I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
November 4, 2022 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

We’re officially in show season and Managing Editor Nolan Johnson just got back from SMTA International. As he says in his review, the show drew a sizeable crowd this year. With the pandemic in the rear-view window, let’s hope our trade shows are getting back to normal.
This week, we have articles about everything from the first flexible circuit patent to the CHIPS Act, a growing PCB broker, and a look at whether manufacturers believe that we’re in a recession or not (Hint: We are officially in a recession.).
Check back for more show coverage.
Flexible Thinking: The Chameleon of Interconnection Technologies
Published November 3
In this column, Joe Fjelstad discusses the earliest flexible circuit patent, which dates to 1903. The patent for “Improvements in, or Connected with, Electric Cables and the Joining of Same” was originally designed for the new telephone industry, but as Joe explains, flex is quite a chameleon.
American Made Advocacy: The CHIPS Act is Just the Beginning
Published November 3
As Travis Kelly explains in this column, the CHIPS and Science Act is really just the first step of a long marathon. The U.S. now only manufactures 4% of the PCBs in the world, down from 30% a few decades ago, and that number will continue to head further south unless we take some definite action, and now.
SMTAI: Like a Tesla in a Drag Race
Published November 3
Nolan Johnson spent the last few days at SMTA International, back for its second year in Minneapolis. Now that the pandemic is over, SMTAI is back, and as Nolan, reports, even the weather cooperated. If you couldn’t make it to the show, check out our video coverage of SMTAI on our Real Time with… SMTAI site.
IPC: One-Fourth of Electronics Manufacturers Believe We are in a Recession
Published November 1
It doesn’t feel like a recession. But it’s not exactly a state secret that we are in a recession, which is officially defined as two back-to-back quarters of negative GDP. We’ve had that, but as one company owner told me recently, “If this is a recession, I’ll take it.”
Millennium Circuits on The Move
Published October 31
I recently met with Daniel Thau, CEO and founder of PCB broker Millennium Circuits. In this interview, Daniel gives us the background on this company that founded at the tender age of 21, and the company’s focus on providing complex PCBs very quickly.
Suggested Items
Hunting for Clues: Feng Xue Solving Circuit Board 'Crimes' With AOI Standard
05/08/2025 | Linda Stepanich, IPCWhen residents in sleepy English villages needed a top-tier detective to solve a murder, they called on Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, author Agatha Christie’s fictional detective famous for using his “little grey cells” to solve crimes. In the same way, IPC standards development committees, when creating a standard to detect defects in circuit boards using Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), call on IPC A-Team, Hercule.
IPC Strengthens Global Focus with Promotion of Sanjay Huprikar to Chief Global Officer
05/08/2025 | IPCIPC, the global electronics association, announces the promotion of Sanjay Huprikar to chief global officer. This newly created position reflects the association’s forward-looking strategy and industry needs to strengthen the electronics supply chain.
Navigating Global Manufacturing in an Era of Uncertainty
05/07/2025 | Philip Stoten, ScoopThe EMS industry faces unprecedented challenges as global trade tensions rise and tariff announcements create market uncertainty. In an overview of IPC Europe’s podcast, MADE IN EUROPE, industry experts from GPV and Zollner examine how these developments impact our businesses and customers, and what strategies will prevail in this new landscape.
Nick Koop Launches IPC Flex Design Class
05/06/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineNick Koop is director of flex technology for TTM Technologies, and he’s been a staple of IPC’s flex committees for decades. He’s also a longtime flex design instructor, and he’s about to debut a new IPC class, Flex and Rigid-Flex Design for Manufacturability, which will run May 12–21. In this interview, Nick tells us about this new class and what attendees can expect to learn.
The Government Circuit: Trump’s Trade War Disrupts the Electronics Ecosystem
05/06/2025 | Chris Mitchell -- Column: The Government CircuitThere is certainly no shortage of work to be done in the IPC Government Relations department, as the U.S. waged a tariff campaign on practically every industrial country in the world and several countries embarked on high-tech initiatives with a mix of approaches to the crucial foundations of electronics manufacturing. Indeed, the breadth and speed of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign continues to be a serious challenge for our industry.