Elementary, Mr. Watson: APEX EXPO—The Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future
Beyond Design: Demystifying Common‑Mode Radiation
Connect the Dots: Designing for the Future of Manufacturing Reality—Strip-Etch-Strip
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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NCAB Group White Papers: Practical PCB Design Guidance for Manufacturable Results
02/25/2026 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamThe I-Connect007 Industry Resource Center brings together expert white papers that help engineers and manufacturers navigate today’s design and manufacturing challenges across the PCB lifecycle. NCAB Group contributes a valuable collection of white papers focused on practical PCB design and manufacturability. Drawing on their experience with a global network of production partners, NCAB helps engineers align design intent with fabrication realities: reducing risk while improving consistency and long-term reliability.
Connect the Dots: Designing for the Future of Manufacturing Reality—Strip-Etch-Strip
02/19/2026 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsThe demand for ultra-high density interconnect (UHDI) PCBs is growing as electronic devices become increasingly advanced. That means we will be creating more designs that need to align with the reality of manufacturing UHDI boards. My last column on this subject focused on plating, and we are ready to discuss the strip-etch-strip (SES) process. With UHDI boards, footprints are smaller and tolerances are tighter. Your big design challenge associated with the SES process involves trace width and spacing control. The etching process can undercut traces and alter their final size.
Powering the Future: From Thick-Film to DBC—Understanding the Evolution of Ceramic Packaging
02/11/2026 | Brian Buyea -- Column: Powering the FutureCeramic packaging has quietly powered the electronics revolution for more than half a century. From the earliest thick-film hybrids to today’s direct bond copper (DBC) substrates and metallized aluminum nitride, every step forward in ceramic technology has pushed the limits of reliability, power density, and performance. It’s essential for every design engineer building the next generation of electronic systems to understand this evolution.
Fresh PCB Concepts: Cost Stability in a Period of Copper and Gold Volatility
02/12/2026 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsAnyone who works with PCBs in any capacity right now can feel that copper and laminate prices are not stagnant, gold price is increasing even faster, and the impact shows up quickly on PCB quotations. For many design teams, this feels like a force outside their control. Raw materials go up, and the board cost goes with it. I want to highlight that many of these swings are manageable.
Connect the Dots: The Future of Designing for Reality—Pattern Plating
02/05/2026 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsLast month, I discussed the outer-layer imaging process and offered tips for designers to help ensure smooth manufacturing and high-quality output. The next step in the manufacturing process is copper pattern plating, where fabrication can be tricky, and design precision is even more important. The board is now ready to have the copper traces, through-holes, vias, pads, and other elements specified in the original CAD design plated to copper thickness requirements. I will identify some key design considerations for pattern plating, break down the process, and offer design tips for a successful outcome.