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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

This week, I’ve been attending Thailand Electronic Circuits Asia 2024. This is the inaugural event, hosted by Thailand Printed Circuit Association (THPCA) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association (HKPCA). Thailand has supported a PCB industry for some time—mostly automotive applications—but the China Plus One dynamic has definitely taken root here. Dr. Hayao Nakahara, as well as other industry watchers, applaud Thailand’s recent percentage of growth, while also reminding us that Thailand’s industry is small, so a relative percentage number can hide the fact that the absolute number is still small.

Still, the type of investment happening here is setting the stage for a much larger industry in the coming years. When you take a careful read of this week’s news, you see this dynamic is not localized to Thailand. This week, my top picks illustrate the collaboration and change happening across our industry right now. Back in April, while writing about IPC APEX EXPO, I saw more collaboration than competition; that trend continues. In fact, I made a short list of a dozen collaborative news items, whittling it down to five.

I’ll be back in my normal workspace next week. In the meantime, be sure to check out the current issue of PCB007 Magazine and next week’s issue of SMT007 Magazine. Both issues explore the trend of thriving.

From Chips to Systems: Building a Resilient Electronics Manufacturing Base in the EU
Published July 22

IPC Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac overviews the EU Chips Act, stressing its importance as-is, but also the need to extend that support into PCB manufacturing as well. If this sounds similar to the advocacy efforts in the U.S, that’s because it is very similar indeed Learn more about DuBravac’s perspective here.

NCAB Signs Acquisition of DVS Global in Italy
Published July 22

NCAB is purchasing the PCB fabrication portion of DVS Global’s business. Peter Kruk, CEO NCAB Group, said, “Adding DVS to our existing operations in Italy … is making NCAB a major player in the PCB market in Italy.” Learn more about how the DVS Global acquisition rounds out the NCAB portfolio here.

ASMPT, IBM Deepen Collaboration to Advance Bonding Methods for Chiplet Packages for AI
Published July 24

“ASMPT and IBM announced a renewed agreement to extend their collaboration on the joint development of the next advancement of chiplet packaging technologies. Through the agreement, the two companies will work together to advance thermocompression and hybrid bonding technology for chiplet packages." Collaboration and advancement on advanced packaging techniques continues to accelerate. Learn more here.

IPC Releases July 2024 Global Sentiment of the Electronics Supply Chain Report
Published July 24

“Sentiment among electronics manufacturers slipped in July, dropping to the lowest level in a year. Despite the decline, sentiment remains above its long-term average according to IPC’s July Sentiment of the Global Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Report.”

There is a lot of upbeat news in the report; the sentiment measurement is only one data point. This report seems to show that the industry is indeed shifting and responding to where the market is moving.

New Breakthrough in Double-Sided Reflow Part Retention from Alltemated
Published July 19

Though Alltemated originally developed for BGA solder ball/joint reliability, the number of applications utilizing underfilm in double-sided reflow part retention has increased 4X over the past year. Not only does the Alltemated products help components hold on during second reflow but also adds solder joint strain relief and mechanical strength to the component after assembly.