Y NOW YOU probably have heard of ChatGPT. This new artificial intelligence program mimics conversations and language in a way the general public has never seen. Per its website, its developers trained an initial model using “supervised fine-tuning”; in other words, humans provided conversations in which they acted as both user and AI “assistant.” Model-written suggestions were used to help compose their responses.

After several iterations and refinements, ChatGPT was rolled out in November and has, as they say, gone viral.

Because I’m curious that way, I had to see for myself how this worked. So I logged in at openai.com and waited patiently for my turn – it is often at capacity. After a few hours, a slot opened and I fired my first shot: What is the future of printed circuit boards?

Simmtech opened its $120 million Penang factory earlier this year, and the decision to expand the facility earlier than originally planned shows the company’s management team’s determination to invest in Malaysia, said Simmtech SE Asia Managing Director Jeffery Chun.

ECIA Publishes Publishes China Tariff Avoidance and Recovery Process Document

The China Tariff Avoidance and Recovery Process Update document offers an outline of what the GIPC recommends to members about current practices in this arena. The document explains several pathways for tariff avoidance and recovery, with specific suggestions for how to evaluate this complex issue. The intent is to enable companies to compare their current processes with identified best practices and make adjustments as required.

“Four years ago, this Committee collected input from ECIA component manufacturer and distributor members with the goal of identifying and sharing the most efficient processes for Tariff Avoidance and Recovery based on the previous administration’s tariff policies,” explained Don Elario, vice president of Industry Practices, ECIA. “With the Biden administration currently reviewing the tariffs, we revisited that document and updated it with best practices learned over the last four years.”

The updated China Tariff Avoidance and Recovery Process document is available only to ECIA members.

The report discusses these developments and describes thermal interface materials offered by suppliers. The report includes OSAT financials and examines economic trends impacting the industry. China’s Covid lockdowns, new US exports controls, continued inflation, and the war in Ukraine are discussed. The report also examines the trends in EV charging with examples of the packages used for charging stations. Companies offering charging equipment and services are listed.

Katek to Acquire EMS Firm Nextek

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – PCEA seeks abstracts for its annual PCB West technical conference coming in 2023.

PCB West will be held Sept. 19-22, 2023, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a four-day technical conference and one-day exhibition.

Presentations of the following durations are sought for the technical conference: one-hour lectures and presentations; two-hour workshops; and half-day (3.5 hour) and full-day seminars.

Preference is given to presentations of two hours in length or more, and no presentations of less than one hour will be considered.

Business plans always require some degree of forecasting and estimating, as well as a list of assumptions that underpin the metrics used when budgeting. In (relatively) normal years, some of these prove inaccurate, yet the majority are reliable. It could easily be argued, however, that the times we are in are not necessarily “normal” and few of the business leaders of today were around 40 years ago when inflation last escalated and was a serious economic concern. In such times as these, it is normal to find yourself rethinking basic operating assumptions and adjusting the business plan frequently to stay in step with the ever-changing cost structure and supply availability.

PCB buyers who do not routinely review the performance of their vendor base are perhaps too comfortable in their jobs. It’s a core buyer responsibility to keep vendors competitive in pricing, and it is management’s job to ensure buyers are not so overwhelmed with other responsibilities they neglect that core duty. Management should also ensure that buyers and PCB salespeople are incentivized to bring prices down.

Among the most interesting technologies is autonomous driving, which is bringing vast quantities of sensors on board – radar, lidar, infrared, camera modules – not to mention the signal processing and software needed to turn that data into real-time driving instructions. Then, of course, there is the transition to all-electric drivetrains, slated to become mandatory in several major markets by about 2030. With that, our takeover of the automobile will be complete!

For me, what pops into my head is design for manufacturability or excellence (DfM or DfX), which includes fabrication and assembly – but let’s not forget producibility as well.

Let’s first understand what is meant by design for manufacturing. It is a design technique for accounting for all the constraints of the assortment of parts that constitute the final product after assembly. DfM focuses on minimizing the complexities involved in manufacturing operations as well as reducing the overall part production cost.

A comparison of energy, water and chemical use for two common processes. by Lenora Clark

Over the past years, the term “sustainability” had been something of a buzzword. We see it in our everyday lives and, honestly, I don’t always understand it. We have eliminated plastic bags at many stores, but now I’m collecting reusable bags by the handful. What are customers supposed to do with all these bags? Many end up in the trash, especially when they are being handed out similarly to a disposable product. Is it better that they are not plastic, or is it just as bad because we are creating the same level of waste?

This makes my head hurt. I need to see things in a basic form to make sense of it and determine if it is an improvement – or not.

Bravo, Lacroix!

Buoyed by acquisitions and a resplendent new flagship manufacturing center, the French EMS is prepping for a sustainable future. by Mike Buetow

It is a truth universally acknowledged that some prefer deference to authority, as opposed to independently determining a course of action, making responsible decisions on their own and accepting the consequences. It’s so much easier when others call the shots; all one must do is acquire marching orders and execute accordingly. No muss, no fuss. One sleeps through the night unburdened by what-ifs. The shot-callers are the only ones who are sleep-deprived.

“In order for you to recertify in 2023 as our valued supplier-partner, you must complete the attached RFQ, which requests a firm, fixed-price estimate for the following services: flying probe testing; in-circuit testing; boundary scan/JTAG testing; cross-section services; CT scanning services; x-ray inspection and failure analysis services; dye-and-pry services; and reports for all the aforementioned. You will find quantities on the x-axis, with services above listed on the y-axis. Please insert pricing in US dollars in the intersecting cells. Pricing will be valid through December 31, 2023, inclusive, and will be the unchanging basis for awarding all purchase orders for those services throughout 2023. There will be no exceptions, and no revisions allowed, during the applicable period.”

In Case You Missed It

Author: Bartłomiej Podsiadły, et al.

Abstract: This work aims to evaluate the possibility of fabricating conductive paths for printed circuit boards from low-temperature melting metal alloys on low-temperature 3D-printed substrates and mounting through-hole electronic components using the fused deposition modeling for metals (FDMm) for structural electronics applications. The conductive materials are flux-cored solder wires Sn60Pb40 and Sn99Ag0.3Cu0.7. The deposition was achieved with a specially adapted nozzle. A comparison of solder wires with and without flux cores is discussed to determine whether the solder alloys exhibit adequate wettability and adhesion to the polymer substrate. The symmetrical astable multivibrator circuit based on bipolar junction transistors (BJT) was fabricated to demonstrate the possibility of simultaneous production of conductive tracks and through-hole mountings with this additive technique. Additional perspectives for applying this technique to 3D-printed structural electronic circuits are also discussed. (Electronics, November 2022; https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/22/3829)