Techni IM Gold AT6100 is for immersion gold plating. Additive makes it possible to deposit gold without nickel removal. Reportedly eliminates almost all of the replacement reaction and corrosion that occurs with a typical immersion gold process. Primary mechanism uses Ni as a site for gold reduction but does not remove it from the surface. Reaction stops once Ni is coated, creating a pore-free surface. Deposit has shown an improvement in solderability since there is no corrosion of the underlying nickel layer. Has also shown reductions in gold usage by 10 to 20% through longer bath life and tighter gold distribution.

Technic, www.technic.com

CheckMate Job Tracking software is targeted for small to mid-size companies that need a flexible way to track labor and materials against jobs. Number of hours spent on a job can be broken down into tasks, employees or departments. Work order is printed with a barcode ID number; each employee is assigned a barcoded badge. Work order number and badge are scanned using a barcode reader as work begins on the job. When used in conjunction with CheckMate Stockroom, full materials management is added to data. Location of work order within the manufacturing process can be tracked. Job Data includes a Time and Attendance module, which collects labor hours for payroll.

Dynamic Systems Inc., www.dynamic-systemsinc.com

Sherlock Automated Design Analysis software v. 5.0 features modeling regions, attached heat sinks, NX Nastran support, and an IMEC plated through-hole fatigue model. Includes added support for user-defined PCB modeling regions for FEA analysis or model export. Areas of particular interest can be viewed with greater detail; enables users to specify different meshing properties for different PCB areas. Can create custom meshes for key areas of the PCB. Modeling regions can be used to export only a subset of the PCB or to exclude one or more regions from the PCB model. Can model various types of heat sinks, in addition to the PCB, components, and mount points for finite element analysis. Can create attachment points for heat sinks from mount points; heat sink editor allows properties for multiple heat sinks to be modified simultaneously. Includes Abaqus FEA engine integration and support for NX Nastran FEA engine.  Can export mesh models using NX Nastran bulk data file format.

DfR Solutions, www.dfrsolutions.com

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LabVIEW 2016 system design software introduces new channel wires to simplify communication between parallel sections of code. Available on desktop and real-time versions, the channel wire method reportedly improves code readability and reduces development time. Has enhanced interoperability with Python and third-party devices. Has 64-bit add-on support for Control Design and Simulation Module, MathScript Real-Time Module, Unit Test Framework Toolkit, Desktop Execution Trace Toolkit and VI Analyzer Toolkit. Instrument Driver Network supports 500 new devices in addition to existing 10,000 supported instruments. Integrate Python IP using the new Python Integration Toolkit.

National Instruments, www.ni.com

Register now for PCB West, the Silicon Valley's largest trade show for the printed circuit industry, taking place Sept. 13-15 in Santa Clara: PCBWEST.COM