to adapt to adjudicating cases where artificial intelligence-run machines make decisions based on their own reasoning, as opposed to faulty programming? (Think HAL in 2001.) Some are arguing that robots with full autonomy “can and should be held criminally liable” for their actions. It other words, malice or intent aren’t at issue, but the action itself.

The implications will resonate as electronics manufacturing migrates to robot-operated manufacturing.

HAL is watching us. Do we need to watch HAL?

 

 

Will Juki-Sony Talks Get Others Going?

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Industry chatter has long said M&A activity among the major placement companies is inevitable.

Yet throughout the gut-wrenching downturn of 2001-02, the widespread pause in 2008-09, and the subsequent fallout starting last spring, nothing concrete took place.

Sure, a few companies have changed hands — Mydata was bought out by Micronic, Dover divested Universal Instruments to Francisco Partners, which in turn sold it to Patriarch Partners, ASM took Siplace off Siemens’ hands, and H2 Equity Partners did the same for Philips with Assembleon.

But there are more than 25 pick-and-place OEMs around the world, and despite fierce competition the number is actually growing.

Today, Juki and Sony announced the signing of a non-binding memorandum of intent to discuss the possible integration of their respective surface-mount technology equipment and related businesses. Will this finally get things rolling?

Under the MOI, Sony and Juki would integrate their SMT businesses under a newly established company, whose name is yet to be disclosed. Both companies are ponying up cash for the “startup,” Juki presumably providing the lion’s share as stands to receive two-thirds of the shares in the new venture.

The deal could be consummated by September if everything holds up.

It’s unclear what a merged entity’s worldwide market share would be, but I suspect it would be the largest in the world. Juki currently is neck-and-neck with Yamaha and Fuji in Asia, and is probably the current leader for new units sold in the US. Sony hasn’t been able to penetrate the US, but has done well in Mexico, where many Japanese OEMs have or had larger factories. It also sold thousands placement machines to Foxconn, reportedly as part of a an arrangement under which Sony outsourced production of various consumer electronics. Latin Americas is up for grabs. Siplace and Assembleon continue to hold sway in Europe, but others have made inroads of late.

This could also affect Juki’s deals as a full-line distributor for other suppliers. Sony currently makes everything from screen printers to placement machines to AOI. Juki resells printers (GKC) in the Americas and Europe, as well as various soldering equipment lines.

The bigger question, however, is will this spur other M&A? Not many companies align so neatly as Juki and Sony. So while many placement companies have been on the block for some time, and the lure of better share, less competition and — hopefully — greater margins is always on the CFOs’ minds, the merging of differing technology, approaches and cultures (not to mention the acquisition price) haven’t been enough to seal any deals thus far. And we don’t see that changing any time soon.

What About PCB?

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As the major CAD vendors hold their quarterly conference calls, one thing to watch is whether analysts are asking about PCB design tools.

For the most part, they aren’t.

So while Cadence’s PCB and IC packaging software lines saw good growth in 2012, with revenue climbing 11%, its hour-long call on Jan. 30 was devoted to fielding analyst questions on semiconductor and emulation products.

OK, we get it, we aren’t the tail that wags the dog. But given the market size and relative  profitability PCB tools generate, it would be nice to get a little more notice.