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The Essential Guide to Surface Finishes
We go back to basics this month with a recount of a little history, and look forward to addressing the many challenges that high density, high frequency, adhesion, SI, and corrosion concerns for harsh environments bring to the fore. We compare and contrast surface finishes by type and application, take a hard look at the many iterations of gold plating, and address palladium as a surface finish.
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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
July 15, 2022 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 3 minutes

I’m getting a lot of out-of-office replies. Are you all on the beach now? It’s 91 degrees every day here in Atlanta lately, but each afternoon it rains like we’re in a horror movie, and that drops the temperature down to the subtropical arena. Still, I’ll take heat over freezing any day.
Things are heating up in our industry too, as we see from my top five choices this week. First-quarter electronic design revenue is up year-on-year, but PCB revenue barely moved the needle YOY. Editor Nolan Johnson spent the week at SEMICON West and the FLEX Conference, and he brings us a review of these conferences, co-located at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. As he notes, printed electronic circuits are beginning to gain a foothold in the market.
Cadence Design Systems has invested in data center design, and IPC is lobbying Congress to help strengthen our supply chain. Finally, we have some “common sense” from Dan Beaulieu. In this column, he discusses companies that try to be all things to all customers, taking on projects far outside their “sweet spot.”
Stay cool!
FLEX Conference 2022: If You Build It, We Will Buy It
Published July 13
Our colleague Nolan Johnson has been covering the FLEX Conference and SEMICON West in San Francisco this week, and visiting manufacturers as well. As he points out in this article, much of the FLEX Conference focused on printed electronic circuits. PEC have been making big advances lately, often behind the scenes. This is a segment to watch, as OEMs drive most of the innovation here—not the fabricators.
IPC: Over 100 Industry Executives Urge U.S. Congress to Strengthen Electronics Supply Chain
Published July 14
The supply chain has been in a jam for a while now. Remember how lead times were getting long pre-COVID? IPC has been pushing Washington to take action, and it seems that politicians may be starting to listen. That’s one silver lining to the whole supply chain problem: Washington is finally becoming aware of the critical role that U.S. electronics manufacturers play in our economy, as well as our ability to equip our warfighters. Check it out.
Cadence to Acquire Future Facilities, A Pioneer in Data Center Digital Twins
Published July 12
Data centers are front and center now. Over the past few years, we’ve pointed out the importance of data and—more importantly—data management. Cadence Design Systems has acquired Future Facilities, a company that creates software for data center design. The company’s software utilizes 3D digital twins and augments Cadence’s Celsius Thermal Solver. You can expect other EDA companies to invest in data center technology in the near future.
Electronic System Design Industry Logs 12.1% YoY Revenue Growth in Q1 2022
Published July 12
It’s kind of a mixed bag here. Electronic design revenue in Q1 is up 12.1% year-on-year, but PCB is a laggard here, clocking in at only 1.4%. Semiconductor IP is the engine pulling that particular train. And last year we were digging out from the pandemic, so I wouldn’t worry too much about PCB at this point. I bet your company is having a pretty good year. Am I right?
It's Only Common Sense: Big Macs and PCBs—Do What You Do Well
Published July 11
I’ve never understood why some companies try to please everyone. It’s just not possible. I get it; you want to keep revenue coming in. But some PCB manufacturers take on jobs that are far outside their core competency, just to keep the lights on. Dan Beaulieu sticks a fork in this turkey of an idea. As Dan says, do what you do well.
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CE3S Launches EcoClaim Solutions to Simplify Recycling and Promote Sustainable Manufacturing
05/29/2025 | CE3SCumberland Electronics Strategic Supply Solutions (CE3S), your strategic sourcing, professional solutions and distribution partner, is proud to announce the official launch of EcoClaim™ Solutions, a comprehensive recycling program designed to make responsible disposal of materials easier, more efficient, and more accessible for manufacturers.
WellPCB, OurPCB Launch Low-Cost PCB Assembly and Custom Cable Assembly Solutions
05/29/2025 | ACCESSWIREWellPCB and OurPCB, world leading PCB manufacturing service providers, announced today that they have officially launched new Low-Cost PCB Assembly Solutions and Custom Cable Assembly services to meet the needs of the electronics manufacturing industry for high cost performance and flexible customization.
Siemens Expands OSAT Alliance Membership to Build Domestic Semiconductor Supply Chains
05/29/2025 | SiemensSiemens Digital Industries Software announced the latest members to join its OSAT Alliance program which enables outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers to develop, validate and support integrated circuit (IC) package assembly design kits (ADKs) that drive broader adoption of emerging technologies by fabless semiconductor and systems companies and help to build secure domestic semiconductor supply chains.
Standards: The Roadmap for Your Ideal Data Package
05/29/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineIn this interview, IPC design instructor Kris Moyer explains how standards can help you ensure that your data package has all the information your fabricator and assembler need to build your board the way you designed it, allowing them to use their expertise. As Kris says, even with IPC standards, there’s still an art to conveying the right information in your documentation.
High-frequency EMC Noise in DC Circuits
05/29/2025 | Karen Burnham, EMC UnitedEMC isn’t black magic, but it’s easy to understand why it seems that way. When looking at a schematic like that in Figure 1, it looks like you’re only dealing with DC signals all across the board. There’s a 28 VDC input that goes through an EMI filter, then gets converted to 12 VDC power. Except in extremely rare circumstances involving equipment sensitive to magnetostatic fields, DC electricity will never be part of an EMC problem.