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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
April 15, 2022 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Welcome to April 15, everyone! There are reasons we tend to cover topics in a continuous conversation. First, there are always developments and news in the industry. Second, you dear readers respond to that content by reading it. This week the news items that drew the most reader interest verify that our industry has ongoing interest in government involvement in industry infrastructure, supply chain issues, cybersecurity, and new technologies like additive in fabrication.
I won’t keep you any longer; you’ve got news to read below, and if you’re in the United States, you might also have your taxes to finish. Get it postmarked by Monday!
Uncovering the Electronics Ecosystem
Published April 8
Will Marsh, vice president of TTM Technologies and president of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America, talks about the work the PCBAA has been doing in Washington, D.C., to get the industry better recognized by the country’s decision-makers. Marsh is optimistic, not only about the companies and individuals joining the effort, but in the recognition by Capitol Hill to secure the nation’s defense systems, and makes a case for why fab companies should join forces with PCBAA.
AltiumLive 2022: Vince Mazur’s Supply Chain Advice—Always Have Alternatives
Published April 11
Andy Shaughnessy gets an update from Vince Mazur, a technical marketing engineer at Altium, about his AltiumLive presentation, “Avoiding Supply Chain Issues with Variants and Live Part Choices.” Vince points out some of the high points of his talk, including the need for designers to pay closer attention to the supply chain than ever before, and to always have an alternative part or two as backup—just in case. Vince’s presentation can be found online with other Altium Live videos.
The Reality of Regulated Manufacturing
Published April 12
Ryan Bonner is CEO of DEFCERT, a specialist in government regulations for data and cybersecurity. A key component of moving to a digital factory will be to ensure security of the data required to operate a digital factory, and most importantly, customer design data. We caught up with Ryan after IPC APEX EXPO, to discuss cybersecurity and the digital factory. Click through to the interview to learn how this may apply to your facility.
Additive Design: Same Steps, Different Order
Published April 12
Dave Torp, CEO of Winonics, briefs Andy Shaughnessy about the company’s additive and semi-additive processes and what PCB designers need to know if they’re considering designing boards with these new technologies. Two key take-aways Dave explains are that 1) additive design is not much different from traditional design, but the steps in the design cycle are a different order, and 2) additive designers must communicate with their fabricators because so much of the new processes are still proprietary. See what else Torp has to say here.
Siemens’ SynthAI Revolutionizes Machine Vision Training with Artificial Intelligence
Published April 13
For those of us in the industry who are adding AI and machine learning to our processes, this news article gathered a lot of reads.
From the press release: “Machine learning is used for a variety of vision-based automation use cases such as robotic bin picking, sorting, palletizing, quality inspection and more. While usage of machine learning for vision-based automation is growing, many industries face challenges and struggle to implement it within their computer vision applications. This is due to the need to collect many images of the parts in question and the challenges associated with accurately annotating the different products within those images – particularly before production or manufacturing begins.
“To solve this challenge, synthetic data is used to speed up the data collection and training process. However, utilizing synthetic data for vision use cases requires expertise in synthetic image generation and can be complex, time consuming, and expensive. This where Siemens’ SynthAI changes the game.”
Suggested Items
Three Industry Leaders Receive IPC President’s Award
04/17/2024 | IPCIn recognition of their leadership and significant contributions of time and talent to IPC and the electronics industry, three IPC volunteers were presented with the IPC President’s Award at IPC APEX EXPO in Anaheim, Calif., on April 9, 2024.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: IPC Government Relations Holds Lawmakers Accountable
04/16/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOThe IPC Government Relations team is constantly educating Congress and the executive branch about the importance of a robust domestic electronics manufacturing industry. As Richard Cappetto explains, the GR team is focused on proactive strategies, workforce policies, and sustainability, as well as the significance of apprenticeship programs, President Biden's executive order, and employer incentives. Also discussed is the PCB Act, its investment program, tax incentive, and DoD's understanding of supply chain risk.
Catching Up With Chasom Electronics
04/16/2024 | Dan Beaulieu, D.B. Management GroupI recently met with Chasom Electronics’ founding director Anil Kumar. Chasom offers a unique menu of services for companies looking to extend their technology capabilities on a short- or long-term basis. Read on to learn about this very unique service company.
Microchip Technology Acquires Neuronix AI Labs
04/16/2024 | Microchip Technology Inc.Innovative technology enhances AI-enabled intelligent edge solutions and increases neural networking capabilities.
Marcy's Musings: The Growing Industry
04/16/2024 | Marcy LaRont -- Column: Marcy's MusingsAfter decades of steady decline in the U.S. and Europe, the PCB industry is finally growing, especially in China Plus One countries. The U.S. for example, which seemed to have abdicated its title as the world leader in innovating high-technology cutting-edge manufacturing processes, is now in a race to regain what it lost and then some. The PCB fabrication industry is growing in the West, thanks to DoD funding, the CHIPS and Science Act, and hopefully, the passing of HR 3249, the Printed Circuit Board and Substrates Act.