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Printed Circuit Boards Have Champions on Capitol Hill

House Resolution 7677 from the 2021/22 Congressional session may have run out of time before the election cycle, but that hasn’t ended the effort to help fund the printed circuit board industry alongside the semiconductor industry. IPC vice president of global government relations, Chris Mitchell, shared this letter, sent to DOD on Wednesday by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Blake Moore (R-UT), which insists DOD must “leverage all available resources, including the use of Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA), to increase domestic production of PCBs and IC substrates.”

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: PCBAA Legislative Update

PCBAA Chairman Travis Kelly and Editor Nolan Johnson discuss the association’s activities, including legislation in the range of $3 to $5 billion that follows the CHIPS Act, and why Congress needs to support the PCB industry as they did the semiconductor segment.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Reduction Assisted Immersion Gold

In this interview, Richard DePoto, business development manager at Uyemura, explains how his company has overcome the challenges presented by world circumstances during the past two years, and discusses developments in specialist metallic finishes to benefit high-frequency and high-reliability applications.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Challenges of New Product Development

John Ekis, market segment director, Aerospace and Defense, Rogers Corporation, discusses with Pete Starkey the importance of close applications engineering relationships in understanding and responding to the requirements and challenges of specialist new product development.

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

We have new projects in the U.S. Army space programs, research on gold thickness and solderability, a call for papers throughout 2023 from SMTA, an investment in Korean facilities by ASM, and an adjustment in TTM’s assignation with the U.S. DoD. All together, these five must-reads represent the hurtling trajectory that R&D seems to be following in 2023.

TTM Technologies Reports Fiscal Q4, 2022 Results

TTM Technologies, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of technology solutions including engineered systems, radio frequency (RF) components and RF microwave/microelectronic assemblies, and printed circuit boards (PCB), reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2022, which ended on January 2, 2023.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Flat Flex Cable a Potentially Disruptive Idea

Managing Editor Andy Shaughnessy and Jason Michaud, VP of sales and marketing for Miraco, discuss the company's flat flex cable, which could replace the flexible circuit in certain situations. Jason explains why the company is happy to offer customers less expensive options, even if it costs them money in the short run.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Latest Trends in High-end Lamination Processes

Ralph Jacobo of all4-PCB discusses consumable products for high-end lamination processes with Pete Starkey. Ralph talks about reusable press pads and release films capable of the high temperatures associated with the bonding of high-frequency materials.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Automotive Electrification

Nolan Johnson talks with Senior Product Manager Chris Nash of Indium Corporation, who discusses Durafuse LT, a novel solder paste mixed alloy system with highly versatile characteristics that enable energy savings, high-reliability, low-temperature, step soldering, and assemblies with large temperature gradients. It also provides superior drop shock performance to conventional low-temperature solders, outclassing BiSn or BiSnAg alloys, and performing better than SAC305 with optimum process setup.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Front-end Automation Solutions

Guest editor Chris Bonsell interviews Anthony Faraci from DIS Inc. about the optical lay-up of multilayers and optical alignment of rigid-flex boards. Over the last few years, DIS has redesigned their product line and introduced a robotic serialized pinless solution. If you were unable to attend IPC APEX EXPO 2023, don't worry. We're bringing you coverage of the week's events in San Diego, from ribbon cutting to teardown.

Why Gold Layer Thickness in ENIG Matters for Soldering

The main task of the final finish is to protect the copper pad from tarnishing or oxidation while simultaneously keeping the surface active for the assembly. Electroless nickel/immersion gold (ENIG) is a widely accepted finish in the market that provides a good solderability and capability for Al-wire bonding. A main function of the gold layer is to prevent the oxidation of the nickel layer.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: EMS Leadership Discussion

Guest editor Geoff Leeds meets with John Vaughan of Summit Interconnect to discuss his participation representing the PCB industry on the supply chain panel at the EMS Leadership Summit and the DoD roundtable, as well as trends he’s seeing in those market segments.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Next-Generation Personnel

Pete Starkey talks with Chris Hrusovsky of International Electronic Components (IEC) about the work they have done with their business partners, Sigma Mecer & ASS-Luippold, and the next generation of personnel within IEC. If you were unable to attend IPC APEX EXPO 2023, don't worry. We're bringing you coverage of the week's events in San Diego, from ribbon cutting to teardown.

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

It’s Feb. 3, 2023—2/3/23—and now we know the results of yesterday’s Groundhog weather forecast straight from Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks of winter. If you’re watching the ongoing ice storms blanketing much of the United States at present, that seems like a safe bet. Also a safe bet is that the most-read news this week is IPC APEX EXPO related. Additionally, this week IPC published its EMS and PCB numbers for December. All told, lots of industry news to read this week.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Wise Continues Expansion With Technica Partnership

Andy Shaughnessy sits down with Massimo Passerini, founder of Wise, and Technica's Jason Perry, to discuss Wise's latest PCB manufacturing automation. They also focus on the company's distributor partnership with Technica, which is moving into the PCB fab market. If you were unable to attend IPC APEX EXPO 2023, don't worry. We're bringing you coverage of the week's events in San Diego, from ribbon cutting to teardown.

The Impact of Chip Packaging

When talking about chip packaging impacts on substrates and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers, the focus mostly lies on large packages and very high I/O, fine pitch components; rightly so in most cases. However, several current packaging trends offer a new path forward to simplification and, thereby, cost reduction in both the printed wiring board (PWB) and EMS supply chains.

Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2023: Coating With Robotic Technology

Paige Fiet sits down with Steve Keller of Taiyo America to discuss the benefits of using robotic technology such as Taiyo Circuit Automation's AT-100 for coating PCBs. If you were unable to attend IPC APEX EXPO 2023, don't worry. We're bringing you coverage of the week's events in San Diego, from ribbon cutting to teardown.

Don't Blink: The IPC APEX EXPO Time-lapse

It’s a tradition here at I-Connect007 to set up a time-lapse for IPC APEX EXPO. There’s something satisfying, mesmerizing even, to watch the show floor build out and see the moment when the doors open and visitors fill the exhibit hall. Based on what others have said over the years, I know I’m not the only one whose favorite part is when the carpet gets rolled out and the whole character of the exhibition changes. This time lapse starts on the Saturday prior and continues through the Thursday tear-down phase.

DFM 101: Final Finishes—Electrolytic Nickel/Gold

One of the biggest challenges facing PCB designers is not understanding the cost drivers in the PCB manufacturing process. This article is the latest in a series that will discuss these cost drivers (from the PCB manufacturer’s perspective) and the design decisions that will impact product reliability.

IPC APEX EXPO Wrap-up

IPC APEX EXPO 2023 is over, and I think it was a successful show no matter how you slice it. There was barely a break in traffic on the show floor on Tuesday and Wednesday, and even on Thursday I saw people sprinting to close one more deal. Some committee meetings had nearly 200 participants; the meetings I sat in on were anything but boring.

NIST Resources for CHIPS Act Participants

At the recent IPC Advanced Packaging Symposium, Dr. Frank W. Gayle, deputy director of the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, an interagency team with core staff hosted at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), gave a presentation on the work NIST has recently undertaken in support of both the semiconductor and R&D sectors, and the CHIPS and Science Act.

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

This week, the IPC APEX EXPO event has cast a long shadow across the news feeds. No, that’s not the right metaphor. No, not a shadow; shadows are dark. It would be more accurate to say IPC APEX EXPO cast a beam of illumination upon the news feeds for the electronics manufacturing industry. To that end, the APEX EXPO news makes a prominent appearance in this week’s editor’s picks.

Advanced Packaging Means Advanced Routing Issues

In today’s ever-shrinking world of electronics designs, the use of BGA parts with very fine pitch features is becoming more prevalent. As these fine-pitch BGAs continue to increase in complexity and user I/O (number of balls), the difficulty of finding escape routes and fan-out patterns increases. Additionally, with the shrinking of silicon geometry leading to both smaller channel length and increased signal integrity issues, some of the traditional BGA escape routing techniques will require a revisit and/or adjustment to allow for not only successful fan-out, but also successful functioning of the circuitry of the BGA design.

Bright Lights, Big City: STEM Event Kicks Off

The San Diego sun was warm and bright on Wednesday afternoon, but it didn’t stop the crowds from filling the aisles at IPC APEX EXPO 2023 for the trade show’s second official day. Technical conferences, professional development courses, and a keynote from IPC President and CEO John W. Mitchell kept attendees busy. But the real highlight of the day was upstairs where approximately 300 high school students from the local San Diego area rode buses to the San Diego Convention Center for a day full of activities meant especially for them.

Everyone Wants Change: Who Wants to Lead the Way?

Nolan Johnson recently met with Alun Morgan, technology ambassador at Ventec, and Ventec COO Mark Goodwin to discusses the industry’s determination to cling to outdated processes and standards, and some potential consequences. To maintain efficiency and keep pace with the market’s newest entries in Asia, Alun and Mark believe that legacy companies in the West must be open to challenging conversations that will require questioning old practices and revising those practices toward sustainability.
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