Connect the Dots: Designing for the Future of Manufacturing Reality—Surface Finish
The Pulse: Caught in the Crosshatch—A Cautionary Tale of Detective Work
Fresh PCB Concepts: Designing PCBs for Harsh Environments—Reliability Is Engineered Upstream
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
December 25, 2020 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
We started this week with the solstice. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the winter solstice; south of the equator, of course, it’s the summer solstice. Not only is this a big event on the astronomical calendar, solstice is a busy time for holy days worldwide. Whichever holiday schedule you follow, we wish that yours is festive, restorative, and full of hopefulness.
All that holiday revelry can certainly distract one’s attention; as evidenced in a much slower news week. As a result, this week’s Top 5 brings you the three most important and/or intriguing pieces of news we’ve covered in the last week, and two items from last week that are still drawing reader attention this week. That’s I-Connect007: Keeping you informed, efficiently.
Enjoy your holiday and Happy New Year!
Prices of Copper-Clad Laminates Continue to Rise
December 18
Recently, two major explosions at epoxy resin plants in China had a great impact on domestic resin suppliers, interrupting the supply of resin and caused prices to increase dramatically. I-Connect007 reports on the market dynamics and effects.
The press release states, “Industry experts believe a five-year, $40 million investment in a public-private R&D program would yield more than $100 million in U.S. defense savings per year and improve military readiness and overall innovation. The Congress provided $5 million for such R&D in FY 2020.”
For more detail, find IPC President and CEO John Mitchell’s article in Defense News titled, “Protecting America’s military prowess requires an embrace of lead-free electronics.”
COMSovereign Delivers First Tethered Drone-Based LTE Network
December 21
Emergency and disaster response teams are a great example for this new LTE mobile network system. Imagine a wildfire command post setting up on a remote hilltop and launching a series of hovering drones to serve as temporary cell towers in an area otherwise outside cell service.
Dr. John Mitchell on IPC APEX EXPO Going Virtual
December 16
In this audio interview, Barry Matties and Dr. John Mitchell discuss IPC’s decision to move IPC APEX EXPO 2021 to an all virtual platform. Mitchell explains the reasoning for going virtual, and expresses his enthusiasm for the opportunities this presents the conference. I-Connect007 will be providing preshow and realtime coverage of IPC APEX EXPO, so check with us often to get the latest.
Happy Holden: ECWC15 Virtual Event a Success
December 15
Few industry experts are as capable as Happy Holden to review the Electronic Circuits World Convention, held recently in Hong Kong. In this report, Happy summarizes the keynotes from the first day of the three-day event. Keynote speakers include: NT Information Ltd’s Dr. Hayoo Nakahara; James Tam, from Bosch; and Happy Holden himself.
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Fresh PCB Concepts: Designing PCBs for Harsh Environments—Reliability Is Engineered Upstream
04/23/2026 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsWhen engineers hear the phrase “harsh environment,” they usually think of the extreme temperature swings, vibration and shock, pressure changes, or radiation in aerospace. However, aerospace is not the only harsh environment where electronic assemblies must survive. Automotive power electronics, downhole oil and gas tools, marine controls, rail systems, defense platforms, and industrial automation equipment all expose PCBs to environments that are equally unforgiving. The stress mechanisms may differ, but the physics does not.
Advanced Packaging for AI: Reliability Starts at the Cu/Cu/Cu Microvia Junction
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