Nolan’s Notes: Moving Forward With Confidence
The Knowledge Base: Beyond the Badge—Why Membership Matters More Than Ever
Smart Automation: AI—Revolutionizing Inspection in Electronics Manufacturing
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
The Chemical Connection: Reducing Defects in Circuit Board Production
06/04/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionWe all agree that in any manufacturing process, reducing defects in your product induced during manufacture (aka increasing yields) is a good thing. Doing so, however, can be a source of contention and frustration. I don’t pretend to be an expert in this field, because most of my work involves feasibility studies for new concepts or testing improvements made to existing equipment. High yields were usually not a factor; it’s simply about having enough data to prove or disprove a concept or seeing whether improvements to equipment design actually work. However, here are some observations I made visiting quality shops where high production at high yields was important.
IPC Issues Call for Participation for IPC APEX EXPO 2026
06/02/2025 | IPCIPC is now accepting abstracts for technical papers with presentations, posters, and professional development courses at IPC APEX EXPO 2026.
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.