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

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

If you know Dave Hoover of TTM, then I am honored to inform you that he has retired from the industry as of this week. Dave and I met about six years ago, at a conference, when we were introduced by my colleague Andy Shaughnessy. We quickly established a shared love for American blues music; we even had mutual music industry friends. Dave has been a wealth of industry knowledge for me, just as he has influenced so many of us throughout the years. I’m sure I speak for all who know him that he’ll be missed in the industry. But we can keep tabs on him through his weekly online blues radio program “Groovy Hoovy’s Different Shades of Blue Radio and Video Show.” Congratulations on your transition to “civilian” life, Dave.

This week’s editor’s picks are a real potpourri of industry news items and a bonus column. There's a lot happening in our segment of the electronics world. We'll be covering the Anaheim Electronics Manufacturing Show next week, PCB West after that, followed up by SMTA International. We hope to see you there.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces First CHIPS Award to Polar Semiconductor, Establishing U.S. Foundry
Published September 25

The CHIPS Act money is starting to roll out. In this case, the funds will be used to expand and update the fab in Bloomington, Minnesota. Undoubtedly there will be more news like this in coming weeks and months, and we’ll bring you that news. It will be interesting to see just how much impact the CHIPS investment will have on U.S. manufacturing.

Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality: Outer Layer Imaging
Published September 26

 ASC/Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson has been documenting the PCB fabrication process in great detail lately. If you haven’t listened to his podcast series at “On The Line With..”  you should (find it at most of the major podcast sites). In this column, Matt adds additional detail on outer layer imaging. If you’re a designer, you should give this a read. 

AI to Boost Wafer Foundry Market by 20%
Published September 19

The wafer foundry market is expected to see a recovery in 2025, with an estimated annual growth of 20%, up from 16% in 2024. This is happening while many components have had their manufacturing scaled back to meet lessened demand. But components specific to AI infrastructure are at the root of this growth number. Learn more here.

iNEMI Announces End-of-Project Webinar for PCB Connector Footprint Tolerance Project
Published September 23

Designers and assemblers may find value in this webinar, scheduled for Sept. 30, 2024. The project’s objective was to equip product designers with the necessary information to ensure predictable quality levels when using high-bandwidth connectors. Through a comprehensive literature review and the expertise of the project team, potential risks were identified, followed by the creation of a survey designed to assess supplier capabilities for quality mitigation in the PCB industry.

North American PCB Industry Sales Up 35% in August
Published September 23

That headline is very large when it comes to sales numbers. The 35% refers to the previous year comparison (not to spoil the surprise). The rest of the report might be less rosy, but the news is not exactly bad. Read more here.