Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - New Products

New Products

OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada – Optiwave Systems Inc. has released OptiBPM 8, the latest version of its waveguide optics design suite. The release reportedly contains new mode solvers for circular fibers, powerful optimization engines and an increase in simulation performance.

OptiBPM 8 uses advanced LP and vector mode solvers for circular fibers. These meshless fiber mode solvers find modes using a transfer matrix method in cylindrical coordinates. Other new features are said to include intelligent optimization engines, the ability to import DXF and GDSII mask file formats, and a simulation engine performance boost where OptiBPM 8 is said to run 50% faster than previous versions.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the new release of OptiBPM 8," said Jan Jakubczyk, president and CEO of Optiwave. "We have a strong international base of users that require advanced simulation tools to meet their current research needs. We are proud to be an established supplier that offers innovative software products which meet research and development mission-critical objectives."

SHANNON, Ireland – PCB-POOL has introduced a real-time service where customers can watch the progress of their boards through each manufacturing stage. With Watch “ur” PCB, customers can log into their personal account and view high-resolution photographic images of their current order.

Previously, customers would receive a PDF file of the data prior to production. The problem with such files is that they do not show the actual PCB manufacturing image, they are only drawings, so potential errors and faults are extremely difficult to spot.

Using the Watch “ur” PCB production monitoring service, customers can have pictures of their boards sent to them as a Zip file. On request they can even be informed by e-mail whenever there is a new picture available to view.

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada – Sirit Technologies’ OEM modules are “RFID-enabling” board-level building blocks that are designed to be embedded and integrated within OEM devices and finished products such as handheld/portable data terminals, label printers and cashless payment terminals.

The modules are said to complement the core functionalities of these products by providing them with the ability to function as RFID readers/writers. They have been designed into and serve as the core RFID technology for a wide range of RFID offerings from tier-1 OEMs, as well as OEM channel partners/integrators.

Sirit offers a broad range of modules to support RFID frequencies [UHF (902-928 MHz), HF (13.56 MHz), LF (125 / 134.2 kHz)], tag protocols (EPCglobal, ISO, proprietary flavors), data collection methods (RFID, barcode), and performance requirements.

VICTORIA, Australia – The PCB Company Pty Ltd. has released AL-Back PCBs, aluminum backed printed circuit boards designed for the thermal conduction of heat away from high power dissipating components.

The product is basically a thin FR-4 PCB bonded to an aluminum backplate. Excess heat being generated is said to easily pass through the FR-4 of the board and then dissipate quickly into the aluminum, allowing the board to have its own large heatsink permanently attached.

The aluminum backplate is offered in varying thicknesses and can be folded, machined and/or routed according to specific requirements. Final profiling of AL-Back PCBs is generally achieved by routing, although for larger volumes the circuits can also be stamped or pressed.

The simplest form available of AL-Back PCB is single-sided surface mount. For more complicated circuits, double-sided PTH and multi-layer PCBs can also be manufactured. Access to the bottom layer (bonded to the aluminum) can be gained via routed openings.

The use of AL-Back is ideal for high power LEDs, but can be used for any product where heat dissipation is important.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Mimic Components Ltd. (part of Mimic Crafts Ltd.) has made the full version of Ranger2 PCB CAD software available as a freeware version. According to the company, became uneconomic to sell Ranger2 due to the administration costs involved.

All Ranger2 designs and libraries are fully upwards compatible with the current Ranger2 XL and Ranger XL packages.

Key features include:

- Schematic: eight sheets - A5 to A1; auto-allocation of parts and pins; macros; up to eight power rails.

- ArtWork: 25 µm resolution; 16,000 pins, 1,400 components; 16 layers; 16 track and 16 pad sizes per design; an 800x800 mm PCB area; gate and pin swapping; back annotation; signal highlight; autorouter (single or double-sided).

- Outputs: printers/plotters with Windows drivers, Gerber, NC drill files and HPGL.

- General: Futurenet pinlist input; Gerber input.

- DXF: transfer and interfaces to Specctra auto-router.

SANTA CLARA, CA – SigmaQuest Inc., a provider of software for managing product quality throughout manufacturing and a product’s lifecycle, has announced that its software helps OEMs track the quality and performance of products that have been revamped to adhere to the RoHS Directive.

“Adhering to the RoHS Directive has been a huge obstacle for many electronics companies, as removing the newly banned substances can impact the performance and reliability of products from cell phones to automotive components,” said Nader Fathi, CEO of SigmaQuest. “It is well understood that replacing a substance such as lead from the soldering joints on a printed circuit board with another substance can cause all kinds of product performance issues, including the higher melting requirements of the newly revamped soldering points. SigmaQuest’s SigmaSure suite helps OEMs find, fix, detect and avoid issues resulting from the transition from non-RoHS to RoHS compliance.”

SigmaSure on-demand, web-based software features several modules where the impact of moving to RoHS compliance can be checked. Through its Manufacturing and Test Insight software, it is reported that users can continuously monitor their manufacturing chain’s product quality data anytime and anywhere, and OEMs can measure the impact of how new, RoHS-compliant components affect their end products.

Through the Supplier Quality Insight module, it is said that OEMs can track the quality of their core suppliers’ components, including those modified for RoHS compliance, before committing to the assembly of broader product offerings. Further, SigmaQuest’s RMA Insight module reportedly delivers instant knowledge about defects, trends and the root cause of failures on products returned by end customers.

In addition to helping OEMs better manage product performance and quality the software helps to provide “due diligence” information by creating technical files that are loaded with supporting documentation that confirms RoHS compliance.