I-Connect007 Editor's Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

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This past week, we published a variety of articles, interviews, and columns—and readers definitely made their favorites known. There was good news about hiring and staffing. (In case you were wondering, there are quite a few open positions in this industry right now.) We touched base with a pair of young engineers to get their thoughts on what it’s like for recent grads working in the PCB manufacturing community.

We learned about a company’s new program that can help take some of the stress out of NPI. We also launched a new chapter in our “Just Ask” series, this time starring columnist Tara Dunn. And there was sad news that a contract manufacturer’s chairman had just passed away. 

Next week, Nolan Johnson will bring you his editor’s picks. 

Survey Results: ‘Are You Currently Hiring?’
Published November 4

There’s still plenty of uncertainty in the world—we Americans don’t even know who our next president is yet, but our industry is doing well. According to our recent survey, many of your companies are hiring quite a bit. A lot of good things have been happening in PCB design and manufacturing this year, and it’s clear that we’re going to need to ramp up our hiring game for 2021. This article by Michelle Te drew quite a few readers this week.

Just Ask Tara Dunn: What’s Next for LCP Materials?
Published November 5

Our “Just Ask” series has a new face—Tara Dunn, president of Omni PCB and a Flex007 columnist. Tara focuses on flex and rigid-flex technologies, as well as additive processes and cool, cutting-edge laminates. Her first question in this series addresses the growth of liquid crystal polymer. Do you think LCP will ever replace polyimide as the flex substrate of choice? “Just Ask” remains one of our more popular features.

Cicor Mourns Death of Chairman Heinrich J. Essing
Published November 2

Heinrich J. Essing, chairman of the board of directors for Cicor Technologies, passed away unexpectedly this week. The Swiss provider of flex and rigid circuit board manufacturing and assembly services announced that the vice-chair would assume his duties temporarily. Essing had been on the board since 2009. Essing continued working after retirement age and was “an extremely loyal and committed chairman and a highly esteemed person.” 

Foundations of the Future: Inspirational Career Paths—Meet Tayler and Olivia
Published November 3

In this column, IPC’s Charlene Gunter du Plessis interviews two upcoming young engineers: Tayler Swanson and Olivia Lim. They discuss the highlights of their careers so far and offer advice for other young people considering a career in technology. We need many more young technologists like them; IPC’s Emerging Engineer Program is one organization that’s dedicated to mentoring recent engineering graduates.

PCB Technologies Focuses on an All-in-One Solution
Published November 3

Launching a new product is always a stressful event, especially having to manage the information flowing between designers, fabricators, and assembly providers. In this interview, Arik Einhorn of PCB Technologies discusses his company’s “All-in-One” solution, which takes away much of the NPI customer’s worries by managing the entire process, from PCB design through PCBA—all through a single point of contact at his company. This was another one of our more popular articles.

03/17/2023 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007

Sarah Czaplewski-Campbell, a materials/product development engineer at IBM, shares her experiences as a young professional who has benefited from the guidance of seasoned mentors alongside her own unflagging drive to expand her industry knowledge. She offers poignant advice for prospective professionals, urging them to assertively seek out advice and experiences that will help them progress in their careers.

03/16/2023 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007

Widely believed to be the traditional Centre of England, Meriden was a popular venue for a gathering of the UK printed circuit community this month. They braved the forecast of heavy snow for the Institute of Circuit Technology’s annual general meeting to learn about current developments and challenges in a thought-provoking technical seminar and to network with industry peers and contemporaries. Thankfully, the forecasted heavy snowfall did not reach Meriden until after the event; we only had a few flurries, although the weather caused considerable disruption elsewhere in the country.

03/15/2023 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007

As a young industry professional, Paige Fiet, a process engineer at TTM Logan, sees mentorship as a formative component of her success in IPC. Alongside the support and guidance of her mentors, Paige has distinguished herself as an emerging leader who brings a fresh perspective to the many topics currently of interest to the industry.