I’m regularly on Capitol Hill, talking about the foundational importance of PCBs and other essential pieces of the electronics supply chain. I find that policymakers work hard to make informed decisions that affect our $6 trillion industry, yet they don’t always have a complete picture of how interconnected our industry has become. A component decision in Arizona can ripple through a PCB line in Guadalajara, a materials plant in Penang, and ultimately the manufacturers that depend on both. That’s why the global electronics industry needs a unified, coordinated voice to help policymakers understand those connections before decisions are made, so policies strengthen the entire electronics supply chain rather than one segment at the expense of another. 

Today is a holiday in the U.S., the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the document that launched the 13 British colonies on the path to becoming an independent country. The news, however, continues regardless of the day or the country being celebrated. Here are my top picks for the week. This week, I’m drawing attention to three news items on the shifting component supply chain balance. I’ve also selected the July issue of SMT007 Magazine on setup time optimization, and Steph Chavez’s column on digital twins.

Book Excerpt: The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to... UV Curable Conformal Coatings, Chapter 3

American Made Advocacy: PCBs in the National Spotlight

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