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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
November 4, 2022 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
We’re officially in show season and Managing Editor Nolan Johnson just got back from SMTA International. As he says in his review, the show drew a sizeable crowd this year. With the pandemic in the rear-view window, let’s hope our trade shows are getting back to normal.
This week, we have articles about everything from the first flexible circuit patent to the CHIPS Act, a growing PCB broker, and a look at whether manufacturers believe that we’re in a recession or not (Hint: We are officially in a recession.).
Check back for more show coverage.
Flexible Thinking: The Chameleon of Interconnection Technologies
Published November 3
In this column, Joe Fjelstad discusses the earliest flexible circuit patent, which dates to 1903. The patent for “Improvements in, or Connected with, Electric Cables and the Joining of Same” was originally designed for the new telephone industry, but as Joe explains, flex is quite a chameleon.
American Made Advocacy: The CHIPS Act is Just the Beginning
Published November 3
As Travis Kelly explains in this column, the CHIPS and Science Act is really just the first step of a long marathon. The U.S. now only manufactures 4% of the PCBs in the world, down from 30% a few decades ago, and that number will continue to head further south unless we take some definite action, and now.
SMTAI: Like a Tesla in a Drag Race
Published November 3
Nolan Johnson spent the last few days at SMTA International, back for its second year in Minneapolis. Now that the pandemic is over, SMTAI is back, and as Nolan, reports, even the weather cooperated. If you couldn’t make it to the show, check out our video coverage of SMTAI on our Real Time with… SMTAI site.
IPC: One-Fourth of Electronics Manufacturers Believe We are in a Recession
Published November 1
It doesn’t feel like a recession. But it’s not exactly a state secret that we are in a recession, which is officially defined as two back-to-back quarters of negative GDP. We’ve had that, but as one company owner told me recently, “If this is a recession, I’ll take it.”
Millennium Circuits on The Move
Published October 31
I recently met with Daniel Thau, CEO and founder of PCB broker Millennium Circuits. In this interview, Daniel gives us the background on this company that founded at the tender age of 21, and the company’s focus on providing complex PCBs very quickly.
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Building Electronics Excellence in India
09/08/2025 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineOver two decades, Dave Bergman has helped steer the Global Electronics Association’s work in India, from a single training course to a thriving regional operation with deep government and industry ties. In this interview, Dave explains how the group went from partnering with IPCA to opening its own office in 2010, creating India’s first domestic electronics manufacturing standard, and securing funding for dozens of Indian companies to attend U.S. trade shows.
New Podcast Episode Drop: MKS’ Atotech’s Role in Optimize the Interconnect
09/08/2025 | I-Connect007In this episode of On the Line With…, host Nolan Johnson sits down with Patrick Brooks, MKS' Atotech's Global Product Director, EL Systems, to discuss the critical role that wet processes play alongside laser systems in advancing the Optimize the InterconnectSM initiative. Brooks points to Bondfilm as a key example—a specialized coating that enables CO₂ lasers to ablate more effectively than ever before.
The Global Electronics Association Hosts Successful WorksAsia-AI and Factory of the Future Technical Seminar
09/03/2025 | Global Electronics AssociationOn August 22, 2025, the Global Electronics Association hosted the successful WorksAsia-AI and Factory of the Future Technical Seminar during the exhibition Automation Taipei 2025. The seminar brought together 81 representatives from 58 companies, focusing on the latest applications of AI in smart factories and unveiling four key directions that will drive the electronics industry’s transition toward intelligence and sustainability.
TRI's AI-Powered Inspection Solutions at SMTAI 2025
09/02/2025 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading provider of test and inspection systems, will be joining the SMTA International Exposition & Conference. The event will be held from October 21 – 23, 2025, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, USA.
More Than a Competition: Instilling a Champion's Skill in IPC Masters China 2025
09/01/2025 | Evelyn Cui, Global Electronics Association—East AsiaNearly 500 elite professionals from the electronics industry, representing 18 provinces and municipalities across China, competed in the 2025 IPC Masters Competition China, March 26–28, in Pudong, Shanghai. A total of 114 contestants advanced to the practical competition after passing the IPC Standards Knowledge Competition. Sixty people competed in the Hand Soldering and Rework Competition (HSRC), 30 in the Cable and Wire Harness Assembly Competition (CWAC), and 24 in the Ball Grid Array/Bottom Termination Components (BGA/BTC) Rework Competition.