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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
November 22, 2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Well, we’re officially entering the silly season, i.e., the holidays. Where did the year go? I still have money left on the Starbuck’s gift card I received last Christmas.
In this week’s roundup, I’m highlighting a variety of articles. We have an interview with Jess Hollenbaugh, a recent graduate working for Polar Instruments. We also have an interview with IPC’s Matt Kelly and Devan Iyer, whose white paper may provide a way forward for companies dealing with complex advanced packages. Our newest columnist Tom Yang describes the U.S. PCB industry from the point of view of a technologist from another country, and Dan Beaulieu has a review of Malcolm Gladwell’s follow-up to The Tipping Point. Finally, we have my review of PCB Carolina, a one-day tabletop show that keeps expanding, much like my waistline after eating their catered food. Enjoy!
Meet Polar's New Engineer Jess Hollenbaugh
Published November 21
Jess Hollenbaugh recently joined Polar Instruments, and she was nice enough to sit down for an interview at PCB West. How did a physics major with a love of thermodynamics wind up in the signal integrity software business? It’s great to see young people coming into our segment again, but we need a few thousand more just like Jess.
Advanced Packaging: Preparation is Now
Published November 20
IPC has just released a white paper, “Advanced Packaging to Board Level Integration—Needs and Challenges,” written by Devan Iyer, chief strategist of advanced packaging, and Matt Kelly, chief technology officer for IPC. This paper fleshes out IPC’s silicon-to-systems concept, and Matt and Devan offer our industry a way forward as we face more complex advance packaging challenges.
Global Citizenship: What I’ve Learned About the American PCB Business
Published November 20
Did you ever wonder what our industry looks like to technologists from other countries? After all, we can be a hot mess, but we still manage to lead the way. And as columnist Tom Yang says, the U.S. PCB industry tends to “double down on innovation.” Check it out.
Dan's Biz Bookshelf: 'Revenge of the Tipping Point'
Published November 20
Dan Beaulieu writes a weekly column for us, as well as the occasional book review. I’m a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell (Are you a “connector,” a “maven,” or a “salesman”?), so I’ll have to check out Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering. If you haven’t already done so, read The Tipping Point and Outliers too.
PCB Carolina’s Formula: Industry Experts and Catered Food
Published November 18
Does the food selection at a trade show have any influence on our decision to attend said show? It does for me. I’ve attended PCB Carolina since 2016, and the catered food is always one of the high points of the event. This time we had barbecued brisket for lunch. It’s no wonder PCB Carolina keeps growing every year.
Suggested Items
Murray Percival Company Welcomes CeTaQ to Its Line Card, Optimizing SMT Processes for PCB Manufacturers
07/03/2025 | Murray Percival CompanyThe Murray Percival Company, a trusted supplier to the Midwest's electronics industry, is pleased to announce that it has added CeTaQ to its line card, a global expert in Surface Mount Technology (SMT) measurement systems.
Why I Finally Embraced Autorouting
07/03/2025 | Stephen V. Chavez, Siemens EDAHere is a common misconception held by those who don’t fully understand the PCB layout process or how to wield today’s high-level EDA tools: "All I need to do is push the autorouter button, let the computer route all the signal traces, and get the layout 100% routed. It’s a no-brainer. Anyone can do it. It should take less than a few hours.”
China Plus One, Part 3: Inorsen Group, a Vietnam Success Story
07/03/2025 | Manfred Huschka, Manfred Huschka Management Consulting (Shenzhen) Ltd.In recent years, Western OEMs have continued to push for China Plus One factories and the advancement of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At present, there are two main modes for PCB companies to go global: building greenfield factories or through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Thailand is currently the primary geographic choice to build greenfield factories, whereas, increasingly, mergers and acquisitions in Vietnam and Malaysia provide opportunities for companies to expand markets and acquire resources.
Symposium Review: Qnity, DuPont, and Insulectro Forge Ahead with Advanced Materials
07/02/2025 | Barb Hockaday, I-Connect007In a dynamic and informative Innovation Symposium hosted live and on Zoom on June 25, 2025, representatives from Qnity (formerly DuPont Electronics), DuPont, and Insulectro discussed the evolving landscape of flexible circuit materials. From strategic corporate changes to cutting-edge polymer films, the session offered deep insight into design challenges, reliability, and next-gen solutions shaping the electronics industry.
Target Condition: Are Autorouters Friend or Foe?
07/01/2025 | Kelly Dack -- Column: Target ConditionFor PCB designers, just hearing the word “autorouters” can trigger everything from eye rolls to heated debate. We all have stories—some painful, some comical—of boards gone sideways at the hands of an overzealous routing algorithm. But these tools aren’t going away, and frankly, they shouldn’t. Used wisely, they can save some project teams hours or even days. Used blindly, they can cost weeks. So, where do autorouting tools stand today, and is interactive routing the smarter path forward?