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Inspiring Next-Generation Engineers Through STEM

Through the STEM Student Outreach Program, IPC invites high school students to visit IPC APEX EXPO for a day. Last year, they had about 100 participating students, and this year, it doubled. The program is designed to introduce students to our industry at a younger age. During one event planned for them, the students had a chance to participate in a hands-on soldering track, creating wearable buttons to take home with them.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020 Attendees Speak: Scott Pohlmann

"As a salesman, my job is to make sure I stay on the cutting edge of technology," said Scott Pohlmann of Milwaukee Electronics. "When our customers ask for certain features that they need on their equipment or performance, I need to know what the state-of-the-art equipment, profiles, and procedures are out there.

Joe Fjelstad Breaks Down His Occam Process

Joe Fjelstad recently met with the I-Connect007 Editorial Team to discuss the potential benefits of his Occam process for solderless assembly. This technique allows assembly of the PCB without the risks associated with traditional surface-mount processes, such as solder joint failure. Has the time come for the industry to embrace Occam?

NCAB: A ‘Hub’ That Works With Designers From Start to Finish

In this video interview from the show, Guest Editor Kelly Dack meets with Ruben Contreras, field applications engineer at NCAB Group, and Shaun Salas, key account manager. They discuss a variety of ways to overcome challenges with tariffs and broker relationships, as well as emphasizing upstream expertise and how the company operates as a "hub." Part of NCAB’s objective is to work with designers and design engineers to make the board more manufacturable.

Burt Rutan’s Keynote: SpaceShipOne

In this video clip from his presentation, Burt Rutan discusses some of his aircraft’s revolutionary flights that drew the most public attention, including SpaceShipOne, which flew three of the five manned space flights launched by man in 2004. He also explains the benefits of working with Microsoft’s Paul Allen, who agreed to fund SpaceShipOne based on a simple handshake.

David Bergman: CFX a Key Ingredient of Smart Factories

In this video interview from the show, Jennie Hwang and David Bergman, IPC's VP of standards and training, address the use of CFX to facilitate plug-and-play smart factories. IPC APEX EXPO 2020 offered a variety of demonstrations of CFX, IPC’s Connected Factory Exchange.

Rogers Continues to Grow and Adapt

In this video interview from the show, Guest Editor Judy Warner and Tony Mattingly, senior product manager at Rogers Corporation, discuss the state of materials at the company, as well as the Rogers innovation centers the company has opened recently.

Insulectro: Educating Designers About High-Speed Materials

In this video interview from the show, Ken Parent, Insulectro's VP of sales and product manager, speaks with Guest Editor Kelly Dack about the company's efforts to educate engineers and designers about materials and their options and availability. Insulectro has held a series of PCB design classes and plans to keep educating designers about these high-speed materials.

Avoiding EMI Problems With Lee Ritchey

The I-Connect007 team met with design expert Lee Ritchey to pick his brain on EMI (electromagnetic interference) problems and what can be done to minimize them. Lee explains the issues are almost always tied to power delivery, as well as the abundant amount of misinformation surrounding this topic.

Randy Cherry: IPC Validation Services Continues to Expand

In this video interview from the show, Randy Cherry, IPC's director of validation services, gives Guest Editor Judy Warner his annual update on IPC's Validation Services, which is growing along with ever-increasing IoT and connectivity.

Ventec’s Materials are Enablers for 5G, Industry 4.0

In this video interview from the show, Technical Editor Pete Starkey and Ventec COO for Europe and the Americas Mark Goodwin discuss Ventec’s latest high-speed, low-loss, high-frequency materials as enablers for 5G and Industry 4.0.

What It Takes to Be a Milaero Supplier, Part 1

The decision to pursue military and aerospace (milaero) certification impacts every facet of the organization, and not every shop is prepared to make this transformation. This is the first article in a four-part series, breaking down what it takes in sales and customer service, engineering and CAM, purchasing and quality, and manufacturing. Anaya Vardya starts by exploring sales and customer service.

The Success of IPC’s STEM Student Outreach Program

The IPC Education Foundation (IPCEF) hosted its STEM Student Outreach Event on February 6 at IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego. Nine local high schools attended bringing 193 students and 30 educators from Mission Hills High School, Morse High School, North County Trade Tech High School, Saint Marcos High School, E3 Civic High School, Point Loma High School, Otay Ranch High School, Mount Miguel High School, Otay Ranch High School—Girls in STEM. Twice as many students were able to participate this year, and each participating high school received a $1,000 grant and soldering station to enhance STEM-related learning at their school.

Max Seeley: Some Designers Hesitant to Adopt New Tech

I spoke with Max Seeley of 3M about a design class he presented at AltiumLive in Frankfurt, Germany. We also discussed autorouting and the continuing advances in EDA tools, as well as the schism between users who embrace new technology and those who still prefer to layout their boards the old-fashioned way. Which camp do you belong to?

Joe Clark Says DownStream Is Ready for More Growth in 2020

Joe Clark, co-founder of DownStream Technologies, gives Kelly Dack an overview of the company and their innovative product line, which serves to smooth the bumps that can occur between source design output and manufacturing line input. As Joe explains, 2019 was a great year for the company, and he expects that trend to hold through 2020.

Congratulations to Steve Pudles! IPC Hall of Fame 2020 Inductee

With over 32 years spent working with IPC, Steve Pudles was elected to the IPC’s Hall of Fame this year. Patty Goldman spoke with Steve about how he first became involved as well as his time in the organization, including his work with the EMS Management Council.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020 Attendees Speak: Katie Carl

"We have a wide range of kids. All of them have some sort of interest in technology, which is why they wanted to come in general," said Katie Carl, a high school teacher escorting a group of kids at IPC APEX EXPO. "It’s neat when they start seeing how these technologies are created because a lot of them have seen robotics or have done a tiny bit of soldering with little circuits, but when they can see how those things are built and created in the industry, it makes it more applicable for them."

Solder Paste Printing From the Stencil’s Perspective

Jeff Schake of ASM Assembly Systems discusses the complications surrounding printing and solder paste that he sees from his perspective as a stencil expert.

IPC Government Relations: Focus on Supply Chain Resiliency

During IPC APEX EXPO, Editor Nolan Johnson sat down with Chris Mitchell, VP of global government affairs, to discuss IPC’s latest initiative with industry intelligence programs. As Chris explains, some of these efforts are focused on improving the DoD’s supply chain. This includes moving the DoD from leaded to lead-free components to help avoid millions of dollars in rework. He also discusses the team’s drive to unite with partners around the world and create a truly global organization.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020 Attendees Speak: Sheryl Long

"It’s a great place to see our customers and other friendly faces," said Sheryl Long, global marketing communications manager for Rogers Corporation. "The traffic has been a little slow this year, but it’s a great place to meet everybody at one spot and to get together and talk about what’s going on in the industry.

February Design007 Magazine: Eric Bogatin Looks at EMI Root Causes and Solutions

The I-Connect007 team recently spoke with design instructor and author Eric Bogatin about the EMI challenges facing PCB designers today. Eric is a “signal integrity evangelist” with Teledyne LeCroy, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, and technical editor of the Signal Integrity Journal. In this interview, Eric explains why EMI is so prevalent and what designers and design engineers can do to avoid EMI from the start.

Watch and Learn: Not All Acrylics Are Created Equally

How can additional data, including test results, ensure a greater understanding of the most suitable coating for your application? The fifth episode of the popular webinar series, "Coatings Uncoated," is now available to view. Author of "The Printed Circuit Assembler’s Guide to Conformal Coatings for Harsh Environments" and topic expert Phil Kinner from Electrolube shares highly focused educational information on conformal coating and encapsulation.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020: The I-Connect007 Photo Gallery

If you couldn’t make it to IPC APEX EXPO 2020 in San Diego, don’t worry. I-Connect007 was there to cover it all. From “A Night of Happy-ness” through tear-down, our reporters were on hand to document the entire week.

American Standard Circuits: Strong Focus on Military and Aerospace

During IPC APEX EXPO 2020, Joe Fjelstad speaks with Anaya Vardya, president and CEO of American Standard Circuits. In this interview, Anaya shares a variety of recent business updates. He also highlights the company's flex technology and I-Connect007 eBooks on flex and rigid-flex fundamentals, as well as RF and microwave PCBs.

IPC Designers Council Has a New Name: IPC Design

Yes, you read that right. The IPC Designers Council is now known as IPC Design. Many of you have heard secondhand stories about what this change will entail, so I asked IPC to shed some light on this subject. I recently spoke with IPC’s Teresa Rowe and Patrick Crawford about what’s changing, what’s not, and IPC’s plans to provide improved infrastructure for PCB design content and curriculum.

iNEMI: Emerging Technologies Driving Rapid Industry Development

During IPC APEX EXPO, Editor Joe Fjelstad spoke with Grace O'Malley, iNEMI's VP of technical and project operations, about the well-attended roadmap sessions and other iNEMI meetings taking place at the show. Topics covered included emerging applications and how these technologies are driving industry development across the board, and at a fast pace.

RTW IPC APEX EXPO: John Mitchell Discusses the Show's Evolution

During IPC APEX EXPO, Technology Editor Dan Feinberg spoke with John Mitchell, CEO and president of IPC, about the event’s evolution from a strictly PCB show into a miniature Consumer Electronics Show, including new ideas and prototypes. They also discussed several new IPC initiatives, including IPC Design.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020 Show Week Time-lapse Video

It was a busy week at IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego, and I-Connect007 was there to cover it all. From set-up to tear down, I-Connect007 captured a four-day time-lapse video of the show floor. We’d like to thank our good friends at MacDermid Alpha for letting us set up our camera in their booth.

IPC APEX EXPO Reflections

The sun may have risen and set on the 2020 edition of IPC APEX EXPO, but the developments from the week in San Diego certainly will linger with us for some time. Editor Nolan Johnson provides a summary of the events at IPC APEX EXPO 2020 in San Diego, California.

Phil Carmichael: IPC Asia Continues Solid Growth

Phil Carmichael, IPC president of Asia Pacific, talks with Barry Matties at the HKPCA show during the first week of December 2019 about the continued growth and increased engagement by Asian member companies with IPC, with over 320 members in standards committees now working on the development of the next-generation standards.

True or False: CFX Edition

Since the release of IPC-2591—Connected Factory Exchange (CFX), Version 1.0—there has been a lot of buzz regarding CFX within the industry from all segments. Still, with all of the buzz, there are also some misconceptions floating around the industry regarding CFX. David Bergman takes some of those statements, using feedback from Subcommittee members, and plays a little game of “True or False: CFX Edition.”

IPC APEX EXPO 2020: Day 2 Review

Wednesday at IPC APEX EXPO drew a fairly steady stream of attendees to the show floor. Exhibitors we spoke with said the visitors were ready to spend some money. Almost everyone said their company was having a good quarter and experiencing slow but consistent growth year over year.

AT&S: Working With Designers on a Global Level

Barry Matties recently took a tour of AT&S’s Austrian factory, which is developing new circuit design strategies surrounding embedded and active components. Gerald Weis discusses the company’s focus on serving and educating PCB designers around the world, as well as their plans to embrace the latest technology and Industry 4.0 processes going forward.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020: Day 1 Review

2020 was a special anniversary year for IPC APEX EXPO: “Celebrating 20 years of excellence in electronics” was the tagline. Pete Starkey provides a review of the Day 1 activities on the show floor and beyond.

‘A Night of Happy-ness’ and 2020 Good for the Industry Awards

The Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego was the site of “A Night of Happy-ness” on the evening of Monday, February 3, 2020. I-Connect007 transformed the Regal Ballroom into a cozy lecture hall with two key objectives: to award the I-Connect007 Good for the Industry awards, and to celebrate the life, achievements, and personality that is industry pioneer Happy Holden.

IPC APEX EXPO 2020 Dawns on San Diego

IPC APEX EXPO 2020 launched on Tuesday, February 4, and I-Connect007 started its exclusive coverage.

Upcoming IPC APEX EXPO Offers Sessions on 5G

Dave Hoover of TTM discusses the Sessions @ the Intersection set for IPC APEX EXPO 2020—specifically, the two-part session he will host around the topic of 5G and materials.

IPC Solder Stencil Task Group—Inviting OEM Input to IPC APEX EXPO Meeting

Jeff Schake of ASM Assembly Systems is chairman of IPC’s Solder Stencil Task Group. In this conversation with Nolan Johnson and Barry Matties, Jeff discusses what they will be meeting about at the upcoming IPC APEX EXPO.

Meet Eran Navick, I-Connect007 Columnist

Meet Eran Navick, one of I-Connect007’s newest columnists! In his columns, Eran will discuss technology around the world, touching on all aspects of PCB technology, especially high technology. Eran has been in the PCB business for over 25 years and held key positions in PCB companies, including as a PCB designer and applications engineer.

Residual/Free TBBPA in FR-4

Sergei Levchik describes how testing has shown that FR-4 printed circuit boards do not contain free or residual tetrabromobisohenol-A (TBBPA).

DesignCon Kicks Off Its 25th Anniversary Show

DesignCon’s 25th anniversary show got underway yesterday, and the I-Connect007 Editorial Team was there, meeting with some of the industry’s top electronics engineers, technologists and managers

Are ISO Procedures Strangling Innovation?

Andy Shaughnessy recently spoke with Quantel’s Roger Beers, who voiced his concerns about the struggles engineering departments face when dealing with new technologies within ISO procedures. While great for repeatable processes, Roger says ISO in its current state may be preventing engineering growth.

CES: The Main Halls

CES 2020 is now over, and the next round of shows is underway (NAMM is also over now, IPC APEX EXPO is next week, followed by AWE and others). CES displayed electronics related to gaming, monitors, computers, smartwatches, TVs, vehicles, cellphones, etc. However, the effect on the industry and the way we live will be felt until the next CES. The largest and most influential participants are usually found at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Fresh Thinking on the Logistics of Laminate Distribution

Mark Goodwin, COO of Europe and the Americas for Ventec International Group, sits down with Barry Matties to explain his approach to supply chain management, efficient distribution, and maintaining definitive product identity at every stage.

Flexibility Is Key to Direct Imaging Success

Brendan F. Hogan, managing director of MivaTek, explains that while each industry has its own set of requirements and difficulties, the lines between semiconductor and PCB markets are blurring, demanding more flexibility from equipment suppliers.

What You Need to Know: The High-tech Job Market

Andy Shaughnessy met with Taylor Rousse, an engineering recruiter for Aerotek, a high-tech staffing company, at PCB Carolina to discuss the demands she sees in different industry segments and how it varies region to region. Taylor also offers advice for designers or electrical engineers in the job market, including tips on writing that perfect résumé and the return of the counter-offer.

IPC APEX EXPO Technical Session Preview

Brook Sandy-Smith, IPC technical conference program manager, previews the technical side of IPC APEX EXPO 2020, which includes the customary technical sessions, but also some new wrinkles like the fundamentals program and “sessions @ the intersection” to encourage more interaction.

The IPC Education Foundation’s New Column

The IPC Education Foundation’s new column with I-Connect007 will feature Charlene Gunter du Plessis, Aaron Birney, and Corey Lynn. These IPC Education Foundation members will share updates on programs and activities here. Find out more about the authors below and read "Foundations of the Future" in the SMT007 Week Newsletter.

IPC Validation Services: What to Expect at IPC APEX EXPO 2020

IPC’s Randy Cherry previews what to expect from IPC APEX EXPO 2020, including a full line on display demonstrating CFX/Hermes, further development of the Validation Services program, as well as testimonials from member companies that have been participating in IPC’s new trusted supplier program to the Department of Defense (DoD).

IPC APEX EXPO Technical Conference, Featuring Fundamentals and the Intersection

IPC's Brook Sandy-Smith brings us a preview of the Technical Conference at IPC APEX EXPO 2020. In addition to the Sessions @ the Intersection and the Technical Conference, the Fundamentals Program is new at IPC APEX EXPO 2020. The program provides curated content for industry newcomers and anyone interested in a broader view through the many facets of electronics manufacturing. Attendees will learn important concepts, terminology, and background as preparation for the detailed content on new studies and technologies presented at the technical conference.

Foundations of the Future: Get More Engaged in 2020

Since the inception of the IPC Education Foundation in January 2019, the mission remains to create connections between electronics manufacturers and supply chain companies, academia and the emerging workforce. In this debut column, Charlene Gunter du Plessis describes plans for engaging in 2020, including scholarships and more, and the IPC APEX EXPO 2020 STEM Student Outreach event.

IPC APEX EXPO: Sessions @ the Intersection

In this short video, Brook Sandy-Smith, IPC’s technical conference program manager, explains how “the lntersection” will be a new meeting place In between this year's IPC APEX EXPO show floor and the technical conference available to attendees and the free sessions that are open to any registration type.

Todd Westerhoff on the Value of Solid Design Skills

Andy Shaughnessy recently caught up with Todd Westerhoff, product marketing manager for Mentor’s HyperLynx signal integrity (SI) tools. Todd discusses some of the challenges that he and his customers are facing and why good design skills have more influence on a PCB than any software tool.

Meet John Watson, I-Connect007 Columnist

Meet John Watson, CID, one of our newest I-Connect007 columnists! John has been in the electronics industry for 40 years, with 20 of them being in PCB design, and is now a senior PCB engineer for Legrand Corporation. Read "Elementary, Mr. Watson" in Design007 Week Newsletter.

Visit the Newcomers’ Lounge at IPC APEX EXPO

The Newcomers’ Lounge will open on February 2, will remain open through February 6, and is conveniently located near the technical conference and meetings area, where it will serve as a dedicated resource center for newcomers to get their questions answered and meet other newcomers. Use the lounge to take a break from the hustle and bustle of a busy day, catch up on emails, or grab a quick snack or refreshment.

The World of PCBs: Anything But Boring

Andy Shaughnessy had the chance to catch up with Megan Teta, CID+, product manager of design and education services at Insulectro. Megan explains why she’s excited to become more involved in training and why the world of PCBs is anything but boring, contrary to popular opinion.

Tamara Jovanovic Checks in After First Year as a Designer

What a difference a year makes. The I-Connect007 Editorial Team caught up with Tamara Jovanovic, a PCB designer they met last year at AltiumLive in San Diego as a newly minted engineering graduate. She discusses her first year in the industry and explains how education and training events can help shape the careers of new designers.

Lady Gaga’s Keyboardist Designs a Circular Piano

Who says a modern piano has to be a certain shape? Not Brockett Parsons, Lady Gaga’s keyboardist. He worked with Dave Starkey and Chuck Johnson to create PianoArc—a custom-designed 360-degree circular keyboard and a company with the same name. I spoke with Brockett and Dave at AltiumLive to learn more about the design efforts that went into this fascinating instrument.

Chris Banton is Bullish on New Tech

Chris Banton is the director of marketing for EMA Design Automation. He and Andy Shaughnessy discuss the need to train the next generation of designers, advent technologies like AI and machine learning, and why companies like EMA are using these advancements to help designers with today’s complex PCBs.

Meet Two New CID Grads: Kalen Brown and Michael Steffen

At PCB West, I spoke with two newly minted Certified Interconnect Designers: Kalen Brown of EaglePicher and Michael Steffen of Crystal Group. After passing the CID exam, they attended the IPC Designers Council Executive Board Meeting, where the more “seasoned” veterans were very happy to meet them.
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