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Signal integrity and additive manufacturing, particularly metallization, are hot topics in PCB design and fabrication. PCB layouts are carefully engineered to achieve specific electrical and power performance targets.
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What happens when the rule book is no longer useful, or worse, was never written in the first place? In today’s fast-moving electronics landscape, we’re increasingly asked to design and build what has no precedent, no proven path, and no tidy checklist to follow. This is where “Design for Invention” begins.
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From the growing role of AI in design tools to the challenge of managing cumulative tolerances, these articles in this issue examine the technical details, design choices, and manufacturing considerations that determine whether a board works as intended.
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IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Day 2: A Focus on Workforce Development
April 11, 2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Solving workforce development issues seemed to be a common theme among many conversations during the second day of IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, California.
In his keynote address, “The Future of the Human Workforce: Maximizing Potential in an Automated World,” IPC President and CEO Dr. John W. Mitchell discussed the rapidly evolving workforce climate. He noted the role that automation and AI can plan as a tool for the industry, allowing for a greater focus on the human aspect of a team, while also providing insight into how “gamification” can motivate and empower.
In an afternoon Design Community Town Hall, The Design Leadership Council and the Global IPC Internal Design Team (GIDT) gathered to tackle some challenging needs as IPC pivots to fill gaps in the design and manufacturing knowledge pool as the industry continues to evolve and our senior-age experts retire.
Peter Tranitz of IPC acknowledged the select industry experts on the councils and emphasized that their “one thousand years of combined knowledge” will come in handy as the groups collaborate on identifying and addressing some critically-needed updates in educational training programs.
IPC's Education Team also conducted an afternoon workforce development roundtable to discuss some regional issues and elaborate on IPC's efforts to help businesses through an apprenticeship model.
The show floor remained active as exhibitors eagerly provided presentations and made sales key to their operational and financial goals. The show floor also featured an ice cream social and poster presentations.
In our Real Time with… IPC coverage, I-Connect007 editors spoke with several industry representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday who wanted to discuss workforce development. Click here to view these and other important industry topics.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 concludes today with a keynote presentation by IPC Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac at 2 p.m.
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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/08/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007This week, I’ve selected some outstanding interviews that you’ll want to take note of. First, is a roundtable discussion featuring three dynamic industry cybersecurity experts. Please watch this important discussion that affects us all. Following that, I spotlight the IPC-2581 Consortium, which explains why IPC-2581 is the standard to replace Gerber data for manufacturing. Next, I am including my interview with PCBAA and AAM, who collaborated to release a short documentary on U.S. PCB manufacturing.
Global Electronics Association to Testify at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity
05/08/2026 | Global Electronics AssociationChris Mitchell, Vice President for Global Government Relations at the Global Electronics Association, will testify before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity on Friday, May 8.
Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Karen McConnell
05/07/2026 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007In 2021, Karen McConnell was awarded the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame award in recognition of her contributions to the Association and the electronics industry. As a senior staff member and CAD/CAM engineer at Northrop Grumman Enterprise Services, her primary responsibility was to develop a common, shared EDM (Electronic Document Management) library to support the electrical and PCB design tool initiatives across Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.
A Necessary Shift From Gerber to IPC-2581
05/07/2026 | Tracy Riggan, Global Electronics AssociationIPC-2581 is an open, vendor-neutral data exchange standard developed by the Global Electronics Association to streamline the exchange of PCB design information across fabrication, assembly, and test. It replaces multiple legacy formats—including industry standards, Gerber, and ODB++—with a single, comprehensive, XML-based dataset that captures all manufacturing details.
TTC-LLC and TTCI: Smarter Training, Stronger Test at PCB East 2026
04/27/2026 | The Test Connection Inc.The Training Connection LLC (TTC-LLC) and The Test Connection, Inc. (TTCI) will be exhibiting together at PCB East 2026, taking place April 28–May 1 at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Attendees can find both teams at Booth #103 during the main exhibition day on Wednesday, April 29.