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

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The youngsters are back in school, and we’re all back to work. The water is back on for most of us in Atlanta; when temps dropped down to 8 degrees Fahrenheit, our pipes started bursting left and right. After a Christmas dinner with no water, I have a new appreciation for H₂O

It’s been a busy week, and we published a variety of articles, columns, and news items. In this week’s top five, we have news about the market in Southeast Asia, a look at what the CHIPS Act really entails, a deep dive into CMMC, and a peek at how printed electronics developers are using flexible circuit concepts to facilitate PEC. We also say goodbye to a Top Gun PCB designer who left us way too soon.

Southeast Asia PCB Industry Report 2023-2032: Sector Set to Grow as Living Standards Increase
Published January 5

Interesting news from Southeast Asia: The standard of living is rising there, and PCB sales are expected to continue to grow. But it’s a mixed bag. Check out the different per capita GDP for Singapore vs. Cambodia. We can expect the PCB industry to keep expanding in Southeast Asia, because these countries have vast labor resources and fairly friendly business environments.

Ventec: Contextualizing the CHIPS Act
Published January 5

There’s been a lot of talk about the CHIPS Act, which Washington hopes will attract investment in semiconductor development and manufacturing to the U.S. But what does this legislation actually mean for the electronics industry? Ventec’s Alun Morgan and Mark Goodwin share their thoughts on the nuts and bolts of this act, and its potential effect on our industry.

PCB Designer Dave Graves Has Passed Away
Published January 3

Sorry to hear about Dave Graves, who passed away just before Christmas as 65. I first met Dave when he won the Top Gun design competition at PCB West 20 years ago. He co-founded UltraCAD and spent years working at Monsoon Solutions. He was a great guy; the industry will miss him.

A CMMC ‘Plan B’
Published January 5

If you’re like me (and who isn’t?), you’ve been wondering about all the hullabaloo regarding CMMC. Well, you’re in luck. Divyash Patel of MX2 Technology has a great article in the newest issue of SMT007 Magazine that explains everything you need to know about the latest developments in Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

Happy’s Tech Talk #15: Printed Electronics Using Flex
Published January 5

I’ve always seen printed electronics and flexible circuits as similar technologies; now it looks like these two love birds may be headed to the altar. In his column, Happy Holden explains how PEC technologists are using flex technology concepts to facilitate new applications. No one doubts PEC’s usefulness, but it seems to have plateaued over time. Will this arranged marriage with flex enable PEC to finally become the disruptive technology that many analysts predicted a decade ago?

03/13/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial Team

Tamara Jovanovic is a design engineer with Happiest Baby, a manufacturer of smart baby beds that alert parents if the infant needs attention and soothes the baby back to sleep. She also recently completed her master’s degree in electrical engineering by studying around her work schedule. Since Tamara has been absorbing new information from the halls of academia and her workplace, we asked for her thoughts on differentiating between tribal knowledge and documented fact. Is tribal knowledge a friend, foe, or a little of both?

03/03/2023 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007

It’s been a busy week in our industry. We have a duke’s mixture of news and columns in this week’s Editor’s Choice, starting off with some good news for the American electronics manufacturing industry. In his State of the Union speech, President Biden signaled his support for the CHIPS Act and the U.S. electronics industry, and he promised that Washington would put its money where its mouth is this time. Is it going to happen? Don’t bet the rent money.

01/20/2023 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 Magazine

We’re in the middle of show season, and it certainly “shows.” Thank you very much. I’m here all week. Don’t forget to tip your wait staff. This week, we published a variety of articles, columns, and news items, and much of it centered on trade shows. Technical Editor Dan Feinberg brings us a report from CES 2023. IPC announced the winners of the Best Technical Paper awards for IPC APEX EXPO 2023. And we have an interview with Altium’s Rea Callender about the company’s educational efforts at APEX and around the globe.