PCEA Current Events
NATIONAL NEWS
PCB East Conference Program to be Finalized this Month
PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The Conferences Task Group has reviewed more than 70 abstracts received for PCB East and expects to have the program available in early January. The 2026 conference takes place Apr. 28 – May 1 at the DCU Center in suburban Boston and will feature more than 120 hours of classes ranging from design of PCBs and FPGAs to fabrication and assembly.
The coming program will be enhanced by two days of tracks focused on assembly, including hands-on soldering instruction, plus four all-day tracks on FPGA design. A one-day management session with talks on technology implementation, workforce skills training, market conditions and legislative updates will round out the program on Apr. 28.
More details are forthcoming at pcbeast.com.
February PCB Design Training Classes Scheduled
PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The next PCEA Training Certified Professional Circuit Designer (CPCD) training and certification class begins Feb. 6 and continues once a week through Mar. 6. Registration closes Jan. 9.
The 40-hour instructor-led course is designed for printed circuit engineers, layout professionals and other individuals currently serving in the design engineering industry or seeking to get into it.
The classes cover the gamut of printed circuit design engineering, from layout, place and route to specifications and materials to manufacturing methods. Schematic capture, signal integrity and EMI/EMC are also part of the comprehensive program.
Each class includes a copy of Printed Circuit Engineering Professional, a 400-page handbook on circuit board design, and the optional certification exam recognized by PCEA.
There are no prerequisites to enroll. Classes are held online and led by experienced instructors.
To enroll, visit pceatraining.net/registration.
PCEA Current Events
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Certification. The following recently passed the PCEA Certified Printed Circuit Designer exam:
- Charles Cooling
- Scott Decker
- Issa Frayeh
- Casey Leach
- Jeff Seese
- Michael Stoens
- David Vallejo
Conferences. PCB Detroit will return to the campus of Wayne State University on Jun. 15-16, 2026. More details will be forthcoming at pcea.net/events.
The exhibition floor for PCB West 2026 will open on Dec. 11 to any prospective exhibitor.
Networking. The PCEA Discord server brings together engineers and designers from around the world on a private channel to discuss technical questions and career opportunities. To join, contact PCEA. Recent conversations covered the implementation of BGA packages, designing high-current boards and circuit simulations.
CHAPTER NEWS
Richmond, VA. In November we held our first Hardware Community Night. There was much discussion about what the attendees are working on, and different aspects of design and manufacturing we have encountered. Several Virginia Commonwealth University EE and CS students interested in board design attended and heard real-world discussions as well. An unseparated bare panel array was particularly interesting to a number of those in attendance. Thanks to Mobius Materials for sponsoring.
Our next in-person meeting is being planned for January, possibly with a presentation on manufacturing tests.
Portland, OR. A special thank you to Ramon Roche of NCAB Group for his presentation, “Thermal Considerations Upfront in PCB Design.” The slide deck is available here.
Our next chapter meeting will be held online on Jan. 22. The tentative topic is thermal issues and thermal management. Contact Stephan Schmidt for details.