Evaluation Engineering - 6

Molex opens new
optical R&D facility
in New Jersey

Ironwood Electronics
assumes control of HSIO
Grypper Socket line
HSIO Technolog ies and
Ironwood Electronics have announced technology licensing
and operations agreements
between the two companies
to support the semiconductor test socket marketplace.
In the first phase of what
is expected to be a long-term
technolog y partnership,
Ironwood Electronics will
engineer, manufacture, sell
and support all HSIO test
socket products, adding to
the already broad range of
products and services offered
by Ironwood. Longer term,
the companies intend to collaborate on next-generation
high-performance products
to serve the growing need for
signal integrity and interconnect density.
James Rathburn, HSIO
President stated: "As HSIO
launches a next-generation,
high-speed circuit fabrication
facility, I can think of no better company than Ironwood
to manufacture, sell and
support the unique socket
products we have provided
to the semiconductor test
market over the years. I am
also very excited to collaborate with Ironwood on new
socket and circuit products
that will provide the semiconductor test customer the
best available socket performance with a precision-tuned
printed circuit capability to
match. From known good die
to next-generation networks
and wireless, the partnership
is expected to provide technologies and performance not
available anywhere else in the
industry."

Molex has announced the
grand opening of a new research and development facility in Bridgewater, NJ. The
building completion represents a significant investment
by Molex in the future of optical wavelength solutions for
telecommunications networks.
Molex vice president and
general manager Doug Busch,
colleagues from the Molex
Optical Solutions group, and
local officials joined an Aug.
8 ribbon-cutting celebration.

Electronics industry braces
for even more tariffs
The Trump administration's latest salvo in the U.S.-China trade
war took effect on Sept. 8, and the electronics industry, which
has lost billions of dollars in the ongoing dispute, braced for
another hit.
According to an official announcement in the Federal Register,
the rate of additional duties already in place on billions of dollars
of imports from China were to increase 5%-from 10 to 15%-and
the electronics industry is likely to feel the sting.
Many large American electronics companies, like Apple, complete the last leg of the assembly process in China, making them
prime targets for the tariffs. The Consumer Tech Association
has said that the electronics industry has had to pay out $10
billion in extra tariffs on parts and components since July 2018,
The imminent increase is being levied at more finished goods,
such as fitness trackers, computers, smartwatches, lithium
batteries, and cameras. J.P. Morgan analysts have said that
Apple, which has kept its prices mostly intact, is likely to absorb the brunt of the tariffs' impacts, rather than jack up prices.
Consumer costs could tick up, but that is not likely to happen
until the holidays, according to CTA spokesperson Bronwyn
Flores in the CNBC report. "You might start to see it in November
for Black Friday, so if you want a new TV for the Super Bowl, you
might want get it soon," Flores said.
The next round of tariffs, should the U.S.-China trade scuffle
continue, is scheduled for December, and will include smartphones, video game consoles, laptops, and tablets.

EVALUATION ENGINEERING OCTOBER 2019

"Molex is excited to mark
our Bridgewater facility grand
opening to recognize the outstanding work of our talented
employees in this important
region, to establish a center
of excellence for wavelength
selective switches and to
advance the development of
other innovative applications
of optical technology to create
value for our customers and
society," Busch said.
The state-of-the-art Molex
facility features eco-friendly
clean rooms and extensive
capabilities for designing
and prototype manufacturing of optical solutions for the
rapidly emerging segment of
metro and long-haul telecommunications networks. Busch
added, "Global consumer IP
traffic has approached 100 exabytes per month and with the
emergence of 5G connectivity,
data center traffic will continue to explode. Molex scalable WSS modules and signal
routing solutions simplify and
automate the dynamic routing
of wavelengths in demanding
networks."

Evaluation Engineering

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