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Beyond the Rulebook
What happens when the rule book is no longer useful, or worse, was never written in the first place? In today’s fast-moving electronics landscape, we’re increasingly asked to design and build what has no precedent, no proven path, and no tidy checklist to follow. This is where “Design for Invention” begins.
March Madness
From the growing role of AI in design tools to the challenge of managing cumulative tolerances, these articles in this issue examine the technical details, design choices, and manufacturing considerations that determine whether a board works as intended.
Looking Forward to APEX EXPO 2026
I-Connect007 Magazine previews APEX EXPO 2026, covering everything from the show floor to the technical conference. For PCB designers, we move past the dreaded auto-router and spotlight AI design tools that actually matter.
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SMTA Symposium on Counterfeit Parts & Materials Program Finalized
May 21, 2025 | SMTAEstimated reading time: 1 minute
The SMTA is pleased to announce the technical program for the Symposium on Counterfeit Parts & Materials. Co-organized by SMTA and the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE), the event will be held June 24-26, 2025 in Hyattsville, Maryland at the College Park Marriott Conference Center.
The technical program includes two semiconductor-focused keynote presentations. Other sessions will address trusted sources, technology, testing/accreditation, global perspectives, legal/policy issues, independent distributor concerns, and machine learning standards.
Matthew Hicks, Sr. Director of Foundries, Test & Advanced Packaging (FTAP) at Northrop Grumman, will provide the opening keynote presentation on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Hicks’ presentation is titled, “Microelectronics Powering America's Defense.”
Chuck Woychik, NHanced Semiconductors, will keynote the second day of the symposium with his presentation, “A Global View Versus a U.S. Focus on Outsourced Assembly and Test (OAST) Facilities to Support Wafer-Level Packaging.”
The symposium concludes on Thursday, June 26, with three professional development courses. A full-day course titled “Counterfeit Parts Detection Using SAE AS6171”, is instructed by Michael Azarian, Ph.D., CALCE, University of Maryland. Peter Sandborn, Ph.D., instructs a concurrent half-day course in the morning titled, “Electronic Part Obsolescence Forecasting, Mitigation and Management.” Diganta Das, Ph.D., CALCE, University of Maryland, will instruct the afternoon course titled, “Use of Component Documentation and Supply Chain for Counterfeit Avoidance.
Registration for this event is now open. Discounted rates are available when registering by Friday, May 23. Access to the two-day symposium and professional development courses are included in the standard conference package, details are available on the registration page.
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Punching Out: How Are the Big Boys in Electronics Doing?
05/12/2026 | Tom Kastner -- Column: Punching Out!Let’s see what the public companies are up to in the PCB and EMS industries. In North America, there are only a couple of publicly traded PCB companies: TTM Technologies and Firan Technology Group. On the EMS side, there are a few more: Flex, Jabil, Celestica, Sanmina,, Benchmark, Fabrinet, Kimball Electronics, Plexus Corp, Nortech Systems, and Key Tronic Corp. From an M&A standpoint, these public companies have been fairly quiet in the past five years. FTG completed two deals in 2022 (IMI and Holaday), Flex had three deals, Jabil had five deals, and Sanmina had one deal.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/08/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007This week, I’ve selected some outstanding interviews that you’ll want to take note of. First, is a roundtable discussion featuring three dynamic industry cybersecurity experts. Please watch this important discussion that affects us all. Following that, I spotlight the IPC-2581 Consortium, which explains why IPC-2581 is the standard to replace Gerber data for manufacturing. Next, I am including my interview with PCBAA and AAM, who collaborated to release a short documentary on U.S. PCB manufacturing.
A Necessary Shift From Gerber to IPC-2581
05/07/2026 | Tracy Riggan, Global Electronics AssociationIPC-2581 is an open, vendor-neutral data exchange standard developed by the Global Electronics Association to streamline the exchange of PCB design information across fabrication, assembly, and test. It replaces multiple legacy formats—including industry standards, Gerber, and ODB++—with a single, comprehensive, XML-based dataset that captures all manufacturing details.
ViaSat-3 F3 Satellite Successfully Launches from Kennedy Space Center
05/04/2026 | BoeingBoeing mission controllers confirmed that the ViaSat-3 F3 (VS-3 F3) satellite is healthy in orbit following its successful launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 10:13 a.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
Microchip Expands Post-Quantum Root of Trust Controllers
04/29/2026 | MicrochipAs the industry embarks on the transition to post‑quantum cryptography (PQC), Microchip Technology is expanding its portfolio of Trust Shield, PQC‑ready devices with the TS1800 Platform Root of Trust controller and the TS50x secure boot controller.