Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—Surface Finish
Fresh PCB Concepts: Tariffs and the Importance of a Diverse Supply Chain
Elementary Mr. Watson: The Road Ahead—Advances in PCB Design Technology
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
January 31, 2025 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The year is off to a roaring start across the globe, but especially in the U.S. We’ll all be carefully watching the changes in policy, legislation, and enforcement coming out of Washington D.C., in the coming weeks and months. One thing is clear, though. No matter what your opinions or political affiliations are, things will change.
That said, it is impossible to look at last week’s news and draw any conclusions about how everything will equilibrate in the end. Frankly, it’s just too soon for that sort of analysis. In the meantime, here are last week’s five top stories. If you’ve read nothing else about the industry this week, read these.
Flexible PCB Market Size Projected to Reach $50.90 Billion by 2030
Published January 27
Business Wire reports, “The global flexible printed circuit boards market size is projected to reach USD 50.90 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 13.7% from 2025 to 2030.” Why? They suggest that “tegulated demand from the IT and telecom sector in view of growing need for circuits with higher data processing speed and higher working temperature is further augmenting the growth.” Read more here.
GlobalFoundries Announces New York Advanced Packaging and Photonics Center
Published January 24
Plans to create a new center for packaging and testing are supported by investments from the State of New York and the Department of Commerce. The intent is to provide packaging capabilities for U.S.-made essential chips. This development is where supply chain and national security overlap. Read the details here.
The Test Connection, Inc. Launches The Training Connection to Address Critical Test Engineering and Development Needs
Published January 24
Responding to the critical need to train skilled workers, The Test Connection has launched The Training Connection. Focusing on critical methodologies such as Design for Test (DFT) and IPC standards, The Training Connection posits that it is poised to empower professionals with the tools and expertise they need to excel.
Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—Surface Finish
Published January 29
If you haven’t been following the “On The Line With…” podcast series with ASC/Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson, you should. Matt’s easily digestible explanations for each PCB fabrication process step will help you understand how all the various steps connect to deliver your printed circuit board. In this episode, Matt discusses surface finishes. Give it a listen.
SMTA Expands Access to All Online Training Courses for Members
Published January 27
The announcement says it best: “During its final meeting of 2024, the SMTA Board of Directors approved a proposal to include all online training courses for active members. This initiative aims to add substantial value to SMTA membership and streamline access to essential training resources. Members can now effortlessly sign in to order courses which will be immediately available to access in their SMTA Classroom.” Membership has its advantages. Read more about this in the February 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine, which publishes next week.
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01/27/2025 | SMTAThe SMTA is excited to announce a significant enhancement to its member benefits, effective from January 2025. Active members will now enjoy complimentary access to all online training courses included as part of their membership package.
The Test Connection, Inc. Launches The Training Connection to Address Critical Test Engineering and Development Needs
01/24/2025 | The Test Connection Inc.The Test Connection Inc. (TTCI), a leading provider of electronic test and manufacturing solutions, is excited to announce the launch of its newest venture, The Training Connection, LLC, a company dedicated to addressing the growing need for practical and effective training in test engineering and development. With a focus on critical methodologies such as Design for Test (DFT) and IPC standards, The Training Connection is poised to empower professionals with the tools and expertise they need to excel.
The Chemical Connection: Better Fabs Attract a Better Workforce
01/23/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionWorkforce problems are almost as great an issue in PCB manufacturing today as the product quality and reliability of the increasingly complex circuit boards now in demand. I believe they are directly related. A quality workforce makes it easier to produce a quality product. Unfortunately, as an industry, we have not done a good job of attracting quality young people for today’s production requirements.
Global Robot LLM Market to Exceed $100B by 2028, NVIDIA’s WFM Platform to Drive Growth
01/13/2025 | TrendForceTrendForce’s latest investigations report that as humanoid robots move toward highly integrated systems and transition from industrial applications to home environments, AI model training will become increasingly critical to meet the growing demands for backend understanding and interaction capabilities.