Europe’s Electronics Dilemma: A Will Without a Way

The EIPC Winter Conference in February was revealing for several reasons, not the least of which was that the view among the 125 primarily European electronics engineers and executives in attendance was their industry and governments had failed them by not acting more swiftly and vigorously to staunch the offshoring tide.

Europe, in some ways, came out of the dot-com mess in better shape than North America. The number of PCB factories still standing on the continent is estimated at 186, with an aggregate revenue of approximately $1.89 billion last year, according to Data4PCB. That was good for a 2.2% share of the world market. (Data4PCB used data from TPCA and CPCA in its estimates; we will wait for Dr. Hayao Nakahara of N.T. Information for the definitive report later this year.)

That’s not great: In 2000, when most Western markets were peaking, it was $5.4 billion and about a 16% share split among more than 550 fabricators. 2020 excepted, it’s been operating in a fairly stable band of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion for more than a decade.

The Next Materials Reckoning in Electronics Manufacturing

Cost pressure once again may become the industry’s biggest driver of change.

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. Well, I am not sure necessity is the mother of all invention, but it can definitely be tied to a whole bunch, and probably has more than a few still to birth.

Having been in the industry for a long, long time, I can attest that many exciting new products, and the technologies required to develop and enable their mass utilization, have driven much of the innovation our industry is known for. Miniaturization of computers, the growth and speed of communication platforms such as the internet, the exponential expansion of features (functions, apps, etc.) that have enabled virtually everyone to rely on their cellphone, as well as development of a variety of robotics and drones, have all been created because of, and resulted in collateral uses for, exciting technologies.

In other circumstances, however, phenomenal new technology was not the result of a brilliant dream but rather a thorny problem that forced herculean efforts to replace existing technologies, processes and raw materials. Early in this millennium the European Union RoHS directive posed just such a problem. This legislation required all industry to scramble to find a replacement for lead: lead in solder, lead in CRT tubes used in TVs and computer monitors, and a host of other mechanical surface finish applications.

The Ghost Queue: Why Your “Made in USA” Order May Be Gathering Dust

The current US board market is spookier than it seems.

The email confirmation hits your inbox: Order Received. Status: In Process.

For a procurement manager or lead engineer, that notification usually triggers a dopamine hit. It’s the sound of progress. You’ve successfully navigated the internal approvals, you’ve selected a domestic vendor to avoid the headache of customs and the sting of new tariffs, and you’ve kept your supply chain close to home. You have done everything right.

But three weeks later, you haven’t received a shipping notification. You haven’t even received a query about a tolerance issue. You call the shop floor, and after being transferred twice, you find the truth: The material for your boards hasn’t been ordered. And several EQs (engineering questions) are still pending. Your project is stuck in what I call the “Ghost Queue.”

Phase Gates, Not Face-to-Face: Modernizing the EMS NPI Process

The six functions every successful NPI needs.

A recent exchange on LinkedIn about the EMS industry got me thinking about the many good, bad and ugly NPI processes I have been part of or audited over the years. While there is no one right answer to launching first articles in the EMS space, far too many unrepeatable and inefficient NPI processes are “time eaters,” enabling first-article failures and taking the NPI team away from their day-to-day duties. This month, we examine some basic principles to consider if your NPI process is not consistent from NPI launch #1 to NPI launch #100.

Let’s first agree on the definition of NPI and when an EMS should run the NPI process. NPI (new product introduction) is the process by which the EMS validates all steps and procedures needed for a first-article run that, once inspected and approved by the OEM, would permit the EMS to begin its production runs. A product should go through this process in a number of instances, including:

1. When the factory has a new build it has never before produced.
2. When an existing product currently being built is significantly changed.
3. When a product has not been run in a very long time, say, a year.

The Hidden Crisis: Why North America Can’t Outsource Its Future

Hope that nothing will interrupt imports of PCBs and parts is not a strategy.

There’s a crisis in our industry that few want to talk about and even fewer want to admit. It’s not a quality crisis. It’s not a pricing crisis. It’s not even a technology crisis. It’s a dependency crisis, and it threatens our companies, our customers and our country.

For decades, North America quietly outsourced its most critical electronic capabilities. First slowly, then eagerly, then recklessly. Printed circuit boards, components, subassemblies, entire supply chains – handed over to overseas suppliers, including near-peer adversaries, under the assumption that efficiency and low cost were the only metrics that mattered.

But the past four years have exposed a truth that is no longer avoidable: A nation that cannot produce its own electronics cannot secure its own future.

AI Data Center Packaging Challenges Highlighted at Nepcon Japan

How fully has AI taken over packaging, power and manufacturing priorities?

With more than 92,000 visitors and 1,850 exhibitors, Nepcon Japan celebrated its 40th anniversary in Tokyo in late January. Exhibit areas included IC and sensor packaging, power devices and modules, test, electronic component and materials, fine process technology and printed wiring boards, plus halls devoted to automotive, smart factory and robotics.

Almost every booth in the smart factory section mentioned AI. Automotive components and analysis services were on display. In Automotive World, MarkLines displayed its teardown of BYD’s new, higher-priced (¥23 million or $146,818) SUV. The teardown focused on the frame, battery and electronic boards and included a BoM analysis. LTEC featured automotive boards the company examined for its IP analysis. Inventec, known for its PC and server design and manufacturing, provided details of its expansion into automotive electronics with IATF 16949-certified facilities in Taiwan, China, the Czech Republic, Mexico and Thailand. Solutions focused on vehicle computing, e-cockpit domain controller/cluster, connectivity and smart mobility (digital key/wireless charger) with hardware and software integrated solutions. The robotics section included Sony’s OmniBall, a wheel used for robotics that can move on a step with a height close to the diameter of a ball. 

Crowds overflowed the special conference sessions on advanced packaging focused on high-performance packaging trends driven by the AI data center demand. Resonac provided an update on consortia activities. The Kawasaki Packaging Solution Center’s research focused on 300mm wafer and 510mm x 515mm panel development for silicon and organic interposers with technology developments in fine bump interconnection (10µm), fine circuitry (1µm lines/spaces) for interposers and large package (140mm x 140mm substrate) reliability. The new advanced panel-level interposer center development activities will cover production developments for large interposers (8x to 12x reticle size) on panels. At least 27 companies are participating in this research at the Ibaraki site. The new packaging and power solution center in Oyama will focus on power module development, including power device performance, materials and thermal management. 

Splitting a PCB for Concurrent Design

As PCB designs grow more complex, partitioning and teamwork become part of the layout strategy.

Printed circuit board design grows in complexity with each passing year. Many protocols must be implemented. An ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) may be the center of attention, but there will likely be a memory bus along with other architectures, such as ethernet or USB, to move data around. Interacting with the world around us requires some sort of sensor to read the room, while other circuits are used to feed this processed data back to the user.

As mixed-signal designs become more common, it makes sense to divvy up the work to those who have the necessary skills. Printed circuit board designers tend to fall into a specialty. Their first job becomes an anchor that pulls them back to that same technology.

Beyond DRC: Constraint-Driven Design as an Ongoing Relationship

Why the most reliable PCB designs are built through continuous dialogue with fabricators, not one-time rule checks.

In the relentless pursuit of innovation, the world of PCB design often spotlights the heroics of schematic capture and layout. We meticulously route traces, place components, and then, with a sigh of relief, hit the “run DRC” button. Design rule checks are crucial – they are digital sentinels, guarding against fundamental manufacturing flaws and ensuring our designs adhere to basic geometric and electrical principles. But true reliability, peak efficiency and market success in PCB design hinge on something more profound than passing a DRC: cultivating a dynamic relationship with your PCB fabricator, and transforming this supplier into your most powerful ally.

Your Fabricator – An Unsung Hero

Let’s paint a common picture. You’ve just completed a complex PCB design, brimming with cutting-edge features. You confidently send your manufacturing output files to two different fabricators.

How to Determine Your PCB Design Statistics

The Summary Drawing Report in OrCAD X compiles key PCB layout metrics to support design accuracy checks.

When completing a PCB design, it is important to obtain a summary of the design to determine your PCB design statistics and verify accuracy. PCB design statistics can include:

• Layers and design thickness
• Number of padstacks
• Minimum drill size
• Number of holes in the design (plated and unplated)
• Drilling requirements for holes and vias
• Completed and missing connections
• Number of placed and unplaced components
• Trace summary

This information helps to verify that the design is completed and communicates critical design information to stakeholders and manufacturers. OrCAD X creates a summary report containing PCB design statistics for efficient review of critical design information. This how-to provides step-by-step instructions on how to determine PCB design statistics by creating a summary drawing report in OrCAD X.

Adding Prudence to Our Appetite for Progress Can Deliver Innovation that Benefits All

From x-ray hype to AI black boxes, progress works best when curiosity is paired with caution.

Throughout history, our enthusiasm for new technology has often outpaced our ability to fully comprehend its risks. From the industrial revolution to the digital age, we have repeatedly embraced innovations with excitement while ignoring caution, sometimes overlooking potential hazards in our eagerness to advance. In healthcare, where technological breakthroughs promise transformative benefits, new capabilities can come with severe risks that demand careful scrutiny.

The early 20th century witnessed widespread adoption of radioactivity in consumer products and medical devices, long before its dangers were understood. Luminous watch faces and the health problems experienced by workers painting the dials by hand provide an example. Similarly, x-rays, discovered in 1895, quickly became a marvel for clinicians and the public alike. However, the excitement led to routine, unshielded exposure for patients and practitioners, resulting in severe health consequences for both groups.

The shoe-fitting fluoroscope is a striking example. A popular feature in shoe stores in the US and Europe from the 1920s, these devices used x-rays to reveal how shoes fit on children’s feet. There were various brands – the Foot-O-Scope, or the British-made Pedoscope – often housed in nothing more substantial than a wooden enclosure. Marketed as a modern convenience, they were later recognized as hazardous, earning a place among Time Magazine’s “Worst Ideas of the 20th Century.” Its popularity persisted for decades, despite the radiation risks posed to all in the vicinity. Clearly, concern began to mount as investigations from the late 1940s documented dosages both within the machine and at various distances above and around it. The results are startling, noting accumulated doses of up to 140mSv to the foot during a 20-second exposure. That’s about six times today’s typical annual occupational exposure limits for radiographers, clinicians and industry workers.

What Are You Waiting For? Move to IPC-2581 and Leave the Chaos Behind

IPC-2581 replaces fragmented PCB data handoffs with a single intelligent file.

For decades, the electronics industry has accepted a painful reality: design data handoffs are messy, incomplete and almost always require follow-up emails, spreadsheets and PowerPoints to clarify intent. We’ve normalized inefficiency.

But here’s the real question: Why are we still working this way in an AI-driven world?

There is a smarter path forward – and it’s called the IPC-2581 standard. And the IPC-2581 Consortium is here to assist in your migration process.

IPC-2581 is not just another file format. It is:

• The only open and neutral standard on the market
• An AI-ready PCB data standard
• A complete machine-readable digital product model
• A single-file solution that eliminates fragmented packages.