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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Welcome to December. I’m enjoying the holiday lights that are already up in my neighborhood. But the work continues and most of us are finishing up those year-end projects before heading off on their holiday breaks. Productivity may be a challenge, but I love this time of year.

Unsurprisingly, the pace or our industry does not relent regardless of holidays. This week’s must-reads include a discussion on innovation and embedded components within the layers of a PCB with Accurate Circuit Engineering. We revisit the real cost to manufacture in a case study on how a seemingly small design error can have a dramatic effect on your end customer’s costs. Dan Beaulieu provides this month’s book review highlighting the criticality of fostering creativity in the workplace. Bert Horner of The Test Connection discusses his decision to launch a new, complimentary business venture, The Training Connection; and Ramon Roche of NCAB talks about electric vehicle charging.

Accurate Circuit Engineering on Passion and Pushing the Envelope
Published December 3

James Hofer of Accurate Circuit Engineering discusses innovation and embedding components inside a printed circuit board. Yes, embedded components inside the layers of a PCB. This feat is not easy and showcases several pros as well as some significant manufacturing challenges. This article is a must-read for PCB fabricators and their customers.  

Case Study: PCB Design Flaws Affect Product Cost
Published December 3

This design-focused article was featured in the November issue of PCB007 Magazine, where we discussed the real cost to manufacture. This article describes a real-life customer case study provided by Matt Stevenson of ASC Sunstone, illustrating the reality that a critical design flaw found during the first PCB run nearly resulted in huge cost consequences for the customer. In this case, close collaboration between the PCB fabricator and the customer’s product design group ultimately allowed for a best-case scenario outcome, creating only slightly more unplanned cost for the customer. But could this design flaw have been avoided altogether? Read on to find out. 

Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Born to Create’
Published December 2

I love book clubs and book discussions generally, though I don’t get nearly enough much time to read or discuss them these days. That’s all the more reason I enjoy Dan Beaulieu’s book review series, pointing me toward some truly amazing business reading. In today’s fast-paced business environment (and let’s face it, “fast-paced” doesn’t really even cover it) it is easy for creativity to get lost, sacrificed for doing more, faster. Yet, innovation is critically important to any business’s survival. Thus, our lack of time for creativity flies directly in the face of our ability to do good business. How do we overcome this significant obstacle and foster a culture of creativity in our workplaces? I’m not sure, but I plan to find out. Read on for the highlights. 

The Training Connection Difference
Published December 5

Bert Horner of The Test Connection recently launched The Training Connection in response to discussion with customers and attempting to fill a void in test training. The Training Connection is the perfect complement to The Test Connection and is already experiencing success. Bert already has plans to expand this new venture across their locations, as well as adding a virtual option. As the realities and challenges of test become ever greater, endeavors like The Test Connection take on heightened importance. Click here to learn more. 

Fresh PCB Concepts: PCB Design Essentials for Electric Vehicle Charging
Published December 3

In his column, Ramon Roche of NCAB asks, “What good is an EV if it can’t be easily charged?” This is, no doubt, a question many EV owners have asked themselves as they embark on a long trek where navigating charging stations becomes a major logistical element. How do PCBs fit into this scenario? Ramon explains the basics of EV charging systems, the challenge of no single standard for development, and the current trends in EVC PCBs, spotlighting all of our greatest challenges: high layer count, thin materials, extreme miniaturization, and high power demands, to name a few. This is a good read.