Tech Talk: 225 Tech Talks—1995 to 2016

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

In August of 1995, the first Tech Talk column issued in CircuiTree Magazine with the title “Process Latitude.” The tag line of “fine lines in high yield” served us well, as it was reasonably broad to encompass many processing and material issues. However, other issues equally important to PCB and substrate manufacture and performance deserved coverage and were addressed over the years.

In April 2011, the last Tech Talk article (No. 183) appeared in CircuiTree Magazine’s last edition. By then, CircuiTree founders Barry Matties and Ray Rasmussen had launched PCB007, and they were about to add several online publications, including The PCB Magazine. It was at the spring 2011 IPC APEX EXPO where I ran into Ray, who talked me into continuing the Tech Talk column in The PCB Magazine, as he persuaded several of the other usual suspects to contribute also. Without missing a beat, Tech Talk No. 184 then appeared in the May 2011 edition of The PCB Magazine and has been a fixture ever since.

Checking back on Tech Talk Nos. 100 and 200, which reflected on past and anticipated future changes in electronic packaging, I noted the production shift to Asia, followed by the relocation of the supplier base, and, more recently, the design of electronic devices. New mobile applications forced technology changes and shifted the economic viability of old and new companies.

 To read this entire article, which appeared in the November 2016 issue of The PCB Magazine, click here.