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Major U.S. Holiday Today: Independence Day

Today marks the 247th Independence Day of the United States of America. Also known as the Fourth of July, this day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, as well as the declaration by the Congress that the American colonies are free and independent states.

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

It’s a heady time here in the U.S. between the summer holidays of Memorial Day (last Monday in May) and Independence Day (July 4). This four-week period straddles the Northern solstice, boasts the longest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the high season for outside activities, which may be pulling you away from the office. Am I right? Never fear, I-Connect007 is here to deliver the “must know” news stories.

Are You Still Over-materializing?

During the recent IEEE IMS2023 Exhibition in San Diego, we caught up with James Hofer, general manager of Accurate Circuit Engineering (ACE). The company is a prototype manufacturer of bare printed circuit boards that specializes in high-mix, low volume with an emphasis on RF, microwave, and antennas. A few years ago, we talked to James about the over-materialization of boards. In this recent discussion, we wanted to know if anything has changed regarding materials and approach. James also shares his thoughts on the changes in the design community.

EIPC Summer Conference 2023: Day 2 Review

We had an early start to the second day of the EIPC Summer Conference on Friday, June 16 in Munich. Delegates had returned home safely from the downtown conference dinner and most had successfully avoided late-night networking in the hotel bar. Bright-eyed and attentive, they eagerly awaited the opening session, while casting admiring glances at Alun Morgan who had finally received his baggage and was now splendidly attired in a smart suit, collar and tie.

Isola Changing With the Times

Changing market conditions require changes in approach. I-Connect007’s Barry Matties and Nolan Johnson speak with Isola’s Travis Kelly, Sean Mirshafiei, and Kirk Thompson about Isola’s recent responses to market conditions. In this interview, Kelly, Mirshafiei and Thompson outline recent changes to Isola senior leadership, optimizing manufacturing to meet the needs of the global market, and the strategic importance of advanced packaging to the global economy, and to the U.S., in particular.

Fire Your Hiring Habits

The title of John W. Mitchell’s new book, Fire Your Hiring Habits, says it all. Hiring and retaining talent is an ongoing challenge for our industry that requires unconventional thinking, casting a wider net, and addressing the real issues at hand. John shares his thoughts behind the book and why we need to rethink the entire hiring process.

EIPC Summer Conference 2023: Day 1 Review

Mid-morning on June 15 in Munich, after the conclusion of an informative and thought-provoking keynote session, the EIPC Summer Conference got under way with a series of presentations on Smart manufacturing, introduced and moderated by EIPC board member Dr. Michele Stampanoni, vice president strategic sales and business development at Cicor Group.

EIPC Summer Conference 2023: The Keynote Session

My trips to Munich usually involve my reporting at productronica, which takes place in November, where I’m most often enveloped in the gloom and drizzle of late fall. For EIPC’s recent Summer Conference, it was nice to be in Munich for blue skies, warm sunshine, and longer, brighter evenings. I thoroughly enjoyed being in the Schwabing area, north of the city.

Omron Discusses SPI, AI and More

At the recent SMTA Oregon Tech Forum and Expo, Tim Anderson, a senior account manager at Omron, shares his insights on SPI, the latest trends in the industry, and some solutions to consider. As he points out, the SPI, AOI and AXI systems of today do far more than simply catch defects.

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

June 21 marked the first official day of summer, and it’s the longest day of the year. I’m wearing by best Hawaiian shirt right now. But we’ve been too busy to hit the beach yet. There’s a lot going on in our industry right now. In this week’s Top 5, we have our coverage of the recent SMTA Oregon Expo & Tech Forum, a show that drew a good crowd of technologists.

Mexico and IPC On the Move

There’s a saying that highly successful people have three things in common: motivation, ability, and opportunity. The same can be said for electronics manufacturing and assembly in Mexico: We have the motivation, the ability, and the unique opportunity to take this industry to the next level.

Engagement Begins Before Employment

Employee engagement is a major contributor to an organization’s productivity and results. In fact, it’s crucial for the long-term success of any business. That’s because an employee who is truly engaged tends to be more productive, committed to, and loyal to their employer. They typically bring more discretionary effort to the table and create less risk than their disengaged counterparts. Raise your engagement levels and you’ll tend to produce better results.

It’s a Team Effort: Final Episode in Sustainability Series Out Now

Available on I-007e and Spotify, Episode 6 of I-Connect007’s podcast, On the Line with… features an interview with Siemens’ Jonathan Fromm, product owner in predictive analytics, who introduces us to the “eight R’s” of sustainability. Fromm also draws parallels between the idea of thinking globally and the act of crafting holistic sustainability initiatives.

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

It’s always interesting to see what themes emerge from reader interest in our news coverage over the past seven days. This week, there are two: making plans and Southeast Asia. Our curated list of must-read content includes planning for the following items: new courses from IPC, a new listing on the NYSE, a new manufacturing facility for materials in Southeast Asia, brand-new inspection equipment solutions for SEMICON West, and new air traffic management systems in Indonesia.

An Exclusive Review of the Institute of Circuit Technology’s Annual Symposium

After a long crawl through heavy traffic on the M42 motorway, it was a great relief to exit at Junction 6 and arrive at the National Conference Centre for the 2023 Annual Symposium of the Institute of Circuit Technology on June 6. The conference center is co-located with the historic National Motorcycle Museum and situated in the heart of the UK midlands, a stone’s throw from Birmingham International Airport. The delegates were welcomed by technical director Bill Wilkie.

The Journey to IPC-1791 Validation

How does a company protect its most valuable electronics manufacturing information? How can designs and processes be kept safe? IPC-1791 is an industry-driven and industry-written standard that focuses on protecting two things: controlled unclassified information (CUI) and controlled technical information (CTI)—the information that would be devastating for a company to lose.

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

It’s summertime, but the industry is staying pretty busy. This week, we have news about our industry putting pressure on our elected officials to provide funding for U.S. companies under the CHIPS Act, and a counterfeit parts symposium presented by SMTA in Maryland next month. We also bring you articles about ultra HDI design and material selection, and our most recent On the Line with… podcast with Zac Elliott of Siemens.

Slash Sheets: Don’t Fall Into the Trap

Slash sheets can be confusing, and this is a big topic, so let’s start big and drill down from there. Here’s the big picture regarding slash sheet references: They were designed to provide handy groupings of PCB materials (laminates, polyimides, etc.) that go into a stackup. These groupings are designed around mechanical characteristics to provide insight for PCB fabricators to identify similar laminates with similar properties.

Carol Handwerker Appointed to NIST Advisory Committee

We often hear words and phrases that naturally go together: Salt and pepper, touch and go, trace and space. When it comes to the work of IPC member Carol Handwerker, however, the collocations are much more nuanced, deeper, and have greater significance. You’re more likely to think of phrases such as standards and technology, lead-free and solder, or advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration. These are just some examples of Carol’s lifelong work in materials engineering, involvement with governing bodies, and a forward-thinking approach to electronics manufacturing that has spanned more than three decades.

A Focus on Ultra HDI

John Johnson is relatively new to American Standard Circuits, but definitely not new to the technology. In fact, he was hired to focus on business development for ultra-high-density interconnects. John explains more about the process and where it’s taking ASC.

PFAS: Sounding the Alarm

Man-made chemicals known as PFAS have regulators busy trying to address previous releases and prevent future releases of this chemical into the environment from widespread uses in manufacturing processes and products used across the globe. PFAS chemicals tend to be persistent in the environment and they have been used long enough and in enough applications that their unwanted presence in the environment has public health policymakers concerned.

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

This week has been both speedy and newsy. Of course, those two characteristics often seem to travel as a pair, don’t they? A four-day week here in the United States, accompanied by a wave of high-impact news from a wide variety of sources, would suggest that readers could be expected to spread out all over the news map. Not so much, judging from readership numbers; folks all found their highest value in the same type of news coverage. This week's list of must-reads is dominated by market reports as a result of that focused readership. On our list, we have PCB fabrication and EMS book-to-bill reports, a 10-year market forecast report, and a supply chain sentiment report. In addition, readers flocked to the EWPTE show coverage. Finally, we saw significant reader interest in the most recent podcast on sustainability in our logistical operations.

[Men•tor]: A Wise and Trusted Guide

Christina Trussell of Blue Origin was new to her career and eager to learn. Garry McGuire of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was an established contributor to dozens of IPC standards. After they met at an IPC APEX EXPO Newcomers’ Reception, the two built a strong mentor/mentee relationship. Christina is an Emerging Engineer (EE),and they both have leadership roles on the 7-31FS IPC/WHMA-A-620 Space and Military Electronic Assemblies Addendum Task Group.

Sustainability in Logistics: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Episode 4 of I-Connect007’s new podcast, On the Line with… features an interview with Christian Wendt, marketing and communications department head at Siemens Digital Logistics. Wendt discusses the most obvious area of concern for logistics sustainability: reduction of the carbon footprint.

Memorial Day: A Time for Remembrance

Today is the Memorial Day federal holiday in the United States. Observed on the last Monday in May, the day is set aside to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. The holiday’s roots trace back to remembrance of the soldiers on both sides of the U.S. Civil War.
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