American Made Advocacy: Reshoring—About Trust, Not Just Geography
Defense Speak Interpreted: It’s Time for a ‘Defense-Speak’ Update
Beyond the Board: The Future of Innovation—Why the Electronics Industry Needs You
Build Better 2024 Summit: Creating a Vision for Future Tech
October 18, 2024 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Most likely, there aren’t many manufacturing summits that take place on an aircraft carrier, so it was pretty impressive to be on the USS Hornet, with a beautiful view of the San Francisco harbor at Build Better 2024 on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. The event was billed as “the only manufacturing summit for engineering and operations leaders developing electronics.”
I appreciated that the summit leveraged its location by focusing solely on manufacturing and NPI, but with a strong software and AI lens—we were in Silicon Valley, after all. This “boat” is now a museum in Alameda, and was the perfect place to congregate, learn, and network.
Certainly, when it was built, the USS Hornet was cutting-edge defense tech for its time, so it was not lost on me that a piece of American history is an interesting juxtaposition for a conference focused on creating visionary, future tech. The location served to highlight the industry’s current focus on defense and its nexus with technology in today’s complicated world.
The conference, aptly named “The Next Way,” featured 11 short presentations, several of which were only 15 minutes long, and three dedicated networking events throughout the day. This rapid-fire approach to presentations was a good way to keep the audience engaged, especially with breaks to network, which all the attendees seemed to capitalize on.
The event was hosted by Instrumental, a manufacturing software company offering an AI and data platform for manufacturers to connect existing data and generate new data, including an interesting new feature using AI to more quickly get through the failure analysis process. Anna-Katarina Shedetsky, co-founder and CEO of Instrumental, explained that this tool allows for companies to quickly react to minor product variations, literally going through thousands of variations and identifying the ones that really matter. She indicated that this would both decrease product development time and allow OEMs to build more profit margin into their products up front.
Page 1 of 2
Share on:
Suggested Items
Plexus Marks Zero Waste Day with Significant Reductions in Electronic Waste
03/28/2025 | PlexusThe global surge in electronic waste, increasing by 82% since 2010 and projected to reach a staggering 82 million tons by 2030, demands immediate and effective action. In response, Plexus Corp., is demonstrating its commitment to sustainability by achieving significant waste reduction milestones at its European facilities.
Indonesia PC Market Grew 8.8% In 2024, Driven by Consumers
03/28/2025 | IDCAccording to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Personal Computing Device Tracker, Indonesia's PC market saw a total of 4.1M shipments of desktops, notebooks, and workstations in 2024. This volume represents an 8.8% year-over-year (YoY) growth.
Electroninks' MOD and iSAP Game Changers
03/25/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineElectroninks, a prominent player in particle-free conductive inks, recently announced an exciting new range of metal-complex inks for ultra high density interconnect (UHDI) technology. At the SMTA UHDI Symposium in January, Mike Vinson, COO of Electroninks, gave a presentation on this line of MOD inks, which are versatile and suitable for a range of applications that require ultra-dense, miniaturized, and high-frequency technology. Mike says his technology is a game changer and will revolutionize UHDI circuit fabrication.
Dr. Thomas Marktscheffel of ASMPT Honored for his Work on Open Interfaces
03/25/2025 | ASMPTDr. Thomas Marktscheffel, Director Product Management Software Solutions at ASMPT, was honored by the IPC at this year's IPC APEX EXPO in Anaheim, California, for his many years of commitment to the organization. The non-proprietary interface standards he helped develop form the basis for ASMPT’s intelligent factory concept.
Schmoll: Decades of Technology Evolution
03/24/2025 | Kurt Palmer -- Column: Driving Innovation in Mechanical and Optical ProcessesIn this first column we look back at Schmoll’s history, building a business of manufacturing PCB drilling machines, examining key technological milestones, and demonstrating how challenges were addressed over the years. In future columns, we will discuss current industry challenges, technological advancements, and anticipated trends shaping PCB manufacturing. Looking back at the past and reflecting on the lessons learned is always an insightful and valuable journey.