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Marcy’s Musings: The Power of the Electronics Ecosystem

Electronics hardware product design and manufacturing is a completely interconnected (pun intended) and interdependent system. Success depends on every part of the ecosystem functioning together, a reality that once seemed easy to ignore or sideline, but today, few have the time or resources to work independently.

From co-design to innovation in HDI manufacturing and flexible circuits, these systems function best when we get out of our silos and more fully understand what it takes to get an idea or product to market.

AI data centers are perfect examples of connected systems in motion. These behemoths are engineering and technical marvels, but political hot potatoes in many states as governments and citizens wrestle with their environmental impacts. This spring, I was hosted by Schneider Electric for a tour of TeraWulf, one of the nation’s largest data centers. I also interviewed an executive from Motivair, which provides advanced liquid cooling and end-to-end thermal management systems specifically for AI data centers. You’ll find my special section on that visit in this issue, which I believe demonstrates how relevant AI data centers are to our professional and personal lives. I’d love to get your feedback via email or LinkedIn.

Our PCB design expert contributors embraced this month’s assignment, offering a range of insightful and often creative metaphors to describe the PCB design ecosystem. From critters in the forest to a failed baton handoff in the 2020 Olympics, and even a drum major in a parade, we gain a clearer picture of the importance of an ecosystem, and find ourselves asking, “Why haven’t we been doing this all along?”

Stephen Chavez of Siemens declares that his greatest successes came when “every stakeholder became part of the design process instead of becoming a reviewer of completed work.” However, Kristin Moyer raises some concerns about data security in fully cloud-based systems, especially when working in classified settings. Being fully integrated may still have some essential protocols yet to be determined.

In PCB fabrication, we revisit the idea of vertical conductive structures (VeCS), an alternate way to process HDI boards with very high layer counts and large form factors, using standard PCB processes and equipment. Joan Tourné of NextGin Technology developed VeCS in partnership with Wus, and writes about where it’s headed with R-VeCS and X-VeCS. Given where we find ourselves with HDI and packaging challenges, this is worth another look.

With a view toward advanced electronic packaging, Mike Carano explores pre-electroless causes of voids, which become far more likely with large motherboards and very high layer counts, as are popular in 2.5D and 3D heterogeneous integration. GreenSource Engineering shares preliminary results from a study on agitation and copper balancing to achieve more uniform copper plating across large panels. PCBAA is discussing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the mandate from the U.S. government to soon disallow PCBs from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. There’s a deadline coming up quickly for commentary that you don’t want to miss.

Finally, we focus on flex. I’m thrilled to have a new column from Flexible Circuit Technologies, kicked off by Dan Skweres, taking us through the familiar journey of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” Anaya Vardya of American Standard Circuits writes about the “cockroach” robot and how its “exoskeleton” is the flexible circuit itself. “The rigid-flex PCB that is simultaneously a skeleton, nervous system, and muscle interface may prove to be one of the most consequential engineering innovations in small-scale robotics,” he writes. Really fascinating stuff!

I always enjoy putting together these issues at the confluence of legacy and innovation. Cherish these fleeting end-days of summer and take some time to enjoy reading through this month’s magazine.

This column originally appeared in the August 2026 issue of I-Connect007 Magazine.