In the spirit of March Madness, the latest issue of I-Connect007 Magazine tackles a full bracket of topics engineers face on real boards, from AI-powered design tools and cumulative tolerances to copper pours, etch factors, flexible circuits, and solder mask details.

We also explore the bigger forces shaping the industry, including U.S. microelectronics manufacturing efforts, new legislation, and the role of UL certification in ensuring reliability.

You’ll meet Emily Daley, the Student Board Member for the Global Electronics Association, who’s helping represent the next generation of industry leaders, and read about Steve Williams’ career journey through the PCB world. We also look at emerging technologies such as ReRAM and novel copper extraction, along with coverage from DesignCon 2026.

Features

• Marcy’s Musings: Our Own March Madness by Marcy LaRont
• When Layout Learns: This Is Not Your Mother’s Auto-router with Ben Jordan
• Make the Smart Move by Stephen V. Chavez
• Understanding Tolerances in Flexible Circuit Design by Chris Clark, FCT
• ASTER and Siemens: Design for Test Gets ‘Real’ with Michael Alum and Patrick Hope
• Don’t Call It Ground; Call It Return by Kristin Moyer

Articles

• From Classroom to Boardroom: One Year Yields a World of Perspective with Emily Daley
• New, Greener Solutions for Etch: Novel Copper Extraction by Richard Nichols
• Webinar Review: The Challenges of UL Certification for Flex and Rigid-Flex PCBs by Marcy LaRont
• Applications, Challenges, and the Future of Flex–Packaging Integration, Part 2 by Anaya Vardya
• DesignCon 2026: From Copper to Quantum to Agentic AI by Kelly Dack
• The Electronics Foundation with Charlene Gunter and Gentry Manning
• The Power of Apprenticeship with Cory Blaylock and Vicki Hawkins

Columns

• The Chemical Connection: Managing Cumulative Process Variations for Fun and Profit by Don Ball
• Happy’s Tech Talk #47: Automation for Complex Multilayer Fabrication Stackups by Happy Holden
• American Made Advocacy: American Microelectronics Power the Future of High Technology by Shane Whiteside
• Flexible Thinking: Designing Flex Circuits for Dynamic Reliability by Joe Fjelstad
• Connect the Dots: Designing for the Future of Manufacturing Reality—Solder Mask and Legend by Matt Stevenson
• Target Condition: An Exploration of Flooding PCB Layers by Kelly Dack
• Designers Notebook: Heterogeneous Interposer Design Challenge, Part 3 by Vern Solberg
• Beyond Design: ReRAM–The Industry's Next Game-Changer by Barry Olney
• The Right Approach: Reflections on 50 Years in the Business, Part 3 By Steve Williams

This month, I-Connect007 Magazine takes you inside APEX EXPO 2026, highlighting exhibitors and special events on the show floor, insights from the technical conference, updates on apprenticeships and keynotes, and progress in critical standards development. For PCB designers, we go beyond the dreaded auto-router, diving into practical AI-driven design tools that are actually shaping real-world workflows.

Design and fabrication have always been closely connected, but the rising demands for reliability, performance, and cost efficiency now require a closer alignment than ever before. The new I-Connect007 Magazine brings all of the pieces together for a more integrated electronics manufacturing landscape.