Feeling the Supply Chain Squeeze

Nolan Johnson speaks with Joe D’Ambrisi of MacDermid Alpha to gain insight into what he’s seeing in the market from his perspective as a specialty chemicals and materials provider.

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

Trade show season is around the corner, and we’re talking about real, in-person trade shows. The virtual shows served their purpose, and we may see more virtual shows in tandem with live events, but I’ll be glad to get back on the show floor and see what’s “really” going on out there. It's great to see IPC’s hand soldering competitions returning to Europe this fall.

Catching Up With Prototron’s Kim O’Neil

I recently sat down with industry veteran and friend Kim O’Neil to get to know more about his story. From his time his two tours in Vietnam, to his time in our industry, Kim has always been a solid contributor wherever he has served. Having known and worked with Kim for a number of years I knew that his was an interesting story that should be told.

Averatek Pushing Boundaries of Additive and Semi-Additive Processes

At the IEEE International Microwave Symposium show in Atlanta, I met with Tara Dunn, I-Connect007 columnist and VP of marketing and business development for Averatek. We sat down at the show and discussed the past year and a half, and after joking about how we felt like we were on an episode of The Twilight Zone, Tara gave me an update on Averatek’s continuing research into additive and semi-additive technologies.

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

This may be a global industry, but the effect is very real: holidays in the U.S. will drive the industry news cycle. In fact, I can even (unscientifically) rank the major U.S. holidays by their silencing effect on the news. Christmas leads the way, of course, followed by New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. Here's a wrap-up of the biggest stories of the past week, starting before Independence Day weekend.

Catching Up With Archer Circuits’ Echo Yang

I was thrilled when Echo Yang called to talk about her company, Archer Circuits. And the more she talked, the more I liked her story. Echo is a 37-year-old woman who started her own trading company. She is well-educated, well-trained, and well-spoken; she is filled with ambition and passion for what she does. You are going to find her story and the story of her company as interesting as I have. Enjoy.

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

Optimism is on the rise. This week, we saw signs of increased confidence in the PCB industry, but this was tempered by the realities of supply chain issues and 50-week lead times for some components. We saw some M&A activity and a bit of really interesting news from Stanford University about flex. Cherie Litson brought us a story of her life in PCB design, against a backdrop of Star Trek. IPC also announced an introductory PCB design class. Isn’t it nice to have new designers again?

Meet Luca Gautero, New PCB007 Columnist

We are pleased to announce the latest addition to our team of expert columnists, Dr. Luca Gautero. In his column each month, Dr. Gautero will cover inkjet application for solder mask from a variety of angles. His technical perspective will address maintenance, material challenges, and patterning capabilities. Social responsibility and cost effectiveness will also be illustrated.

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

This week, Nolan Johnson's top five includes two popular press releases on equipment purchases, plus a case study that details another company’s ROI from new equipment. We also bring you Pete Starkey’s latest EIPC webinar writeup, and a bit of historical controversy from Clyde Coombs.

Catching up With Siber Circuits

Siber Circuits is a Canada-based PCB fabricator doing most of its business in the U.S. and often with defense contractors, proving against the odds that it can be done. I spoke with the owner and president, Simon Etherington, about his company and why his long-time customers love working with them.

Hewlett-Packard’s Adoption—and Controversy—of Plated Through-Holes

I believe that it is instructive to remember just how close Hewlett-Packard—and likely the entire industry—came to adopting eyelets instead of plated through-holes in the early 1960s. That there was ever a controversy over the use of plated through-holes as an acceptable printed circuit interconnection process seems almost impossible to consider, let alone take seriously today. But in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the PTH was not just a controversial idea; serious product designers considered eyelets a preferred technology.

EIPC Technical Snapshot Review: Microvia Reliability Issues

Since the mid-1990s, when they were developed for mass production in the mobile phone industry, microvias have become principal enablers for high-density designs, and have evolved from single-level to complex stacked and staggered structures. They are fundamentally robust interconnects, although some aspects of their reliability are still under investigation.

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

It’s summertime here in Atlanta. The masks are gone, and my Hawaiian shirts are back in rotation! It feels like we’re getting back to normal. Speaking of normal, it looks like DesignCon, PCB West, SMTA International, and IPC APEX EXPO are good to go; they’re set to be live, in-person events, just like in the “olden days” of early 2020.

ICAPE Group Offers Boots on the Ground Support in Asia

Nolan Johnson speaks with Roger Harts about some of the current complications around manufacturing electronics in China and how ICAPE Group works as a vital supplier partner to OEMs and companies hoping to manufacture in Asia.

Defining Operational Excellence

Nolan Johnson talks with Todd Brassard, VP/COO at Calumet Electronics. They start by discussing the definition of operational excellence, followed by its key components. Then Todd shares a helpful book and AS standard that have become the foundation for Calumet’s operational excellence.

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

This week’s can’t miss news items touch all the bases—unlike Pittsburgh Pirates Rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes, who didn’t touch all the bases on Tuesday night’s game, and had his home run revoked.

ExpressPCB Plus 3.0 Adds Functionality, SnapEDA Integration

ExpressPCB has recently released version 3.0 of its ExpressPCB and Express PCB Plus PCB design tools. The I-Connect007 Editorial Team recently spoke with Michael Hebda, product manager for ExpressPCB. He offered a walk-through of the new Plus version 3.0 and explained how the new enhancements enable PCB designers to potentially cut hours or days off their design cycle.

ICT Webinar Review: Recyclable PCBs, and More

Another excellent technical webinar on June 1, introduced and moderated by ICT Chair Emma Hudson, provided updates on developments in recyclable PCBs, innovations in transparent flexible displays, and X-ray fluorescence techniques for the determination of the thickness and composition of metal coatings.

Catching up With Kusu’s Pascal Delloue

There are other countries in Asia besides China and Pascal Delloue intends to promote them. He has many years of experience in the global marketplace and his new company, Kusu Corporation, is poised to introduce SE Asian companies and the electronics products they can provide for the rest of the world. I have to say this is an interview like no other I have ever conducted. Read on and you’ll see what I mean.

Increasing Productivity Through Training

Too often when we think of training our manufacturing workforce, we focus on the shop floor. We look for opportunities mainly with those who are doing the making. We need to cast a wider gaze as the manufacturing process is not limited to the manufacturing floor. Quality, engineering, sales and marketing, logistics, and even accounting/finance are all part of the process that starts with a business plan and culminates with your trinket in the hands of your happy customer. All departments make up that “well-oiled machine.”

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

In case you’ve been on the beach with an umbrella drink in your hand, in industry news we saw the soft opening of a new laminate facility and more M&A activity in the PCB fab segment. And we ran some really great content from our contributors, with articles on how to save your company money and how to save yourself time in the design cycle. Plus, Editor Nolan Johnson channels his inner John Updike with his review of one of the most popular manufacturing strategy books ever, three decades after its publication.

Alex Stepinski on Zero-Waste Facilities

After spending countless hours on airplanes to visit factories and suppliers all around the world, Alex began building the new “zero-waste” captive facility. After only a few years of operation, the factory was a clear success—so much so that the decision was made to upgrade the facility to produce leading-edge boards. This was the birth of GreenSource Engineering. It was decided that the new iteration would be more than a captive facility, it would also be a merchant shop.

Catching Up With Dick Saporito: A New Way for PCB Shops to Save Money

If your company's money woes have got you down, Dan Beaulieu's interview with Dick Saporito may lift your spirits. He uses his long-time career in PCB fab to help all types of companies save money. Could yours be next?

A Review of ‘World-Class Manufacturing’

"World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied" by Richard J. Schonberger was published in 1986 as part of the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) vanguard of the time. And yet, a careful read shows that even though many processes have changed, there are fundamental thought patterns that persist in electronics manufacturing.

IPC Committees as an Emerging Engineer

We are extremely fortunate to have some of the industry leaders participating in our committees. We also try to make the documents easier to understand with simple wording, so it’s easier to be translated and used globally.

EIPC Technical Snapshot Webinar: Aspects of Additive Manufacturing

EIPC Technical Snapshots have become a monthly highlight, eagerly anticipated, enthusiastically supported, and with consistently outstanding quality of content. Introduced and moderated by EIPC board member Martyn Gaudion, managing director at Polar Instruments, the eighth in the series on May 19 featured a well-balanced selection of presentations with the collective focus of additive manufacturing in the electronics industry.

Why You Should Get Involved in IPC Standards Development

From a business perspective, involvement in IPC standards is incredibly important. Usage of IPC’s globally accepted standards creates a level playing field in the electronics supply chain. The playing field, however, is only as level as the participants who are involved in the development of a standard.

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

Summer is almost upon us. But it doesn’t look like there’s much of a summer vacation afoot for this industry. In the past week, we saw lots of traction with our coverage of everything from M&A activity and the supply chain shortage to challenges facing PCB designers, Spanish language training courses, and designing for semi-additive processes.

IPC: Driving Our Industry for 64 Years

I have participated in many areas of IPC for several years, particularly the Government Relations Committee and the Suppliers Council. Now, there are many IPC committees, and most of them are focused on standards. Many IPC members take part in the committees—after all, electronic design and manufacturing standards is one of the key reasons IPC was founded. The results of the committees’ efforts represent a significant part of the value the IPC has contributed to the industry since it was founded in 1957.

Operational Excellence from a Design Services Manager

Jesse Vaughan discusses the key aspects of continuous improvement he sees in his role as manager of design services at ACDi, and the importance of carving out communication channels—both internally and externally to help build operational excellence.

Joe D’Ambrisi Discusses MacDermid Alpha's Acquisition of HK Wentworth

Element Solutions’ Executive Vice President Joe D’Ambrisi speaks with Nolan Johnson about MacDermid Alpha's recent acquisition of HK Wentworth. Joe shares some details on the transaction and outlines the expected benefits that come from bringing these two companies together.

Catching Up With Gardien’s Niraj Patel

I have always been fascinated by this company, especially two particular services they offer. First, they embed their team into a facility and actually take over as the PCB company’s expert test center; second, they have a universal quality system to track problems and solutions from all over the world and then keep them in a universal database that can be shared by everyone. These are two services everyone in our business needs to know about, which is why I recently reached out to Niraj Patel, Gardien’s vice president in charge of North America.

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

Finally, it’s May. The snow has melted, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and summer is just around the corner. We’re slowly getting back to normal after the craziest year I can remember. And our industry is on the move! This week, we bring you a veritable seafood platter of articles and columns about PCB design, fabrication, and assembly.

Arlon President Discusses Acquisition by EMC

Arlon President Brad Foster updates Nolan Johnson on EMC’s acquisition of Arlon in December 2020. Foster shares the basic structure of the agreement, the long-term stability built into the merger, and outlines how this brings EMC, Arlon and Technica together as a team. Foster also hints at what we can expect to see from Arlon and EMC in the coming months.

An Inside Look at the IPC Committee Process

As IPC committee meetings were in full effect at this year’s APEX EXPO, Nolan Johnson and Barry Matties have a discussion with many of IPC’s directors and program managers—Teresa Rowe, Chris Jorgensen, Deb Obitz, John Perry, Andres Ojalill, and Patrick Crawford—to gain a better understanding of how committees work.

Show & Tell Magazine Now Available on Demand

IPC APEX EXPO 2021 is in the history books now. But as the paperboys used to say in the 1930s, you can still “read all about it” in Real Time With… IPC APEX EXPO 2021 Show & Tell Magazine! It’s all right here in one convenient publication: interviews with award winners, coverage of keynote speeches, show notes from our technical staff, thoughts from IPC Emerging Engineers, and much more

Exciting Advances From NVIDIA’s GPU

NVIDIA’s Graphics Processing Technology Conference was, as expected, a showcase of new developments, as well as an opportunity for engineers and developers to learn, enhance skills, and discuss new ideas. Just hearing about all the amazing new developments and the accelerating expansion of AI in virtually all aspects of modern society gives those who attended a better idea of just how much AI is and will continue to change their work and our world.

DFM 101: PCB Materials

One of the biggest challenges facing PCB designers is understanding the cost drivers in the PCB manufacturing process. This article is the first in a series that will discuss these cost drivers (from the PCB manufacturer’s perspective) and the design decisions that will impact product reliability.

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

This week’s biggest news came in the form of industry briefings—there were a lot of them and the news was universally positive. The news you need to read for this week includes three reports from IPC detailing: the strength and risks in the global economic recovery; a strong EMS book-to-bill ratio; and strong North American PCB sales. Zeroing in on a single company, Apple reported a significant jump in revenue.

Why We Simulate

When Bill Hargin was cutting his teeth in high-speed PCB design some 25 years ago, speeds were slow, layer counts were low, dielectric constants and loss tangents were high, design margins were wide, copper roughness didn’t matter, and glass-weave styles didn’t matter. Dielectrics were called “FR-4” and their properties didn’t matter much. A fast PCI bus operated at just 66 MHz. Times have certainly changed.

Benchmarking Your Process Engineering

Mark Thompson has been in bare board fabrication for over 30 years. He is now laying out printed circuit boards at Monsoon Solutions, a high-tech design bureau near Seattle, Washington. With Mark’s extensive hands-on knowledge of PCB manufacturing, he brings a unique perspective to PCB design. In this discussion with the I-Connect007 editorial team, Mark shares what’s important from a process engineer’s point of view, and how to stay on top of evaluating and benchmarking your manufacturing process, along with insights from his new role as a designer.

EIPC Technical Snapshot: Supply Chain and Material Price Pressures

EIPC’s seventh Technical Snapshot webinar on April 14 was timely and appropriate. In the context of current supply chain issues and material price pressures facing the PCB industry, particularly in Europe, the EIPC team brought together an outstanding group of experts—each a leading authority in his field—to analyse and comment upon the areas of concern and to respond to questions raised by a capacity audience. As Alun Morgan said, “If you don’t use the European supply chain, you won’t have it anymore!”

Isola Releases IS550H Material

Nolan Johnson speaks with Michael Gay of Isola and Chris Hunrath of Insulectro about the release of their new halogen-free, high-thermal reliability material, which they hope fills the gap in the market between epoxies and polyimides.

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

This week, we bring you a wide swath of news, columns, and articles from the past week. Altium announced a new cloud platform that connects design stakeholders with users of its Altium 365 environment. Cadence Design Systems has acquired a company that develops computational fluid dynamics technology to help expand its system analysis offerings.

I-Connect007 'Just Ask' Q&A Compilation Available Now

Throughout 2020, we asked you to send us your questions for Happy Holden, John Mitchell, Joe Fjelstad, Tara Dunn, and Heidi Barnes. You all had plenty of questions for these industry experts. The following is a handy compilation of your questions and their answers.

Driving Down Cost with Process Engineering

Nolan Johnson, Barry Matties, and Happy Holden speak with Matt Mack, process engineer at ICM Controls. Matt shares a day in the life of a process engineer, along with how he approaches continuous improvement and planning for the future on the floor.

Time, Space, Structure, and Model Analysis of CCL Price Increase

According to the CCL Association, copper foil accounts for the largest proportion of raw materials (traditional CCL uses epoxy resin, glass fiber cloth and copper as raw materials). Copper foil in thin plate accounts for about 30% of the overall cost; in thick plate copper accounts for 50%. In CCL production, using Shengyi Technology and Chaohua Technology as examples, the cost of raw materials accounts for about 88% of the total cost, with labor accounting for about 4%. Other costs such as equipment depreciation account for about 8%.

A New Captive PCB Facility in the U.S.

Diane Maceri and Jessi Hall discuss how Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) has been working with Alex Stepinski of GreenSource Fabrication to build their own captive PCB facility in Moscow, Idaho; the thought process behind that decision; and their involvement in the Managers Forum at IPC APEX EXPO 2021.

IBM Awarded Best Technical Paper at IPC APEX EXPO 2021

Nolan Johnson and Happy Holden speak with Sarah Czaplewski, whose team at IBM won the Best Technical Paper award at this year’s IPC APEX for “Signal Integrity, Reliability, and Cost Evaluation of PCB Interlayer Crosstalk Reduction.”

A Show Full of Opportunities

Looking back to my notes from IPC APEX 2020, I noticed one of my comments: There were so many interesting sessions that I often found myself in the position of choosing between several that I wanted to attend in the same timeslot. This year was not any different in that regard. I am purposely glossing over the fact that I, like many of my friends, missed the camaraderie and opportunity to catch up in person while attending these technical sessions, and I look forward to being able to do that next year.

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

I’m sure it’s just me being hyperaware, but I can’t shake it: Mars is where it’s at right now. Is it just me, or do you get the same feeling from the news? There are the Mars rovers—three generations of them still rolling, now—and a drone helicopter winding up for a maiden flight any day now. But that’s not all. There’s SpaceX’s StarShip, rapid-prototyping its way into a manned flight to Mars. And NASA’s whole “return to the Moon” project is simply a shakedown for the U.S. government contractors’ Mars flight hardware, too.

Top Five Takeaways from IPC APEX EXPO 2021

IPC APEX EXPO 2021, which went all virtual this year, exemplified how the electronics industry has responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic: with resiliency, agility, and an unwavering commitment to build electronics better. APEX EXPO featured great content and robust discussions on topics of critical importance to the global electronics industry. From my vantage point leading IPC’s government relations programs, here are my top five takeaways from this year’s event.

Excerpt—The Printed Circuit Assembler’s Guide to... SMT Inspection: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond, Chapter 2

A limitation of many 3D optical inspection systems is the cycle time typically associated with processing millions of pixels to reconstruct a full 3D image using data captured from multiple channels. There should not be a compromise between 3D inspection and throughput. A successful inspection deployment should provide oversight for the process, not compromise, interrupt or slow that process.

Highlights on a Rousing Virtual IPC APEX EXPO 2021

What a week that was! I didn’t get to endure the 11-hour flight each way, neither did I need my comfy old shoes, but it certainly was a marathon event. And real-time-plus-six-hours gave me a few late nights, but it was such a meaningful experience, and well worth the effort!

The Future Is Electric

Worldwide research and development of the automotive industry began as early as the 17th century and since then has taken several different design paths, with each country forging its own innovative trail and hundreds of prototypes emerging into the market. Vehicles—with steam-powered, electric, and combustion engines—began to play a major role, not only in the Industrial Revolution, but in everyday life. Although many believe that electric vehicles (EVs) are relatively new to the market, they have actually been around since 1832.

My Thoughts From the Virtual Show

Gosh, I sure missed the live event! I listened in on several technical sessions, the awards ceremony, the keynotes, and the Hall of Fame management session. I tried a couple of professional development courses but got the frownie face on my screen and didn’t go back in. I have almost 90 days(!) to browse them to my heart’s content, so what the heck. There were good points and a few not so good things about this first ever virtual conference. You probably experienced some yourself.

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

In this week’s roundup, we have news about a new DFM environment from Siemens EDA, a 2D field solver from Avishtech, and a milestone for the IPC-CFX-2591 QPL. We also have a great article by Calumet’s Audra Thurston, who points out the many advantages of a virtual trade show. And in his latest column, Denny Fritz explains why the DoD is now thinking like many U.S. OEMs—worrying about single-source components, for instance—but the stakes are much higher.

Polar Instruments Driven by Customer Demand

Andy Shaughnessy recently spoke with Geoffrey Hazelett, vice president of sales for Polar Instruments, about the virtual IPC APEX EXPO and the eventual return of live trade shows and conferences. They also discussed some of the company’s newest releases, many of which came about through customer demand.

Technical Conference—Balancing Conventional and Disruptive Technologies

I thought the three keynotes given by IPC President and CEO John Mitchell, Industry Week Editor-in-Chief Travis Hessman, and IPC Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac, were spot on. They all spoke to the fact that the way products are conceived, designed, manufactured, and used is changing rapidly. While the keynotes had different focus areas, I noted an important similarity—they all underscored the need for increased industry collaboration to help bring the factory and supply chain of the future to life.

Book Review: Important Advice on a Well-Balanced Life

Dr. Andrew Temte writes, “Discussing a philosophy for balanced work is really discussing a philosophy for a balanced life.” For me, this is really the true value of his new book, Balancing Act: Teach Coach Mentor Inspire. I love any book that talks about a holistic view to work as included in the entire balanced view of life.

Rising Star Award Winner: Radu Diaconescu

Last year’s IPC APEX EXPO, which took place in sunny San Diego, seems to have taken place in a different world. This was a world where talks were held in front of a large crowd, not a monitor, and travelling to the other side of the world wasn’t considered a reckless risk. By February 2020, however, we were starting to grasp the seriousness of the situation. Back then, there were a lot of things that we didn’t know, and more importantly, there were a lot of things that we had no clue that we didn’t know. The concept of “knowing what you don’t know” or figuring out the areas where one lacks knowledge is probably as important as acquiring the knowledge itself.

Emerging Engineers: Audra Thurston

To be honest: I was skeptical when I first heard IPC APEX EXPO 2021 was going to be virtual. We have all attended too many Zoom meetings that are not engaging, and it is easy for virtual events to fall into this stereotype. However, after attending this one I am a full supporter of the virtual format and hope the IPC considers a hybrid format for future conferences!

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

The Top 5 is labeled as “editor’s choice,” which is a good thing this week because if I were limited to just posting the five most viewed news items, this week’s list would be full of our own coverage for IPC APEX EXPO. Judging from the metrics, that content has been extremely popular.

Rooting Out an 'Us vs. Them' Mentality: An Interview with Laura Kriska

Earlier this year, I-Connect007 columnist Dan Beaulieu submitted a book review on "The Business of WE: The Proven Three-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace." As a follow up to that review, Dan has interviewed the book's author, Laura Kriska.

IPC Supporting Newcomers in the Industry: Notes from IPC APEX EXPO 2021

With the wrap-up of IPC APEX EXPO 2021, it was extremely gratifying to note the emphasis placed on getting young people involved to combat the “graying out” knowledge losses facing our industry. A part of that emphasis was reflected in the award ceremony on Tuesday, March 9, which featured some people you may have seen mentioned in my “Better to Light a Candle” columns.

Emerging Engineer: Jesse Vaughan

Jesse Vaughan, a member of the IPC Emerging Engineer program, discusses some of the takeaways from this year's virtual IPC APEX EXPO.

PCB Sourcing Using PCQR2

In a global market, it is often difficult to determine the best PCB suppliers for your technology needs, while also achieving the lowest costs for your products. Considering each PCB supplier has their own niche in terms of equipment, process, and performance, uniform test data from the IPC-9151D Process Capability, Quality, and Relative Reliability (PCQR2) Benchmark Test Standard can help find the right source for the board based on its specific technology requirements.

After Decades of E-Textiles Work, a Rising Star Award

After decades of work in my field, I was awarded the Rising Star award during IPC APEX EXPO 2021. I would like to thank my research team, all the colleagues from the D-75A-EU E-Textiles Wearables Standard Task Group in Europe, Chris Jorgensen from IPC, and Sigrid Rotzler, the Task Group vice-chair. Last but not least, I would like to express my thanks to IPC CEO John Mitchell for this award.

Bringing New Talent To Our Industry

Joe O’Neil, chairman of the IPC Education Foundation, talks about the panel discussion with young engineers and how the education foundation is working to attract new students into our industry. This effort provides resources to educators and helps young engineers advance their careers.

Happy’s Play-by-Play of IPC APEX EXPO

This was the first time IPC had a virtual APEX EXPO. It went well, but I missed seeing everyone. On the other hand, all this material being available for 90 days certainly allows it to fit anyone’s schedule. I spent all week intently listening to the presentations.

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

This week, we have a round-up of stories from around the industry, including a Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO interview with Ventec, an article by Tamara Jovanovic about eliminating “garbage in, garbage out,” a review of an EIPC webinar by Pete Starkey, and news about another trade show going virtual this summer. And last but certainly not least, we bring you our one-minute video salute to all the fantastic people in this industry who we’ve worked with for decades. Enjoy!

EIPC Technical Snapshot: 5G and Loss Minimisation

Bringing a specialised technical area into sharp focus, this month’s topic was “5G and the understanding of loss minimisation at the PCB level,” with papers on dielectric material, copper foil, and modelling solutions. The webinar was moderated by EIPC board member Paul Waldner managing director of Multiline International Europa, who admitted that he had managed to get a haircut especially for the occasion!

Averatek Offers Updates on ASAP Progress and Online Resource Site

Averatek’s Mike Vinson and Tara Dunn provide an update on Averatek’s ASAP progress. Mike shares the results from his presentation on reliability and signal integrity, while Tara details the newly announced ASAP Community of Interest web resource site.

ASC Focused on Increasing Product Densification

Anaya Vardya discusses the new and upcoming processes and technologies that ASC is developing to increase product densification, as well as how they are connecting with their customer base through webinars and publishing eBooks.

Achieving Growth in a Difficult Year: The Benefits of Global Supply Chain Management

Jack Pattie, president of Ventec USA, discusses the growth of the business, the strengthening of the operation, quality system accreditations, the advantages of building close working relationships with OEMs, and how a well-managed global supply chain has overcome some of the challenges and frustrations encountered during the past year.