Flex Connections: Material Selection in Nickel vs. Copper Tabs
Flex Connections: Four Lessons in Engineering Judgment for PCB Designers
Flexible Thinking: ‘Let There Be Light’–Emitting Diodes!
How was your week? We’ve had a first here in Atlanta: It’s August, and we’ve been able to turn off our air conditioning. The temperatures topped out at 70 for a few days, and then dropped down to 60 at night. I even had to put on long pants yesterday. What’s going on here?
If you’ve been watching the news lately, you too might be tempted to opine, “What’s going on here?” In this week’s must-reads, we have a wrap-up of the latest news about U.S. tariffs with Asia, and columnist Tom Yang explains why some PCB fabrication business should remain in China. We also have a piece that examines the unprecedented growth that green manufacturing is expected to see over the next four years.
Anaya Vardya focuses on the effect that UHDI is having on the entire electronics supply chain, from design through final product, and Kurt Palmer discusses the most common approaches for inner-layer alignment in multilayer PCBs.
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NCAB Breaks Down Updated Tariff Rate Change
Published August 4
Sometimes it seems like the tariff trade-offs are part of a continuing reality show. But tariffs are serious business for our readers involved in importing and exporting PCBs, components, and materials; a tariff change of a few percent can have an outsized effect on your company’s bottom line. As such, NCAB has published this helpful wrap-up of the tariff rates that went into effect August 7. Check back for the latest tariff information.
Report: Green Electronics Market to Hit $46.53B by 2029
Published August 5
The green electronics manufacturing sector is set for big growth in the next few years. According to the Green Electronics Manufacturing Market Report 2025, this market will grow from $16.81 billion in 2024 to $20.66 billion in 2025, and wind up at $46.53 billion in 2029. Sure, “green” has become a marketing term, but the move toward responsible manufacturing has become a huge market driver.
UHDI Fundamentals: UHDI Technology and Industry 4.0
Published August 5
UHDI has influenced almost every aspect of PCB design and fabrication, and now it’s driving product design as well. As Anaya Vardya explains here, UHDI is a critical enabler for Industry 4.0 technologies, and it may offer future-minded technologists the “backbone” they need to make dreams into reality.
Driving Innovation: Inner Layer Alignment Methods in PCB Production
Published August 6
With multilayer PCBs, everything starts with inner-layer alignment. Columnist Kurt Palmer discusses the pros and cons of the most common methods for inner-layer alignment: pin-lam, mass-lam with two machines, and mass-lam with one automated machine. In the end, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer.
Global Citizenship: Chinese PCB Fabricators Will Remain an Important Part of the Supply Chain
Published August 6
Speaking of tariffs, whenever the discussion focuses on reshoring, it’s tempting for Americans to advocate for the return of all overseas PCB fabrication to North America’s shores. But in this column, Tom Yang makes a solid case that some boards should, in fact, be fabricated in China. It’s definitely worth reading, especially in these “tariffic” times.
