Connect the Dots: Proactive Controlled Impedance
Beyond Design: Radiation and Interference Coupling
Elementary, Mr. Watson: Design Data Packages—Circle of Concern or Circle of Influence?
PCB East Continues to Expand
May 6, 2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
It was a perfect week for a conference and trade show in metropolitan Boston, with high temperatures in the 70s. PCB East took place at the Boxboro Regency Hotel and Conference Center April 29–May 2, with the expo on April 30. PCB East has been expanding since its relaunch a few years ago, with conference and show attendance rising each year. This year was no different, with show managers pointing to conference and expo attendance increases of 2% and 5% respectively over last year.
The show floor was pretty busy throughout the day, and the free lunch on the floor kept attendees from wandering away in search of sustenance. Similarly, conference attendees were treated to free lunch throughout the week, and one thing that all designers love is free food.
Speaking of free, the “Free Wednesday” conference program has proven to be a big draw, and this year’s free classes included presentations by Stephen V. Chavez, Rick Hartley, and Todd Westerhoff. Designers, much like journalists, enjoy anything that is gratis.
It was like Homecoming Week at PCB East. I ran into local PCB designers, fabricators, and EDA tool company staff who don’t usually travel to PCB West, DesignCon, or IPC APEX EXPO. The storytelling was off the chart, especially during “Beer on the Floor” at the end of the expo. Following that, a PCB Design Community Meetup was held in front of the hotel; the hard-working bartenders simply pushed one of the mobile bars out of the expo hall and into the meetup.
Over 60 exhibitors filled the expo hall, including fabricators, EDA tool vendors, test companies, design bureaus, and material providers. These tabletop shows offer a serious bargain; if you get one order out of the event, you’ve more than paid for the show and kept your name out there among the people you want to reach. Most exhibitors I spoke with said they clocked in plenty of good leads at this year’s show.
The mood about the industry was upbeat. Some global companies reported that the new tariff negotiations were keeping them a little too busy, but they also acknowledged that other countries had definitely been sticking it to the U.S. with excessive tariffs for decades, and that change was long overdue. Everyone was bullish on the PCB design segment, and excited about new technology. As usual, there was a lot of uncertainty about AI and its use in PCB design, but most people I spoke with said that AI was here to stay, one way or another.
It was a great show, and it was nice to see everyone again.
Share on:
Suggested Items
NVIDIA Expected to Launch RTX PRO 6000 Special Edition for China’s AI Market, Potentially Boosting Future GDDR7 Demand
05/28/2025 | TrendForceTrendForce reports that following the new U.S. export restrictions announced in April—which require additional permits for the export of NVIDIA’s H20 or any chips with equivalent memory bandwidth or interconnect performance to China—NVIDIA is expected to release a special low-power, downscaled version of the RTX PRO 6000 (formerly B40) for the Chinese market.
Explore TRI’s Test and Inspection Solutions at SMTA Ontario Expo 2025
05/23/2025 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading test and inspection systems provider for the electronics manufacturing industry, will join the SMTA Ontario Expo 2025.
KYZEN to Spotlight Stencil Cleaning Solutions at SMTA Oregon
05/02/2025 | KYZEN'KYZEN, the global leader in innovative environmentally friendly cleaning chemistries, will exhibit at the SMTA Oregon Expo & Tech Forum, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 20 at the Wingspan Event and Conference Center in Hillsboro, OR. KYZEN’s cleaning expert Jeff Deering will be on-site at the expo providing information about stencil cleaning chemistries, including KYZEN E5631J.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: Improving the Electronics Industry With Advanced Packaging
04/30/2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPODevan Iyer, the Chief Strategist for Advanced Packaging at IPC, shares insights from his recent presentation at the EMS Leadership Summit. The discussion covers the importance of understanding market segments in IoT, power electronics, and high-performance computing. EMS companies are encouraged to specialize, invest wisely, and collaborate to meet customer needs.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: The Role of AI in Advanced Packaging
04/30/2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOIn a follow-up to his keynote, Dr. Ahmad Bahai, discusses the critical intersection of advanced packaging, computing, and AI in semiconductor innovation with Nolan Johnson and Devan Iyer. He emphasizes the need for new approaches to handle the data economy and highlights AI's role in optimizing electronics manufacturing. The conversation covers challenges in power and thermal management, the impact of AI on EDA tools, and bio-inspired innovations. Predictions about future trends point towards increased efficiency in design and manufacturing.