Sunstone Circuits, the PCB prototype solutions provider, was honored with a VISION Award for its PCB123 design software during IPC APEX EXPO in Las Vegas. The awards recognize the people and products within the surface mount industry that serve as benchmarks of excellence.

"Sunstone is devoted to creating the best experience for our customers and one critical component of that best-in-class experience is our design software," said Sunstone CEO Terry Heilman. "We are constantly assessing the industry and upgrading our software to better meet designers' needs. It is an honor to be recognized for our dedication and innovation in this area."

Sunstone's PCB123 design software was selected as the standout product in its category, Design/Manufacturing Software. Products nominated for an award were evaluated based on industry challenges, creative application, quality, performance, cost and throughput.

PCB123 is part of the Sunstone ECOsystem Design Environment, which creates a seamless flow from design to assembly through offerings from Sunstone and partnerships with industry-leading companies. Utilizing the Sunstone ECOsystem and PCB123, designers can produce working prototypes in shorter time, fewer turns and with better access to PCB manufacturing services. Integrating the four discrete segments of PCB prototyping--knowledge, tools, parts and libraries and manufacturing--the Sunstone ECOsystem is a strategic resource that consolidates and improves the PCB prototyping process for designers from concept to delivery.

An example of this is the innovative work with Digi-Key Corporation and NXP Semiconductor Corporation. PCB123's LiveBOM feature set uses a Web interface provided by Digi-Key, allowing PCB123 users to receive real-time pricing and availability information for components they've specified in their design. NXP's commitment to deliver a fully-certified library of NXP components results in the automatic and seamless presentation of component pricing information specific to the design without any library management effort on the part of the end user. This information integrated into a design environment, live to the distributor's inventory, is truly a first in the industry.

To learn more about PCB123 and to download a free copy, visit www.Sunstone.com/PCB123.

For more information about the Sunstone ECOsystem, visit www.SunstoneECOsystem.com.

About Sunstone Circuits

Sunstone Circuits pioneered the online ordering of PCBs, and is the leading PCB solutions provider with more than 35 years of experience in delivering quality engineering software along with quick and on-time PCBs for the electronic design industry. Sunstone Circuits is dedicated to improving the PCB prototyping process from quote to delivery (Q2D) and provides "live" customer support every day of the year (24/7/365). For more information, visit www.sunstone.com.