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PCB Carolina 2018 Draws a Crowd of Technologists
November 16, 2018 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute

PCB Carolina 2018, the one-day tabletop show based in Raleigh, North Carolina, drew quite a crowd to the McKimmon Conference and Training Center at NC State University on November 7.
Show managers Tony Cosentino, Randy Faucette, and Lance Olive (all employees of the Better Boards service bureau) said that this year’s event showed signs of growth compared to the 2017 show, which was also larger than the previous year. They estimated that about 1,000 people attended this year, and they expect another increase in attendance in 2019.
The show is organized by the RTP chapter of the IPC Designers Council. Cosentino and Faucette are leaders of the RTP chapter; Olive is also the mayor of the nearby town of Apex.
Instructors like Susy Webb, Gary Ferrari and Rick Hartley taught IPC CID classes, along with more targeted design courses throughout the day.
The 85 exhibitors came from companies located around the US, and the show floor was packed for almost the entire day. The tabletop exhibits are among the most competitively priced in the industry at just $750 per tabletop.
I believe that tabletop events like this make up a big part of the future of PCB design and manufacturing; the cost is low enough that almost any company in the industry can afford to exhibit.
If this growth continues, PCB Carolina is on track to move from a regional show to a national must-attend event. Check out some photos from PCB Carolina 2018. If you missed it this year, don't make the same mistake in 2019!
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