Graphene and 2D Materials Technologies, Production & End-User Markets

Two-dimensional(2D) materials are currently one of the most active areas of nano-materials research, and offer a huge opportunity for both fundamental studies and practical applications, including superfast, low-power, flexible and wearable electronics, sensors, photonics and electrochemical energy storage devices that will have an immense impact on our society.

Graphene is a ground-breaking two-dimensional (2D) material that possesses extraordinary electrical and mechanical properties that promise a new generation of innovative devices. New methods of scalable synthesis of high-quality graphene, clean delamination transfer and device integration have resulted in the commercialization of state-of-the-art electronics such as graphene touchscreens in smartphones and flexible RF devices on plastics.

Beyond graphene, emerging elementary 2D materials such as phosphorene and silicene will potentially allow for flexible electronics and field-effect transistors that exhibit ambipolar transport behaviour with either a direct band-gap or greater gate modulation.

Graphene exhibits a unique combination of mechanical, thermal, electronic and optical properties that provide opportunities for new innovation in flexible displays, transistors, photosensors, RFID tags, solar cells, secondary batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, conductive inks, EMI shielding heat insulation, anti-oxidation, LEDs across multiple industries including consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, medicine, energy, 3D printing, polymer composites, wireless technology, filtration and coatings.

Graphene possesses (theoretically) record high electrical and thermal conductivity, transparency at all wavelengths, flexibility and outstanding mechanical strength. The global market for graphene continues to grow with weekly technology and production breakthroughs, new public and private investments and public listings of graphene producers. There are now over 150 companies either producing graphene or developing applications, with as many multi-nationals conducting R&D on these materials.

Relatively few graphene products have reached the market as yet, and until recently those that have mainly incorporate graphene additives to enhance toughness and flexibility. Products include smartphone touchscreens (Wuxi), tennis rackets (Head), bicycle rims (Vittoria), flexible battery straps and printed RFID antennas (Vorbeck), paint (Graphenstone), cycle helmets (Catlike), thermometers (Linktop Technology) and oil-drilling muds (Graphene Nanochem).

However, a number of energy related products have hit the market in 2015, including Zap&Go, a graphene supercapacitor that can help extend the battery life of smartphones, produced by Zapgocharger. Skeleton Technologies has also launched a graphene-enhanced supercapacitor with a capacitance of 4500 farads.

Graphene Lighting PLC has announced that a graphene light bulb with lower energy emissions, longer lifetime and lower manufacturing cost will be launched in 2015. In March, Graphene 3D Labs, Inc. announced the commercial availability of 3D graphene filaments for 3D printing applications. Sher-Wood Hockey has announced they are bringing a graphene-enhanced carbon fibre Rekker EK60 hocky stick to market. UK company Xefro has created a graphene-based heating system that can reduce energy costs up to 70 per cent. The product, gRAD, uses graphene as a heating element. Graphene Nanochem recently won a $28 million order from an oil company for its PlatDrill Series drilling fluid.

There is likely to be significant short-term opportunities in applications such conductive formulations and inks for printable electronics, coatings and electronic textiles; anti-corrosion coatings; current collector and separator coatings; thermal management; Li-ion batteries; Li-S batteries; supercapacitors (mainly for mobile electronics applications); EMI shielding materials and in anti-static and mechanical reinforced composites and barrier films. In most of these applications scale-up is relatively straightforward and performance benefits have been clearly demonstrated.

Medium-term growth will be witnessed in sensors and desalination membranes. Longer-term bets are in organic electronics applications (OLED, displays and solar PV), semiconductors and biomedicine. For graphene to meets its outstanding potential a number of significant challenges most be overcome. Low cost production processes must be developed and these production processes must be both scalable and suitable for integration into existing manufacturing processes and regulations. The challenges of consistently integrating graphene into products, either as graphene compounds or graphene components must also be met. Graphene also faces competition from incumbent materials such as carbon black, graphite and activated carbon that are relatively cheaper at present and already large-volume commodities.

Graphene and 2D Materials Market Opportunities Report

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View Report Contents: “The Global Market for Graphene and 2-D Materials: Technologies, Production, End User Markets and Opportunities Analysis, 2015-2025“.

WHAT DOES THE REPORT INCLUDE?

• Comprehensive quantitative data and forecasts for the global graphene market to 2025.


• Qualitative insight and perspective on the current market and future trends in end user markets based on interviews with key executives.


• End user market analysis and technology timelines.


• Financial estimates for the markets graphene will impact.


• Patent analysis.


• Competitive analysis of carbon nanotubes versus graphene.


• Comparative analysis of graphene and other 2D Materials.


• Tables and figures illustrating graphene market size


• Full company profiles of graphene producers and application developers including technology descriptions and end user markets targeted


• Profiles of prominent research centres


• Industry activity and breakthroughs by market 2013-2016.

Graphene and 2D Materials Technologies, Production & End-User Markets

Surgical Robots -- Markets Reach $20 Billion By 2021

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Surgical Robots: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2021”. The 2015 study has 553 pages, 216 tables and figures. Worldwide surgical robot markets are poised to achieve significant growth as next generation systems provide a way to improve traditional open surgery and decrease the number of ports needed for minimally invasive surgery.

Intuitive Surgical has market leadership position, advanced technology, an impressive installed base and a well trained group of surgeons able to manage the robots. Patients fare better when the surgery is done by surgical robots. The documentation of improvements in care delivery, the ability to ensure better outcomes from surgery promise that surgical robotics is a strong growth market.

Intuitive Surgical will be difficult to dislodge, its dominant position is based on technological excellence that keeps being improved and competitors have a difficult time catching up, much less improving on the Intuitive Surgical technology. Other leading competitors will emerge and the group of several surgical robotic companies will collectively have enough marketing dollars and enough marketing clout to drive replacement of all open surgery. Robotic surgery is positioned to become the standard of care.

Intuitive Surgical has achieved market saturation in colorectal surgery in the US, it will work on increasing its presence in other surgical market sectors. The leading robotic surgical companies are poised to grow through acquisition, purchasing smaller companies that have developed as specialized product and gained FDA approval. As detailed in the market research study there are a lot of those in every medical specialty and more to come.

The surgical robot market is characterized enormous variety and innovation.

Snake robots are wonderfully interesting surgical robots. Medrobotics offers a highly articulated multi-linked robot. It enables minimally-invasive procedures to replace open surgical procedures. It works for many parts of the anatomy. It works in places in the body that are difficult or previously impossible to reach. The robot-assist platform includes on-board visualization. and contains multiple open device channels to accept a variety of third party surgical and interventional instruments. The robot enables physicians to operate through non-linear circuitous paths, self-supported, and through a single-site access into the body.

The maneuverability of the robot is gained from its numerous mechanical linkages with concentric mechanisms. Each mechanism can be placed into a rigid or a limp state. By employing a patented “follow-the-leader” movement strategy with these alternating states, the robot can be directed into any shape through the relative orientations of its linkages.

A surgical robot recurring revenue model business model is essentially large one time purchase for a system complimented by replaceable or disposable instruments that cumulatively market a much larger and ongoing market. Vendors make money from the one time sale of a system and recurring revenue from sale of devices used in every operation.

Initially, a vendor sells and installs the surgical system into new customer accounts. Once systems are sold into customer accounts, the vendor generates recurring revenue as our customers use the system to perform surgery. To do surgeries, the customers need to buy and consume instruments and accessory products. Vendors also generate recurring revenue from system service.

The ability to deliver such an accurate dose of radiation means that the cancer can be eradicated in patients before the patient is administered a lethal dose of radiation. This prepresents a cure for cancer once it gets working according to the promise of the systems now in place. .

The Accuray radiation systems that address the oncology market are perhaps the most exciting technology ever offered to any market. Because the systems are able to control the dose of radiation Amount of activity in the market, many companies, FDA approvals, way for existing vendors to improve footprint in market

In the field of radiation oncology, the Accuray CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System is universally recognized as the premier radiosurgery system capable of delivering high doses of radiation with sub-millimeter accuracy anywhere in the body. As validated and proven in numerous peer-reviewed publications, the precision and accuracy of the system combines with continual image guidance and robotic mobility to deliver treatments characterized by high conformality and steep dose gradients.

The newest addition to the CyberKnife product line, the CyberKnife VSITM System, continues Accuray’s tradition of innovation. Building on a foundation of accuracy and precision in radiosurgery, the CyberKnife VSI System extends these benefits to fractionated high precision radiation therapy with Robotic IMRTTM that can be delivered anywhere in the body.

The automated process revolution in surgery and communications is being implemented via robots. Robots automation of systems is providing significant improvement in the accuracy of surgery and the repeatability of process.

According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, “Existing open surgery can be replaced in large part by robotic minimally invasive surgery (MIS) during the ofrecast period. Minimally invasive robotic surgery, new robotic radiation treatment, and emerging robotic surgical approaches complement existing surgery techniques. Soon, all surgery will be undertaken with at least come aspects of robotic surgery replacing or complementing open surgery.”

During a robot assisted surgical procedure, the patient-side cart is positioned next to the operating table with the electromechanical arms arranged to provide access to the initial ports selected by the surgeon. Metal tubes attached to the arms are inserted through the ports, and the cutting and visualization instruments are introduced through the tubes into the patient’s body.

The surgeon performs the procedure while sitting at a console, manipulating the instrument controls and viewing the operation through a vision system. When a surgeon needs to change an instrument the instrument is withdrawn from the surgical field using the controls at the console. This is done many times during an operation.

The companies that get an early foothold in the market have significant strategic advantage. The robotic surgical technique benefits hospitals by reducing the length of patient stays, thereby enabling better cost management. This factor is driving demand for surgery robot systems. Since robotics provide surgeons with a precise, repeatable and controlled ability to perform procedures in tight spaces, they are increasingly in demand.

The aging US population has supported demand, since the occurrence of health issues that require medical devices is higher in the elderly population. Buoyed by strong demand and sales, industry profit margins have increased considerably during the past five years.

Hospitals are adopting robotic surgical devices to improve their outcomes numbers. Hospitals are measured on outcomes, robots for surgery, when used by a trained physician are improving outcomes significantly.

Hundreds of universities worldwide have research programs in robotics and many are awarding degrees in robotics. These “roboticists” are increasingly being hired by Global 2000 organizations to link mobile robots (mobile computers) into existing IT systems.

Compared with other minimally invasive surgery approaches, robot-assisted surgery gives the surgeon better control over the surgical instruments and a better view of the surgical site. Surgeons no longer have to stand throughout the surgery and do not tire as quickly. Hand tremors are filtered out by the robot’s computer software. The surgical robot can continuously be used by rotating surgery teams.

Surgical robot device markets at $3.2 billion in 2014 are anticipated to reach $20 billion by 2021 as next generation devices, systems, and instruments are introduced to manage surgery through small ports in the body instead of large open wounds.

The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis including procedure numbers, units sold, market value, forecasts, as well as a detailed competitive market shares and analysis of major players’ success, challenges, and strategies in each segment and sub- segment. The reports cover markets for: medical specialties and sub-specialties.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View the report: Surgical Robots Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2020.

Surgical Robots -- Markets Reach $20 Billion By 2021

Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Market Worth $3,923.6 Million by 2020

According to a new market research report “Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Market Product, Technology, Application and Geography – Forecasts & Analysis to 2020“, the global RTLS Market was valued at $720.5 Million in 2014 and is expected to reach $3,923.6 Million by 2020, at an estimated CAGR of 33.03% between 2015 and 2020. The healthcare sector constituted the largest application for the RTLS Market in 2014 and is expected to continue to grow at a significant rate because of increasing applications in the healthcare segment, especially the old age care segment. Industrial manufacturing, government and defense, process industries, and transportation and logistics sectors are the next major applications of RTLS solutions and are expected to grow at a considerable rate due to the increasing adoption of RTLS solutions in the same.

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The RTLS Market players have been focusing on the innovations in terms of technological advancements to cater to the specific needs of enterprises in tracking and monitoring the precise location of assets or personnel. UWB and ZigBee based RTLS technologies have been the emerging technologies in the RTLS Market, which provide high accuracy and precise location of objects in shorter locations compared to any other RTLS technology. The market for these technologies is expected to grow at a higher CAGR in the forecast period than others because of the increasing adoption of the RTLS solutions based on these technologies. Furthermore, these technologies have been able to overcome the difficulties faced by the other technologies in tracking objects in harder mediums such as concrete wall or other substances. However, Wi-Fi and RFID technologies are expected to account for a major market share during the forecast period, due to their lesser cost compared to UWB and ZigBee technologies.

The Americas and Europe were the largest markets for the RTLS technology in 2014. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region, followed by RoW which is also among the major regions that plays a significant role in the growth of the RTLS market. The growth of the RTLS Market in the Americas was largely driven by the U.S., which accounted for 74.7% of the total Americas RTLS Market in 2014. The Asia-Pacific market for RTLS is expected to be driven by its key markets such as Japan, Australia, China,Malaysia, and Singapore. The industrial manufacturing and retail sector along with, transportation and logistics is likely to provide a huge growth opportunity for RTLS solutions in these regions. The market would also be fuelled by the increase in focus of the major global RTLS vendors to expand their product and service offerings in the Asia-Pacific region as this region is expected to witness a higher growth in terms of the adoption of RTLS solutions and market value.

The report describes market dynamics that include the key drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities with respect to the RTLS Market and forecasts the market till 2020. This global report provides a detailed view of the RTLS market across products, technologies, applications, and geographies. The report also profiles the prominent players in the RTLS market along with their key growth strategies. The competitive landscape of the market analyses a large number of players with their market share. The RTLS Market is witnessing numerous collaborations and partnerships across the value chain, to cater to various industries in different geographies.

The major companies in the global RTLS Market that have been included in this report are Zebra Technologies Corporation (U.S.), AeroScout, Inc. (U.S.), Savi Technology, Inc. (U.S.), TeleTracking Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Ubisense Group Plc (U.K.), Ekahau, Inc. (U.S.), Identec Group AG (Liechtenstein), CenTrak, Inc. (U.S.), Awarepoint Corporation (U.S.), and Versus Technology, Inc. (U.S.), and others.

Details of the new RTLS market report, table of contents and ordering information can be found  on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report:  Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Market Product, Technology, Application and Geography – Forecasts & Analysis to 2020.

 

Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Market Worth $3,923.6 Million by 2020

200 Million Smart Home Safety and Security Devices by 2020

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Smart Home Safety & Security – A Market Dynamics Report”.  According to this report, competition is intensifying for smart home service providers. This market research report covers the global IP security/smart home market as well as smart home safety and security products and services in the managed services, retail and professional installer channels. 

“Cloud-based open platforms are disrupting and creating new opportunities for smart home services,” said Mareca Hatler ON World’s research director. “Consumers are demanding greater choices as well as lower costs and smart home service providers are responding through strategic alliances and open source initiatives.”

ON World’s recently completed survey with 1,000 U.S. adults found that 30% are likely to adopt a smart home system within three years. Over half would like to have at least two integrated smart home applications and 60% of these would like three or more integrated applications. For half the respondents, safety and security is the primary reason they would adopt a smart home system.

Consumers are most satisfied with smart garage door openers, motion sensors and door locks, according to ON World’s evaluation of 170 smart home safety and security products with 20,000 product reviews. Some of the fastest growing product segments include video doorbells, smart smoke detectors and multi-purpose motion sensors.

Open source initiatives such as the AllSeen Alliance, OIC and mozaiq operations aim to accelerate smart home IoT product development and ensure interoperability across applications and transport layers. The AllSeen Alliance has grown rapidly over the past two years with over 100 members including smart home software, hardware and platform market leaders and innovators such as AT&T, Cisco, D-Link, Icontrol Networks, Legrand, LG, Honeywell, Iris by Lowe’s, Microsoft, Muzzley and Technicolor.

By 2020, there will be 200 million Internet connected wireless smart home security and safety products installed worldwide. At this time, 53% will be sold through managed services providers down from three quarters this year as sales through the retail/DIY channel will increase faster.

“Smart Home Safety & Security – A Market Dynamics Report” covers the global IP security/smart home market including safety, security, HVAC/energy, lighting controls and others as well as 12 smart home safety and security product segments for the managed services, retail/DIY and professional installer channels. It includes the results from a survey with 1,000 U.S. consumers; an evaluation of 170 products and 20,000 reviews; a competitive analysis; and 6-year global forecasts for installed systems and devices, revenues for equipment, software and services, and annual unit shipments by market, product segment and technology.

Smart Home Safety & Security – A Market Dynamics Report

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View Report Contents: “Smart Home Safety & Security – A Market Dynamics Report”.

200 Million Smart Home Safety and Security Devices by 2020

Graphene and 2D Materials Technologies, Production & End-User Markets

Two-dimensional(2D) materials are currently one of the most active areas of nano-materials research, and offer a huge opportunity for both fundamental studies and practical applications, including superfast, low-power, flexible and wearable electronics, sensors, photonics and electrochemical energy storage devices that will have an immense impact on our society.

Graphene is a ground-breaking two-dimensional (2D) material that possesses extraordinary electrical and mechanical properties that promise a new generation of innovative devices. New methods of scalable synthesis of high-quality graphene, clean delamination transfer and device integration have resulted in the commercialization of state-of-the-art electronics such as graphene touchscreens in smartphones and flexible RF devices on plastics.

Beyond graphene, emerging elementary 2D materials such as phosphorene and silicene will potentially allow for flexible electronics and field-effect transistors that exhibit ambipolar transport behaviour with either a direct band-gap or greater gate modulation.

Graphene exhibits a unique combination of mechanical, thermal, electronic and optical properties that provide opportunities for new innovation in flexible displays, transistors, photosensors, RFID tags, solar cells, secondary batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, conductive inks, EMI shielding heat insulation, anti-oxidation, LEDs across multiple industries including consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, medicine, energy, 3D printing, polymer composites, wireless technology, filtration and coatings.

Graphene possesses (theoretically) record high electrical and thermal conductivity, transparency at all wavelengths, flexibility and outstanding mechanical strength. The global market for graphene continues to grow with weekly technology and production breakthroughs, new public and private investments and public listings of graphene producers. There are now over 150 companies either producing graphene or developing applications, with as many multi-nationals conducting R&D on these materials.

Relatively few graphene products have reached the market as yet, and until recently those that have mainly incorporate graphene additives to enhance toughness and flexibility. Products include smartphone touchscreens (Wuxi), tennis rackets (Head), bicycle rims (Vittoria), flexible battery straps and printed RFID antennas (Vorbeck), paint (Graphenstone), cycle helmets (Catlike), thermometers (Linktop Technology) and oil-drilling muds (Graphene Nanochem).

However, a number of energy related products have hit the market in 2015, including Zap&Go, a graphene supercapacitor that can help extend the battery life of smartphones, produced by Zapgocharger. Skeleton Technologies has also launched a graphene-enhanced supercapacitor with a capacitance of 4500 farads.

Graphene Lighting PLC has announced that a graphene light bulb with lower energy emissions, longer lifetime and lower manufacturing cost will be launched in 2015. In March, Graphene 3D Labs, Inc. announced the commercial availability of 3D graphene filaments for 3D printing applications. Sher-Wood Hockey has announced they are bringing a graphene-enhanced carbon fibre Rekker EK60 hocky stick to market. UK company Xefro has created a graphene-based heating system that can reduce energy costs up to 70 per cent. The product, gRAD, uses graphene as a heating element. Graphene Nanochem recently won a $28 million order from an oil company for its PlatDrill Series drilling fluid.

There is likely to be significant short-term opportunities in applications such conductive formulations and inks for printable electronics, coatings and electronic textiles; anti-corrosion coatings; current collector and separator coatings; thermal management; Li-ion batteries; Li-S batteries; supercapacitors (mainly for mobile electronics applications); EMI shielding materials and in anti-static and mechanical reinforced composites and barrier films. In most of these applications scale-up is relatively straightforward and performance benefits have been clearly demonstrated.

Medium-term growth will be witnessed in sensors and desalination membranes. Longer-term bets are in organic electronics applications (OLED, displays and solar PV), semiconductors and biomedicine. For graphene to meets its outstanding potential a number of significant challenges most be overcome. Low cost production processes must be developed and these production processes must be both scalable and suitable for integration into existing manufacturing processes and regulations. The challenges of consistently integrating graphene into products, either as graphene compounds or graphene components must also be met. Graphene also faces competition from incumbent materials such as carbon black, graphite and activated carbon that are relatively cheaper at present and already large-volume commodities.

Graphene and 2D Materials Market Opportunities Report

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View Report Contents: “The Global Market for Graphene and 2-D Materials: Technologies, Production, End User Markets and Opportunities Analysis, 2015-2025“.

WHAT DOES THE REPORT INCLUDE?

• Comprehensive quantitative data and forecasts for the global graphene market to 2025.


• Qualitative insight and perspective on the current market and future trends in end user markets based on interviews with key executives.


• End user market analysis and technology timelines.


• Financial estimates for the markets graphene will impact.


• Patent analysis.


• Competitive analysis of carbon nanotubes versus graphene.


• Comparative analysis of graphene and other 2D Materials.


• Tables and figures illustrating graphene market size


• Full company profiles of graphene producers and application developers including technology descriptions and end user markets targeted


• Profiles of prominent research centres


• Industry activity and breakthroughs by market 2013-2016.

Graphene and 2D Materials Technologies, Production & End-User Markets

Global Printed Circuit Boards Market Data 2015

Electronics.ca Publications unearths interesting findings that may reveal golden opportunities for electronics manufacturers. Here are some of the latest discoveries of interest to PCB fabricators:

According to “Monthly IPC North American PCB Market Report” Flexible circuit orders in North America are booming this year and the forecast for the next year is for double-digit sales growth. The North American flex market has grown over the past 3 years while the rigid PCB market has shrunk. Globally, the flex market is now estimated at over $10.2 billion. Yet, U.S. production accounts for only 3.4 percent of the world’s flexible circuits.

The monthly North American PCB Market Report provides timely data on PCB market size, sales and order growth, book-to-bill ratios and near-term forecasts. Data are reported for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits separately. The rigid PCB data are further segmented by company size tiers, and flex data includes trends in bare circuit versus assembly revenue sources. Trends in sales of boards to the military and medical markets are reported for both rigid and flex, as well as trends in prototype sales.

According to Global and China FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board) Industry Report, 2014 was a bumper year for most FPCB companies, and the output value of the entire PCB industry reached USD12.5 billion, rising by 10.5% from the previous year. In 2015, the prices of bulk commodities (particularly the copper price) plummet, which will greatly reduce the raw material costs of PCB companies and help raise their profitability. Larger screen size of mobile phone requires larger FPCB. The FPCB market is expected to grow 8.6% in 2015 as the smartphone market can not continue its rapid growth and the tablet PC is in recession.

In 2014, the euro, the NTD and the yen significantly devalued, while the South Korean won appreciated, which not only hit a serious blow to the competitiveness of South Korean FPCB enterprises, but minified the profit of South Korean PCB enterprises. The revenue and profit margin of all South Korean PCB companies declined, for example, Flexcom’s revenue slumped by more than 50%, the giant Interflex’s revenue dropped 33% and its operating margin turned to be the negative 14.2%, which showed the power of the currency war.

Benefiting from the currency depreciation, Taiwanese and European companies witnessed soaring profit margins. More than half of Japanese companies did not benefit from the depreciation of the yen because they set up production bases overseas, but still better than South Korean companies.

In the downstream market, the biggest change in 2014 lied in: HDD saw the first growth after three consecutive years of decline. The global HDD shipment amounted to 564 million units, an increase of 2.4% from 2013. Previously, insiders were optimistic about the prospect of SSD instead of HDD; but actually, the SSD price remained high, the tablet PC market decayed, while the laptop computer market recovered to growth after three consecutive years of downturn. At the same time, the development of SSD did not restrict HDD; the new network economy and the big data era stimulated the demand for servers and HDD. HDD will still be the mainstream in the next three to five years, and the HDD shipment is expected to reach 621 million units in 2019. Japanese companies focusing on HDD-use FPCB performed exceedingly well in 2014, for example, the leader NOK (Mektron) achieved the revenue growth rate of 28% and the operating margin of 8.7% (rising from the negative 10.6%), Nitto’s revenue surged by 31%.

The competitiveness of South Korean and American companies weakened significantly. The strong USD made MFLEX’s revenue fall dramatically. The depreciation of NTD facilitated Taiwanese companies to grow by leaps and bounds; meanwhile, Apple greatly reduced orders from South Korean companies, while placed more orders with Japanese and Taiwanese companies in accordance with the principle of the nearest supply. The revenue of ZDT under Foxconn soared 60% in 2014.

 

Global Printed Circuit Boards Market Data 2015

Printed Electronics Equipment Sales: Companies Look to Asia

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2015-2025”.  According to this report, the printed electronics equipment and consumables supplier base consists of over 100 global organizations . The majority of these are based in Europe, followed by a roughly even share of US and Asian based companies. Within Europe itself, Germany is home to more equipment makers than other European countries.

While initially the printed, organic and flexible electronics industry was driven by significant investment and technological development from the fine chemicals industry, the equipment sector followed soon after. Those involved in screen printing and screen printing consumables have had the largest market so far in printed electronics given that the equipment is used in commercial products such as solar cells and glucose test strips.

For more emerging printed electronics processes, such as inkjet printing, specialist coating systems applied to printed electronics, gravure and flexo, the market has been smaller but quickly growing. Most of the sales of such systems have been into Europe. This has been due to a high and consistent level of funding made available from European funding sources in addition to country specific funding programs.

Printed electronics is in most European countries a relatively high prioritization category for funding. Many of the funding sources have found that one of the most useful things to kick start the industry in Europe would be to make equipment available so that people can develop, prototype, pilot and even make low quantity product without the need for them to buy their own equipment which is capital intensive and high risk as development still has to occur.

As a result, many printed electronics centers have been set up, as shown in the image below. Those in light green are in the process of being set up, darker green are more established centers. Some represent numerous centers.

Source: Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2015-2025

 

However, through many interviews IDTechEx Research has found that the equipment demand has mostly been met for the government funded programs. Of course, outside the government funded projects companies are buying equipment but the main funding until now has come from governments. For equipment supply companies, many of whom have enjoyed a good profitable period with top line sales growth, there is now a void as European companies’ appetite for equipment lags the government funded programs.

The US equipment market has seen steady growth but until now has not been as big market as it is in Europe, due to lesser government funding. This has changed due to the recently announced $75 million funding for a printed electronics manufacturing hub, but this is one project unlike the European market which consisted of many.

Now, therefore, equipment makers are turning to Asia. There is an impending transition from equipment for development and prototyping purposes to buying equipment for higher volume manufacture. Here the equipment focus is different – it is not making state of the art transistors using printing, but doing simpler things but reliably that can be in commercial products today. For example, this includes using inkjet printers for the polymer planarization layers for barriers on OLEDs or printing the bezel edge electrodes for touch screens, often which are then patterned with a laser.

So now the wave of new printed electronics capability truly becomes applied to product, with equipment companies sending their sales people out to Asia.

This new report assesses the applications, technologies and opportunities for equipment that is enabling printed electronics including looking at the main government centers and geographic trends. It covers the different types of printing, curing/sintering and other key manufacturing equipment, providing assessment of the manufacturing requirements for different applications, growth areas, ten year forecasts for each printing method by application and detailed company assessments.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View the report: “Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2015-2025“.

Printed Electronics Equipment Sales: Companies Look to Asia

Industrial Robots: -- Markets Reach $48.9 Billion By 2021

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new study “Industrial Robots: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2021”. Robots in general are poised to change every aspect of modern life. Robots are poised to change everything, what we eat, how we eat it, what we drive, how we drive it, what we manufacture, how we manufacture it, and the military, how we defend ourselves.

Robot technology is based on platforms that leverage sensors, controllers, software modules, cameras, visualization, and locomotors deploying machines for control of all repeatable process. Industrialization is after all the repetition of some task to create process. Robots take this a step further to create automation of process with the ability to move the units.

Robots are promising to improve yields in every industry. Robots make crops safer by eliminating or virtually eliminating herbicides. Downstream processing system solutions and robots achieve automation of process. Robots meet stringent hygiene and safety regulations, work tirelessly 24 hours a day, and relieve human workers of physically arduous tasks. Robots contribute to the freshness, variety and quality of food. Projects are ongoing. Projects are ongoing.

What could be tastier than a fresh picked strawberry, fully ripe, full of juicy appetence, exquisite in every way? Plant factories, grow lights, vertical farming appliances, and robots that make them possible are poised to change the economics of food growing. Robots in general are poised to change every aspect of modern life. Robots are poised to change everything, what we eat, how we eat it, what we drive, how we drive it, what we manufacture, how we manufacture it, and the military, how we defend ourselves.

Robots are set to bring a new industrial revolution more important than anything seen before. Industrial robots perform repetitive tasks efficiently, they do not eat, they do not make mistakes, they do not get tired, they do what they are told, they work 24 hours per day 7 days a week. Manufacturing plants are frequently long aisles of nothing but robots, no human in sight.

Beyond industrial robots that repeat actions, more intelligent robots loaded with sensors are able to automate process using processors and cameras to control action. Use of microprocessors provides a measure of intelligent control over the activity of the robot based on input from the sensors and the cameras.

Tablet apps are congruent technology for all robots, adding platform functionality and providing basic platform controls. There is the potential for standardization so the robotic platforms are congruent, but that has not happened yet. Companies with a presence in tablet markets are poised to benefit enormously from the growth of robot markets. The app software provides a universal mechanism that will permit flexible response to changing market conditions.

According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the the study, “The opportunity to participate in robotic markets is compelling. This new market is evolving as new automated process based on breakthroughs and innovation in technology is expressed in robotic platforms. Microprocessor technology, optics, cameras, nanotechnology, new materials, thin film batteries, and sensors are among the technologies being put to use in innovative ways in robots. The ability to apply any technology from any company is phenomenal.”

Consideration of Robot Market Forecasts indicates that markets at $53 billion will reach $171.7 billion by 2020. Growth comes as every industry achieves efficiency by automating process robotically. Robots are unique because they can perform multiple steps without human intervention and they can adapt to different conditions and different types of devices to be manipulated. The sensors and the cameras in the robots make them flexible.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site. View the report:  “Industrial Robots: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2021“.

 

 

Industrial Robots: -- Markets Reach $48.9 Billion By 2021

Global Market for Situation Awareness Systems

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Situation Awareness System – Global Strategic Business Report”. This report provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, opportunities, challenges and issues in addition to current coverage on company information and latest news and events including strategic corporate developments, and product innovations. The report helps identify the biggest opportunities in this space and offers accurate latent demand forecasting that empowers quantitative decision making among existing market players and new entrants.

The global market for Situation Awareness System is projected to reach US$135 billion by 2020, driven by the need for efficient management of security threats against a backdrop of continuous rise in security infringements the world over. Technology innovations and growing awareness over the benefits offered by Situation Awareness System are spurring adoption in plant automation, homeland security, aviation, maritime security, construction, cyber security, healthcare and automotive sectors. The United States represents the largest market worldwide, followed by Europe. Asia-Pacific is forecast to emerge as the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 10.9% over the analysis period.

Situation Awareness Systems Market Trends & Drivers:

• Need to Protect Critical Government Infrastructure Brings Situation Awareness System Into the Spotlight


• Demand for Next-Generation Data Security Solutions Drives Market Growth


• Technology Developments Spearhead Growth in the Market


• Wireless Situational Awareness Systems: A Promising Technology in the Making (LSA): The Next Level of Innovation


• Smart Cities to Fuel Large-Scale Adoption of Situation Awareness Solutions

The report profiles 77 companies including many key and niche players such as –

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

BAE Systems

Barco N.V

CNL Software

D3 Security Management Systems

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View Report Contents: “Situation Awareness System – Global Strategic Business Report“.

 

Global Market for Situation Awareness Systems

Internet of Things Solutions, Business Opportunities, and IoT Forecasts 2015-2020

IoT Solutions, Business Opportunities and New Markets

The Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to fundamentally transform M2M communications, global IT support systems, and business processes in virtually every industry vertical. IoT will significantly impact wireless (short range and macro networks), network signaling, authentication, and data management systems. Embedded systems will also be at the cornerstone for IoT deployment, especially within Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications. Data generated through sensors embedded in various things/objects will generate massive amounts of unstructured (big) data on real-time basis that holds the promise for intelligence and insights

for dramatically improved decision processes.

Accordingly, there is an emerging significant business opportunity for Cloud Service Providers and Big Data Analytics within IoT.  There is an increasingly urgent need for end-to-end security for IoT systems and services as we anticipate that their intrusions will become increasingly impactful leading to the potential for operational disruption, industrial espionage, damage to enterprise assets, and even potential physical harm to human beings.

This research offering is the most comprehensive available covering business drivers, technologies, leading companies and solutions, applications, services, market segments, and future outlook for IoT.

Forecasts are provided for 2015 to 2020 for major IoT focus areas including:

* Big Data in IoT

* Security in IoT

* Smart Cities and IoT

* IoT and Data as a Service

* IoT and Embedded Systems

* IoT and the Industrial Internet

This research bundle is value-priced as the sum total of each report purchased individually would be significantly more expensive. This report bundle purchase includes time with an expert analyst who will help you link key findings in the report to the business issues you’re addressing. This needs to be used within three months of purchasing the report.

Target Audience:

* Security companies

* Internet of Things companies

* Wireless device manufacturers

* Wearable technology suppliers

* Digital signal processor providers

* Telephony infrastructure providers

* Computer and semiconductor companies

* Embedded hardware, software and OS providers

* Mobile/wireless network operators and service providers

* Next generation application developers and content providers

* Consumer electronics merchandisers and application providers

Table of Contents:


This research package includes the following reports:

1. Data as a Service (DaaS) Market and Forecasts 2015 – 2020


2. Wireless IoT Wide Area Network (WAN) Technologies and Solutions


3. M2M, IoT, Sensors, and Connected World: Market and Forecast 2015 – 2020


4. Connected Home and IoT: Market Opportunities and Forecasts 2015 – 2020


5. M2M/IoT, Cloud, Big Data and Analytics: Market Dynamics and Opportunities


6. Connected Vehicles: Market and Forecast for LTE and Telematics Applications 2015 – 2020


7. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): Key Trends, Opportunities and Market Forecasts 2015 – 2020


8. Big Data in Internet of  Things (IoT): Key Trends, Opportunities and Market Forecasts 2015 – 2020


9. The IoT Software Market and OEM Ecosystem: Opportunities, Challenges, and Forecast 2015 – 2020


10. The IoT Hardware Market and OEM Ecosystem: Opportunities, Challenges, and Forecast 2015 – 2020


11. Internet of Things (IoT) and  Wireless Networks: Technologies, Business Drivers, and Market Outlook


12. Security and Privacy in the Internet of Things (IoT): Challenges, Market Opportunities and Forecast  2015 – 2020


13. Smart City Business Drivers,  Technologies, Companies, and Solutions: Global Outlook and Forecasts 2015 – 2020


14.  Internet of  Things (IoT) Leaders: ARM, Broadcom, Cisco, Freescale, Google, Intel, McAfee, Oracle, PTC, Qualcomm, Samsung


15. Embedded Infrastructure and Devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) Ecosystem: Next Generation Embedded System Hardware, Software, Tools, and OSs 2015 – 2020

Internet of Things Solutions, Business Opportunities, and IoT Forecasts 2015 – 2020

Published in December 2015

1,860 pages.

Single-user License:  $ 12,995 USD

Team License (Up to 5 Users):   $ 15,995 USD

Company-wide License:   $ 19,995 USD

For more information and ordering please contact Electronics.ca Publications.

Internet of Things Solutions, Business Opportunities, and IoT Forecasts 2015-2020

International Economic Outlook: Will High Risk Events Trigger a Recession?

Will High Risk Events Trigger a Recession?

In the worldwide business cycle, the group of the English-speaking countries has led historically global economic activity. Monthly predictive analytics signal an underlying weakness for several months in the English-speaking countries, which have posted negative or steadily declining growth rates in their leading indicators.

Globally, trade predictive analytics, which summarize worldwide merchandize exports, clearly point out an undergoing global slowdown contradicting the media created myth of transitory snowstorms in New England as the cause of an economic downswing in the United States in the first quarter of this year. In March of this year, global exports, on a year-to-year basis, declined by 12.4%, the sixth consecutive monthly decline in a row following an expansion since October 2014.  On a quarterly basis, in the first quarter of 2015 global exports dropped 10.2% from a year ago to $3.7 trillion, following a 2.6% decline in the last quarter of 2014. A major trigger for such dramatic changes in each county’s business cycle has been the “burst” of the oil-price bubble coupled with currency realignments from the strengthening of the US dollar as well as a slowdown in the growth in emerging economies.

In addition to geopolitical risks related to Middle East and Eastern Europe, there is high probability of bursting this year one or more  policy-created bubbles.  A hard landing in China from housing prices and/or stock market corrections; disintegration of the Euro Area; high debt to income ratios – both private and public – in several countries; and the timing of an exit from an ill-conceived and permanent-perceived monetary policy of zero interest rates in the United States. Any of these events may trigger a significant correction in stock markets leading to another major recession with no tools left for economic policy. …Assigning a 40% probability that any of these events will come suddenly into play this year .

By Evangelos Otto Simos, Ph.D.

• Related Research: Global Semiconductor Industry Leading Indicator and Forecast Report.

 

International Economic Outlook: Will High Risk Events Trigger a Recession?

Surgical Robots -- Markets Reach $20 Billion By 2021

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Surgical Robots: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2021”. The 2015 study has 553 pages, 216 tables and figures. Worldwide surgical robot markets are poised to achieve significant growth as next generation systems provide a way to improve traditional open surgery and decrease the number of ports needed for minimally invasive surgery.

Intuitive Surgical has market leadership position, advanced technology, an impressive installed base and a well trained group of surgeons able to manage the robots. Patients fare better when the surgery is done by surgical robots. The documentation of improvements in care delivery, the ability to ensure better outcomes from surgery promise that surgical robotics is a strong growth market.

Intuitive Surgical will be difficult to dislodge, its dominant position is based on technological excellence that keeps being improved and competitors have a difficult time catching up, much less improving on the Intuitive Surgical technology. Other leading competitors will emerge and the group of several surgical robotic companies will collectively have enough marketing dollars and enough marketing clout to drive replacement of all open surgery. Robotic surgery is positioned to become the standard of care.

Intuitive Surgical has achieved market saturation in colorectal surgery in the US, it will work on increasing its presence in other surgical market sectors. The leading robotic surgical companies are poised to grow through acquisition, purchasing smaller companies that have developed as specialized product and gained FDA approval. As detailed in the market research study there are a lot of those in every medical specialty and more to come.

The surgical robot market is characterized enormous variety and innovation.

Snake robots are wonderfully interesting surgical robots. Medrobotics offers a highly articulated multi-linked robot. It enables minimally-invasive procedures to replace open surgical procedures. It works for many parts of the anatomy. It works in places in the body that are difficult or previously impossible to reach. The robot-assist platform includes on-board visualization. and contains multiple open device channels to accept a variety of third party surgical and interventional instruments. The robot enables physicians to operate through non-linear circuitous paths, self-supported, and through a single-site access into the body.

The maneuverability of the robot is gained from its numerous mechanical linkages with concentric mechanisms. Each mechanism can be placed into a rigid or a limp state. By employing a patented “follow-the-leader” movement strategy with these alternating states, the robot can be directed into any shape through the relative orientations of its linkages.

A surgical robot recurring revenue model business model is essentially large one time purchase for a system complimented by replaceable or disposable instruments that cumulatively market a much larger and ongoing market. Vendors make money from the one time sale of a system and recurring revenue from sale of devices used in every operation.

Initially, a vendor sells and installs the surgical system into new customer accounts. Once systems are sold into customer accounts, the vendor generates recurring revenue as our customers use the system to perform surgery. To do surgeries, the customers need to buy and consume instruments and accessory products. Vendors also generate recurring revenue from system service.

The ability to deliver such an accurate dose of radiation means that the cancer can be eradicated in patients before the patient is administered a lethal dose of radiation. This prepresents a cure for cancer once it gets working according to the promise of the systems now in place. .

The Accuray radiation systems that address the oncology market are perhaps the most exciting technology ever offered to any market. Because the systems are able to control the dose of radiation Amount of activity in the market, many companies, FDA approvals, way for existing vendors to improve footprint in market

In the field of radiation oncology, the Accuray CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System is universally recognized as the premier radiosurgery system capable of delivering high doses of radiation with sub-millimeter accuracy anywhere in the body. As validated and proven in numerous peer-reviewed publications, the precision and accuracy of the system combines with continual image guidance and robotic mobility to deliver treatments characterized by high conformality and steep dose gradients.

The newest addition to the CyberKnife product line, the CyberKnife VSITM System, continues Accuray’s tradition of innovation. Building on a foundation of accuracy and precision in radiosurgery, the CyberKnife VSI System extends these benefits to fractionated high precision radiation therapy with Robotic IMRTTM that can be delivered anywhere in the body.

The automated process revolution in surgery and communications is being implemented via robots. Robots automation of systems is providing significant improvement in the accuracy of surgery and the repeatability of process.

According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, “Existing open surgery can be replaced in large part by robotic minimally invasive surgery (MIS) during the ofrecast period. Minimally invasive robotic surgery, new robotic radiation treatment, and emerging robotic surgical approaches complement existing surgery techniques. Soon, all surgery will be undertaken with at least come aspects of robotic surgery replacing or complementing open surgery.”

During a robot assisted surgical procedure, the patient-side cart is positioned next to the operating table with the electromechanical arms arranged to provide access to the initial ports selected by the surgeon. Metal tubes attached to the arms are inserted through the ports, and the cutting and visualization instruments are introduced through the tubes into the patient’s body.

The surgeon performs the procedure while sitting at a console, manipulating the instrument controls and viewing the operation through a vision system. When a surgeon needs to change an instrument the instrument is withdrawn from the surgical field using the controls at the console. This is done many times during an operation.

The companies that get an early foothold in the market have significant strategic advantage. The robotic surgical technique benefits hospitals by reducing the length of patient stays, thereby enabling better cost management. This factor is driving demand for surgery robot systems. Since robotics provide surgeons with a precise, repeatable and controlled ability to perform procedures in tight spaces, they are increasingly in demand.

The aging US population has supported demand, since the occurrence of health issues that require medical devices is higher in the elderly population. Buoyed by strong demand and sales, industry profit margins have increased considerably during the past five years.

Hospitals are adopting robotic surgical devices to improve their outcomes numbers. Hospitals are measured on outcomes, robots for surgery, when used by a trained physician are improving outcomes significantly.

Hundreds of universities worldwide have research programs in robotics and many are awarding degrees in robotics. These “roboticists” are increasingly being hired by Global 2000 organizations to link mobile robots (mobile computers) into existing IT systems.

Compared with other minimally invasive surgery approaches, robot-assisted surgery gives the surgeon better control over the surgical instruments and a better view of the surgical site. Surgeons no longer have to stand throughout the surgery and do not tire as quickly. Hand tremors are filtered out by the robot’s computer software. The surgical robot can continuously be used by rotating surgery teams.

Surgical robot device markets at $3.2 billion in 2014 are anticipated to reach $20 billion by 2021 as next generation devices, systems, and instruments are introduced to manage surgery through small ports in the body instead of large open wounds.

The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis including procedure numbers, units sold, market value, forecasts, as well as a detailed competitive market shares and analysis of major players’ success, challenges, and strategies in each segment and sub- segment. The reports cover markets for: medical specialties and sub-specialties.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View the report: Surgical Robots Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2020.

Surgical Robots -- Markets Reach $20 Billion By 2021

Global Precious Metals Market is Projected to Reach $323.2 Billion by 2019

Precious metals are increasingly making a mark in a wide range of applications ranging from electronics, autocatalysts to photography. According to a new report, Precious Metals: Global Markets,  the global precious metals market totaled $217.1 billion in 2013. This should reach $323.2 billion by 2019, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% between 2013 and 2019.

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The oldest and the most established application segment for this industry is jewelry. However, several other applications, mainly technological applications, are gaining a share of the market.

Several applications for gold, silver, platinum and palladium are propelling markets such as automotive, industrial and other niche areas, where the metal actually performs chemical and metallurgical functions other than aesthetics.

The main impact has been on gold, which went from a $236.9 billion market in 2012 to a $170.4 billion market in 2013, for a drop of 28%. Silver declined 21.7%, from a market size of $32.7 billion in 2012 to $25.6 billion in 2013. Platinum group metals (PGM) was the only segment of the market that retained its market size with the value increasing slightly from $20.4 billion in 2012 to $21.1 billion in 2013, for a growth of 3.5%.

Over the past decade, gold prices rose, until 2012. Prices declined dramatically in 2013 but in 2014 are stabilizing. The recent turmoil in prices has been harsh on the industry, with several miners and processors feeling the financial pressures in the last two years.

Gold market is projected to grow back to $252 billion for a CAGR of 6.7% in the 2013 to 2019 period. The silver market is projected to grow a bit faster, at a projected CAGR of 8.8% to reach $42.5 billion from the current $25.6 billion.

Precious Metals: Global Markets

Precious Metals: Global Markets analyzes the current market scenario, the growth in the past few years, potential future gain and the changes taking place in the precious metals marketplace.

Global Precious Metals Market is Projected to Reach $323.2 Billion by 2019

Global Printed Circuit Boards Market Data 2015

Electronics.ca Publications unearths interesting findings that may reveal golden opportunities for electronics manufacturers. Here are some of the latest discoveries of interest to PCB fabricators:

According to “Monthly IPC North American PCB Market Report” Flexible circuit orders in North America are booming this year and the forecast for the next year is for double-digit sales growth. The North American flex market has grown over the past 3 years while the rigid PCB market has shrunk. Globally, the flex market is now estimated at over $10.2 billion. Yet, U.S. production accounts for only 3.4 percent of the world’s flexible circuits.

The monthly North American PCB Market Report provides timely data on PCB market size, sales and order growth, book-to-bill ratios and near-term forecasts. Data are reported for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits separately. The rigid PCB data are further segmented by company size tiers, and flex data includes trends in bare circuit versus assembly revenue sources. Trends in sales of boards to the military and medical markets are reported for both rigid and flex, as well as trends in prototype sales.

According to Global and China FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board) Industry Report, 2014 was a bumper year for most FPCB companies, and the output value of the entire PCB industry reached USD12.5 billion, rising by 10.5% from the previous year. In 2015, the prices of bulk commodities (particularly the copper price) plummet, which will greatly reduce the raw material costs of PCB companies and help raise their profitability. Larger screen size of mobile phone requires larger FPCB. The FPCB market is expected to grow 8.6% in 2015 as the smartphone market can not continue its rapid growth and the tablet PC is in recession.

In 2014, the euro, the NTD and the yen significantly devalued, while the South Korean won appreciated, which not only hit a serious blow to the competitiveness of South Korean FPCB enterprises, but minified the profit of South Korean PCB enterprises. The revenue and profit margin of all South Korean PCB companies declined, for example, Flexcom’s revenue slumped by more than 50%, the giant Interflex’s revenue dropped 33% and its operating margin turned to be the negative 14.2%, which showed the power of the currency war.

Benefiting from the currency depreciation, Taiwanese and European companies witnessed soaring profit margins. More than half of Japanese companies did not benefit from the depreciation of the yen because they set up production bases overseas, but still better than South Korean companies.

In the downstream market, the biggest change in 2014 lied in: HDD saw the first growth after three consecutive years of decline. The global HDD shipment amounted to 564 million units, an increase of 2.4% from 2013. Previously, insiders were optimistic about the prospect of SSD instead of HDD; but actually, the SSD price remained high, the tablet PC market decayed, while the laptop computer market recovered to growth after three consecutive years of downturn. At the same time, the development of SSD did not restrict HDD; the new network economy and the big data era stimulated the demand for servers and HDD. HDD will still be the mainstream in the next three to five years, and the HDD shipment is expected to reach 621 million units in 2019. Japanese companies focusing on HDD-use FPCB performed exceedingly well in 2014, for example, the leader NOK (Mektron) achieved the revenue growth rate of 28% and the operating margin of 8.7% (rising from the negative 10.6%), Nitto’s revenue surged by 31%.

The competitiveness of South Korean and American companies weakened significantly. The strong USD made MFLEX’s revenue fall dramatically. The depreciation of NTD facilitated Taiwanese companies to grow by leaps and bounds; meanwhile, Apple greatly reduced orders from South Korean companies, while placed more orders with Japanese and Taiwanese companies in accordance with the principle of the nearest supply. The revenue of ZDT under Foxconn soared 60% in 2014.

 

Global Printed Circuit Boards Market Data 2015

Flexible, Organic and Printed Electronics Market Forecast

New market research report, entitled Printed, Organic & Flexible Electronics: Forecasts, Players & Opportunities, provides the most comprehensive view of the topic, giving detailed ten year forecasts by device type. The market is analyzed by territory, printed vs non printed, rigid vs flexible, inorganic vs organic, cost of materials vs process cost and much more, with over 160 tables and figures. Activities of over 1,000 leading companies are given, as is assessment of the winners and losers to come.

The total market for Flexible, Organic and printed electronics will be worth over $70 billion by 2024. The majority of that is OLEDs (organic but not printed) and conductive ink used for a wide range of applications. On the other hand, stretchable electronics, logic and memory, thin film sensors are much smaller segments but with huge growth potential as they emerge from R&D.

Flexible, organic and printed electronics market forecast by component type in US$ billions*

Source: IDTechEx * For the full forecast data please purchase this report

The following components are assessed, and for each one ten year forecasts are given, along with companies and their activities, case studies, impediments to commercialization and timescales:

• Logic and memory


• OLED displays


• OLED lighting


• Electrophoretic and other bistable displays


• Electrochromic displays


• Electroluminescent displays


• Other displays


• Thin film batteries


• Photovoltaics


• Sensors


• Conductors


• Other

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If you are looking to understand the big picture, the opportunity, the problems you can address, or how you can start to use these technologies and the implications involved, this report is a must.  Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site: Printed, Organic & Flexible Electronics: Forecasts, Players & Opportunities

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Partial list of tables:

 1. Description and analysis of the main technology components of printed and potentially printed electronics

1.2. Current opportunity, market size and profitability

1.3. Market forecast by component type for 2015-2025 in US $ billions, for printed and potentially printed electronics including organic, inorganic and composites

1.4. The different states of readiness of organic and inorganic electronic technologies (semiconductors and conductors)

1.5. Spend on organic versus inorganic materials 2015-2025 US$ billion

1.6. Split of material types by component

1.7. Market value $ billions of only printed electronics 2015-2025

1.8. Total market value of printed versus non-printed electronics 2015-2025 US$ billion

1.9. Market value $ billions of only flexible/conformal electronics 2015-2025

1.10. Total market value of flexible/conformal versus rigid electronics 2015-2025 in US$ billion

1.11. The market for printed and potentially printed electronics by territory in $ billion 2015-2025

1.12. Possible breakdown of the market for printed and potentially printed electronics in 2035 by numbers and value

1.13. Success and failures

2.1. Market forecasts for 2035 in US$ billion

2.2. End user markets relevant to printed electronics

2.3. Leading market drivers 2025

2.4. Some potential benefits of printed and partly printed organic and inorganic electronics and electrics over conventional devices and non-electronic printing in various applications

2.5. Types of printed/thin film photovoltaics beyond silicon compared, with examples of suppliers

2.6. Primary assumptions of organic electronics in full production 2013-2035

3.1. Global market for printed electronics logic and memory 2015-2025 in billions of dollars, with % printed and % flexible

Flexible, Organic and Printed Electronics Market Forecast

PCB Industry Results for September 2015

North American PCB Sales Growth Continues

IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the September findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales growth continued in September and the book-to-bill ratio fell back to a more normal but still positive 1.05.

Total North American PCB shipments increased 3.3 percent in September 2015 compared to September 2014. Year-to-date shipment growth finally reached positive territory at 0.3 percent, after struggling to overcome negative sales growth rates seen earlier this year. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments were up 12.1 percent.

PCB bookings decreased 2.0 percent compared to September 2014, reducing year-to-date order growth to 5.2 percent. Orders were down 7.4 percent in September compared to the previous month.

“The North American PCB industry continues to see modest but positive sales growth, the result of strong order growth in most months of 2015. Orders contracted in September bringing the book-to-bill ratio down from a 5-year high in August to a more moderate level,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “The book-to-bill ratio remains positive for the 12th consecutive month,” she added, “which is a strong indicator of positive sales growth in the fourth quarter of this year and into next year.”

Detailed Data Available

The next edition of IPC’s North American PCB Market Report, containing detailed September data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available within the next week. The monthly report presents detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, military and medical market growth, demand for prototypes, and other timely data.

Interpreting the Data

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 three to six months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.

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 reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB book-to-bill ratio at the end of each month. Statistics for the current month are available in the last week of the following month.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View Report Contents: IPC’s North American PCB Market Report. Electronics.ca Publications is an IPC member and authorized distributor of IPC industry standards, workforce training products, and market research reports.

 

PCB Industry Results for September 2015

ZigBee Standards Will Be Used in Over 80% of 802.15.4 Chipset Shipments in 2020

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled “ZigBee Lights Up the Internet of Things: A Market Dynamics Report“.  New research finds that annual shipments of IEEE 802.15.4 chipsets nearly doubled last year and will increase by 550% over the next five years. In 2020, ZigBee standards will be used in 8 out of 10 of the 802.15.4 chipset shipments.

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“ZigBee has always provided flexibility for developers and now ZigBee is rapidly becoming the consumer technology of choice for emerging smart home products,” says Mareca Hatler, ON World’s research director. “This trend is expected to accelerate as ZigBee 3.0 unifies its application profiles and the Thread Group provides a standards based IP addressable wireless mesh network layer.”

Annual unit shipments for ZigBee/802.15.4 nearly doubled last year and will increase by 550% over the next five years. In addition to ZigBee PRO, the most widely adopted wireless mesh network protocol, the ZigBee Alliance also certifies ZigBee RF4CE devices for simple, ultra-low power remote controls and the ZigBee Alliance is also working on a new specification for outdoor wireless mesh networking using IEEE 802.15.4g and 6LoWPAN.

The Thread specification that is scheduled to be released this July will simplify and streamline the creation of smart home IoT products and services. Through a collaboration with the ZigBee Alliance, the Thread Group benefits from over a decade of development of application profiles and ZigBee 3.0 in particular. ZigBee 3.0 is scheduled to be completed this year and will unify commonly used ZigBee profiles such as ZigBee Light Link, ZigBee Home Automation, ZigBee Health Care and others into a single application profile suite, significantly streamlining product development and interoperability among vendors.

Applications for the IoT continue to expand with a growing number of IoT cloud providers such as Ayla Networks, Arrayent, GreenWave Systems, Helium, Kitu Systems, SmartThings (Samsung) and Wink (Quirky) that have recently raised $500 million in venture or equity investments.

By 2020, this new study projects that over 80% of IEEE 802.15.4 annual shipments will use a ZigBee standard. However, ZigBee is facing intensifying competition from low power variants of WiFi and Bluetooth Smart that are gaining tremendous momentum currently from the mobile, IT and consumer electronics industries. Within the next five years, the study projects that annual wireless sensor network chipset shipments will exceed 2 billion.

This report analyzes the evolving market forces, technology advances and competitive dynamics for 22 unique ZigBee markets and provides 5-year forecasts for 802.15.4/ZigBee and competing alternatives including WiFi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, EnOcean and others. It also includes key findings from a recently completed survey with 1,000+ consumers and an extensive analysis of hundreds of ZigBee/802.15.4 products and services.

ZigBee Lights Up the Internet of Things

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View the report: “ZigBee Lights Up the Internet of Things: A Market Dynamics Report“.

 

ZigBee Standards Will Be Used in Over 80% of 802.15.4 Chipset Shipments in 2020

Printed Electronics Equipment Sales: Companies Look to Asia

ELECTRONICS.CA PUBLICATIONS announces the availability of a new report entitled “Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2015-2025”.  According to this report, the printed electronics equipment and consumables supplier base consists of over 100 global organizations . The majority of these are based in Europe, followed by a roughly even share of US and Asian based companies. Within Europe itself, Germany is home to more equipment makers than other European countries.

While initially the printed, organic and flexible electronics industry was driven by significant investment and technological development from the fine chemicals industry, the equipment sector followed soon after. Those involved in screen printing and screen printing consumables have had the largest market so far in printed electronics given that the equipment is used in commercial products such as solar cells and glucose test strips.

For more emerging printed electronics processes, such as inkjet printing, specialist coating systems applied to printed electronics, gravure and flexo, the market has been smaller but quickly growing. Most of the sales of such systems have been into Europe. This has been due to a high and consistent level of funding made available from European funding sources in addition to country specific funding programs.

Printed electronics is in most European countries a relatively high prioritization category for funding. Many of the funding sources have found that one of the most useful things to kick start the industry in Europe would be to make equipment available so that people can develop, prototype, pilot and even make low quantity product without the need for them to buy their own equipment which is capital intensive and high risk as development still has to occur.

As a result, many printed electronics centers have been set up, as shown in the image below. Those in light green are in the process of being set up, darker green are more established centers. Some represent numerous centers.

Source: Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2015-2025

 

However, through many interviews IDTechEx Research has found that the equipment demand has mostly been met for the government funded programs. Of course, outside the government funded projects companies are buying equipment but the main funding until now has come from governments. For equipment supply companies, many of whom have enjoyed a good profitable period with top line sales growth, there is now a void as European companies’ appetite for equipment lags the government funded programs.

The US equipment market has seen steady growth but until now has not been as big market as it is in Europe, due to lesser government funding. This has changed due to the recently announced $75 million funding for a printed electronics manufacturing hub, but this is one project unlike the European market which consisted of many.

Now, therefore, equipment makers are turning to Asia. There is an impending transition from equipment for development and prototyping purposes to buying equipment for higher volume manufacture. Here the equipment focus is different – it is not making state of the art transistors using printing, but doing simpler things but reliably that can be in commercial products today. For example, this includes using inkjet printers for the polymer planarization layers for barriers on OLEDs or printing the bezel edge electrodes for touch screens, often which are then patterned with a laser.

So now the wave of new printed electronics capability truly becomes applied to product, with equipment companies sending their sales people out to Asia.

This new report assesses the applications, technologies and opportunities for equipment that is enabling printed electronics including looking at the main government centers and geographic trends. It covers the different types of printing, curing/sintering and other key manufacturing equipment, providing assessment of the manufacturing requirements for different applications, growth areas, ten year forecasts for each printing method by application and detailed company assessments.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications’ web site.  View the report: “Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2015-2025“.

Printed Electronics Equipment Sales: Companies Look to Asia