According to many of our customers, components continue to be tough buy. Consistently our customers who buy Printed Circuit Boards battle with extended lead time components. A customer of ours in Idaho is finally getting some parts they ordered over 1 year ago. This trend, one would estimate, will continue to remain tight when comparing the figures from the Philadelphia Semi Conductor Index SOXX as it continues to show stable demand. The index continues to hold its position between 340 and 360. Far gone are the highs of 2007 at 550 + but holding tight at this area gives us hope the market could have a stable position for a few more months.

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

Good news for the industry continues to remain for the PCB and PCBA sectors. Key booking figures continue to be strong. Let’s hope it keeps rolling.

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

From http://www.researchandmarkets.com

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

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Understanding material properties is critical in determining requirements for PCB manufacturing.  In this blog, we will look at the technical definitions, as well as an overview of why each property may be important to your designs.  All of these properties should be specified on the data sheet for most commonly used PCB materials.

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.

As PCB designers face greater challenges with fine-pitch components, less real estate and greater need for thermal conductivity, the use of epoxy filled vias has become common.  With two very different options of non-conductive and conductive (silver filled) epoxy available, the question if which is best often leaves designers and engineers with a difficult decision to make.

Conductive (Silver Filled) Epoxy:

Conductive silver filled epoxy contains organic solvents which require storage at a temperature of less then 5 degrees C, and limit the shelf life of the material.  Because of this, many PCB factories do not stock this epoxy and purchase it in quantities needed for the order, which may cause delays in production.  The size of the silver balls in the epoxy can make filling smaller holes difficult and often lead to air pockets inside the hole, which will actually decrease the thermal conductivity of the hole.  If the air pockets are close to the surface, this can cause voids at the pad surface, leading to assembly issues.  As the CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) of Silver Filled epoxy can be very different from the CTE of high TG material used in lead free or ROHS assemblies, blistering of surface pads can be common, as well as lifted pads during high temperature soldering operations.

Silver filled epoxy reacts to process chemistry during metallization by expanding which will cause an uneven or swelled pad surface.  This creates the need to add an additional process of “planarization” of the pad surface which can be costly, time consuming and add to pad surface imperfections including dimples in the land pattern and voids that can outgas during assembly.

Non-Conductive Epoxy:

Non-Conductive epoxy is 100% solid epoxy material which usually yields good pad planarity for via-in-pad designs.  The lack of silver in the epoxy resin allows the process to be used on smaller holes, including micro-vias often down to as small as .004 inch.  The CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) of non-conductive epoxy is often very close to that of high TG material, meaning less issues with hole expansion during the assembly process.  This also allows Non-Conductive Epoxy to be used in sequential lamination processes to fill blind and buried vias.

Non-Conductive Epoxy usually exhibits very little shrinkage during the thermal curing process, which will yield good pad planarity and will not require a separate planarization process.   The flat surface of the pad after plating over the Non-Conductive Epoxy means less chance of lifting pads during the assembly process and greater rework ability.

As there are no temperature or shelf-life restrictions to Non-Conductive Epoxy fill, most PCB factories have a ready supply of the material in stack, thus eliminating production delays caused by material procurement.

Effects on Thermal Conductivity:

Improved thermal conductivity is often cites as the reason for choosing Conductive Epoxy Fill over Non-Conductive Epoxy fill.  It is true that pure silver has the highest thermal conductivity; however, when surrounded by epoxy the silver surfaces are insulated and there is no direct contact of the silver to effectively increase the thermal conductivity.  Additionally, the air pockets present when using Silver Filled Epoxy may also reduce the thermal conductivity.  A properly filled and capped plated through hole will have better thermal conductivity using Non-Conductive Epoxy fill in place of Conductive Silver fill.

Conclusion:

The development of improved formulations of Non-Conductive Epoxy fill have created an equal or superior bond to electroless copper and increased the Thermal Conduction of filled holes, while eliminating many of the manufacturing and assembly concerns with Conductive (Siler Filled) epoxy.  Due to the points raised above, PCB Solutions strongly recommends Non-Conductive Epoxy

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.

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, June 25, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the May 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 31.4 percent while bookings increased 45.8 percent in May 2010 from May 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 18.0 percent and bookings have grown 36.3 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 1.3 percent and rigid bookings increased 6.5 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in May 2010 continued its climb to 1.13.

View all the charts in PDF

Flexible circuit shipments in May 2010 were up 10.5 percent, and bookings were up 59.3 percent compared to May 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 2.6 percent and bookings were up 16.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 16.0 percent and flex bookings grew by 33.4 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in May 2010 made a long leap up to 1.18.

View all the charts in PDF

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in May 2010 increased 29.6 percent from May 2009, as orders booked increased 46.8 percent from May 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 16.2 percent and bookings were up 34.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for May 2010 increased 2.2 percent and bookings went up 8.3 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in May 2010 increased to 1.13.

“Both yearly and monthly growth rates in the North American PCB industry are now positive,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “That means the industry is not only doing better than last year, but is growing monthly as well. Despite strong sales,” he added, “orders are growing even faster. That keeps moving the book-to-bill ratio up, which indicates continued sales growth this 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 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 May 2010, 84 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production also accounted for 84 percent of rigid PCB and flexible circuit shipments in May 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 will remain 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 May, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 58 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 three consecutive months or more 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

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Something that electronics purchasers are suffering from at the moment is long delivery times on printed circuit boards. Something that often occurs during economical upturns.

The PCB delivery shortage is partly due to the limited availability of PCB laminates. In turn this is due to increased copper deficiency, something that happens in most economic upturns. This has resulted in a sudden price increase for the laminate. The price increase in China is around 20% and in extreme cases 25%. This price increase is not reflected fully in the total PCB price. If the laminate price in China increases by 20% the PCB price tends to increase approximately 15%, a source told Evertiq. It is also more likely that price increases are higher from Chinese manufacturers than from European manufacturers, the source noted.

PCB delivery shortage is not the biggest problem that electronics buyers today are suffering from. The lack of components allow buyers to wait even longer after the PCBs have been delivered. Several semiconductor giants have delivery times around 20 weeks at present and 3 days just to get the components out from the warehouses, according to an electronics purchaser. It has happened several times that many component manufacturers have not prioritized to recognize purchasing orders.

Several European PCB manufacturers told Evertiq that they are running on full production at the moment. On the PCB-trading side, the average delivery time on trading volumes from PCB distributors is 5-6 weeks. Just a few months ago, the delivery time was 3-4 weeks.

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BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, March 25, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the February 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 9.4 percent while bookings increased 36.4 percent in February 2010 from February 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 3.6 percent and bookings have grown 27.9 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 4.7 percent and rigid bookings increased 8.1 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in February 2010 grew to 1.09.

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Flexible circuit shipments in February 2010 were down 2.1 percent, but bookings were down 37.4 percent compared to February 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 3.1 percent and bookings were down 0.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.9 percent and flex bookings fell by 36.4 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio fell below parity to 0.92.

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For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in February 2010 increased 8.5 percent from February 2009, as orders booked increased 29.1 percent from February 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 3.0 percent and bookings were up 25.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for February 2010 increased 4.8 percent and bookings went up 4.5 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in February 2010 increased to 1.07.

“Rigid PCB bookings have outpaced shipments for the past 11 months. That’s reflected in the high rigid PCB book-to-bill ratio and it’s an encouraging indicator of future growth,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “We saw a big drop in flexible circuit orders in February, but no sign of a trend yet, due to the volatility of flex orders and sales.”

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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.

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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.

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 February 2010, 83 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 85 percent of rigid PCB and 68 percent of flexible circuit shipments in February 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 will remain 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 February, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 56 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 three consecutive months or more 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.

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 electronic interconnect industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. 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 $1.5 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; and Shanghai, 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.

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Through the years, the printed wiring board industry has had to evolve in both materials and processes to meet the needs of the world’s electronic challenges. At first the laminate resin systems were inadequate to survive thru multiple thermal excursions of double-sided assembly and rework processes, then the need to meet the high speed signal integrity requirements were needed and now because of the environmentally friendly initiatives of RoHS have again asked the industry to step it up.

Currently most printed wiring boards can meet RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Materials) directive requirements as long as the boards’ surface finish does not contain lead. Most if not all laminate manufacturers have already removed or reduced mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ether levels to meet the directive. The challenge has been how to reliably attach components to the PWB without the use of lead, which have higher temperature and longer oven dwell times due to lead free metals being used. For this you need to look at the laminate materials Td rating (Time to Decomposition).

That’s right, even though material Tg has been the main focus of a laminates ability to survive temperature for years, it is not as important as the material’s Td.

Td is the measure of how long a material can handle the higher temperatures of the assembly process. Materials are more thermally resistant as evidenced by their higher Td rating and their ability to achieve a T260 or T288. A T260/288 (Time to Delamination) is the amount of time the material can withstand exposure to 260 / 288°C.

However, if you have a low cost double sided board that requires the use of lead free solder, it may not necessarily mean that you need the higher Tg/Td laminate. Talk to your assembler; you may be spending more than you need to on raw material costs, and being that laminate costs are the single highest material cost of the printed wiring board, it may be worth running some tests by subjecting boards to multiple Pb free reflow cycles to verify it’s resistance to delamination and blistering.

It is true that lead free solder does require higher reflow temperatures and longer dwell times but if the overall density of board is low, it will reflow faster because the entire structure heats up faster and does not require as long of a time in the assembly ovens to get up to the necessary reflow temperature to make a good solder joint, the lower Tg/Td material can reliably withstand the assembly process. Keep in mind that even standard 130dC Tg laminates made today are superior materials that meet RoHS requirements and work well for many different applications and in many cases can take a the thermal excursion of lead free assembly.

On the other hand if you have an expensive multilayer board that has a lot of copper planes, high density, it takes the structure much longer to heat up in order to reflow all the solder joints, in this case you need the extra assurance of high Td rated laminate systems.

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. For more detailed information on Surface Finishes, visit our Surface Finish presentation in the Tech Zone at http://www.pcb-solutions.com/files/TECHZone-09-02-surface-finish.pdf

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

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Bob Neisis

Quality Manager

PCB Solutions, LLC

bobn@pcb-solutions.com