Elementary Mr. Watson: Running the Signal Gauntlet
The Shaughnessy Report: Winning the Signal Integrity Battle
Connect the Dots: How to Avoid Five Common Causes of Board Failure
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
February 26, 2021 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
We’re seeing an increase in optimism as more people are vaccinated and states under lockdown begin flipping open their shutters. This positive outlook is spreading, albeit slowly.
There’s a lot going on in the industry, and we see this reflected in this week’s Top Five picks. One contributor makes the case for another Roaring Twenties, this time led by Industry 4.0. IPC APEX EXPO is making a big impression, even virtually, as the top technical papers are announced. North American PCB numbers are up year-on-year, but with a caveat. Siemens EDA has a new website that unifies the different organizations under one umbrella. And columnist Christine Davis shares a story in which one customer left her with “nothing to lose, and everything to gain.” You may find yourself cheering for Christine as she goes “Network” on a customer that keeps ghosting her.
Best Technical Paper at IPC APEX EXPO 2021 Selected
Published February 25
IPC APEX EXPO gets under way, virtually, in 10 days. In the meantime, let’s congratulate Sarah Czaplewski, Roger Krabbenhoft and Junyang Tang of IBM for taking home the Best Technical Paper award for “Signal Integrity, Reliability, and Cost Evaluation of PCB Interlayer Crosstalk Reduction.” The paper will be presented on March 11; you know that designers and design engineers will love this.
Her Voice: Nothing to Lose and Everything to Win
Published February 24
The number of views that an article gets in the first 48 hours are a great indication of its “magnetism.” If an article takes off in the first two days, we know that readers were moved as much by emotion as job-related curiosity. This SMT007 column by Christine Davis lifted off like a rocket; I can picture all of our readers cheering when she slams down a file folder and asks a customer to explain what the hell is going on. This is definitely a hot column.
Siemens EDA Launches New Home Website
Published February 23
Siemens EDA has a brand-new website, https://eda.sw.siemens.com, marking the official end of the Mentor name. Siemens EDA, formerly Mentor, A Siemens Business, is now part of Siemens Digital Industries Software. We’ll all have to stop calling the company Mentor, but knowing my colleagues in the industry, that probably won’t happen overnight.
Predicting a ‘Roaring Twenties’ Innovation Boom
Published February 24
The decade didn’t start off too well, but freelance writer and supply chain specialist Hailey Lynne McKeefy believes that we may be about to experience years of growth and innovation. As the pandemic subsides and Industry 4.0 and smart processes take hold, are we due to experience the Roaring Twenties 2.0?
North American PCB Shipments Up 4% in January 2021
Published February 26
We have some good news and some bad news about January’s North American PCB shipments: They’re up 4% over the same period a year ago, but down 16% from December. As IPC’s Shawn DuBravac explains, some of this slowdown is due to the semiconductor shortage. I think we’re due for an uptick in the next few months!
Share on:
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
I-Connect007 Launches Advanced Electronics Packaging Digest
09/15/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is pleased to announce the launch of Advanced Electronics Packaging Digest (AEPD), a new monthly digital newsletter dedicated to one of the most critical and rapidly evolving areas of electronics manufacturing: advanced packaging at the interconnect level.
ICAPE Group Unveils Exclusive Report on Sustainability in Electronics Manufacturing
09/15/2025 | ICAPE GroupICAPE Group, a global leader in printed circuit boards (PCBs) and custom electronics manufacturing, today announces the launch of its 2025 Industry Outlook & Innovation Report: Sustainability in Electronics Manufacturing. This exclusive report is accompanied by fresh insights from a dedicated Statista survey of 100 electronics manufacturing professionals, commissioned by ICAPE Group.
Panasonic Industry will Double the Production Capacity of MEGTRON Multi-layer Circuit Board Materials Over the Next Five Years
09/15/2025 | Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd., a Panasonic Group company, announced plans for a major expansion of its global production capacity for MEGTRON multi-layer circuit board materials today. The company plans to double its production over the next five years to meet growing demand in the AI server and ICT infrastructure markets.
Sustainability and Selective Soldering
09/15/2025 | Dr. Samuel J. McMaster, Pillarhouse InternationalSustainability is more than just a buzzword for the electronics industry; it’s a key goal for all manufacturing processes. This is more than a box-ticking exercise or simply doing a small part for environmentally friendly processes. Moving toward sustainable solutions drives innovation and operational efficiency.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/12/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007We may be post-Labor Day, but it is still hot-hot-hot here in the great state of Arizona—much like our news cycles, which have continued to snap, crackle, and pop with eye-raising headlines over this past week. In broader global tech news this week, AI and tariff-type restrictions continues to dominate with NVIDIA raising its voice against U.S. lawmakers pushing chip restrictions, ASML investing in a Dutch AI start-up company to the tune of $1.5 billion, and the UAE joining the ranks of the U.S. and China in embracing “open source” with their technology in hopes of accelerating their AI position.