The Marketing Minute: Staying Positive When the Market Isn’t
Marcy’s Musings: Continuing to Invent the Future With SEL
It’s Only Common Sense: Why Failure Is an Opportunity for Growth
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
June 7, 2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
It’s been a great week. I spent part of the week at PCB East, which was held at the Boxboro Regency in Boxboro, Massachusetts. I haven’t been to Boxboro in about 20 years. The last time I was at PCB East in Boxboro, design instructor Mary Sugden had a hot plate and a supply of bologna in her room, because she preferred fried bologna to anything she could get in a restaurant. Never a dull moment with PCB designers!
PCB East has been growing since it re-opened a few years ago. The conference was well attended, and Wednesday’s expo was busy all day long. These one-day tabletop shows are the way to go, as we’ve seen lately with the success of SMTA’s local shows. I’ll have a post-show write-up next week.
But I’m glad to be home. Here’s a roundup of this week’s top news as you head into the weekend.
Happy’s Tech Talk #29: Bend-to-Install Semi-flex FR-4
Published December 8
Technology Editor Happy Holden has been following the growing development of “bend-to-install” or “semi-flex” materials. In this update, Happy breaks down the details of this process, which, unlike flexible circuits, utilizes standard FR-4 materials and processes. We’re seeing a lot of “hybrid” processes like this now, and we’ll continue to follow this technology.
My Experience as an International Student
Published June 5
It must be really stressful being an international student; I had a hard enough time graduating from college in the country where I was born. But Palash Vyas is a little more of a go-getter than I was, to say the least. In this article, the recent doctoral graduate outlines his path from Mumbai to Auburn University, his volunteer efforts with IPC and SMTA, and winner of Best Poster Award at this year’s IPC APEX EXPO.
The Pulse: Overconstraining: Short, Slim, and Smooth
Published June 6
As columnist Martyn Gaudion says, small is beautiful in high-speed design and high reliability. To avoid overconstraining your high-speed board, Martyn explains why keeping things “short, slim, and smooth” are watchwords and why designers must take cost and DFM into account with each design.
Has It Really Been Survival Mode?
Published June 6
This is a topic that we’ve been hearing about for years: Companies in the EMS industry that are doing well have done so by being in “survival mode” for years. But is that really the case? Mark Wolfe examines this issue, starting with the four questions that each EMS manager answers before accepting every job.
Advancing PCB Technology: A Conversation With John Johnson
Published June 4
In this audio interview, John Johnson of American Standard Circuit discusses the industry’s continued movement toward finer lines and spaces and additive processes, as well as the need for a “mindset shift” and training in order to meet the needs of this new technology. He also discusses the need to focus on cleanliness and material adhesion with ultra-fine lines.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Our marketing partnership with I-Connect007 is already delivering. Just a day after our press release went live, we received a direct inquiry about our updated products!"
Rachael Temple - AlltematedSuggested Items
Bending Circuits, Breaking Expectations: Meet the Round 1 Winners of the Bright Manufacturing Student Challenge 2025
08/20/2025 | Tara Dunn, SMTAThe Bright Manufacturing Student Challenge brings together student teams to design and develop innovative solutions for real-world electronics manufacturing problems. The eight-week competition, sponsored by the Electronics Manufacturing & Assembly Collaborative (EMAC) through electronicsworkforce.com, allows students to showcase their technical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. The Rise and Grind Crew were winners of the first round in the competition, and students Kevin Vo, Alexander (Alex) Wan, and Ethan Chung sat down with SMTA’s Tara Dunn to talk about the value of teamwork, AI integration in PCB design, and the satisfaction of seeing their hard work come to life.
Technica Demo Days Event Proves to Be Beneficial to Customers
08/18/2025 | Technica USATechnica USA’s Demo Days Event, took place August 13–14 at the company’s Demo Center in San Jose, California. The event featured live demonstrations and presentations from key supply partners ESSEMTEC, INOVAXE, and PARMI showcasing the latest innovations in SMT manufacturing and automation technology.
Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Jerry Siegmund
08/15/2025 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007The Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame (HOF) Award has been awarded to those who have contributed significantly to the Global Electronics Association (formerly known as IPC) and our industry. Though many early HOF members have passed away and are unknown to today’s membership, their contributions still resonate. This special series on Hall of Fame members provides a reminder of who was honored and why.
Survey Says Reshoring is a TCO Equation
08/13/2025 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineHarry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, and Kathy Nunnally of Regions Recruiting partnered to survey contract manufacturers and OEMs earlier this year, querying them about their offshoring beliefs and practices. They found that while offshoring, tariffs, trade balances, and the like, are important to a company’s bottom line, there’s a larger and more extensive issue: workforce. In this interview, they detail the results of that survey and what they believe can and should be done to fix this long-standing issue.
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf ‘House of Huawei'
08/14/2025 | Dan Beaulieu -- Column: Dan's Biz BookshelfEva Dou’s "House of Huawei" is one of the most gripping business books I’ve read in years, and believe me, I’ve read my fair share. This is not just another corporate biography. It’s a geopolitical thriller, except every word is true. People have painted the Chinese tech giant Huawei as a villain, a threat, and an enigma in equal measure. However, Dou cuts through the noise and delivers something few Western reporters have managed: a fair, balanced, and thoroughly researched look at the company everyone in tech has an opinion about, but few understand.