52 The PCB Magazine • March 2015
Over a Dozen RoHS Exemptions
Requested
IPC, in conjunction with an international industry
stakeholder group, applied for more than a dozen
exemption extension requests under the European
Union (EU) RoHS Directive. The RoHS2 Directive
dictates expiration dates for all exemptions grant-
ed and several critical to the electronics manufac-
turing industry are set to expire in 2016.
A Cautionary Tale: Counterfeit Materials
John Ling of EIPC writes, "Risk from counterfeits
wears many hats. There is reputational risk, which
can be damaging; there is inherent safety risk,
which could be fatal; and there is financial risk
to the OEM, the PCB manufacturer, and the PCB
broker. One way of minimising risk is by dealing
direct."
DARPA Boosts Investment
in LRASM Program
Initiated in 2009 in collaboration with the U.S.
Navy and U.S. Air Force, DARPA's Long Range Anti-
Ship Missile (LRASM) program has been investing
in advanced technologies to provide a leap ahead
in U.S. surface warfare capability.
FTG Secures New Agreement
with Rockwell Collins
The agreement incorporates a variety of technolo-
gies for use on major airframe platforms across
business regional, air transport and government
systems market applications.
DARPA to Put Fab Lab at Navy
Ship Maintenance Center
High-tech fabrication facility aims to enhance ship
maintenance and repair by enabling more cost-
effective training and rapid onsite production of
parts and components.
Camtek Secures First Conditional
Order for Gryphon
Camtek Ltd. announced that it has received a con-
ditional purchase order from Bay Area Circuits Inc.
for a Gryphon system. The purchase order will be-
come firm upon successful completion of an eval-
uation process.
It's Only Common Sense:
Saving the Military PCB Market
The DoD has to come to its senses and start work-
ing with the sub-$20 million well-qualified board
shops. These shops have been the backbone of the
American PCB industry since its inception. It must
work with them and support them, making sure
they pay prices that are fair enough for them to
stay in business.
New Defense PCB Regulations
Take Effect December 30
Changes to the U.S. Munitions List, which is reg-
ulated through the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations, states that PCBs "specially designed"
for defense-related purposes will be controlled un-
der USML Category XI. Additionally, any designs
or digital data related to "specially designed" PCBs
will be controlled as technical data.
2015 Global Aerospace and
Defense Industry to Rise
"The commercial aerospace sector is expected to
set new records for aircraft production in 2015.
The accelerated replacement cycle of obsolete air-
craft with next generation fuel-efficient aircraft,
and growing passenger travel demand, especially
in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region are
key drivers behind this trend," said Tom Captain,
Deloitte Global Aerospace and Defense Sector
Leader.
IDTechEx Sees Rapidly Changing
$7.5B Market for Drones
Dr. Harrop, Chairman of IDTechEx says, "The big-
gest market sub-sector will be small UAVs that
are not toys or personal, with $2 billion in sales
in 2025 generating over $20 billion in benefits to
agriculture, border protection, parcel delivery, lo-
gistics such as warehousing, coastguard, customs,
search and rescue, medical emergency, malaria re-
search, mine detection, protection of rare species,
movie production and so on."
52 The PCB Magazine • March 2015
Mil/Aero007
News Highlights
