The Direction of New Technology

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I don’t have to tell you that things are changing fast in our industry. New tech seems to launch daily these days. How can we keep up? How can we even maintain? What’s coming next and how can we best prepare, in order to stay in the game?

Fundamentally, what does all this gadgetry rely on at its core? Obviously, PCBs in one form or another. Faster, smaller, finer features for more memory, more capability, more, more, more—all of which affects us when making PCBs. Remember when 5 mil lines and spaces were the latest?

When laser imaging was barely imaginable? Yeah, those memories are long gone. But that’s what we all love and what keeps us going in this industry: the challenge to make it happen, to make that incredibly complicated board that two years ago you would have thought impossible.

We’re talking new technology this month, to help you understand the ever-increasing, ever-more complicated requirements from your customers. Read about some of the latest here and remember: You can do it!

Our first article this month is by that guru of the latest in electronics tech, Dan Feinberg. You probably read his recent articles on the CES show, where his enthusiasm for all things techie comes shining through. This month, he focuses on disruptive technology—the latest, the greatest, and how quickly they are appearing.

If you have been paying attention and reading our magazines, you’ve heard of Alex Stepinski and Whelen Engineering. For nearly two years we’ve been keeping you updated on this fully-automated, green, captive PCB facility.

Now it has been spun off, going commercial, and a vast upgrade to the latest in manufacturing technology is underway. In an interview, Alex discusses the latest innovations for GreenSource, with several people from one of his prime suppliers of both chemistry and equipment—Atotech.

To read the full version of this article which originally appeared in the March 2018 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.

05/09/2023 | Chris Mitchell, IPC Vice President of Global Government Relations

IPC-1791, Trusted Electronic Designer, Fabricator and Assembler Requirements, is an electronics standard developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and industry to address some of today’s greatest risks to a trusted supply chain. The standard provides traceability and helps protect against counterfeits. In fact, IPC-1791 was specifically cited in the U.S. Department of Commerce response to Executive Order 14017-Securing America’s Supply Chains.

05/05/2023 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 Magazine

You’ve decided to revamp your process for onboarding new hires, but where do you start? How do you create a thorough onboarding system that allows each new hire to become a happy, long-term employee? I asked Mike Hoyt, IPC’s training advisor, to discuss the organization’s onboarding program, the hiring issues facing companies in the PCB space, and the best way to get aboard a new onboarding process.

04/27/2023 | Chris Wall, technical director, Electra Polymers

Ever since liquid photoimageable solder masks (LPISMs) were introduced, their UV exposure speed has been a key factor in their performance. The LPISM is coated onto the PCB, dried, and then selectively exposed with UV light via a phototool, or more recently, via direct imaging using LED or lasers. The exposed areas polymerise and become insoluble in the developing solution. The polymerisation is initiated by one or more chemicals called photoinitiators, which are components of the LPISM.