Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Design News

Design News

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Design News; Published: 03 September 2008

INDIANAPOLIS– AT&S has chosen Cimnet Systems’ pre-production engineering application Engenix and the Direct Logix Control Center Solution as the engineering automation solution for all six of the company’s facilities. Engenix includes tools for job management, pre-production engineering and communication and collaboration, and will be used to continue the development of advanced engineering tools in order to meet changing PCB technology. The PCB-specific software will serve to improve production by integrating incoming processes and data smoothly, and the company expects to reduce the cycle time for new jobs by at least 50%.

“As the multi-site, global manufacturing of printed circuits continues to develop, this centralized engineering technology will help users achieve lower costs, faster responsiveness and improved business positions,” explains Leigh Eichel, vice president of Direct Logix.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Design News; Published: 03 September 2008

SANTA CLARA, CA and NORCROSS, GA -- Agilent Technologies Inc. and T-Tech Inc. will collaborate on a turnkey approach for fast RF printed circuit board (PCB) design, verification and fabrication.

The collaboration combines Agilent's Genesys RF and microwave circuit design and verification software with T-Tech's Quick Circuit System for PCB prototyping.

"Collaborating with T-Tech, Agilent can provide a complete turnkey design and fabrication flow for high-speed/high-frequency PCB designers," said Todd Cutler, marketing and services manager of Agilent's EEsof EDA division. "It will enable our customers to work from idea to physical prototype all within the Genesys software environment."

"By partnering with Agilent to integrate its Genesys suite of EDA tools with our high-frequency, precision PCB fabrication machines, we will give our shared customers the ability to go from desktop design to physical prototype in hours instead of weeks or months," said John Taylor, president of T-Tech.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Design News; Published: 03 September 2008

ATLANTA, GA– Intercept Technology, Inc. introduced three new products, DrawingX, QCX and ReleaseX. The product suite works in conjunction to fully automate the post-processing of completed designs—from quality control checks to the production of drawing packages to the creation of release packages for final delivery.

According to the company, DrawingX allows users to fully automate drawing package creation, saving time and resources, and has options such auto-dimensioning and auto-generation of standard notes. QCX sustains a comprehensive set of rule checks for electrical, manufacturing and design rules that are specifically tailored to meet manufacturer’s needs. ReleaseX reduces the creation of design files, and output files can be posted on a user-specified FTP site.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Design News; Published: 28 August 2008

SANTA CLARA, CA– Power Design Services has opened Power Design Manufacturing that provides prototype and small-volume manufacturing of PCB assemblies, prototype board layout and prototype board assembly. Located near the Silicon Valley, the site provides on-site consultation and expertise, as well as turnkey capabilities–from the initial design to prototype board layout and PCB assembly.

“Our new facility demonstrates our commitment and focus on offering world-class printed circuit board assembly and manufacturing services for small-volume orders,” explains Tuan Tran, president of Power Design Services.

PHELPS, NY– Z-AXIS recently won a contract to design an electronic controller board for Qualitrol Corporation. The PCB will be used in Qualitrol’s monitoring systems for the electrical utilities industry, specifically in instruments that monitor electrical apparatus in power distribution substations. Z-AXIS’ design for the microprocessor-based programmable controller will be more compact, energy-efficient and cost less than the existing designs.

“Z-AXIS impressed us with their flexibility to work on fast-track projects, their knowledge of electronic system design and their reputation for creating high-reliability industrial products,” says Bob Taylor, senior mechanical engineer at Qualitrol.

WILSONVILLE, OR– Walden C. Rhines, chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics Corporation, will be the keynote speaker at several upcoming EDA Tech Forum events in Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan and California. In his address, “A Demographic Driven Design Evolution,” he will be discussing trends in global demographics and how they are affecting the electronics landscape, as well as the evolution occurring in electronic design as a result of these global changes.