What PCB Fabricators Should Know About IPC APEX EXPO 2024

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

On the cusp of another IPC APEX EXPO, we focus on how bare board fabricators can maximize their time and investment at the show. We visited with Matt Kelly, IPC chief technologist, and Julia Gumminger, IPC professional development and events manager, as well as Udo Welzel and Stanton Rak, the chairs of the technical program committee, to discuss the technical depth and breadth that the 2024 show will bring to fabricators and professionals all along the supply chain. With IPC hosting the Electronic Circuit World Convention (ECWC) 16, this show presents an opportunity to highlight the most cutting-edge and relevant technical expertise available from across the globe.

Barry Matties: IPC is hosting ECWC 16 at APEX EXPO 2024. How will this year’s technical conference be different from IPC APEX EXPO 2023?

Julia Gumminger: The conference’s Technical Program Committee has grown to a 35-person advisory group of subject matter experts from around the globe—about half of them with PhDs—working in various sectors of our industry with different areas of expertise. Stan Rak and Udo Welzel, the co-chairs, have done a fantastic job welcoming the new members representing the World Electronic Circuits Council (WECC) countries’ organizations. The committee membership, made of WECC and IPC reps, have solicited technical papers from their powerful, international professional networks. Last year, about 90% of the conference papers were due to direct outreach from a committee member to a colleague.

The ECWC 16 conference will feature technical presentations from companies spanning the global supply chain. The committee acts as peer reviewers for the abstracts and the papers. They are always looking for new information, technical innovation, and data. Committee members attend conferences worldwide, sit on standards development committees, and are generally very active in the industry. They know whether something is new, the premise is false, or the data doesn't make sense. They have high standards for technology, that it must be innovative, make sense, and be relevant and useful in the industry.

Matt Kelly: My number one goal is to drive the quality level of our technical content. This show has been a great opportunity for that. The Technical Program Committee is not afraid to turn authors away if their papers do not feature new and innovative work. We focus on new topics and challenges, discoveries in materials and processes, and information that could transform our industry. Our team, namely Stan, Udo, and Julia, have done an amazing job modernizing the conference planning processes over the past three years. The printed circuit board tracks have traditionally been a strong focus at the show, but we are even stronger now with the breadth and depth of topics covered this year, thanks to the global WECC member contributions.

To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the February 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.