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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Believe it or not, it’s nearly February. Though January always seems to start out slow post-holiday, it also seems to end in a flurry of news and activity across all sectors. Staying true to that, this late January week of news and information is a clear signal that we are now fully immersed in the new year, and have a lot to accomplish. Here are my picks for this week’s must-read articles, columns, and news.

Dana on Data: Nuke the Netlist
Published January 18

I’m not gonna lie, the inflammatory title of Dana Korf’s most recent column drew me in. (Why do I have an image of Steve Buscemi in "Armageddon?") In this column, Dana broaches the issue of whether it is time to retire the long-held gold standard for Gerber data output, the IPC-D-356 netlist. “Some things/people do get better with age: wine, whiskey, Harrison Ford. Some things don’t get better with age: apples, bananas, IPC standards.” Of course, Dana is referring specifically to the IPC-D-356 standard, and as all good engineers do, he proposes a solution for how to move forward more effectively.

Nearshoring: Mexico Making Pivotal Move in Supply Chain Dynamics
Published January 23

Nearshoring is the next best thing to onshoring for supply chain resiliency. I’m old enough to remember when maquiladoras were just coming into fashion but never quite took off as Asia beckoned with significantly cheaper pricing and a ready workforce (or lots of people available to be trained, in any case). But today, Mexico is where the action is, or so says IPC’s chief economist, Shawn Dubravac, in his article in the Winter issue of IPC Community. Forty percent of the $102 billion announced for investment in Mexico in just the first nine months of 2023 originated from U.S. companies.

Driving Operational Efficiencies at Summit Interconnect
Published January 23

Barry Matties' interview with Summit Interconnect’s Sean Patterson showcases a robust discussion and a lot of wisdom about all things related to U.S. PCB fabrication. Summit is one of the largest PCB fabricators in the United States and has grown tremendously over the past couple of years through both acquisition and organic growth, which presents its own brand of technology and culture challenges. Sean speaks freely about all of these things and highlights the need for us to be better at recruiting and training young people in our industry. If you have not yet had a chance to read this article, I encourage you to do so.

Talking Digital Twin and DFT with Aster
Published January 25

Dean Poplett, technical director at Aster Technologies, talks DFT and digital twin with Barry Matties. As Poplett explains, “Digital twin allows a machine in the real world to predict what a machine will do to the design we have on the table in front of us. If we have it with the entire line, then we can make all the predictions for the real-world scenario before we get there.” But as Dean also points out, easier said than done. Aster presents its TestWave software as a better and more complete answer to some of the challenges surrounding an effective and complete DFT. If you are interested in improving your process yields and slip rates (and who isn’t), you will want to read this.

It's Only Common Sense: Great Customer Service Stories
Published January 22

Let’s call this our “Friday Feel Good” item. Dan Beaulieu’s most recent column, It's Only Common Sense, continues to provide us with common sense wisdom and best practices to keep the single most important part of our businesses—the customer/supplier relationship—in the forefront where it belongs. In Dan’s most recent column, he uses some great examples outside of our industry to highlight what a gold-standard customer service experience looks like. Dan’s work and writing provide insight into why we must craft our company cultures and business practices and develop our employee training around making these experiences an ongoing reality for our own customers. Are your employees empowered to deliver a truly great customer experience?