ISU Petasys to Build Korean PCB Plant

DAEGU, KOREA – ISU Petasys will invest KRW300 billion ($223.3 million) here to build a PCB manufacturing plant.

Under an investment agreement signed by the city and company, ISI Petasys will invest the funding in 21,344 sq. m. of land in Dalseong First Industrial Complex to build a new plant to manufacture multilayer circuit boards. The company said the investment is in response to an increase in product demand from global big tech companies due to the rapid growth of the AI accelerator and data center market.

When the plant is completed, ISU Petasys expects its annual revenue will jump to KRW1.5 trillion ($1.12 billion) by 2030 from KRW579 billion ($431 million) last year.

Celus Launches Assisted Design Platform

AUSTIN, TX – Celus in August announced the worldwide availability of its assisted hardware design platform that allows engineers to find components for their projects through smart algorithms and the use of machine learning and AI.

The Celus Design Platform simplifies and accelerates the electronics design process by transforming technical requirements into schematic prototypes in less than an hour, accelerating the electronics design process.

Component suppliers that have their products tied to the Celus Design Platform can connect with engineers and designers for faster market integration and broader reach, the company said in a release. This connection can aid component suppliers in reaching customers who may not be accessible through traditional channels, and Celus enhances the visibility of these components when they are identified as the preferred choice in various design projects.

SnapChip Releases ChatGPT-Based Component Sourcing Tool

VANCOUVER, WA – SnapChip in September released SnapChipGPT, which it calls the first-ever customized GPT for searching electronic components.

SnapChipGPT is built on OpenAI’s advanced GPT-4 architecture and allows users to access real-time electronic component data to search, compare and source components directly through the ChatGPT interface.

The tool introduces real-time pricing and stock information straight into ChatGPT, allowing users to search for components by part number or description, ask questions related to pricing, stock availability, and technical specifications and interact with datasheets – all within a seamless chat environment. By integrating these features, engineers, procurement specialists and electronics manufacturers can make faster and more informed decisions with remarkable ease and efficiency.

Icape Acquires NTW, Major Japanese PCB Distributor

HOVVAHGEN, SWEDEN – Icape Group signed a deal to acquire NTW, a Japanese distributor of PCBs in Asia. NTW serves large local industrial customers through its seven subsidiaries in Asia and expects revenue of over $20 million in 2024.

Icape will finance the acquisition in cash, and it will be consolidated starting in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Founded in 2002, the NTW Group has a business model similar to that of Icape. Its subsidiaries are close to global PCB production centers in Japan, China and Southeast Asia. Its 40 employees serve a customer base of major Japanese accounts positioned in diverse industries, ranging from office automation to communication and infrastructure tools.

SIA Releases 2024 State of the Industry Report

WASHINGTON – The Semiconductor Industry Association released its annual State of the Industry Report, highlighting opportunities for continued growth and innovation across the semiconductor industry, and noting current and upcoming challenges to the industry’s sustained success.

Last year, global industry sales reached $527 billion, and nearly 1 trillion semiconductors were sold globally, which is more than 100 chips for every person on Earth. With a cyclical market downturn now over and demand for semiconductors high, estimates from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics project sales to increase to over $600 billion in 2024.

The report finds that rising demand has prompted new industry investments to increase chip production. Thanks in part to the Chips and Science Act, the United States is forecast to more than triple its semiconductor fabrication capacity and secure a larger share of new private investment in semiconductor manufacturing.

Elna Opens Malaysian PCB Manufacturing Plant

BUTTERWORTH, MALAYSIA – Taiwanese PCB manufacturer Elna PCB opened a 10,000 sq. m. manufacturing plant here in the Perai Industrial Zone.

Located adjacent to Elna’s existing plant, the MYR1 billion ($230 million) expansion will have an annual capacity of more than 300,000 sq. ft. of PCBs, and will cater to the automotive, server, network equipment, personal computing and consumer electronics sectors, said Ian Yang, president, Elna PCB.

“As global demand for high-quality and advanced PCBs continue to grow, we are poised to expand our production capacity to one million square feet in the near future,” he said at the plant’s opening ceremony. “The existing facility will maintain its production for the automotive customers, while this new plant enhances our capabilities, enabling us to meet our customers’ needs with greater geographical manufacturing diversity and supply chain flexibility.”

Benchmark Opens 4^th Malaysian Facility

PENANG – Benchmark Electronics opened a production facility here, which will focus on serving customers in the semiconductor capital equipment and commercial aerospace sectors.

The new facility is Benchmark’s fourth factory in the region and features 8,000 sq. m. of space with room to expand. The new addition gives the company 40,000 total sq. m. of production space in Penang.

“Benchmark Penang is critical to our expanding operations in Asia, and we are enthusiastic about growing our manufacturing capabilities in Malaysia by adding our fourth facility in the country,” said Jeff Benck, president and CEO of Benchmark. “This facility will enhance our capacity and expertise, enabling us to better serve our current customers and meet the growing interest from new customers aiming to regionalize their production across the APAC region. The new investment will also deepen our well-established roots in the Penang community.”

Cofidur Acquires French EMS Seico

LAVAL, FRANCE – French electronics contractor Cofidur has announced the acquisition of fellow French EMS Seico.

Seico had sales of €15.7 million in 2023, and the aggregate revenue of the firms will reach €100 million. The addition Seico’s workforce of 100 will bring the combined company’s staffing to more than 500, Cofidur said in a release.

“For two years, we had been looking for and listening to opportunities,” said Laurent Dupoiron, chairman, Cofidur. “With Seico, we are already exceeding our targets, with sales expected to reach €100 million by the end of 2024. We already achieved 30% growth last year. And we think that by integrating Seico into Cofidur, one plus one should make two and a half.”

Jabil to Build New Manufacturing Plant in India, Expand Silicon Photonics Capabilities

TRICHY, INDIA – Jabil is set to build a new manufacturing plant here, with a INR2,000 crore ($238 million) investment to set the foundation of a new electronics manufacturing cluster.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin announced the new facility in a post on social media, adding that the factory is expected to create 5,000 jobs for the area.

With the expansion of Jabil into the state, Tamil Nadu will now house facilities from all major Apple suppliers, including Foxconn, Pegatron and Tata Electronics.

Elite Electronic Systems Acquires CB Technology

ENNISKILLEN, UK – Ireland-based Elite Electronic Systems announced the acquisition of CB Technology, a contract manufacturer headquartered in Livingston, UK.

With the acquisition of CB Technology, which specializes in electronics designed to work in harsh environments, Elite Electronic Systems said it hopes to strengthen its position by integrating CB’s 25 years of industry expertise.

“This acquisition is a pivotal step for Elite as we continue to grow and innovate in the EMS industry,” said Jonathan Balfour, CEO, Elite Electronic Systems. “The addition of CB Technology’s specialized expertise and strong market presence will allow us to deliver even greater value to our customers. We are excited to welcome the CB team to the Elite family and look forward to achieving new heights together.”

Circuitwise Acquires NZ’s Nautech Electronics

SYDNEY – Australian PCB manufacturer Circuitwise Electronics Manufacturing has acquired New Zealand-based electronics design and manufacturing specialist Nautech Electronics.

The acquisition of Nautech extends Circuitwise’s offerings with the addition of advanced testing facilities and a team of production engineers and electronics designers, Circuitwise said in a release, and its own offerings also complement Nautech’s, with an in-house enterprise manufacturing system that is supported by custom hardware solutions.

The company said geographical presence was a key consideration in the deal, with local manufacturing becoming increasingly important for companies in both nations looking for better delivery speed and reliability, enhanced communication and responsiveness, collaboration and support for testing and design for manufacture, reduced vulnerability to geopolitical disputes and tariff fluctuations, and stronger intellectual property protection.

Alliance Electronics Acquires EMS Factory

ROSHEIM, FRANCE – French electronics manufacturer Alliance Electronics has acquired EMS Factory, a specialist in prototyping and low- to medium-volume assembly. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Adding EMS Factory gives Alliance Electronics another prototyping plant, alongside Proto-Electronics, which “marks a significant turning point in this sector, where Alliance intends to establish itself as the undisputed leader,” the company said in a release.

“This alliance fits perfectly with our strategy of offering a wide range of services covering engineering, prototyping, industrialization and the production of small and medium series,” said Armel Fourreau, CEO, Alliance Electronics. “This merger will allow us to soon reach 20 million euros in turnover on our prototyping activities.”

Note to Expand Sweden Operations

LUND, SWEDEN – Note will build a new factory here to meet a projected increase in demand in coming years.

The company said the new plant will have more than 9,000 sq. m. of production space, and the forecasted expansion in business over the coming years should more than compensate for the increased operating costs for the new facility. Note plans for the new facility to be ready for operation in 2026.

“Going forward, Note sees continued increasing demand from its customers,” said Note president and CEO Johannes Lind-Widestam. “Despite a weaker economy in 2024, we see that the forecasts from our customers are strong and to meet that demand we need to expand the factory in Lund.”

Foxtronics EMS Acquires Accutron

JACKSONVILLE, IL – Foxtronics EMS added additional expertise in life science and aerospace and defense capabilities with the acquisition of Accutron.

Through the acquisition by private investment firm Foxhole Group, Foxtronics will now be able to offer services through the full product lifecycle, from design engineering proof of concept, quickturn and prototyping through sustained volume production, the company said in a release.

The company said Accutron’s location in Windsor, CT, is also near Foxtronics’ other companies, permitting convenient collaboration between R&D and engineering departments with customers in New England.

Concentric Announces Acquisition of EMS Firm GO Engineering

BUHL, GERMANY – Concentric AB has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of electronics design and manufacturer GO Engineering and its subsidiary ÖkoGW Verwaltungs in a deal valued at EUR23.5 million.

The deal is set to close on Oct. 1, subject to closing conditions.

Concentric will finance the acquisition, which corresponds to a multiple of 9.8 times GO Engineering’s adjusted EBITDA, using cash reserves and existing debt facilities.

US Commerce Department Offers Supply Chain Risk Assessment Tool

WASHINGTON – The US Department of Commerce unveiled an analytic risk assessment tool to inform the government’s efforts in mitigating supply chain risks.

Launched at the inaugural Supply Chain Summit hosted by the Department of Commerce and the Council on Foreign Relations in September, the SCALE Tool marks a significant milestone in the government’s broader commitment to strengthening the domestic supply chain ecosystem.

The SCALE tool is designed to provide critical insights into vulnerabilities across the supply chain ecosystem, enabling the US government to be more proactive and strategic in addressing issues related to supply chain security. Utilizing data sets from various US government agencies, the tool employs over 40 indicators across geopolitical, logistical, and technological categories to provide an in-depth evaluation of criticality, vulnerability, and resilience. Additionally, the tool assesses a wide range of factors affecting supply chains, including climate challenges and geopolitical tensions, creating a comprehensive “spider web of risk.” By identifying and addressing these risks, the tool allows for a nuanced understanding of structural and systemic supply chain vulnerabilities down to the component level.

Taiwan Leading PCB Recovery

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s printed circuit board sales rose 12.7% year-on-year in the second quarter on strong demand for AI servers, satellite communications, and automotive electronics, as well as a moderate recovery in the mobile phone and memory markets, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association said in September. Total sales reached NT$191 billion ($5.97 billion) in the second quarter, TPCA added.

Following five quarters of recession, the carrier board resumed growth in the second quarter, with an annual growth of 2.6% on a recovery in the mobile phone and memory markets, offset in part by lower demand in the computer and networking infrastructure markets, which slowed sales of ABF carrier boards. Multilayer boards increased 13% year-over-year on strong demand for AI servers; HDI grew 21.2% driven by demand for AI servers, low-orbit satellites and automotive electronics. Flex and rigid-flex boards grew 12.8% and 19%, respectively, due to the recovery of the automotive and mobile phone markets.

In the June quarter, the communication application market grew 32%, due mainly to mobile phones and satellite communications. Computer applications grew 11%, driven by demand for AI servers and recovery of the general server market. Automotive was up 11% on electric vehicle sales. The impact of economic uncertainty and high inflation softened consumer sales, which declined 14%, the only end-market to fall. (more)

Managing Signal Integrity in High-Speed PCBs

Nine considerations to prevent signal degradation due to crosstalk and EMI.
by Amit Bahl

With demand growing for AI chips the need for high-speed PCBs is on the rise. As operating frequencies increase over 10GHz, the risk of reflections, crosstalk and EMI increases.

For optimal performance, all frequency components of a signal should maintain consistent amplitude changes. Additionally, signals must reach their destination simultaneously to prevent phase discrepancies. Understanding these aspects will help the design of circuits without signal distortion.

Here we review the nine factors that lead to signal integrity issues and ways to mitigate them.

Balancing Stackups and Circuitry

A symmetrical build is one of the keys to minimize board warpage.
by Akber Roy

A stackup’s construction should be balanced to keep board warpage within IPC specifications. In general, the following parameters must be symmetrical with respect to a fictitious center plane of the board:

• Dielectric thickness
• Buildup of the dielectric
• Pattern density (layer to layer)
• Thickness of copper foil
• Number of layers.

Figure 1 shows a symmetrical eight-layer build. The following notes clarify points on symmetry from the numbers shown on the stackup in the figure.

Can Thailand Pad its PCB Gains?

2023 saw only a handful of fabricators gain ground, but SE Asia is primed to boom.
by Dr. Hayao Nakahara

Small it was, but the Thailand Electronics Circuit Asia exhibition held in Bangkok in late July was extremely informative as to what is happening in the Southeast Asian nation. According to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), the PCB output in Thailand may become the third or even second largest in the world. From 2022 to 2026, about $6 billion to $7 billion will be invested in PCB capacity in Thailand (at this moment, 40-plus fabricators from Taiwan and China are pouring into Thailand). Calling Thailand the second-largest PCB-producing country may be a bit of a stretch, but the third largest is not an exaggeration. From the view of “nationality,” however, Thailand-based KCE and a few other small ones will account for less than 10% of the total output. Taiwan-, China- and Japan-based companies will hold the lion’s share of the PCB output in Thailand.

The author wrote this report at Bangkok International Airport while waiting for a flight to Penang, Malaysia, where he was scheduled to visit several PCB fabricators before returning to Bangkok. He was then planning to visit 10 new PCB plants in Thailand before heading home to New York.

Thailand is just the latest in a string of geographical disruptions to the printed circuit manufacturing landscape over the past three decades. What was once the provenance of Japan and the US gave way to Taiwan, China, Vietnam and now Thailand as major hubs of production. But is it reflected (yet) in the latest NTI-100 rankings of the largest printed circuit board manufacturers?

Driving PCB Manufacturing Innovation and Efficiency

Can a production fabricator thrive in Middle America? Through its novel automation, Summit’s Chicago plant is proof-positive.
by Mike Buetow

In 1979, Eagle Electronics laid its foundation in printed circuit board manufacturing, and by 1985, it established its current site in Schaumburg, IL, just a few miles from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. The journey since then has been one of resilience and transformation, a pivotal moment coming in 2001 when the company faced a crucial decision: close its doors, become a broker or remodel. The decision to overhaul operations marked a new chapter, altering workflows to the point where work-in-progress inventory became a rare occurrence.

Now operating as part of Summit Interconnect, which acquired the company in 2021, the Chicago site stands as a key player within an eight-facility network that spans North America, with 90% of its business coming from within the US and additional customers in Malaysia, China and India. Summit Interconnect has positioned itself as a PCB manufacturing powerhouse, with an extensive customer base that spans over 400 businesses, primarily serving the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) sector, which makes up about 70% of its revenue. Quickturn projects, often requiring turnaround times between 24 and 72 hours, and medium-volume production are the site’s specialty.

Reflow Profiling in PCB Assembly

Optimizing temperatures will ensure the best possible conditions for soldering.
by Timothy O’Neill

Verifying and optimizing the temperature profile of a reflow oven ensures an ideal thermal environment for solder paste to melt, flow and solidify, forming robust solder joints.

Calibrating the oven temperatures and ensuring they are set correctly involves sending a so-called “golden board” through the oven. Ideally, a “golden board” is supplied as part of the work kit by the customer or design team. This board (Figure 1) will be a sacrificial, fully populated assembly with (ideally five to seven) thermocouples attached via high-temperature solder in strategic locations across the assembly. It is processed through the reflow oven, collecting detailed information that technicians can use to make adjustments, ensuring the components and areas on the board stay within specified temperature constraints.

In Case You Missed It

3-D Printing

“Iterative Printing of Bulk Metal and Polymer for Additive Manufacturing of Multi-Layer Electronic Circuits”

Authors: Zeba Khan, et. al.

Abstract: In pursuing advancing additive manufacturing (AM) techniques for 3-D objects, this study combines AM techniques for bulk metal and polymer on a single platform for one-stop printing of multilayer 3-D electronic circuits with two novel aspects. The first innovation involves the embedded integration of electronic circuits by printing low-resistance electrical traces from bulk metal into polymer channels. Cross-section grinding results reveal (92±5)% occupancy of electrically conductive traces in polymer channels despite the different thermal properties of the two materials. The second aspect encompasses the possibility of printing vertical bulk metal vias up to 10mm in height with the potential for expansion, interconnecting electrically conductive traces embedded in different layers of the 3-D object. The work provides comprehensive 3-D printing design guidelines for successfully integrating fully embedded electrically conductive traces and the interconnecting vertical bulk metal vias. A smooth and continuous workflow is also introduced, enabling a single-run print of functional multilayer embedded 3-D electronics. The design rules and the workflow facilitate the iterative printing of two distinct materials, each defined by unique printing temperatures and techniques. Observations indicate that conductive traces using molten metal microdroplets show a 12-fold reduction in resistance compared to nanoparticle ink-based methods, meaning this technique greatly complements multi-material additive manufacturing (MM-AM). The work presents insights into the behavior of molten metal microdroplets on a polymer substrate when printed through the MM-AM process. It explores their characteristics in two scenarios: deposited side-by-side to form conductive traces and deposited out-of-plane to create vertical bulk metal vias. The innovative application of MM-AM to produce multilayer embedded 3-D electronics with bulk metal and polymer demonstrates significant potential for realizing the fabrication of free-form 3-D electronics. (npj Advanced Manufacturing, August 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44334-024-00001-0)