Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Costovation: Innovation That Gives Your Customers Exactly What They Want—And Nothing More’
The Right Approach: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (Harley-style)
It’s Only Common Sense: Dear Santa, Here’s My Sales Wish List
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
December 25, 2020 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
We started this week with the solstice. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the winter solstice; south of the equator, of course, it’s the summer solstice. Not only is this a big event on the astronomical calendar, solstice is a busy time for holy days worldwide. Whichever holiday schedule you follow, we wish that yours is festive, restorative, and full of hopefulness.
All that holiday revelry can certainly distract one’s attention; as evidenced in a much slower news week. As a result, this week’s Top 5 brings you the three most important and/or intriguing pieces of news we’ve covered in the last week, and two items from last week that are still drawing reader attention this week. That’s I-Connect007: Keeping you informed, efficiently.
Enjoy your holiday and Happy New Year!
Prices of Copper-Clad Laminates Continue to Rise
December 18
Recently, two major explosions at epoxy resin plants in China had a great impact on domestic resin suppliers, interrupting the supply of resin and caused prices to increase dramatically. I-Connect007 reports on the market dynamics and effects.
The press release states, “Industry experts believe a five-year, $40 million investment in a public-private R&D program would yield more than $100 million in U.S. defense savings per year and improve military readiness and overall innovation. The Congress provided $5 million for such R&D in FY 2020.”
For more detail, find IPC President and CEO John Mitchell’s article in Defense News titled, “Protecting America’s military prowess requires an embrace of lead-free electronics.”
COMSovereign Delivers First Tethered Drone-Based LTE Network
December 21
Emergency and disaster response teams are a great example for this new LTE mobile network system. Imagine a wildfire command post setting up on a remote hilltop and launching a series of hovering drones to serve as temporary cell towers in an area otherwise outside cell service.
Dr. John Mitchell on IPC APEX EXPO Going Virtual
December 16
In this audio interview, Barry Matties and Dr. John Mitchell discuss IPC’s decision to move IPC APEX EXPO 2021 to an all virtual platform. Mitchell explains the reasoning for going virtual, and expresses his enthusiasm for the opportunities this presents the conference. I-Connect007 will be providing preshow and realtime coverage of IPC APEX EXPO, so check with us often to get the latest.
Happy Holden: ECWC15 Virtual Event a Success
December 15
Few industry experts are as capable as Happy Holden to review the Electronic Circuits World Convention, held recently in Hong Kong. In this report, Happy summarizes the keynotes from the first day of the three-day event. Keynote speakers include: NT Information Ltd’s Dr. Hayoo Nakahara; James Tam, from Bosch; and Happy Holden himself.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Global PCB Connections: Following DFM Rules Leads to Better Boards
12/18/2024 | Jerome Larez -- Column: Global PCB ConnectionsAs a PCB field applications engineer, ensuring smooth communication between PCB designers and fabricators is one of my frequent challenges. A critical part of that dialogue is design for manufacturing (DFM). Many designers, even experienced ones, often misunderstand or overlook important DFM considerations. They may confuse design rules with manufacturing minimums, leading to technically feasible designs that are difficult or costly to produce. In this column, I will clarify some common DFM guidelines and help designers understand the difference between “design rules” and “minimums” while sharing best practices that will simplify the production process and ensure the highest quality PCB.
Sayonara to the Last Standing Copper Foil Plant in North America
12/17/2024 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007In July 2021, PCB007 Magazine published an interview with Michael Coll and Chris Stevens of Nippon Denkai about the new acquisition by Nippon Denkai of the last-standing ED foil manufacturer in North America. The plant in Augusta, Georgia, was formerly owned by Oak Mitsui, Inc. and had been purchased by Nippon Denkai the previous March, after which significant investment was made with the expectation of providing more jobs.
SCHMID Group Unveils Enhanced InfinityLine H+ for Electroless Copper Deposition
12/16/2024 | SCHMID GroupThe SCHMID Group, a global leader in high-tech solutions for the electronics industry, proudly announces significant updates to its flagship InfinityLine H+ Electroless Cu system. Specifically designed for the production of high- performance advanced packaging applications using mSAP and SAP processes, the system reflects SCHMID’s expertise in horizontal electroless copper deposition.
OKI Develops PCB Technology with Stepped Copper Coin Insertion to Achieve 55 Times Better Heat Dissipation in Outer Space
12/12/2024 | BUSINESS WIREThe OKI Group printed circuit board (PCB) business company OKI Circuit Technology has successfully developed multilayer PCB technology with stepped copper coin insertion to achieve 55 times better heat dissipation compared to conventional PCB. The stepped copper coin is offered in two types, circular and rectangular, to suit the shape of the electronic component mounted on the PCB. OTC is working to develop mass-production technologies with the aim of introducing PCBs incorporating this new technology into markets for compact devices or devices used in outer space or other environments where air cooling technology cannot be used.
Fresh PCB Concepts: PCB Plating Process Overview
12/12/2024 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsIn this installment of Fresh PCB Concepts, Mike Marshall takes the helm stating: PCBs have been the platform for the interconnection of electronic components for decades. Because of process costs and other constraints, such as mechanical properties or size limitations of the alternatives, PCBs will remain the standard low-cost interconnection technology. Rapidly increasing performance and functionality requirements of wireless and high-speed devices have challenged the development and implementation of new manufacturing solutions.