I-Connect007 Editor's Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

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This past week, we published a variety of articles, interviews, and columns—and readers definitely made their favorites known. There was good news about hiring and staffing. (In case you were wondering, there are quite a few open positions in this industry right now.) We touched base with a pair of young engineers to get their thoughts on what it’s like for recent grads working in the PCB manufacturing community.

We learned about a company’s new program that can help take some of the stress out of NPI. We also launched a new chapter in our “Just Ask” series, this time starring columnist Tara Dunn. And there was sad news that a contract manufacturer’s chairman had just passed away. 

Next week, Nolan Johnson will bring you his editor’s picks. 

Survey Results: ‘Are You Currently Hiring?’
Published November 4

There’s still plenty of uncertainty in the world—we Americans don’t even know who our next president is yet, but our industry is doing well. According to our recent survey, many of your companies are hiring quite a bit. A lot of good things have been happening in PCB design and manufacturing this year, and it’s clear that we’re going to need to ramp up our hiring game for 2021. This article by Michelle Te drew quite a few readers this week.

Just Ask Tara Dunn: What’s Next for LCP Materials?
Published November 5

Our “Just Ask” series has a new face—Tara Dunn, president of Omni PCB and a Flex007 columnist. Tara focuses on flex and rigid-flex technologies, as well as additive processes and cool, cutting-edge laminates. Her first question in this series addresses the growth of liquid crystal polymer. Do you think LCP will ever replace polyimide as the flex substrate of choice? “Just Ask” remains one of our more popular features.

Cicor Mourns Death of Chairman Heinrich J. Essing
Published November 2

Heinrich J. Essing, chairman of the board of directors for Cicor Technologies, passed away unexpectedly this week. The Swiss provider of flex and rigid circuit board manufacturing and assembly services announced that the vice-chair would assume his duties temporarily. Essing had been on the board since 2009. Essing continued working after retirement age and was “an extremely loyal and committed chairman and a highly esteemed person.” 

Foundations of the Future: Inspirational Career Paths—Meet Tayler and Olivia
Published November 3

In this column, IPC’s Charlene Gunter du Plessis interviews two upcoming young engineers: Tayler Swanson and Olivia Lim. They discuss the highlights of their careers so far and offer advice for other young people considering a career in technology. We need many more young technologists like them; IPC’s Emerging Engineer Program is one organization that’s dedicated to mentoring recent engineering graduates.

PCB Technologies Focuses on an All-in-One Solution
Published November 3

Launching a new product is always a stressful event, especially having to manage the information flowing between designers, fabricators, and assembly providers. In this interview, Arik Einhorn of PCB Technologies discusses his company’s “All-in-One” solution, which takes away much of the NPI customer’s worries by managing the entire process, from PCB design through PCBA—all through a single point of contact at his company. This was another one of our more popular articles.

03/24/2023 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007

It’s almost as if upheaval is the new normal. We often describe slow-moving but unstoppable change as moving in “geologic time.” But occasionally–like an earthquake–geology shifts suddenly. Here in my office, tracking the news of the industry, things are moving faster than geologic time, but more slowly than the jolt of an earthquake. The wave seems almost surfable, where before it seemed overwhelming. In this week’s list, we bring news from five different, high-vibration areas in our industry. If you read nothing else this week, these five items will keep you informed.

03/21/2023 | Christopher Bonsell, Chemcut

This year, I had the great opportunity to come to IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego as a contributing member in Chemcut’s booth. Being an exhibitor is always interesting because you never know what you will learn or who you will meet. Truly, it seems that every IPC APEX EXPO is an eye-opening experience. This was the second show I attended, and last year I was amazed to see how in-depth and interconnected the electronics industry is. Seeing how many different companies contribute to manufacturing today’s core technology never fails to impress me.

02/24/2023 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007

Coreen Blaylock, recipient of the IPC Excellence in Education Award, is project management and ping operations at Lockheed Martin. She shares her unconventional introduction to the industry and how her work in STEM education and building industry partnerships has been instrumental in reinvigorating the manufacturing workforce. Lockheed Martin’s commitment to continuous education has provided veterans and displaced workers the training and financial support they need to be successful in our exciting industry.