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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
November 4, 2022 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
We’re officially in show season and Managing Editor Nolan Johnson just got back from SMTA International. As he says in his review, the show drew a sizeable crowd this year. With the pandemic in the rear-view window, let’s hope our trade shows are getting back to normal.
This week, we have articles about everything from the first flexible circuit patent to the CHIPS Act, a growing PCB broker, and a look at whether manufacturers believe that we’re in a recession or not (Hint: We are officially in a recession.).
Check back for more show coverage.
Flexible Thinking: The Chameleon of Interconnection Technologies
Published November 3
In this column, Joe Fjelstad discusses the earliest flexible circuit patent, which dates to 1903. The patent for “Improvements in, or Connected with, Electric Cables and the Joining of Same” was originally designed for the new telephone industry, but as Joe explains, flex is quite a chameleon.
American Made Advocacy: The CHIPS Act is Just the Beginning
Published November 3
As Travis Kelly explains in this column, the CHIPS and Science Act is really just the first step of a long marathon. The U.S. now only manufactures 4% of the PCBs in the world, down from 30% a few decades ago, and that number will continue to head further south unless we take some definite action, and now.
SMTAI: Like a Tesla in a Drag Race
Published November 3
Nolan Johnson spent the last few days at SMTA International, back for its second year in Minneapolis. Now that the pandemic is over, SMTAI is back, and as Nolan, reports, even the weather cooperated. If you couldn’t make it to the show, check out our video coverage of SMTAI on our Real Time with… SMTAI site.
IPC: One-Fourth of Electronics Manufacturers Believe We are in a Recession
Published November 1
It doesn’t feel like a recession. But it’s not exactly a state secret that we are in a recession, which is officially defined as two back-to-back quarters of negative GDP. We’ve had that, but as one company owner told me recently, “If this is a recession, I’ll take it.”
Millennium Circuits on The Move
Published October 31
I recently met with Daniel Thau, CEO and founder of PCB broker Millennium Circuits. In this interview, Daniel gives us the background on this company that founded at the tender age of 21, and the company’s focus on providing complex PCBs very quickly.
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Sweeney Ng - CEE PCBSuggested Items
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Powering Progress: Summer 2025 Community Magazine Now Available
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TRI to Exhibit at SMTA Queretaro Expo 2025
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Global PCB Connections: Let the Spec Fit the Board, Not Just the Brand
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IPC Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Lionel Fullwood
07/15/2025 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007Many IPC members who have contributed significantly to IPC and our industry have been awarded the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame (HOF) Award. Though many early HOF members have passed away and are unknown to today’s IPC membership, their contributions still resonate. This special series on IPC Hall of Fame members provides a reminder of who was honored and why. As a bonus, for those who are still around, we get to find out what these talented individuals are up to today.