PCB West Technical Conference Announced

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association announced the technical program for PCB West 2025, featuring more than 125 hours of in-depth electronics engineering training spread over more than 50 sessions. The program includes 30 classes new to PCB West, PCEA added.

Among the industry experts scheduled to speak this year are Rick Hartley, Susy Webb, Stephen Chavez, Chuck Corley, Karen Burnham, Tomas Chester and Charlene McCauley. The conference will be held Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center and features classes for every level of experience, from novice to expert. 

The scope of classes ranges from designing all types of printed circuit boards to complex signal and power integrity and power delivery systems design. Foundational topics such as circuit grounding, signal integrity and PCB stackups are interspersed with advanced tutorials on switch mode power supplies, EMC, DDR5, thermal management, RF and mixed-signal design and more. 

New courses this year include high-power PCB design, designing using preexisting schematics, supply chain resilience, application of IPC-6012F to the factory, signal integrity analysis, designing in 3-D, bypass capacitor placement and more.

“PCB West is the best place for designers, design engineers and their manufacturers to connect,” said Mike Buetow, conference director, PCB West. “It’s the only place you’ll learn from all the industry’s leading experts and meet legions of new peers and colleagues.” 

Registration will open shortly at pcbwest.com. Conference registrants who sign up by Sept. 2 can take advantage of the Early Bird Special discounts for the conference. 

An exhibition featuring more than 100 leading suppliers to the electronics design and manufacturing industry will be held Oct. 1. 

This year’s show will also introduce the PCB West Management Program, a special one-day symposium featuring experts on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), new product introduction, global manufacturing and new facility engineering expansion, among other topics.

PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY is media partner for the event.

PCB East 2025 Basks in Higher Attendance, Conference Plaudits

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – Attendance for the PCB East 2025 exhibits rose nearly 4% year-over-year, the Printed Circuit Engineering Association announced. Attendance among the exhibits-only category was up 15% from a year ago.

The annual trade show was held Apr. 29 through May 2 at the Boxboro Regency Hotel and Conference Center in Boxborough, MA. In all, more than 65 leading suppliers of electronics design tools, manufacturers of bare boards and assemblies, suppliers of fabrication and assembly equipment and materials, and related industry companies exhibited at the show.

“We were very pleased at the turnout for PCB East this year, especially given the economic uncertainty in the industry,” said Mike Buetow, conference director and president, PCEA. “Exhibitors were roundly supportive of the show floor activity, and conference registrants were particularly pleased with the additional networking events.” 

“What a great conference!” exclaimed veteran engineering manager Mike Boutin. “The speakers were of the highest caliber and the topics varied greatly. They were not all focused on PCB design but on the efforts related to hardware design more broadly.”

“We had a fantastic few days connecting with engineers, OEMs and industry partners from across the country,” said Jeff De Serrano, president of PCB Technologies, US Operations. 

“Another ‘old home week’ for me at PCB East,” said Manny Marcano, president of EMA Design Automation, Inc. “It is very rewarding to be a part of this event and see customers, prospects, new technologies and especially old friends in our industry. It was a great day!”

Design Certification Classes Announced

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – The next series of live Certified Professional Circuit Designer (CPCD) training and certification classes is starting this month. The class meets once a week between June 23 and July 21.

The career development sessions are for printed circuit engineers, layout professionals, and other individuals currently serving in the design engineering industry or seeking to get into it. The instructor-led 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.

Subsequent sessions begin in August, September and November. Classes will be held once a week over five weeks. Each class is 40 hours long and 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. Upcoming classes will be held online. All courses are led by experienced instructors.

The course handbook, Printed Circuit Engineering Professional, was authored by Michael Creeden, Stephen Chavez, Rick Hartley, Susy Webb and Gary Ferrari, industry veterans who combined have more than 200 years’ experience designing and building PCBs for all types of applications.

For information or to register, visit pceatraining.net/registration.

Abstracts Sought for PCB East 2026

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – Abstracts for next year’s PCB East technical conference are due Sept. 5. The conference, the largest of its kind in New England, takes place next spring in the Boston suburbs, and focuses on training and best practices for printed circuit board design engineers, electronics design engineers, fabricators and assemblers.

Papers and 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.

Abstracts of 100-500 words and speaker biographies should be submitted to PCEA. Papers and presentations must be noncommercial in nature and should focus on technology, techniques or methodologies related to printed circuit board design, fabrication, assembly, test, components or packaging, and additive manufacturing.

Submit abstracts at https://pcbeast.com/abstract-submission-guidelines by Sept. 5. No emailed abstracts will be accepted. Submitters will be notified in November if their abstract has been accepted. Presentations are due Apr. 10, 2026.

Presenters of accepted abstract(s) for the 2026 program receive complimentary access to the online proceedings and a complimentary pass to the technical conference.

For more information about PCB East, visit pcbeast.com or contact conference director Mike Buetow at pcea@pcea.net.