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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

It’s been another busy week in the industry. We lost another old friend last week. The EIPC show happened, and Pete Starkey provided us with complete and compelling show coverage, from start to finish. Recently, we posed the question, “When is it time to introduce embedded components into your PCB design?” which was asked and answered by design aficionado Kris Moyers in the latest issue of Design007 Magazine. We are proud to be a part of the exciting Global Insights weekly newsletter, which Nolan Johnson and Brian Knier explored in their interview, and we rounded out the week with some big merger news. Here are my picks for the past week’s must-read news items.

Renesas to Acquire PCB Design Software Leader Altium
Published February 15

This is big news by anyone’s metric. With a comprehensive shared vision for an open electronics design system, Altium gains a significant financial “win” with a stock purchase price 34% above Altium’s Feb. 14 closing price, and a cash transaction equity value estimated at just over $9 billion. “I strongly believe that electronics is the single most critical industry to building a smart and sustainable world. Renesas’s visionary leadership and commitment to making electronics accessible to all resonates strongly with Altium. Altium’s vision of industry transformation finds its fullest expression in service of this grand vision of Renesas,” said Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium. How this will affect the PCB design tool landscape, if at all, is unknown at this time, but we will all be watching. This is worth a read.

EIPC Winter Conference 2024, Day 2: A Closer Look at Global Trends
Published Feb. 14

I also picked Pete Starkey’s write-up of the EIPC conference, day 2. I-Connect007 Technical Editor Pete Starkey is one of our most beloved and widely read columnists, and no one is more thorough in their coverage of a conference’s technical content. Taking the reader through all nine presenters for the day covering everything from the great need for non-glass fiber material for the manufacture of high-speed PCBs to additive manufacturing and the demand for inkjet, the day began with a market overview presentation by the greatly respected Dr. Hayao Nakahara and finished with a “Quick Fire Walk In” panel Q&A moderated by EIPC President Alun Morgan. There is a lot here to digest, so grab a cup of coffee and sit down for a good read. 

IPC Mourns Loss of Former Vice President of Industry Programs Tony Hilvers
Published Feb. 14

We lost another industry icon last week. Tony Hilvers, who most remember through his long affiliation with IPC as its vice president of industry programs, passed away on Feb. 6. IPC sent out a lovely tribute acknowledging Tony for his 29 years of dedicated service and outlined some of the important achievements Tony helped bring about, including IPC APEX EXPO being named as one of the top 25 fastest-growing trade shows in the United States. To Tony’s family and friends, and all those who knew and loved Tony, the I-Connect007 team offers our deepest condolences. RIP, Tony Hilvers, and thank you for your dedication to this industry. 

Every Designer Needs to Understand Embedded
Published Feb. 14

Designing for embedded components. There is no escape from needing to know how best to go about it. Our resident design expert, Kris Moyer, says he sees a lot of interest from students around designing for embedded. When does a designer even want to think about going the way of embedded resistors? Andy Shaughnessy and Kris chat about “best practices, pros and cons, and when it makes sense for designers to start embedding.”

IPC Global Insight Newsletter: It’s Happening Now, for You
Published February 14

Showcasing our partnership with IPC, Nolan Johnson’s interview with IPC’s Brian Knier, vice president and chief marketing officer, announced some exciting news around the Global Insights weekly newsletter. Having recently moved the management of the publication over to the IPC Publishing Group, Knier shares that every detail of this newsletter has been designed with their readers in mind, both IPC members and nonmembers, and underscores the importance of keeping the industry up to date on important IPC activities, especially in government relations and standards development. “There is some new energy around our newsletter; we've recently moved production and support into IPC Publishing Group, which includes the I-Connect007 family of publications,” Brian says. “We feel there is a much stronger partnership in developing the content and supporting our advertisers who want to reach that same audience. We've got some new energy, and that's pretty exciting for us.”