Latest Articles

A Brief Tutorial on Embedded Capacitors

Compunetics has been operating in the embedded components market for more than 20 years. Initially driven by their parent company’s need for high layer-count, high-density embedded capacitance cards for their OEM product offerings, technology and processes were developed which are mature and reliable.

Book Review: The Inspiration Code—How the Best Leaders Energize People Every Day

Regardless of who you are, what you have done, where you have been, or where you are in your life journey, this book can help you to be inspirational. Not all of us are inspirational by nature; most of us are just regular people who have led regular lives. For the most part, we have done nothing dramatic enough to be inspirational just by our very existence.

Better Together: How HDP User Group Showcases the Industry’s Best Side

HDPUG is a non-profit trade organization comprised of members from top companies in the electronics industry, from materials suppliers and manufacturers, to OEMs and end users. Key activities include collaborating on issues facing multiple industries and bringing people together on projects who might not have met otherwise. Barry Matties met HDPUG’s European representative and project facilitator Alun Morgan at the recent EIPC Summer Conference to learn more about the group and current projects.

14th Electronic Circuits World Convention

The 14th Electronic Circuits World Convention (ECWC14) started in Seoul to the usual fanfare after the opening ceremonies of KPCA 2017. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted by KPCA’s Jung Bong Hong and the representatives of the other WECC members: WECC Secretary General Rex Rozario; Jin Zhangi (CPCA); Alun Morgan (EIPC); Vikram Desai (Electronic Industries Association of India); Canice Chung (Hong Kong PCA); David Bergman (IPC); Kushal Patel (IPCA); Toshifumi Kobayashi (JPCA), and Rich Wu (TPCA).

Happy Holden Second Recipient of I-Connect007 'Good for the Industry' Award

Our second 'Good for the Industry' award has been presented to Happy Holden. After working with Happy for a number of years it is clear to see that he is dedicated to improving the industry. He has a long history in the PCB industry, starting off with HP in the '70s. Not only did he develop HDI, but he then wrote the HDI Handbook, which is provided to readers at no charge.

Embedding Active and Passive Components in Organic PCBs for More Reliability and Miniaturization

Hofmann Leiterplatten GmbH has developed a wide range of products in the last 25 years. New manufacturing know-how has been developed in fabricating organic PCB with embedded devices. A special name, AML (active multilayer), was created to differentiate the surface mount devices (SMD) and the device embedded technology (DET) PCBs. Manufacturing processes that are not typical for standard PCB fabrication shops has been developed.

President Donald Trump Launches Workforce Development Week

Earlier this week President Donald Trump announced “Workforce Development Week.” As such, President Trump spent the last four days promoting job creation and even signed executive order expanding apprenticeship programs.

Mitch Altman Discusses Bringing Youth into the PCB industry

Publisher Barry Matties is joined by Mitch Altman, creator of TV-B-Gone, a device that can turn off TVs in public, and co-founder of Noisebridge, an educational hackerspace based in San Francisco. In this interview, they discuss the importance of bringing youth into the PCB industry and how Noisebridge has inspired people of all ages to get started creating their own electronics.

Global Impact on European PCB Fabrication: EIPC Summer Conference 2017, Day 2

The second day saw the conference room full once more, the late networking session in the bar having resulted in no significant casualties, and I was pleased to accept the invitation to moderate the first session, on processes and materials for flexible PCBs.

Romania’s PCB Design Students Compete at TIE 2017

During the last week in April, the 26th Interconnection Techniques in Electronics (TIE) show was held at the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University in Iasi, Romaina, a wonderful hill town not unlike Rome. The event, a convention for the Romanian electronic packaging community, included a series of actions designed to draw smart young students to the electronics industry, which is clearly growing. Participants had only four hours to create this PCB design, which was generated by a team of professionals from Continental Automotive Romania Timisoara.

Global Impact on European PCB Fabrication: EIPC Summer Conference 2017, Day 1

Electronics industry professionals from 13 countries, mainly from Europe and Scandinavia, others from the USA, but some from as far away as India and Japan, gathered in Meriden, the centre of England, for the EIPC Summer Conference.

Embedded Technology: It’s All Around Us

In the early ‘80s, the PCB company I worked for was testing some of the first material for buried resistors. I can’t recall what customer it was for, or how far along the project got, but over the years it seemed like the technology was slow to be adopted and perhaps ahead of its time.

Walt Custer’s Market Report

At the recent EIPC Conference, Walt Custer delivered his annual report detailing the trends he’s been seeing in the electronics industry for 2016 and into the first quarter of 2017. Barry Matties sat down with Walt to discuss his findings, including his forecast for the upcoming year. Also discussed are Walt’s prognosis for the market segments with the most promise and those that cause him concern.

Industry Knowledge—Preparing the Next Generation

Recruiting and retaining talent is becoming a monumental task in our industry. Look around at trade shows; there is a palpable decrease in the number of young people who are interested in engineering and/or manufacturing. With the advent of the IT age, the prospective workforce has moved on to the next natural step in the technological progression.

A Twist on Printed Electronics: Printing on 3D Shapes

Barry Matties speaks with Optomec’s Pascal Pierra about their LENS printer systems and Aerosol Jet technology, which allows manufacturers to print applications like sensors and antennas on 3D objects. The process is significantly faster and greener than competing technologies.

A Conversation with an Industry Twenty-Something

At a recent SMTA Expo, I met with Matt Hammesfahr, a salesperson with Amitron. Matt is young, by our industry standards—in his midtwenties. Just a few years out of college, Matt holds a business degree and is already a top salesman with the company. Here’s one of those twenty-somethings we keep saying we want to attract to our industry. How did this happen? I had to get the story.

Must Work Well on a Team; CID a Bonus

Throughout my decades-long career in PCB design, I have been fortunate. I’ve only had to search for a job out of desperation once. I had no idea my IPC Certified Interconnect Designer credentials would come in handy when I hit the pavement. It also helped that I am known to "work well on a team." It turns out that being able to play well with others is a real plus in the PCB design community.

How to Find –and Retain– the Right People for the Right Jobs

I sat down recently with Rebecca Brennan, director of human resources, and Aimee Miller, director of corporate communications for Compunetics and Compunetix. I already knew a little bit about their programs, having spent time at Compunetics in past years. I was looking forward to learning more about their methods.

HDP User Group 2017 European Meeting Highlights Technology Progress

The conference facility at the offices of Oracle, in the royal burgh of Linlithgow in West Lothian, Scotland, was the venue for the 2017 European meeting of the High Density Packaging User Group. I was delighted and privileged to be invited once again to sit in on the open session, an intense programme of technical presentations and discussions, project reviews, status updates and new project proposals.

Weiner’s World—May 2017

China’s central bank is effectively anchoring the yuan to the dollar, a policy twist that has helped stabilize the currency in a year of political transition and market jitters about China’s economic management. The yuan weakened more than 6% against the dollar in 2016; this year, it is up roughly 1%, and the expectation that the currency will fluctuate—a gauge known as implied volatility—is around its lowest in nearly two years.

David Dibble on the Hiring Process: Getting the Most From Systems Excellence

If this is the first time you’ve heard the name David Dibble, or his company, Dibble Leaders, then you’re in for a treat. David is one of our industry’s foremost thought leaders when it comes to systems optimization and leadership development. He has worked with many companies, both in our industry and in the medical field. From starting his own PCB company and growing it into a successful firm, David has a record of success.

PCB Design in the Age of IoT

From the early days of printed circuit boards, the electronics industry has made huge strides in board materials, copper printing methods, miniaturization, rigid-flex, ELIC, EDA, and much more. Many of the devices we use in our homes, our vehicles, and in our workplaces would not be possible without this continuous evolution of PCB design and technology. And yet in 2017, we are poised to shift from evolution to revolution, driven by the idea of the Internet of Things.

The Sum of All Parts: Recruiting and Retaining Young Talent

Recruiting and retaining talent is becoming a monumental task in our industry. Look around at trade shows; there is a palpable decrease in the number of young people who are interested in engineering and/or manufacturing. With the advent of the IT age, the prospective workforce has moved on to the next natural step in the technological progression.

Ladle on Manufacturing: Testing Times Ahead

Bare board electrical test: For the most part, it does what it says on the tin. Current CAM software and test hardware means that in theory, it is a pretty simple exercise to make sure that a printed circuit matches the intended design. But are you getting the test you think you are?

Innovator Bob Tarzwell Retires From PCB Industry to Focus on New Career in Art

I have known Bob Tarzwell for more than 18 years, since he first called me looking for some help with his company. His first words to me were, “Hi, my name is Bob Tarzwell and I own a shop in Carleton Place, Ontario. I need your help."
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