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

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

It’s hot here in Atlanta, and things are heating up in our industry too. This week, we have news about APCT’s acquisition of San Diego PCB Design, and PCBAA’s continued push to impress upon Congress the need to support electronics manufacturing in the U.S. Steve Williams breaks down the details behind Lean manufacturing, TQM and Six Sigma. 

Columnist Tim Haag explains how he learned to design advanced and complex PCBs. And Nolan Johnson has a great interview with Daniel Barish of Celanese, who discusses some of the company’s latest low-temperature co-fired ceramics and their advantages.  

How can it be August already? Soon it will be trade show time again, and I-Connect007 will be bringing you all the news you need to know.  

APCT Acquires San Diego PCB Design
Published August 2 

APCT continues to expand with its acquisition of the design bureau San Diego PCB Design. The company now has a PCB design component that complements its wide range of fabrication services. Now is a great time for mergers and acquisitions. 

American Made Advocacy: Taking the Fight to Capitol Hill
Published August 3

Columnist Travis Kelly has a great column about the annual PCBAA meeting in Washington, D.C. The group was lobbying for the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act, which some members of the House of Representatives have already agreed to cosponsor. As Travis explains, the U.S. in now “over-reliant” on other countries for our microelectronics needs.

Lean vs. TQM vs. Six Sigma
Published August 2

There’s been a lot of talk about Lean manufacturing, TQM, and Six Sigma lately, and it can be tough to understand their similarities and differences. In this article, Steve Williams compares and contrasts the three concepts and explains how PCB companies might benefit from them.

Tim’s Takeaways: How I Learned Advanced Design Strategies 
Published August 3

How does a designer learn advanced PCB design strategies? There’s not one critical path for this sort of thing. In this column, Tim Haag discusses how he learned to design advanced and complex PCBs, and why designers need to be ready to assimilate new PCB technologies into their knowledge base.

Celanese: Fired Up Over Ceramics 
Published August 2

At the recent International Microwave Symposium, Nolan Johnson caught up with Daniel Barish of Celanese, a Dallas-based chemical manufacturer. They discuss the company’s new low-temperature co-fired ceramics and their many advantages, including stacking up to 80 layers at one time.