The Chemical Connection: When History Repeats Itself on Diversification
It’s Only Common Sense: AI Is Accelerating the Electronics Industry
Punching Out: M&A Deals in North American PCB and EMS Sectors for the First Half of 2026
Oh my goodness, have our readers been busy with the IPC Checklist download. It’s been a week since we made this checklist available, and I tip my hat to all the folks who’ve followed that link. If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to download this free checklist. I don’t care how long you’ve been in this industry, you’ll either learn something new, or you’ll know exactly who to share it with on your team.
I also want to make special mention of the latest of IPC Community, more than 100 pages of stories, conversations, reviews of events, and much more. IPC Community is a quarterly publication that’s just fun to read and learn from. Download your copy here.
My must-reads for this week all seem to be forward-looking: an introduction to Factory 5.0, an interview from the floor at SMTA International on rework stations, announcement of a merger of two components suppliers, board of directors news, and an insightful PCB CAD tool market projection report.
Facing the Future: Looking Ahead at Factory 5.0
Published October 17
Columnist Aidan Salvi looks beyond Factory 4.0 the next “revolution.” In his column, Salvi describes Factory 5.0 as building on “the principles of Industry 4.0 by emphasizing human-centric collaboration, flexibility, and adaptability. It envisions a highly integrated and intelligent production environment where humans and machines work side-by-side, leveraging each other's strengths to achieve maximum efficiency, productivity, and innovation. What we now call ‘cobots’ are collaborative robots, working in tandem with humans.”
Salvi’s column is an interesting and thought-provoking read.
Real Time with... SMTAI 2023: The Human Effect in Repair
Published October 13
Tony Haynes, Finetech sales engineer, shares what he hears customers asking for most often. He also shares his perspective on where people are the most important in the test, inspection, and rework cycle. Be sure to check out all the audio interviews we captured at SMTA International on the Real Time with... SMTAI site.
PCTEL Announces Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by Amphenol Corporation
Published October 16, 2023
“PCTEL, Inc., a leading global provider of wireless technology solutions, announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Amphenol Corporation, one of the world’s largest providers of high-technology interconnect, sensor and antenna solutions.”
This acquisition, by bringing PCTEL products into the larger Amphenol distribution, could be advantageous to assemblers who also provide box build services for wireless and telecom applications.
U.S. Army 4-Star General (Ret.) Michael X. Garrett Appointed to Nano Dimension’s Board of Directors
Published October 17
Nano Dimension has found its footing in providing their unique fabrication solution the military market. The appointment of General Garrett seems a well-advised choice. Click through to the article to read more.
PCB Design Software Market Size to Reach $2.53 Billion in 2032
Published October 17
The global Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design software market size reached $1.15 Billion in 2020 and is expected to register a significantly steady revenue CAGR during the forecast period, according to latest analysis by Emergen Research. Rise in demand for PCB design software in the consumer electronics industry is a key factor expected to drive market revenue growth over the forecast period. Learn more here.
