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

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Spring has definitely sprung, and the trade show season continues to roll right along. Managing Editor Nolan Johnson just returned from DesignCon 2022, and as he says in his review, the attendance was up from last year’s event, which had been at the McEnery Convention Center in the waning days of the pandemic. I hope we’re getting back to normal, whatever that means.

This week, we have a few articles about Industry 4.0, as well as a column on setting your priorities. We have a cool article about methods for measuring the breakdown of resins during multiple thermal laminations, and a conversation with an EMS company president who realized that he was actually running a data collection firm that happened to make circuit boards. Can you say the same about your own company? 

DesignCon 2022: Back to Business as Usual
Published April 7

This week, DesignCon returned to its old stomping grounds, the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley. It’s been over two years since the annual design engineering event was last held here, and attendees and exhibitors were glad to be back to normal, more or less. Let’s congratulate Richard Mellitz of Samtec for taking home the “Engineer of the Year” award, along with finalists Scott McMorrow, Steven Sandler, and Design007 contributor Bert Simonovich. Nolan Johnson brings us this DesignCon wrap-up. 

The Future is Driven by Data
Published April 7

History is full of “A-ha” moments, when inventors and leaders had that proverbial lightbulb turn on in their brain. In this interview with Rocket EMS President Michael Kottke, he discusses his DIY implementation of Industry 4.0 systems, and how everything changed with the realization that he is now running a data collection business that just happens to build printed circuit boards. Check it out.

Smart Factory Insights: Has the Industry 4.0 Gold Rush Ended?
Published April 6 

Speaking of Industry 4.0, it’s hard to believe that this concept is now five years old, well past the toddler stage in life. But as columnist Michael Ford points out, the Gold Rush surrounding Industry 4.0 may have run its course. In this column, Michael discusses the various winners and losers who have risked it all for the chance of striking gold in this new territory. 

The Right Approach: The Law of Priorities
Published April 7

With so many of us wearing multiple hats each day, setting priorities becomes a task in itself. Steve Williams has a column that a lot of us will identify with as he continues counting down the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. As Steve says, balancing your priorities will enable you to more thoroughly enjoy your career as well as your recreational time.

Measuring Multiple Lamination Reliability for Low-loss Materials
Published April 4 

John Strubbe of TUC has a great article about the effects of multiple thermal lamination cycles on resin’s physical properties. He takes dynamic mechanical analysis, stress-strain curves, Young’s modulus, yield strength, and ultimate tensile strength, and boils it all down so that the rest of us can understand it. This is good stuff.