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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
April 15, 2022 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Welcome to April 15, everyone! There are reasons we tend to cover topics in a continuous conversation. First, there are always developments and news in the industry. Second, you dear readers respond to that content by reading it. This week the news items that drew the most reader interest verify that our industry has ongoing interest in government involvement in industry infrastructure, supply chain issues, cybersecurity, and new technologies like additive in fabrication.
I won’t keep you any longer; you’ve got news to read below, and if you’re in the United States, you might also have your taxes to finish. Get it postmarked by Monday!
Uncovering the Electronics Ecosystem
Published April 8
Will Marsh, vice president of TTM Technologies and president of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America, talks about the work the PCBAA has been doing in Washington, D.C., to get the industry better recognized by the country’s decision-makers. Marsh is optimistic, not only about the companies and individuals joining the effort, but in the recognition by Capitol Hill to secure the nation’s defense systems, and makes a case for why fab companies should join forces with PCBAA.
AltiumLive 2022: Vince Mazur’s Supply Chain Advice—Always Have Alternatives
Published April 11
Andy Shaughnessy gets an update from Vince Mazur, a technical marketing engineer at Altium, about his AltiumLive presentation, “Avoiding Supply Chain Issues with Variants and Live Part Choices.” Vince points out some of the high points of his talk, including the need for designers to pay closer attention to the supply chain than ever before, and to always have an alternative part or two as backup—just in case. Vince’s presentation can be found online with other Altium Live videos.
The Reality of Regulated Manufacturing
Published April 12
Ryan Bonner is CEO of DEFCERT, a specialist in government regulations for data and cybersecurity. A key component of moving to a digital factory will be to ensure security of the data required to operate a digital factory, and most importantly, customer design data. We caught up with Ryan after IPC APEX EXPO, to discuss cybersecurity and the digital factory. Click through to the interview to learn how this may apply to your facility.
Additive Design: Same Steps, Different Order
Published April 12
Dave Torp, CEO of Winonics, briefs Andy Shaughnessy about the company’s additive and semi-additive processes and what PCB designers need to know if they’re considering designing boards with these new technologies. Two key take-aways Dave explains are that 1) additive design is not much different from traditional design, but the steps in the design cycle are a different order, and 2) additive designers must communicate with their fabricators because so much of the new processes are still proprietary. See what else Torp has to say here.
Siemens’ SynthAI Revolutionizes Machine Vision Training with Artificial Intelligence
Published April 13
For those of us in the industry who are adding AI and machine learning to our processes, this news article gathered a lot of reads.
From the press release: “Machine learning is used for a variety of vision-based automation use cases such as robotic bin picking, sorting, palletizing, quality inspection and more. While usage of machine learning for vision-based automation is growing, many industries face challenges and struggle to implement it within their computer vision applications. This is due to the need to collect many images of the parts in question and the challenges associated with accurately annotating the different products within those images – particularly before production or manufacturing begins.
“To solve this challenge, synthetic data is used to speed up the data collection and training process. However, utilizing synthetic data for vision use cases requires expertise in synthetic image generation and can be complex, time consuming, and expensive. This where Siemens’ SynthAI changes the game.”
Suggested Items
Lockheed Martin Australia, The Department Of Defence Sign Strategic Partnership Head Contract
04/26/2024 | Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin Australia signed a landmark AUD$500 million contract with the Department of Defence to build Australia’s future Joint Air Battle Management System under project - AIR6500 Phase 1 (AIR6500-1).
SMC Korea 2024 to Highlight Semiconductor Materials Trends and Innovations on Industry’s Path to $1 Trillion
04/24/2024 | SEMIWith Korea a major consumer of semiconductor materials and advanced materials a key driver of innovation on the industry’s path to $1 trillion, industry leaders and experts will gather at SMC (Strategic Materials Conference) Korea 2024 on May 29 at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea to provide insights into the latest materials developments and trends. Registration is open.
Elevating PCB Design Engineering With IPC Programs
04/24/2024 | Cory Blaylock, IPCIn a monumental stride for the electronics manufacturing industry, IPC has successfully championed the recognition of the PCB Design Engineer as an official occupation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This pivotal achievement not only underscores the critical role of PCB design engineers within the technology landscape, but also marks the beginning of a transformative journey toward nurturing a robust, skilled workforce ready to propel our industry into the future.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Going Vertical: SCHMID's Advanced Solutions for Printed Circuit Boards
04/24/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOEditor Marcy LaRont chats with Bob Ferguson, the president of SCHMID, about advanced solutions for PCBs and the equipment they are highlighting at this year's show. He delves into vertical no-touch handling systems and the prospect of achieving sub-10-micron lines. Inspired by SCHMID's technology, Bob expresses excitement about where the industry is today.
Big Win for Defense Production Act Budget Allocation in FY24 Budget
04/23/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamOne year ago, President Biden issued a determination that chips and packaging are critical for national security. Since that time, much work has been done to continue the conversation in Washington, elevating the importance of the entire chips value chain, and including printed circuit boards and substrates, without which chips cannot operate.