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After attending PCB East 2026, it became clear to me that the electronics industry is entering a major transition driven by AI infrastructure, increasing power density, and growing system complexity, extending far beyond semiconductors alone.
What stood out was how critical PCB technology, materials science, thermal management, and advanced manufacturing have become to the future of electronics. The industry is now facing many challenges, including tighter manufacturing tolerances, material shortages, rising costs, and growing pressure to digitally transform engineering and manufacturing operations. As AI servers, advanced packaging, electrification, and high-speed computing accelerate, I believe PCB design and manufacturing will evolve from a supporting role into a key enabling technology that will determine system performance, reliability, supply chain stability, and innovation.
The conference brought together PCB designers, fabricators, OEMs, materials suppliers, and manufacturing leaders to address the engineering and operational challenges being created by increasing system complexity and higher power densities driven by AI computing infrastructure. It was one of the strongest technical conferences I have attended in recent years, reflecting an industry that reaches across the supply chain. Attendance was up nearly 48% from last year, showing the growing urgency surrounding HDI scalability, AI-driven supply chain disruption, high-speed design challenges, and next-generation interconnect technologies.
Impact of AI
One of the biggest themes throughout PCB East was the growing impact of AI on electronics manufacturing and the PCB supply chain:
- Sean Patterson discussed how AI implementation is less about software and more about leadership, workforce transformation, and operational integration. His presentation showed how AI is beginning to reshape engineering collaboration, procurement, quoting, manufacturing automation, and decision-making throughout the PCB ecosystem.
- Timon Ruban expanded on this topic by showing how AI-driven collaboration platforms are becoming accessible to smaller EMS companies, improving supply chain visibility and streamlining communication between engineering and manufacturing teams.
- Hemant Shah and Dana Korf reinforced the growing role of AI-enabled manufacturing by discussing IPC-2581 and the importance of intelligent machine-readable manufacturing data as the foundation for future AI-driven automation, predictive analytics, digital twins, and smart factory environments.
Materials Supply Chain
Another major focus throughout the conference was the impact AI infrastructure demand is having on the PCB materials supply chain. Kurt Whitcomb discussed how hyperscale AI server deployments are creating unprecedented demand for HDI fabrication, advanced laminates, copper foils, and specialty substrates. His presentation demonstrated that AI accelerator architectures are increasing demand for higher-layer count PCBs, finer geometries, advanced thermal structures, and ultra-low-loss materials, leading to longer lead times, material allocations, and pricing volatility across the industry. Alun Morgan examined how the expansion of AI infrastructure could fundamentally reshape the global PCB materials ecosystem. He compared today’s AI-driven manufacturing shift to the major supply chain realignment during the original internet boom, warning that prioritizing AI infrastructure could have long-term consequences for PCB fabricators and OEMs serving broader electronics markets.
Can’t Forget the Core Topics
High-speed digital design, EMI control, and signal integrity remained core technical topics at the conference. Rick Hartley delivered several sessions focused on grounding strategy, return current behavior, and electromagnetic field containment, emphasizing a physics-based approach to EMI control in modern PCB systems. Tomas Chester and Hartley also explored how vias play a critical role in maintaining continuous return current paths during layer transitions and how improper via implementation can contribute to impedance discontinuities, radiated emissions, and degraded signal integrity. Charlene McCauley and Terrie Duffy focused on the growing complexity of DDR memory implementation, covering timing closure, skew management, breakout routing, power integrity, and stackup optimization for modern computing platforms. Susy Webb reinforced the idea that PCB routing should be viewed as controlling electromagnetic energy propagation rather than simply electrical connectivity.
Bring on the Heat
Thermal management and power integrity also emerged as major engineering priorities throughout the conference, driven largely by increasing power density in AI systems, EV power electronics, and wide-bandgap semiconductor applications. Chris Parker presented advanced dielectric material solutions designed to improve thermal conductivity and reduce hotspots in high-power PCB designs. His session showed how thermally enhanced laminates and insulated metal substrates are enabling more compact, and higher-efficiency electronic systems. Syed Ubaid Ali Warsi explored how PCB layout itself has become a critical factor in thermal management, focusing on copper balancing, thermal via implementation, airflow interaction, and optimized current paths. Gerry Callahan focused specifically on switched-mode power supply layouts and EMI mitigation techniques related to switching loops, grounding structures, and parasitic inductance control. Together, these presentations reinforced how closely electrical design, thermal engineering, and materials science are becoming integrated in next-generation electronics systems.
Design Advancements
Advanced PCB structures and next-generation interconnect technologies were another major focus of the conference. Stephen Chavez presented on the continued evolution of UHDI technology and its growing importance in AI infrastructure, advanced semiconductor packaging, aerospace, and defense electronics. His session covered sub-50 micron features, stacked microvias, advanced substrates, and the manufacturing challenges associated with UHDI fabrication. Lauren Waslick led discussions on both flexible circuit design fundamentals and the importance of properly interpreting design intent during PCB layout execution. Ethan Pierce and Stephan Schmidt explored how 3D electronic design methodologies are beginning to reshape traditional PCB development by enabling tighter integration between electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing workflows.
Manufacturing readiness, product release discipline, and design for test methodologies also received significant attention. Troy Hopkins discussed how shrinking geometries and HDI architectures are making test access increasingly difficult, requiring DFT planning to occur much earlier in the design cycle. Warsi’s presentation on design release methodologies reinforced the importance of collaboration between PCB design, procurement, fabrication, assembly, and validation teams to avoid costly respins and production delays. Kristen Aguiar focused on foundational placement methodologies for newer PCB designers, emphasizing how component placement directly impacts signal integrity, thermal performance, manufacturability, and assembly efficiency. Together, these sessions highlighted the growing importance of disciplined engineering workflows as PCB complexity continues increasing across nearly every electronics market segment.
If you missed PCB East 2026, many of these same topics will continue at PCB West in Santa Clara this September, including AI infrastructure, HDI/UHDI technologies, thermal management, advanced PCB materials, and high-speed design. The pace of innovation in the electronics industry continues to accelerate, and I look forward to hearing more about the future developments shaping high-tech electronics, because I simply love electronics.
Doug Dixon is CMO at 360Circuits.
