Happy New Year; Now Back to Work

Reading time ( words)

Welcome back! It’s January again, and it’s a brisk 10 degrees here in Atlanta. It’s so cold here that socialites have abandoned the veranda and taken their mint juleps into the parlor.

Yes, it’s time to get back into work mode. We ended the year on a good note, with unemployment down and almost 3 million jobs created in the first 11 months of 2015—the most for any similar period since 1999. There are still too many people working part-time who would like a full-time job, but the trend looks positive.

Show Time

During the week of February 22–26, it’s off to San Diego for IPC APEX EXPO and the Design Forum. (And three cheers for IPC moving APEX back to “America’s Finest City.” It’s hard to have a bad day in San Diego.) Appropriately, the Design Forum kicks off the week, with a keynote by Carl Schattke, a PCB design engineer with Tesla Motors. How many PCBs can you find in a Tesla?

To read this entire column, click here.

11/22/2019 | Kelsey Smith, All Flex

Many of the issues that arise when using a flex circuit come from a lack of knowledge about how to properly design one, especially when the circuit is required to bend. Many novices will design a circuit that calls for bending the flex in too tight of a bend radius, which can cause damage to the circuit and lower the reliability of the end product. This series of articles will focus on the seven key aspects to consider when designing for maximum durability and maximum “flexibility”.

10/25/2019 | Steve Williams, The Right Approach Consulting LLC

In Part 4 of this series on how PCB fabricators and designers can better communicate, Bob Chandler from CA Design and Mark Thompson from Prototron Circuits address the top five causes of engineer delays.

10/18/2019 | Steve Williams, The Right Approach Consulting LLC

In Part 3, Bob Chandler from CA Design and Mark Thompson from Prototron Circuits speak with Steve Williams about the importance of preparing, sending, and receiving comprehensive (and ideally, perfectly complete) design data packages. If you’ve ever wondered why the CAM department asks you so many questions, read on.