SMTAI 2025 Review: Reflecting on a Pragmatic and Forward-looking Industry

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Leaving the show floor on the final afternoon of SMTA International last week in Rosemont, Illinois, it was clear that the show remains a grounded, technically driven event that delivers a solid program, good networking, and an easy space to commune with industry colleagues and meet with customers.

Click here to see more coverage of the show through video interviews and photos.

Co-located with The Assembly Show, SMTAI once again drew a mix of engineers, researchers, and suppliers from across the electronics manufacturing industry. The event opened Monday with the technical conference and an evening awards ceremony co-hosted by SMTA and Circuits Assembly.

The expo portion kicked off at 4 p.m. Tuesday with complimentary appetizers and drinks, giving exhibitors and attendees an easy opportunity to connect. The mood on the floor was upbeat, with solid traffic through most of the week. Most exhibitors I spoke with said they had good conversations and left with promising leads. Overall, the event had a focused, collegial feel—less flashy than some larger shows, but well aligned with the technical nature of SMTA’s audience, and with a significant focus on SMTA’s Bright Manufacturing Challenge, which culminated on Wednesday afternoon with “PCB Bros” announced as the winners after a four-month-long journey into applied manufacturing and robotics. 

Technical Program Highlights
This year’s technical program offered six focused tracks: Additively Manufactured Electronics (AME), Advanced Packaging (APT), Low-Temperature Solder (LTS), Manufacturing for Excellence (MFX), Reliability & Harsh Environments (RHE), and Test & Inspection (INS). More than 90 presentations tackled both emerging technologies and long-standing production challenges, with speakers from Lockheed Martin, Nokia Bell Labs, Meta, Samsung, and Binghamton University, among others.

In the AME sessions, printed and hybrid electronics took center stage. Papers like “Robust Printed Interconnects for Harsh Environments” (Binghamton University) and “Aerosol Jet Printing for Hybrid Electronics Packaging” (Optomec) explored material durability and production scalability—evidence that additive processes are inching closer to mainstream adoption. The Advanced Packaging track highlighted chiplet architectures and materials advances such as “Sintering Cu Paste as Via Filling Materials for Through Glass Via (TGV)” (Resonac Co.), underscoring the continuing drive toward denser and more efficient designs.

In the Low-Temperature Solder track, researchers and manufacturers compared alloy systems and reliability results as the industry weighs sustainability and process cost against performance. The MFX, RHE, and INS tracks brought discussions back to fundamentals—yield improvement, ruggedization, and inspection strategies—reminding attendees that reliability still hinges as much on process control as on materials innovation.

A keynote presentation by Joanna C. Cooper, general manager of Daimler Truck North America, titled “The Competitive Edge,” examined how digital transformation and agile operations are reshaping manufacturing leadership. The Women’s Leadership Program, held on Monday, continued its focus on mentorship and professional development—an encouraging effort to broaden participation and build community within the field.

Bright Manufacturing Challenge
One of this year’s most engaging elements was the Bright Manufacturing Challenge, a live, hands-on competition for student teams tasked with designing, assembling, and testing a PCB-controlled robot. The multi-round event—from design review to final testing—played out on the show floor, attracting steady crowds and plenty of encouragement from industry veterans.

The challenge added energy and showcased real-world problem-solving. It clearly hit its mark in highlighting the importance of workforce development and applied learning, and rumor has it that it will be expanded into a longer program in 2026.

Takeaways and Impressions
Between the technical sessions, exhibit hall, and networking events, SMTAI 2025 provided a clear view of an industry in steady, pragmatic evolution. 

Recurring themes included additive manufacturing’s progress toward production viability, the refinement of advanced packaging, and renewed interest in low-temperature soldering as part of the industry’s sustainability push. Reliability and inspection remain constant priorities, anchoring conversations about quality and long-term performance.

Networking events like the Young Professionals Reception and Women’s Leadership Forum added a human dimension to a week centered on process, data, and design.

Click here to see more coverage of the show through video interviews and photos.