When doing business in China, unlike in the U.S., you may never know what you are getting. This statement comes from over 10 years of experience dealing with the Asian suppliers. The key to dealing with Asian suppliers is to have complete control over your supply chain;  if you don’t, you have now idea what you are getting.

Understanding this principle stems from the knowledge that the Asian businessmen will say YES to almost every request.  It is not in their gene pool to say no. “Yes- we can do it” is said more in the Asian culture than “what’s on TV” in American.  The challenge for American Printed Circuit Board buyers is where and from who is your product coming from. The Asians are excellent logistics and networking specialists. They either have a family member or a friend in the business of something and YOUR product may go to anyone of them.

Case In Point: Years ago, when entering the Chinese manufacturing market, we had a trusted relationship (or what we thought was a trusted relationship) who was a PCB supplier actually give us documentation for supplier A.  They stated they were the factory and were owners and part of the relationship. It soon came to our knowledge they had fudged the UL logo from another factory along with all the paperwork. It turned out that they claimed the PCBs were built in one factory but in fact were built in another factory with the original factory’s UL logo on the PCB and paperwork were doctored. Needless to say we terminated that relationship. It was a brutal awakening to the methodology of how the Chinese go business. There are thousands of middlemen in China shipping out your product to any type of supplier that can meet the price and delivery. You will not know until it is too late if you are really dealing direct!

It is key that if you are sourcing anything from Asia that you have control over you supply chain. PCB Solutions visits China up to, and sometimes more than 4 times per year. We review IPC1710 documents. We conduct quality audits on the factories. We meet the president of the suppliers and insist on following our product through the process flow- forced Honesty and Integrity if you will. We negotiate payment terms (typically unheard of in working with Asian suppliers).  We meet the staff and set our expectations…

So the next time you get the itch to get rid of that U.S. based middle man and play roulette with suppliers emailing you daily, think about what happens when a significant quality issue arises or if you have paid 50-100% of the cost of the product upfront and you have no leverage for a return. Did you consider the cost of wire transfer fees into your costs? How about exchange rates, shipping costs, supply chain control, customs, duties, communication, English skills of the supplier, engineering support, quality of the factory, etc…on and on.

Let our 9 + years of experience work for you. We can, source, stock, label, inventory and even provide secondary inspection on your product if necessary. We lend ourselves to being experts in sourcing Asian based products…don’t get caught trying to learn to be one and spending your quality time fixing problems. Trust the middleman!

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

As far as Asian based suppliers, they are still fully loaded and working at capacity. Our last blog so Copper Clad Laminate slowing down in Asia generally but all our suppliers still maintain strong demand and factory levels for Printed Circuit Boards and Flexible PCBs.

Look for more data next month as we move out of the typically slower month of August.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

As the global economy recovers, the international financial market goes stable, Orders shift crisis also comes to PCB industry for many PCB makers in China. On one hand, the middle-small PCB makers rely on OEM are unable to afford the pressure of cost rise by financial crisis.; on the other hand, serious shortage of workers bring many enterprise embarrassment of shut down. At the same time, with growth of workers wage cost, increase the pressure of the enterprise’s operation. It becomes the question for PCB manufacturers to think how to solve the new crisis.

Besides shortage of workers, PCB makers developed rely on OEM need to afford the affect of financial crisis and the price rise of material, source, energy shortage and high consumption. All this make the process cost rise in China, the price advantage is being eroded. Some international companies already shift the order to the low-cost Southeast Asian, South Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Thailand. Under the situation of no significant decline in market demand, cancellation of orders in China, will inevitably be supplemented in other places.

The survey show, Japan IT enterprises have shift their PCB order to Thailand, PCB manufacturing companies in Thailand are also increasingly competitive Data shows PCB industrial value in southeast has already been 3-3.3 billion dollars, Thailand accounts 30-40% of the total. While the famous company like Gree, Supor,  Media, Glanz , Canon and so on have already built their own production plant in Vietnam.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

CCL makers posted mixed results for July 2010, with Elite Material (EMC) and Taiwan Union Technology (TUC) seeing revenues continue to move upward, while Iteq suffered a decline in revenues.

TUC saw its consolidated revenues grow 7.5% sequentially to NT$970 million (US$30.41 million) in July, while peer company EMC saw revenues edge up 2.5% sequentially to NT$1.18 billion during the same month. Iteq’s revenues were down 6% to NT$1.77 billion.

However, TUC expects its revenues to continue to grow in August due to new capacity contributed by its new plant in Zhungshan, China. TUC will have total capacity of 1.5 million CCLs by the end of 2010.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments were up 23.9 percent while bookings increased 34.4 percent in July 2010 from July 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 19.9 percent and bookings have grown 34.9 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 14.7 percent and rigid bookings decreased 16.9 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in July 2010 stood at 1.11.

View all the charts in PDF

Flexible circuit shipments in July 2010 were up 38.2 percent, and bookings were up 28.8 percent compared to July 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments increased 5.8 percent and bookings were up 17.5 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.6 percent and flex bookings declined 4.9 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in July 2010 remained positive but slipped down to 1.06.

View all the charts in PDF

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in July 2010 increased 25.2 percent from July 2009, as orders booked increased 33.9 percent from July 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 18.7 percent and bookings were up 33.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for July 2010 decreased 13.1 percent and bookings went down 16.0 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in July 2010 was 1.11.

“We are still seeing double-digit year-on-year growth rates for both rigid PCBs and flexible circuits as of July,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “July is typically a slower sales month than June, but sales are strong. The most encouraging indicator is the book-to-bill ratio, which continues solidly positive for the 15th consecutive month,” he added. “That is a sign of continuing strength in sales for the remainder of the year.”

View all the charts in PDF

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample.  A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

View all the charts in PDF

Book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 89 percent of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC’s World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report.

The Role of Domestic Production
IPC’s monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure U.S. and Canadian PCB production. To track regional production trends, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In July 2010, 83 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 83 percent of rigid PCB and 81 percent of flexible circuit shipments in July by IPC’s survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC’s survey sample, which changed slightly in January, but are kept constant through the remainder of the year.

Bare Circuits Versus Assembly
Flexible circuit sales typically include value-added services such as assembly, in addition to the bare flex circuits. In July, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 77 percent of their shipment value reported for the month. Assembly and other services make up a large and growing segment of flexible circuit producers’ businesses. This figure is also sensitive to changes in the survey sample, which may occur at the beginning of each calendar year.

Interpreting the Data
Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month may not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

The information in IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics is based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the PCB Statistical Program Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.

Contact:
Sharon Starr, IPC Director of Market Research
P:  +1 847-597-2817
E:  SharonStarr@ipc.org

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

PCB Solutions continues to see solid sales from internal house accounts and modest growth from Reps and Web leads.  PCB Solutions remains very optimistic about its growth on the web as it has rise to  the 20th position for the key search term “printed circuit board;” which is one of the most competitive key search words in the industry. Web marketing efforts by www.infogenix.com are proving great results by branding the www.pcb-solutions.com domain on line.

Last month also highlights the beginning of PCB Solutions on twitter. You can track us at http://twitter.com/PCB_Solutions We began tweeting about our business, the industry and our market place. Follow us on twitter (see our home page as well to follow).

Look for us this month to be on Facebook. Who would have ever thought social media would be an outlet for gaining web traffic in the Printed Circuit Board industry.  We are also working to gain access with wikipedia and look forward to that announcement in the near future…

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

IPC announced strong book to bill ratios for June 2010 and PCB Solutions saw equally good ratios. We are curious to see how the industry fared in July as we saw a dramatic slow down symbolic of the quietness of 2009. We at PCB Solutions are confident we never pulled out of the recession but just seem to be maintaining aggressive web marketing and sales approaches for organic growth and profitability.

As we hold our strategy at PCB Solutions, we will ride out this market in a very strong, competitive position.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, July 26, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the June findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments were up 25.3 percent while bookings increased 29.3 percent in June 2010 from June 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 19.3 percent and bookings have grown 35.0 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 13.7 percent and rigid bookings increased 9.7 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in June 2010 stood at 1.12.

View all the charts in PDF

Flexible circuit shipments in June 2010 were up 14.8 percent, and bookings were up 11.0 percent compared to June 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments increased 0.6 percent and bookings were up 15.5 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 28.1 percent and flex bookings declined 2.7 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in June 2010 remained high at 1.15.

View all the charts in PDF

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in June 2010 increased 24.4 percent from June 2009, as orders booked increased 27.8 percent from June 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 17.6 percent and bookings were up 33.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for June 2010 increased 14.8 percent and bookings went up 8.6 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2010 was 1.12.

“The book-to-bill ratios for both rigid PCBs and flexible circuits remain well above parity, which suggests a positive outlook for the remainder of the year,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk.  “Sales growth is stabilizing, but year-on-year growth in both segments is continuing in double digits,” he added.

View all the charts in PDF

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample.  A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

View all the charts in PDF

Book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 90 percent of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC’s World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report.

The Role of Domestic Production
IPC’s monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure U.S. and Canadian PCB production. To track regional production trends, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In June 2010, 83 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production also accounted for 83 percent of rigid PCB and 81 percent of flexible circuit shipments in June by IPC’s survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC’s survey sample, which changed slightly in January, but are kept constant through the remainder of the year.

Bare Circuits Versus Assembly
Flexible circuit sales typically include value-added services such as assembly, in addition to the bare flex circuits. In June, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 77 percent of their shipment value reported for the month. Assembly and other services make up a large and growing segment of flexible circuit producers’ businesses. This figure is also sensitive to changes in the survey sample, which may occur at the beginning of each calendar year.

Interpreting the Data
Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month may not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

The information in IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics is based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the PCB Statistical Program Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.

Contact:
Sharon Starr, IPC Director of Market Research
P:  +1 847-597-2817 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1 847-597-2817 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
E:  SharonStarr@ipc.org

# # #

About IPC
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.7 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; and Shanghai and Shenzhen, China.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

In 2009, the output value of the global PCB industry reached about US$40.6 billion, down 15.83% over 2008. This was mainly caused by continuously decreasing PCB shipment and average prices. As for main sub-sectors, the output value of the global substrate, rigid PCB and flexible printed circuit (FPC) board sectors descended by 50%, 20% and 3.8% respectively compared with 2008. The decline of the global substrate and rigid PCB sectors is mainly due to the sharp drop of sales volume of desktops and medium to high-end notebooks. In comparison, the global FPC board sector declined more slightly in 2009, thanks to the growing number of LED backlight modules and Smart Phone FPC boards as well as the touch panel boom.

From 2000 to 2009, in terms of output value, computer, communications, industrial/medical, military and automotive PCBs decreased by 3%, 13.5%, 20.5%, 20.1% and 26.8% respectively, while consumer electronics PCB and package substrate increased by 15.8% and 68% respectively. Single-sided/double-sided PCB and multilayer PCB decreased by 37.3% and 25.2% respectively, while high-density interconnect (HDI) board, package substrate and FPC increased by 163.1%, 68.1% and 90.0% respectively.

In 2009, from the perspective of the global PCB distribution pattern, Mainland China, Japan and Taiwan were still the main production areas, South Korea continued to expand its PCB industry, while Europe and the United States were in recession. Compared with Japan and South Korea with advantages in high-end products such as IC substrate and FPC board, and Taiwan with advantages in mobile phone PCB, China, mainly engaged in single-sided PCB and multilayer PCB, is inferior in terms of the technical content of the PCB industry.

In 2009, China’s PCB industry for the first time saw its output value decline slightly by 3.6% to US$16.35 billion. Nevertheless, its share in the global PCB output value continued to rise. Among China’s top 100 PCB enterprises in terms of sales revenue, local ones performed well, for example, the sales revenue of Bomin Electronic rose by 150.7% over 2008.

Here is to a better 2010…

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

PCB Solutions always recommends that you contact the material supplier and review their data prior to making a decision.  The data below is available to help you navigate the terms but does not serve as advice on which material to chose for your application because there are so many variables for Rigid, Rigid Flex and Flex PCB designs.

1. Dielectric Constant (Dk or Er):

Technical definition: The ratio of the capacitance of a capacitor with the given dielectric to the capacitance of a capacitor having air for its dielectric but otherwise identical.  The Dk value is calculated as the relative permittivity of a material.

Why this is important: The Dielectric Constant is a major factor in calculating and controlling impedance requirements of signals on PCBs.  All PCB materials (cores, prepregs, solder masks), have a Dk value.  The actual Dk value can vary based on resin content of materials.  Values typically range from 3.5 to 5.9.  Specific material is available for both very low Dk and Very high Dk values. A low Dk material is often used for RF applications while a high Dk is often used for High Frequency applications.

2. Glass Transition Temperature (Tg):

Technical definition: The temperature at which a polymer changes from hard and brittle to soft and pliable.

Why this is important: The Tg indicates the temperature at which the PCB base material starts yielding. It is important to avoid any yielding of PCB base materials, so the Tg is not an indicator for the operating temperature of the PCB. The Tg temperature can usually only be sustained for a very short time.  The actual minimum Tg required for your PCB will depend on many factors including surface finish and assembly process; however, the industry guideline for most ROHS applications in a minimum material Tg of 170 degrees C.

3. Decomposition Temperature (Td):

Technical definition: The temperature at which material weight changes by 5%.

Why this is important: The decomposition is the breaking of chemical bonds in the resin system. The resin in the laminate is basically burning up.  This value is widely considered to be more critical than the Tg value with regards to ROHS considerations during the assembly process.  Like Tg, the actual minimum Td required for your PCB will depend on many factors including surface finish and assembly process; however, the industry guideline for most ROHS applications in a minimum material Td of 340 degrees C.

4. Loss tangent (Dissipation Factor):

Technical definition: The ratio at any particular frequency between the real and imaginary parts of the impedance of the capacitor.

Why this is important: A large loss tangent means you have a greater amount of dielectric absorption, which can cause the value of capacitance to change with frequency.  If clean, consistent, capacitance is a requirement of your design, then look for a material with low loss tangent values. For high speed designs (greater than 1Ghz) it may be recommended to choose a material with a dissipation factor of less than .015.

5. Moisture Absorption:

Technical definition: Maximum percent of moisture absorbed by material in high-humidity conditions.

Why this is important: Absorbed moisture can raise Dk values, expand the board, and cause thermal defects such as substrate blisters, barrel cracking and delamination during assembly. If the PCBs are stored for only short times in low-humidity locations before assembly, then moisture may not be a problem. However if the PCBs are stored in high humidity for long periods of time, then they may need to be pre-baked before assembly.

6. Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE):

Technical definition: A material’s fractional change in length for a given unit change of temperature.

Why this is important: Glass, copper, gold and nickel all have fixed expansion rates up to their respective melting points.  A large difference in laminate expansion rates can cause strain on the plated hole wall causing cracked barrels and lifted land patterns during the assembly process.  The common unit of measurement for CTE is ppm/°C, parts per million per degree centigrade. 1 ppm is equivalent to 0.0001% of total observed dimension. A material rated at 250 ppm/°C would change 0.025% in dimension for every degree change in temperature. On a .100” thick board over a 100°C temperature range there would be a total thickness change of 2.5% which equates to 0.0025”

7. Thermal conductivity:

Technical definition: Ability of a material to conduct heat.

Why this is important: As the power and density of components on a PCB rises, the need to dissipate heat through the base material of the PCB increases.

Materials that offer greater thermal conductivity can be utilized with designs that have high power, or high heat output devices such as LED’s, coils or relays.

9. Peel Strength

Technical definition: The strength of the bond between base material and copper cladding as measured by IPC-TM-650.

Why this is important: As components become smaller, their footprint or pad patterns also become smaller, resulting in much less area of contact between the base material and the copper land patterns.  The strength of the bond at this area will determine the ability of the pads to avoid lifting from the material surface.

10. Arc Resistance

Technical definition: Measure of electric breakdown condition along an insulating surface, caused by the formation of a conductive path on the surface.

Why this is important: Typically a consideration for high-voltage/high power PCBs.  Arc resistance is a measurement, in seconds, of the amount of time for breakdown along the surface of the material.

If you have questions regarding materials or anything else PCB- Send us an email at info@PCB-solutions.com and we will be happy to guide you in the right direction.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.