Latest Articles

EIPC Technical Snapshot: Considering Supply Chain and Defense

Continuing the highly successful series of EIPC’s Technical Snapshots, and featuring a programme that attracted a record attendance, the 14th online event was held on January 19. The opening presentation came from the ever-cheerful Didrik Bech, of Elmatica, who promised to provide thoughts and ideas about how to secure the supply chain to ensure compliance, not only to reduce the risks but also to increase the opportunities. Stan Heltzel from ESA Materials and Processes Section in the Netherlands gave a fascinating detailed insight into ESA’s approach to microvia reliability. And Liisa Hakola, senior scientist and project manager at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland gave the final presentation on how sustainability creates new opportunities for electronics industry.

Catching Up With RBP Chemical and Schlötter

It’s always great to see two very good companies form a mutually beneficial alliance. I was lucky enough to watch this particular strategic partnership come to fruition this year between RBP Chemical and Schlötter. I wanted to talk to both companies, so I sat down with Matthias Hampel, global executive representative-PCB and electronics at Schlötter, and Ernest Litynski, president of RBP Chemical Technology, to get the inside story.

Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover Passes Latest Tests Ahead of September Launch

The European Space Agency (ESA) rover starts the year with months of successful maintenance and functional tests behind it. All its instruments are go for flight, with some minor tuning left to complete this month.

NASA Prepares SLS Moon Rockets for First Crewed Artemis Missions

As teams continue to prepare NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for its debut flight with the launch of Artemis I, NASA and its partners across the country have made great progress building the rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission.

Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2022: Blackfox Mixes It Up with Training Opportunities

Andy Shaughnessy speaks with Jamie Noland, master IPC trainer and marketing manager for Blackfox Institute, about current and upcoming training opportunities and what you can expect from them at the show. Blackfox has expanded its offerings to reach a wider audience, including some very basic classes for beginners.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

No matter how you look at it, we’re already off to a roaring start in 2022. Here on the West Coast of the U.S., heavy and persistent rains are doing what they can to fix years of drought through the southwest United States. The eastern seaboard is seeing plenty of rainy weather as well. As they say on the salt containers: When it rains, it pours. That adage is rather true in the news of the industry this week. Therefore, my must-reads include a celebration of longevity in business, the launch of our next space telescope, and the sale of equipment for the printing of electronics. On a more circumspect note, we also bring you the IPC’s report on rising material and labor costs, and an article on cybersecurity.

James Webb Space Telescope en Route to Discover Origins of the Universe, Study Exoplanets

A joint program between NASA and its counterparts in Europe (ESA) and Canada (CSA), Webb will observe the beginnings of our Universe by reaching back in time to just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. It will also observe exoplanets – planets outside the Solar System – that are comparable to our own, as well as the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. The ultimate aim of this successor to the iconic Hubble space telescope is to discover galaxies that reach back to the relative beginnings of the Universe. This state-of-the-art time machine is expected to revolutionize all aspects of modern astronomy. It will unveil the hidden side of the Universe, namely stars enveloped in clouds of dust, molecules in the atmosphere of other worlds, and the light issuing from the first stars and galaxies.

Georgia Tech Leads Effort to Strengthen State’s Defense Manufacturing Industry

Department of Defense grant enables collaboration with Spelman College, Technical College System of Georgia, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development in pilot project

DoD Faces Growing Risks from Reliance on Lead in Electronics

Like a cancer that spreads untreated until it becomes an urgent problem, the U.S. defense community is facing a small but growing problem that is increasingly undermining U.S. military readiness and technological dominance. The problem is lead—specifically, the lead-alloy solders that traditionally have been used to attach electronic components to printed circuit boards (PCBs). Over the last 15 years, the commercial electronics industry has shifted to lead-free solders, prompted by environmental health regulations in Europe and elsewhere. However, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its contractors never made the switch and are still heavily reliant on leaded solders. Now, leaded electronics are becoming harder to find and more outdated.

Catching Up with Allen Keeney of Johns Hopkins University

I have always been fascinated by research labs, especially those tied to major universities. These are the true leaders of innovation and invention and at the very top of the PCB industry. So, when I met Allen Keeney, chief engineer of the Advanced Electrical Fabrication Group at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, I jumped at the chance to talk with him. You will enjoy this look at another facet of our PCB industry.

Test and Inspection: Far Beyond Opens and Shorts

Gardien Vice President Todd Kolmodin talks about test and inspection market drivers from his perspective as a test service provider. Andy Shaughnessy and Happy Holden go down the “microvia rabbit hole” with Todd, as well as explore how OEM design requirements are driving test and inspection functionality and processes. When board layer counts and feature densities force longer test times, the tradeoffs to profitability for manufacturers become time and accuracy. Minimizing time while maximizing accuracy calls for new methods, which Kolmodin explains.

Nanoracks, Voyager Space, Lockheed Martin to Build First-Of-Its-Kind Commercial Space Station

Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, has been awarded a $160 million contract by NASA to design its Starlab commercial space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Development program.

Happy Thanksgiving From the I-Connect007 Team

In the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday is a celebration of gratitude and appreciation for the harvest and for the people close to us. Thankfulness, however, transcends just one day of official observance. The fourth Thursday of November is when the U.S. officially celebrates Thanksgiving Day and as we take time to observe this holiday, the I-Connect007 team wishes to offer our thanks to you, our global readers and contributors: designers, fabricators, engineers, assemblers, quality and process control gurus, chemists, physicists, supervisors, managers, entrepreneurs, business owners, standards writers, industry experts, and more. You breathe life into the vital, thriving, world-changing electronics industry. You are the real story.

RBP Discusses New Management and Plans for the Future

Ernie Litynski, president of RBP Chemical Technology and Dan Carey, incoming executive vice president, brief Nolan Johnson on the recent organizational changes that brought Carey on board. Both Litynski and Carey outline how they see these changes benefiting their customers and partners, including in the defense and aerospace sectors. As they explain, it's their expertise at helping solve problems that customers value most.

All Flex Discusses Merger and New Medical Applications

I recently spoke with Jamin Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing at All Flex Flexible Circuits in Minnesota. We discussed the company’s recent merger with Printed Circuits Inc., and some creative new flex applications, including flexible heaters and catheters for the medical field. As Jamin explains, "It’s always interesting to see different technologies amongst different companies. We’re working on a few new applications and products, like being able to do some fine lines and flex materials, but with large format, a longer format than usual. Some of their capabilities with lasering and fine features really help with our long flex capability; when we merge the two, we see a new market being created for that technology."

Catching Up With ACI’s Bryan Ricke

I recently visited with Bryan Ricke, business development director for Advanced Circuitry International. Bryan has been in the industry for several years, including his current position at ACI. I wanted to learn more about the type of RF and antennas that his company builds. Truthfully, in all my years in the industry, I had not heard about his company. I thought that was very interesting. As Ricke said, "Many of the largest antenna manufacturers in the world are our customers, as well as many smaller companies producing RF/microwave products. We also work with a lot of universities. Our customers say they like our commitment and the way we service them."

Honoring Those Who Served

On this Veteran’s Day holiday, the I-Connect007 staff takes a moment to honor those men and women over the years, who served to protect and defend their country. Just on the I-Connect007 staff, we have loved ones who served, ranging from World War I to present-day active-duty military. The holiday isn’t intended to be a political statement, but rather a reflection on service, duty, and personal sacrifice. In some cases, the ultimate sacrifice. Our staff has submitted images of veterans who are near and dear to their hearts. Check them out!

New Look for Ground-breaking UK-led ESA Mission to Detect Climate Change

TRUTHS, which stands for Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio- Studies, will provide a gold standard reference for satellites observing the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Conceived by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and funded by the UK Space Agency, TRUTHS is being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The satellite will be built by the UK space industry led by Airbus UK, along with partners across Europe, including Greece, Switzerland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, who have also provided funding for the mission.

Lockheed Martin, Rafael Partner to Develop SPICE-250 Weapon System For US Military

Lockheed Martin and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., of Israel, signed an expanded teaming agreement, allowing the team to jointly develop, market, manufacture and support Rafael's Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective (SPICE™) 250 weapon system for sale in the United States and in Poland.

Nanoracks, Voyager Space, Lockheed Martin Teaming to Develop Commercial Space Station

Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, has formed a team to develop the first-ever free flying commercial space station.

Hear Sounds From Mars Captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover

Two microphones aboard the six-wheeled spacecraft add a new dimension to the way scientists and engineers explore the Red Planet. Thanks to two microphones aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover, the mission has recorded nearly five hours of Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm.

IBM, Raytheon to Collaborate on Artificial Intelligence, Cryptography and Quantum Technologies

IBM and Raytheon Technologies will jointly develop advanced artificial intelligence, cryptographic and quantum solutions for the aerospace, defense and intelligence industries, including the federal government, as part of a strategic collaboration agreement the companies announced.

Science of Psyche: Unique Asteroid Holds Clues to Early Solar System

More than 150 years have passed since novelist Jules Verne wrote “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” but reality has yet to catch up with that science fiction adventure. While humans can’t bore a path to our planet’s metallic core, NASA has its sights set on visiting a giant asteroid that may be the frozen remains of the molten core of a bygone world.

Boeing's Latest 737-9 ecoDemonstrator Testing Crane A&Es New Long-range Sensing

Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a segment of Crane Co., has been selected to feature its new Long-Range Wireless Tire Pressure Sensors on Boeing’s 2021 737-9 ecoDemonstrator program.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

In some weeks, readership numbers are pretty even, which means I make my picks based on “excellence” or “achievement” of some sort. Other weeks, you readers “go viral” on a few key news items, making the selection process numerically driven. This was one of those weeks. Here, then, are the five most-read news items. Of course, leading the way are our esteemed technical editors, Pete Starkey and Dan Feinberg. These gentlemen are examples of my opening statement, as both enjoy huge popularity with readers precisely because they are so good at reporting on the industry.

ICT Autumn 2021 Webinar Review: High-voltage Testing and Advanced Antenna Materials

The Institute of Circuit Technology continues to deliver first-class on-line events. This year's ICT Autumn Webinar on September 7 presented papers by leading experts on high-voltage testing and advanced antenna materials. It was introduced and moderated by ICT Chair Emma Hudson.

BAE Systems Acquires In-Space Missions

BAE Systems has acquired In-Space Missions, a UK company that designs, builds and operates satellites and satellite systems. The acquisition will combine BAE Systems’ experience in highly secure satellite communications with In-Space Missions’ full lifecycle satellite capability, to make a compelling sovereign UK space offer.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Collects Puzzle Pieces of Mars’ History

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover successfully collected its first pair of rock samples, and scientists already are gaining new insights into the region. After collecting its first sample, named “Montdenier,” Sept. 6, the team collected a second, “Montagnac,” from the same rock Sept. 8.

NASA Innovations Will Help U.S. Meet Sustainable Aviation Goals

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson joined federal government and industry leaders Thursday at a White House event highlighting sustainable aviation and the administration’s focus on medium- and long-term goals to combat climate change.

Electronics Industry Summit With U.S. DoD Spawns More Dialogue, Collaboration

The U.S. Government, the electronics industry, and academia must continue to step up their joint efforts to address risks and gaps in the defense electronics supply chain.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Picks: Five Must-Reads for the Week

I’m at DesignCon as I start pen this week’s must-reads. It’s good to be back in the convention centers, I have to say. In my last installment, I expressed the anticipation; I can now confirm that taking the pulse of our industry is so much easier when one is nearer the heartbeat.

Communicating Effectively with EMS Providers

For the past several decades, OEMs have used outside EMS providers to build a multitude of products from PCBAs to complete box and cable assemblies. Communicating effectively is the key to success in getting products from concept to reality. For companies that want to form a good working relationship with EMS providers, there are several steps that should be followed to ensure a successful product build.

Catching Up With AMI’s Jim Barry

I met Jim Barry 25 years ago when we worked on a project at Eltek Ltd. Since then, I have followed his career with a great deal of interest, believing that he is one of the best technical sales professionals in our industry. When Jim recently accepted the position as vice president of business development at AMI right here in Maine, I knew it was time to catch up. Jim discusses the company's plans, including its move deeper into the milaero market.

New Algorithm Flies Drones Faster Than Human Racing Pilots

For the first time an autonomously flying quadrotor has outperformed two human pilots in a drone race. The success is based on a novel algorithm that was developed by researchers of the University of Zurich. It calculates time-optimal trajectories that fully consider the drones’ limitations.

Gulfstream Exceeds 500 Installations of Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX Solution

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp is celebrating a new milestone, surpassing 500 installations of Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX in-flight connectivity platform on its large-cabin aircraft.

£1.2 Million Fund Will Help UK Make Space Safer

One of the biggest challenges facing the space sector is orbital congestion and space debris. There are currently around 3,000 working satellites in orbit, and an estimated 130 million other pieces of debris, including old satellites, spent rocket bodies and even tools dropped by astronauts.

Air Force Tasks Rhea Space Activity to Build Rapid-Response Lunar Communications Spacecraft

As U.S. operations in space steadily move further away from Earth orbit, the rapidly growing 'New Space' company Rhea Space Activity (RSA) is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) for a Phase I, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 2021 Space Force Pitch Day award.

Lockheed Martin Opens Advanced Manufacturing Facility to Expand Orion Spacecraft Production

Lockheed Martin opened its Spacecraft Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center. The STAR Center features business and digital transformation innovations that will expand manufacturing, assembly and testing capacity for NASA's Orion spacecraft program and ultimately, future space exploration.

NASA Solar Sail Asteroid Mission Readies for Launch on Artemis I

NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is tucked away safely inside the agency’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The solar sailing CubeSat is one of several secondary payloads hitching a ride on Artemis I, the first integrated flight of the agency’s SLS and the Orion spacecraft.

Catching Up With Prototron’s Kim O’Neil

I recently sat down with industry veteran and friend Kim O’Neil to get to know more about his story. From his time his two tours in Vietnam, to his time in our industry, Kim has always been a solid contributor wherever he has served. Having known and worked with Kim for a number of years I knew that his was an interesting story that should be told.

Nanosatellites Could Play Pivotal Role in Defense Against Enemy Missiles

Two Missile Defense Agency nanosatellites — known as CubeSats — that launched June 30 into low-earth orbit from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California could play a large role in the future of U.S. missile defense.

Americans Embrace the Importance of Semiconductors to National Security

As Congress considers legislation that would fund domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research initiatives, a new poll finds a strong majority of Americans understand the critical role semiconductors play in advancing U.S. national security.

Attention Researchers: Space, Suborbital, and Climate-Focused Technologies Wanted

NASA’s 2021 Tech Flights solicitation is now open! Tech Flights offers funding opportunities to researchers from U.S.-based industry, academia, and private research institutions to rapidly test technologies on commercial suborbital vehicles with awards up to $650,000 per awardee.

NASA’s Self-Driving Perseverance Mars Rover 'Takes the Wheel'

NASA’s newest six-wheeled robot on Mars, the Perseverance rover, is beginning an epic journey across a crater floor seeking signs of ancient life. That means the rover team is deeply engaged with planning navigation routes, drafting instructions to be beamed up, even donning special 3D glasses to help map their course.

Cleanliness Behind Many Assembly Challenges

Eric Camden says nobody knows your board like you do, so it’s time for assemblers to start doing their own cleanliness testing and due diligence, and stop relying on outside organizations to determine how clean their boards need to be.

Catching up With Siber Circuits

Siber Circuits is a Canada-based PCB fabricator doing most of its business in the U.S. and often with defense contractors, proving against the odds that it can be done. I spoke with the owner and president, Simon Etherington, about his company and why his long-time customers love working with them.

EIPC Technical Snapshot Review: Microvia Reliability Issues

Since the mid-1990s, when they were developed for mass production in the mobile phone industry, microvias have become principal enablers for high-density designs, and have evolved from single-level to complex stacked and staggered structures. They are fundamentally robust interconnects, although some aspects of their reliability are still under investigation.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

It’s summertime here in Atlanta. The masks are gone, and my Hawaiian shirts are back in rotation! It feels like we’re getting back to normal. Speaking of normal, it looks like DesignCon, PCB West, SMTA International, and IPC APEX EXPO are good to go; they’re set to be live, in-person events, just like in the “olden days” of early 2020.

Increasing Productivity Through Training

Too often when we think of training our manufacturing workforce, we focus on the shop floor. We look for opportunities mainly with those who are doing the making. We need to cast a wider gaze as the manufacturing process is not limited to the manufacturing floor. Quality, engineering, sales and marketing, logistics, and even accounting/finance are all part of the process that starts with a business plan and culminates with your trinket in the hands of your happy customer. All departments make up that “well-oiled machine.”

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

In case you’ve been on the beach with an umbrella drink in your hand, in industry news we saw the soft opening of a new laminate facility and more M&A activity in the PCB fab segment. And we ran some really great content from our contributors, with articles on how to save your company money and how to save yourself time in the design cycle. Plus, Editor Nolan Johnson channels his inner John Updike with his review of one of the most popular manufacturing strategy books ever, three decades after its publication.

Medical, Defense Face Shortage of Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

Industrial, medical, and military demand for high-quality, high-voltage multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) has been hit hard by a shift in production by the world’s largest MLCC manufacturers who are focusing on a seemingly insatiable demand for smaller, lower voltage—and in some way—lower-performance MLCCs.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Finally, it’s May. The snow has melted, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and summer is just around the corner. We’re slowly getting back to normal after the craziest year I can remember. And our industry is on the move! This week, we bring you a veritable seafood platter of articles and columns about PCB design, fabrication, and assembly.

PRIDE Industries: A Nonprofit EMS and Staffing Firm Moves Into Mil-aero

PRIDE Industries is a contract manufacturing provider with a twist: The company provides training and coaching for job seekers with disabilities, including service-disabled veterans. If they don’t have openings in their Sacramento facility, they may have a job for you in one of 15 other states.

IPC-2581 Revision C: Complete Build Intent for Rigid-Flex

With the current design transfer formats, rigid-flex designers face a hand-off conundrum. You know the situation: My rigid-flex design is done so now it is time to get this built and into the product. Reviewing the documentation reveals that there are tables to define the different stackup definitions used in the design. The cross-references for the different zones to areas of the design are all there, I think. The last time a zone definition was missed, we caused a costly mistake.

I-Connect007 'Just Ask' Q&A Compilation Available Now

Throughout 2020, we asked you to send us your questions for Happy Holden, John Mitchell, Joe Fjelstad, Tara Dunn, and Heidi Barnes. You all had plenty of questions for these industry experts. The following is a handy compilation of your questions and their answers.

Meet Chris Young, MilAero007 Columnist

Meet Chris Young, one of our newest I-Connect007 columnists! Chris’ columns will take a lighthearted (sometimes humorous) and informative view of the aerospace and defense industry.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

I’m sure it’s just me being hyperaware, but I can’t shake it: Mars is where it’s at right now. Is it just me, or do you get the same feeling from the news? There are the Mars rovers—three generations of them still rolling, now—and a drone helicopter winding up for a maiden flight any day now. But that’s not all. There’s SpaceX’s StarShip, rapid-prototyping its way into a manned flight to Mars. And NASA’s whole “return to the Moon” project is simply a shakedown for the U.S. government contractors’ Mars flight hardware, too.

Rooting Out an 'Us vs. Them' Mentality: An Interview with Laura Kriska

Earlier this year, I-Connect007 columnist Dan Beaulieu submitted a book review on "The Business of WE: The Proven Three-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace." As a follow up to that review, Dan has interviewed the book's author, Laura Kriska.

Happy’s Play-by-Play of IPC APEX EXPO

This was the first time IPC had a virtual APEX EXPO. It went well, but I missed seeing everyone. On the other hand, all this material being available for 90 days certainly allows it to fit anyone’s schedule. I spent all week intently listening to the presentations.

I-Connect007 Video: A Salute to The Industry

I-Connect007 has produced this new one-minute video to acknowledge nearly 35 years of sharing your stories. In 1987 we launched our first industry publication and we have been dedicated to covering this industry ever since. We did not start out as publishers: in fact, our background was in printed circuit board fabrication. In 1987 there were still nearly 3,000 PCB shops in North America. At the time, profits were goods, trade events included giant industry parties (remember the extravagant hospitality suites in Anaheim?), and the industry was in a state of change.
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