I-Connect007 Editor's Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
November 6, 2020 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
This past week, we published a variety of articles, interviews, and columns—and readers definitely made their favorites known. There was good news about hiring and staffing. (In case you were wondering, there are quite a few open positions in this industry right now.) We touched base with a pair of young engineers to get their thoughts on what it’s like for recent grads working in the PCB manufacturing community.
We learned about a company’s new program that can help take some of the stress out of NPI. We also launched a new chapter in our “Just Ask” series, this time starring columnist Tara Dunn. And there was sad news that a contract manufacturer’s chairman had just passed away.
Next week, Nolan Johnson will bring you his editor’s picks.
Survey Results: ‘Are You Currently Hiring?’
Published November 4
There’s still plenty of uncertainty in the world—we Americans don’t even know who our next president is yet, but our industry is doing well. According to our recent survey, many of your companies are hiring quite a bit. A lot of good things have been happening in PCB design and manufacturing this year, and it’s clear that we’re going to need to ramp up our hiring game for 2021. This article by Michelle Te drew quite a few readers this week.
Just Ask Tara Dunn: What’s Next for LCP Materials?
Published November 5
Our “Just Ask” series has a new face—Tara Dunn, president of Omni PCB and a Flex007 columnist. Tara focuses on flex and rigid-flex technologies, as well as additive processes and cool, cutting-edge laminates. Her first question in this series addresses the growth of liquid crystal polymer. Do you think LCP will ever replace polyimide as the flex substrate of choice? “Just Ask” remains one of our more popular features.
Cicor Mourns Death of Chairman Heinrich J. Essing
Published November 2
Heinrich J. Essing, chairman of the board of directors for Cicor Technologies, passed away unexpectedly this week. The Swiss provider of flex and rigid circuit board manufacturing and assembly services announced that the vice-chair would assume his duties temporarily. Essing had been on the board since 2009. Essing continued working after retirement age and was “an extremely loyal and committed chairman and a highly esteemed person.”
Foundations of the Future: Inspirational Career Paths—Meet Tayler and Olivia
Published November 3
In this column, IPC’s Charlene Gunter du Plessis interviews two upcoming young engineers: Tayler Swanson and Olivia Lim. They discuss the highlights of their careers so far and offer advice for other young people considering a career in technology. We need many more young technologists like them; IPC’s Emerging Engineer Program is one organization that’s dedicated to mentoring recent engineering graduates.
PCB Technologies Focuses on an All-in-One Solution
Published November 3
Launching a new product is always a stressful event, especially having to manage the information flowing between designers, fabricators, and assembly providers. In this interview, Arik Einhorn of PCB Technologies discusses his company’s “All-in-One” solution, which takes away much of the NPI customer’s worries by managing the entire process, from PCB design through PCBA—all through a single point of contact at his company. This was another one of our more popular articles.
Suggested Items
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Innovative Lamination Technology
05/07/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOKevin Barrett of Insulectro and Victor Lazaro of Indubond discuss their companies' partnership, focusing on Indubond's innovative lamination technology that uses induction heating. They discuss the advantages of this technology over traditional methods, its benefits to customers, and the crucial role of automation in manufacturing.
Nolan’s Notes: Coming to Terms With AI
05/07/2024 | Nolan Johnson -- Column: Nolan's NotesHow fast do things move in the world of data analytics? Here’s an example. We’ve been planning this issue on artificial intelligence for the past few months, and, in fact, I had already written this column about a month ago. Then I went to IPC APEX EXPO and upended it all. I originally had compared AI to drag racing in that (CPU) horsepower and new (data) vehicles have steadily delivered higher performance competition. That seemed pretty accurate given how generative AI models dominated the popular media with amazing results—and sometimes spectacular crashes.
DDM Novastar Unveils Affordable NovaPlace Automatic Pick and Place Systems
05/06/2024 | DDM Novastar Inc.DDM Novastar, a prominent U.S. manufacturer specializing in SMT and PCB assembly equipment, proudly announces the recent launch of their NovaPlace Pick & Place systems. This new line introduces entry-level yet high-performance pick and place machines.
May Issue of SMT007 Magazine: Coming to Terms With AI
05/06/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamIn the May 2024 issue of SMT007 Magazine, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
iNEMI Names Grace O'Malley CTO
05/02/2024 | iNEMIThe Board of Directors of the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has named Grace O'Malley Chief Technical Officer (CTO).