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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Halloween is next Monday and parties will be taking place over the weekend, I’m sure. Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, is intended to be a precursor to the observance of All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1. Here in the United States, at least, the “any-holiday-is-an-excuse-for-a-party” crowd has integrated Halloween, along with Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo (the Mexican holiday celebrating their victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862) into wide-ranging opportunities for themed revelry.

I don’t know about you, but I find it intriguing that most of these party holidays are religious holy days. Why is it that U.S. culture doesn’t turn, say, Arbor Day, or Flag Day, into a booze fest? Why is that reserved for the Saints and Ignacio Zaragoza, the Mexican general at Puebla? Like I said, we’re just funny that way.

The news this week has been a bit crazy as well, and Pete Starkey's article about the current PCB market might put a scare in you, but there's good news on the horizon in IPC's PCB and EMS reports out today. Narrowing down the news to just five items was thought-provoking yet ultimately rewarding. Here then, are the five top pieces of news you shouldn’t miss this week, with a Halloween bonus. Boo!

Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson Shares Insights From New PCB Design Book 
Published October 27

The latest in the I-Connect007 book series is Matt Stevenson’s The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Designing for Reality is flying off the shelves, or at least the downloads. In this exclusive interview, Stevenson talks about some of the tips and tricks today’s designers need to know. “There are a lot of variables in a PCB manufacturing facility,” he says, and a designer who understands this will find themselves much more successful. I’d say this is essential reading for more than just new PCB designers. Lessons to be learned for us all.

EIPC Technical Snapshot: ‘Tremendous Uncertainty’ in Global PCB Marketplace 
Published October 26

Pete Starkey reports in his inimitable way the proceedings of the 19th edition of the EIPC Technical Snapshot webinar. The opening paragraphs of Starkey’s report include words and phrases such as: “bleak,” “inflation,” “softening sales,” and “energy crisis.” It’s a tough but important read for the outlook in Europe and what that means for the rest of the world. Some news may be harder than others to hear, but turning a blind eye is even worse. Be sure to give this one a review.

International PCB Designer Community Steps Up to Compete 
Published October 21

The IPC Design Competition is back, and has an international feel based on designers already registered to compete. This year’s design challenge is a games console controller and 48 printed board designers from around the world have signed on for the challenge. They get 25 days to beat out their global competitors. On to victory!

North American PCB Industry Sales Up 14.6 Percent in September
Published October 28

Some good news here: North American PCB shipments in September 2022 rose 14.6 percent YoY, and 17.9 percent over the previous month. The book-to-bill ratio is 1.12, and anything over 1.0 means we're doing OK. A lot of the kinks in the supply chain have been worked out and we're all gearing up for the holiday season, so let's hope we see more positive news next month.

Nano Dimension Posts Preliminary Q3 Revenue of Approx. $10 Million 
Published October 25

Nano Dimension has been steadily ramping up sales and market penetration. In this report, “On a preliminary basis, Nano Dimension reported unaudited approximated consolidated revenues of $10 million for Q3/2022, which represents a 646% increase over the same period in 2021.” These results seem to add legitimacy to printed electronics as a viable alternate form of electronics assemblies for the right application, and that there is a market for this technology.

Applied EV Revolutionizes Autonomous Vehicle Systems Design With Siemens Xcelerator as a Service 
Published October 21

Siemens describes Xcelerator as an “open digital business platform featuring a curated portfolio of IoT-enabled hardware and software, a powerful ecosystem of partners, and a marketplace.”  Applied EV sees this tool suite as “providing us with better change management and quality” according to Applied EV’s CEO, Julian Broadbent. This sort of system is likely to be at the center of a data collection system for smart factories, both assembly and fabrication. To learn more about Applied EV’s decision, read here.