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SMTAI 2022: Like a Tesla in a Drag Race
November 3, 2022 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute

If you’ve ever experienced an electric car launching from a dead stop, felt the torque and acceleration that a motor made of magnets and copper coils can deliver over a combustion engine, then you’ll have a sense for how this year’s SMTAI took off—both literally and figuratively.
The launch to the event was John Thomas’ keynote on “the EV conundrum.” Thomas is a key executive with Autel, a new startup specializing in EV chargers. Early in his presentation, referring to the industry and government commitments to stop selling combustion engine automobiles by 2035, Thomas said, “Never have I seen an adoption happen as fast as this.”
Later, however, he used a pair of photographs to illustrate how we’ve transitioned even faster in the past. One photo showed a New York City street in 1903, with a crush of horse-drawn carriages and a lone automobile. The second photo, taken of a NYC street in 1913, showed a traffic jam of automobiles, with a single horse-drawn carriage. Did the hay-selling companies transition to gasoline?
Thomas’ keynote positively dripped with optimism wrapped in uncertainty. By the end of his speech, it was clear that the automobile will eventually be made up of 94% electronics and 6% mechanics. Clearly, in the automotive industry overall, the hay-sellers of today will need to pivot to new business models. Simultaneous optimism and urgency was the takeaway from the keynote.
Moments later, the show launched like a Tesla in a drag race. Just 90 minutes into the show, multiple exhibitors I talked to proclaimed that they’d already taken more customer leads than during the entire show in 2021. Attendees were here to learn and, most likely, make some purchase decisions. The technical conference tracks and the networking events continue through tomorrow.
We’ll be posting audio interviews from the show on our Real Time with… SMTAI site. Keep checking back for more show coverage over the next few months. See you on the road.
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/11/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThis week, we have quite a variety of news items and articles for you. News continues to stream out of Washington, D.C., with tariffs rearing their controversial head again. Because these tariffs are targeted at overseas copper manufacturers, this news has a direct effect on our industry.I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
Digital Twin Concept in Copper Electroplating Process Performance
07/11/2025 | Aga Franczak, Robrecht Belis, Elsyca N.V.PCB manufacturing involves transforming a design into a physical board while meeting specific requirements. Understanding these design specifications is crucial, as they directly impact the PCB's fabrication process, performance, and yield rate. One key design specification is copper thieving—the addition of “dummy” pads across the surface that are plated along with the features designed on the outer layers. The purpose of the process is to provide a uniform distribution of copper across the outer layers to make the plating current density and plating in the holes more uniform.
Trump Copper Tariffs Spark Concern
07/10/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPresident Donald Trump stated on July 8 that he plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, sparking concern in a global industry whose output is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors, and a wide range of consumer goods. According to Yahoo Finance, copper futures climbed over 2% following tariff confirmation.
Happy’s Tech Talk #40: Factors in PTH Reliability—Hole Voids
07/09/2025 | Happy Holden -- Column: Happy’s Tech TalkWhen we consider via reliability, the major contributing factors are typically processing deviations. These can be subtle and not always visible. One particularly insightful column was by Mike Carano, “Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper,” where he outlined some of the possible causes of hole defects for both plated through-hole (PTH) and blind vias.
Trouble in Your Tank: Can You Drill the Perfect Hole?
07/07/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the movie “Friday Night Lights,” the head football coach (played by Billy Bob Thornton) addresses his high school football team on a hot day in August in West Texas. He asks his players one question: “Can you be perfect?” That is an interesting question, in football and the printed circuit board fabrication world, where being perfect is somewhat elusive. When it comes to mechanical drilling and via formation, can you drill the perfect hole time after time?