I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

It’s almost August, and in Atlanta, that means one thing: I’m sweating like a salesman at the pearly gates. (That’s an old joke. You can also substitute general contractor, personal injury attorney, etc.) It’s almost trade show season, and I’m looking forward to covering a variety of trade shows.

Nolan Johnson and I will be at DesignCon in a few weeks, and in the fall we’ll be attending PCB West and SMTA International, with IPC APEX EXPO in January. I’m ready to reconnect with the folks that I only see at trade shows. Are you heading out to any shows or conferences?

In the past week, we published quite a bit of news—some good, some not so good. The supply chain is likely to be a challenge for the next year or so. But in this industry, technologists always seem to find a workaround.

Technica USA Celebrates 35 Years of Service to the Printed Circuit Industry
Published July 28

This week marks Technica’s 35th anniversary serving the PCB market. As Frank Medina notes in this article, the company moved into the SMT segment in 2013 and never looked back. It’s nice to see a company roll with the changes in this crazy industry of ours.

IPC’s July 2021 Economic Report: Supply Chain Disruptions Continue
Published July 30

You may have already guessed this, but IPC’s July Economic Report confirms that we’re likely to see long lead times for materials and components into next year. Inflationary pressures and a labor market that’s as tight as a drum—along with worries about COVID—are not helping matters.

It’s Only Common Sense: Sales Reps—At Least Look Like You’re Trying
Published July 26

When columnist Dan Beaulieu is on fire, watch out! In this column, Dan shares his frustration at dealing with salespeople in our industry who hide their contact information. I’ve never understood this—don’t you want people to contact you? Grab a class C fire extinguisher before you read this one.

Cadence Announces Anirudh Devgan to Become CEO in December 2021
Published July 30

Cadence Design Systems President Anirudh Devgan will take the reins as CEO in December, after four years in his current role. CEO Lip-Bu Tan will transition to executive chairman on December 15, nearly 13 years after he became CEO.

The Meaning of (PCB) Life
Published July 28

Bob Neves has a great article about the meaning of life—the life of PCB assemblies. He discusses the Pareto principle, which states that 80% of your problems will stem from 20% of the causes, an idea popularized by Joseph M. Juran in his 1951 tome Quality Control Handbook. As Bob says, only slightly jokingly, “Why do you think parts in your car seem to break right after the warranty expires?”