HERNDON, VA (January 10, 2006) - The International Electronics Manufacturing
Initiative (iNEMI), an industry-led consortium, will kick off its 2007 Roadmap February 6-7 in Anaheim, Ca.  The meeting is co-located with SMEMA Council’s Printed Circuits Expo / APEX / Designer Summit.  In addition, several iNEMI project activities and results will be discussed in conference forums and technical sessions.

"This meeting kicks off the work of the Technology Working Groups (TWGs), which provide the core chapters of the iNEMI Roadmap," said Jim Arnold, fellow of the Motorola technical staff and iNEMI’s director of roadmapping.  "The day-and-a-half session gives the people who are responsible for developing the individual roadmap chapters an opportunity to meet face-to-face and to discuss many of the ‘cross-cutting’ issues that affect the technology and infrastructure areas covered.  It gives everyone some ‘context’ for their specific chapters, and is a very productive way to begin this important work."

Every two years, iNEMI maps the future manufacturing technology needs of the global electronics industry.  The roadmap helps companies anticipate shifts in product requirements and provides an early warning of changes in technology or infrastructure.  It is recognized not only as an important tool for defining the "state of the art" in the electronics industry, but also for identifying emerging and disruptive technologies.  In addition, the roadmap fuels development of future iNEMI projects and sets priorities for industry R&D over the next 10 years.

iNEMI is currently recruiting industry experts to participate in the 2007 Roadmap.  iNEMI membership is not required for participation and, in fact, Arnold says broad participation is encouraged to be sure that the final document accurately reflects the requirements and needs of industry.

"By soliciting input from a diverse mix of OEMs, EMS providers, suppliers and R&D institutes, we help ensure that the roadmap will be useful to industry," says Arnold.  "We are also actively recruiting participation from Europe and Asia to make sure that we have a global perspective."

For additional details about the meeting (including a preliminary agenda), and to download a registration form, go to

http://www.inemi.org/cms/calendar/APEX_2006_Roadmap_2007_Mtg.html


Other iNEMI Meetings & Presentations

iNEMI Halogen-Free Call for Participation Meeting
Wednesday, February 8, 1:30-5:00 p.m., Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, Del Mar Room
This is an organizational meeting for iNEMI’s new halogen-free effort.  The objective of this new initiative is to promote standards development by establishing materials, manufacturing, assembly and test guidelines for halogen-free printed wiring boards based on market segment requirements and technical, commercial and functional viability.

F01 — iNEMI Lead-Free and RoHS Update
Wednesday, February 8, 10 a.m.-noon, convention center
This session will review iNEMI’s activities and recent findings in the areas of lead-free wave soldering, lead-free substrate surface finishes, halogen-free PWBs and lead-free BGAs in SnPb assemblies.  In addition, the session will discuss details of IPC-1752, Materials Declaration Management, which defines an industry-standard data collection process flow and data format for material composition data exchange, and will review current iNEMI activities to ensure rapid adoption of this new standard.

S04 — Tin Whiskers
Wednesday, February 8, 10:00-11:00 a.m., convention center
This session, which provides a comprehensive summary of all the latest information on tin whisker growth, fundamentals and mitigation strategies, includes recommendations from the iNEMI Tin Whisker User Group regarding lead-free finishes for components used in high-reliability products.

F02 — Roadmapping Interconnect Technology 2006
Wednesday, February 8, 1:30-3:00 p.m., convention center
This session will discuss interconnect technology roadmapping.  The IPC International Technology Roadmap will be the primary focus, but the iNEMI, ITRS and JISSO roadmaps will also be discussed.

F03 — Copper vs Optoelectronics in PCBs
Thursday, February 9, 9:00-10:00 a.m., convention center
In order for the optoelectronics industry to meet its cost and performance targets, the PCB must be able to carry both electrons and photons in the same substrate.  The iNEMI Optoelectronics for Substrates Project investigated the use of optical waveguides in or on PCBs to determine how far copper can be pushed.  The team completed a business analysis of copper vs. optoelectronics using a communications industry backplane as the basis for the analysis.  This session presents results to date.

iNEMI Medical TIG / Medical Components Standards Initiative
Thursday, February 9, 8:00 a.m.-noon, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, Crystal Cove Room
The new iNEMI Medical Technology Integration Group (TIG) is focused on the needs and requirements of high-reliability medical components.  This meeting will discuss plans for a proposed project to develop production standards for medical grade components as well as other potential projects.

IPC-2581 Industry Adoption
Thursday, February 9, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, Crystal Cove Room
iNEMI's Data Exchange Convergence Project developed a recommendation for an XML-based data exchange format that "converged" IPC's GenCAM with Valor's ODB++ to create a single format.  This recommendation led to IPC-2581 ("Offspring"), Generic Requirements for Printed Board Assembly Products Manufacturing Description Data and Transfer Methodology.  iNEMI is organizing a follow-on effort to help ensure rapid adoption of this new standard.  iNEMI plans to bring together users and suppliers to encourage, evaluate and promote effective solutions that meet the requirements of IPC-2581.

iNEMI Pb-Free DPMO Project
Thursday, February 9, 1:30-5:00 p.m., Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, Monterey Room
This organizational meeting will discuss new iNEMI efforts to compile Pb-free DPMO rates for printed circuit boards, focusing on DPMO data by package and technology type.

About the iNEMI Roadmap
Roadmap efforts are organized into Product Emulator Groups (PEGs) and Technology Working Groups (TWGs).  The five PEGs, each chaired by a major OEM in the specific sector covered, define the future technology needs of "virtual products" from five areas:  1) portable/consumer, 2) office/large business systems, including netcom (network/datacom/telecom), 3) automotive, 4) aerospace/defense, and 5) medical products.  Each PEG chapter forecasts future product attributes, including cost and density drivers.

The TWGs forecast trends for 19 technology and infrastructure areas, and contrast technology trends with anticipated product needs.  Composed of experts from OEMs, EMS providers, suppliers, government agencies, universities and related consortia/trade associations, the TWGs predict the evolution of technology and/or business practices, identify gaps and "showstoppers" in existing technology and infrastructure, and develop recommendations for their respective areas.  For more information about the 2007 iNEMI roadmap, go to
http://www.inemi.org/cms/roadmapping/2007_iNEMI_Roadmap.html

The PEGs and TWGs typically meet by teleconference, sometimes as often as once a week.  Limited travel is required of the group chairs, and there are only two face-to-face meetings scheduled that include all PEG and TWG members (this kick-off meeting and a review meeting, which has been scheduled for May 17 at iNEMI’s headquarters in Herndon, Va.).

About iNEMI
The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative’s mission is to assure leadership of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain.Based in Herndon, Va. (in the Washington, DC area), the industry-led consortium is made up of approximately 70 manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities.  iNEMI roadmaps the needs of the electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies.  The consortium also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.  For additional information about iNEMI, visit www.inemi.org or contact Cynthia Williams, (207) 871-1260, cwilliams@inemi.org.