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

I’m writing this in Santa Clara, California on the last day of DesignCon. It was nice to get out of Atlanta, which was 28 degrees when I left. It’s a little rainy here, but it’s been in the 60s all week, and I’ll take that kind of weather any day. In this week’s must-reads, we have a little bit of everything, including sad news about the passing of our columnist Michael Ford. Everyone who knew him just loved the guy.

Electronics Industry Mourns Loss of Colleague and Visionary Michael Ford

Sadly, longtime I-Connect007 columnist, industry visionary, and friend Michael Ford passed away Jan. 27. “In this time of sorrow, we can take solace in the knowledge that Michael leaves a great legacy of contribution to the electronics industry,” according to a statement from Aegis Software. Michael was senior director of emerging industry strategy at Aegis. He was a prolific writer and speaker whose work and ideas put him at the forefront of electronics manufacturing. Working for Aegis gave him the opportunity to apply his software for electronics manufacturing experience to further drive technology solution innovation.

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

Believe it or not, it’s nearly February. Though January always seems to start out slow post-holiday, it also seems to end in a flurry of news and activity across all sectors. Staying true to that, this late January week of news and information is a clear signal that we are now fully immersed in the new year, and we have a lot to accomplish. Here are my picks for this week’s must-read articles, columns, and news.

Driving Operational Efficiencies at Summit Interconnect

As the largest privately held printed circuit board manufacturer in North America, with headquarters in Irvine, California, Summit Interconnect has eight facilities, including one assembly shop. Coming back into the industry after a career move that took him to Amazon, Summit COO Sean Patterson reflects on the issues of culture, the new workforce and PCB capacity issues in the United States, to name just a few.

Nearshoring: Mexico Making Pivotal Move in Supply Chain Dynamics

Amidst the turbulence of international trade wars, pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions, and the escalating demands for rapid delivery cycles, businesses are increasingly looking to relocate manufacturing and production operations to countries geographically closer to their core consumer markets. Nearshoring’s potential promise is not only to mitigate the vulnerabilities of extended supply lines but also to offer agility in responding to consumer needs, fostering a more adaptable and resilient business model.

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

It's been a chilly week for most of us in the United States, and whether you’re in the frozen Pacific Northwest (where I live) or the windswept plains of the Midwest and beyond, you were hunkering down and fighting to stay warm. What better way to pass the time than these editorial offerings. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Save Your Design by Understanding Fab Processes

At PCB Carolina, I met with Laura Martin, director of applications engineering for Summit Interconnect. Laura has been at Summit for about a year, moving into the role from a similar position at Insulectro. She has now become Summit’s go-to design for manufacturing (DFM) expert, and she’s working to move DFM further up in the design cycle, eliminating unpleasant surprises at CAM.

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

Welcome back, readers! Glad to see you. I hope you had plenty of rest over the holidays and you don’t need a vacation from your vacation. This week, our five must-reads include articles and news items on global fab trends and challenges, a breakdown of M&A activity in 2023, Ventec’s move into the equipment arena, the opportunities that arise from designer-fabricator communication early in the design cycle, and a new kind of AOI that’s driven by an AI neural network.

Ventec International: Growth, Changes, and a New Direction

Barry Matties speaks with Ventec International COO Mark Goodwin about a new direction for Ventec. Undeniably a major player in the global laminate market, Mark says Ventec’s primary focus remains the same. As a creative thinker and entrepreneur at his core, Mark explains that Ventec's move to add select equipment lines to their product lineup only adds value for their existing customers and complements existing product lines. 

Elevating Fabrication: Investing in High-tech Equipment, Processes, and Labor

Aidan Salvi is the chief transformation officer for Amitron. As such, he’s visited fabricators in North America, Europe, and Asia in the past few years, and he’s had a ringside seat to the challenges and opportunities facing fabricators around the globe. The I-Connect007 editorial team asked Aidan to share his economic outlook for PCB manufacturing as we head into 2024 and beyond. As he points out, companies are opening their pocketbooks to invest, particularly in high-tech processes.

Anaya Vardya: 2024 and Beyond

I believe that the business outlook for individual companies will depend on their ability to adapt to these challenges, diversify their customer base, and innovate in response to changing market dynamics. That is certainly the way our company is looking at it. How we can manage and adapt to changing economic conditions will factor into how we perform in 2024. I suggest anyone who wants to succeed must do the same.

The Economics of Equipment Selection

Financing capital equipment is certainly a large part of a fabricator’s economic equation. However, the selection of your equipment has a long-term economic impact, especially if you overlook a few critical points. As IPS President and CEO Mike Brask recently explained, the first step in this process is to really understand your technological needs and the flexibility that’s required for your equipment to carry you into the future.

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

The Christmas and New Year’s holidays made for much-appreciated off-time in the U.S. and Europe, but there was still a lot of good industry reading for all to enjoy. From Happy Holden’s influence on our youngest and brightest to the cost of rework, policy challenges ahead for European PCB and PCBA companies, to new faces in the industry—with some bonus R2-D2 thrown in for good measure—these articles are worth a few minutes of your time. Here are my picks from this past week in industry news and feature articles.

Book Excerpt: 'The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... Designing for Reality,' Chapter 2

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Perfection is an unattainable goal. Don’t expect manufacturing to be perfect. There will always be variations from optimum at every step of the manufacturing process. Designers should recognize that variation and physical challenges within the PCB manufacturing process can be exacerbated by their design decisions.

IPC Europe: Raising the Industry Flag of Support

Barry Matties recently visited with Philippe Leonard, senior director for IPC Europe, and Francisco Fourcade, electronics technology standards manager for IPC Europe, about their priorities for IPC and the challenges they face moving into next year. The IPC Europe team has focused on collaboration, cooperation, and perhaps most importantly, educating policymakers on the impending needs of PCB and PCBA companies in Europe.

HDPUG: 30 Years of Collaboration

The High Density Packaging User Group International Inc. (HDP) and IPC have partnered successfully for many years. The groups signed an MOU in 2020 to strengthen this relationship, increase technical collaboration between the groups, and provide a mutual path toward emerging and disruptive high-density interconnect (HDI) technologies. IPC became a member of HDP at that point.

Happy New Year 2024 From I-Connect007

As we bid farewell to a remarkable 2023, let's welcome the New Year with renewed hope and endless possibilities. Though we are taking the day off to spend the holiday with our family and friends, the entire staff at I-Connect007 wishes you a happy and prosperous new year.

I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Most-returned Holiday Gifts

It’s the last Friday of 2023, and a relatively quiet news week here for the industry. Most of our staff has been spending time with family and friends. Still, the news never sleeps, and I encourage you to revisit our websites and see what’s been happening. Now, we all appreciate great gifts, but sometimes they just aren’t what we need—or want. So, in keeping with the holiday spirit, here are the top five most returned gifts.

IPC Asia Connects With Local Companies Like TTM to Improve Workforce Development

Top Chinese students interning with the most influential electronics manufacturers in China through the IPC Asia Talent Development Program are producing stellar results. Tom Edman, president and CEO of TTM Technologies—and an IPC Board member—has provided strong support for the IPC Asia Scholars Program, in particular, during its initial stages.

Laurent Nicolet Has an Eye for Photography

Our industry is filled with those whose intelligence and contributions forward technology and manufacturing processes across the supply chain. Laurent Nicolet has particular expertise in PCB etching, materials, and machinery. He focuses on new technologies and recently introduced the new embedded traces process developed per SCHMID. He is also a skilled photographer with a unique eye for beauty. Laurent has agreed to share his story and photos with our readers.

Pete Starkey’s Five Must-Reads of 2023

I must say, this has been a good year. We were free at last from COVID travel restrictions and obligatory face masks. This means I have been able to get out and about, network with colleagues in the industry, and report on some notable presentations from distinguished technical specialists in Europe. It has been a difficult job choosing a “top five” from such a multiplicity and diversity of high-quality papers, but here’s my selection.

DOD Awards $46.2 Million to Revitalize the U.S. Defense Industrial Base On-Shoring of Advanced Packaging and Assembly

The Department of Defense announced an award of $46.2 million to GreenSource Fabrication LLC (GreenSource) via the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) Program.

Economic Outlook: Joe O’Neil Has More Optimism than Concerns

Joe O’Neil’s background includes operating both printed circuit fabrication and printed circuit assembly companies. In this Q&A with Joe, he explains how, in his current role, he contributes to the strategic initiatives at IPC, including his involvement in developing advanced fabrication technologies demonstration facilities in the U.S.

Holiday Greetings From the Staff at I-Connect007

The staff at I-Connect007 wishes you and your loved ones a happy holiday season. Today is Christmas Day, and we wish all those celebrating this holiday a merry and carefree time.

IPC Chief Economist’s Industry Forecast for 2024

To better understand the current economic situation for electronics manufacturing, we brought in Shawn DuBravac, IPC chief economist, to provide an update with a high level global economic outlook. As you might expect, the seas have been a bit turbulent in the aftermath of the pandemic. Shawn breaks down the headwinds and the tailwinds of an economy in flux, and what it means for you.
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