From factory of the future advancements displayed on the show floor to expert insights conveyed in technical conference sessions and professional development courses, IPC APEX EXPO 2020 provided the education and networking connections that helped 8,516 visitors (attendee and exhibitor personnel) from 61 countries address today’s business challenges and prepare for the future.

This year’s 477 exhibitors showcased cutting-edge products and services on 149,900 net square feet of exhibit floor space. And with more than 80 percent of the 4,211 attendees identifying themselves as key buyers or influencers, the exhibitors at North America's largest electronics assembly event enjoyed three days of qualified leads, business development and brisk sales.

In keeping with the event’s theme, “Elevate the Excellence of Electronics,” APEX EXPO 2020 featured more than 75 technical papers detailing original research and innovations from industry experts around the world. Attendees had access to new research on materials and processes and opportunities to learn more about trending materials, applications and processes such as PCB fabrication, assembly processes and Industry 4.0 (including a live demonstration on the exhibit floor showing how two industry standards work together).

IPC APEX EXPO’s full- and half-day professional development courses blended traditional electronics industry topics with hot-new developments, delivered by corporate technologists, consultants, training center staff and university faculty. Attendees choose from an array of leading topics such as: PCB fabrication troubleshooting, supply chain management, high-speed applications, surface reliability, semiconductor packaging technologies and design for excellence (DFX).

Many attendees achieved what they sought at the event. “At APEX EXPO, I was able to evaluate all selective solder and placement machines in one place, with all of the relevant technical resources on hand to answer my questions. This was a great use of my time,” said Larry Davis, production engineer, Hach.

Rodney Doss, ESD program manager at Samtec, Inc. added, “Networking at the committee meetings brought me together with individuals who share similar challenges at their facilities. This is a great way to learn how others throughout the world tackle manufacturing issues. I now have new resources to get expert opinions on ideas I may have in the future.”

When I spoke with exhibitors and attendees at this year’s show, feedback was positive. Attendees said that networking and educational events and activities helped them find new ways to solve challenges; the exhibition provided them the opportunity to meet suppliers that could help them save time and money, and foster new business opportunities,” said John Mitchell IPC president and CEO. “Our team is already working on putting together next year’s show, and I look forward to our industry’s continued support in making IPC APEX EXPO 2021 a success.”

In 2021, IPC APEX EXPO will return to the San Diego Convention Center, January 23-28. Industry researchers, engineers and academics are invited to submit an abstract for consideration in next year’s technical conference or professional development courses in the online Call for Participation at www.ipcapexexpo.org/education/call-for-participation.

IPC announced today the January 2020 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.05.

Total North American PCB shipments in January 2020 were down 5.2 percent compared to the same month last year. Compared to the preceding month, January shipments decreased 12.7 percent.

PCB bookings in January increased 3.2 percent year-over-year. Bookings in January decreased 10.9 percent from the previous month.

“North American PCB shipments fell in January on a year-over-year basis for the first time since July 2019. At the same time, growth in new orders slowed,” said Shawn DuBravac, IPC’s chief economist. “While January results were not likely impacted by the spread of coronavirus, subsequent months could negative show impact. We'll be watching the results closely in the coming months to determine the full impact of this fast-moving situation.”

Note: The January & December 2019 ratios have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.
 

Note: The January, June, October, and December 2019 growth rates have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.

View Charts in PDF

Detailed Data Available

Companies that participate in IPC’s North American PCB Statistical Program have access to detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by product types and company size tiers, demand for prototypes, sales growth to military and medical markets, and other timely data.

Interpreting the Data

The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to twelve months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.

Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB book-to-bill ratio by the end of each month.

Electronics manufacturers anticipate at least a five-week product shipment delay from suppliers due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to a survey conducted by IPC, a global electronics manufacturing association. The group says shipping delays from China and other countries where the virus has spread are already having negative impacts on manufacturers.

Roughly 65 percent of manufacturers report their suppliers expect, on average, a three-week delay. However, electronics manufacturers expect delays to be longer than what their suppliers are currently quoting. On average, executives expect shipment delays to be at least five weeks.

“The delays will likely have ripple effects for the rest of the year,” said John Mitchell, IPC’s president and CEO. "The longer China is affected by the epidemic, and the more it spreads to other parts of the world, the supply chain will experience more and varied strains and disruptions.”

An overwhelming majority (84 percent) of electronics manufacturers and suppliers are worried about the epidemic’s impact on their business operations. Delays in receiving supplier inputs can lead to factory downtime, higher average costs, transportation bottlenecks, pressure for alternative sourcing, delayed sales, and delayed prototyping that slows the introduction of new products.

“In most cases, it’s not easy for manufacturers to switch suppliers, if that’s what turns out to be necessary,” added Mitchell. “Securing alternate sources requires an investment of significant time and money that must be weighed against the value gained.”

IPC surveyed industry professionals at electronics manufacturing companies, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies, and printed circuit board (PCB) fabricators. Almost half of the survey respondents represent the contract electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. This segment performs an estimated 25 percent of North American electronics manufacturing for OEMs. The survey was conducted between February 11–16, 2020.

IPC will continue to perform regular surveys and research on this issue.

IPC will conduct regional hand soldering competitions for professionals in Europe along with the world hand soldering championship at Electronica Germany in November.

Sponsors of this year’s regional competitions and world championship supplying hand soldering equipment and materials are: (Gold sponsors) Hakko, providing  soldering stations and fume extractors; Thales and SFM-Société Française de Microscopie, providing binoculars. Silver sponsors include Optilla, supplying digital visual inspection; TheDaylightCompany, supplying lighting; and Almit, providing soldering materials. IPC would like to thank our sponsors this year for supporting the European regional competitions and the world championship.

The current list of regional competitions will be located at the following events: France – GLOBAL INDUSTRIE-MIDEST in March; Russia – Expoelectronica in April (to be confirmed); Germany – SMTconnect in May; Denmark – E-20 Odense in September; United Kingdom – WNIE in September; Poland – Warsaw Industry Week in November; and Germany – Electronica in November.  

Contact Philippe Leonard, director, IPC Europe, at PhilippeLeonard@ipc.org for additional information on each regional hand soldering competition.

IPC invites innovators, technologists, materials suppliers, electrical engineers and academicians to submit technical conference abstracts for IPC E-Textiles 2020 – Virtual Summit, to be held October 1-2, 2020. IPC E-Textiles 2020 – Virtual Summit will provide a platform for presenters and their companies to promote their expertise in e-textiles technologies to key contacts from such industries as fashion design, health and medical, sports and athletics, automotive and military/aerospace. 

Expert technical presentations are being sought in the following areas:

• Reliability
• Test methods
• Connectors
• Design
• Innovations in materials
• Mass production
• Washability
• Market-specific e-textiles technologies (automotive, military, consumer wearables, etc.)
• Software and programming
• Sustainability

An approximate 300-word technical conference abstract summarizing original and previously unpublished work covering case histories, research and discoveries must be submitted. The submission should describe significant results from experiments and case studies, emphasize new techniques, discuss trends of interest and contain appropriate technical test results.

Technical conference paper abstracts and course proposals are due June 1, 2020. Submit an abstract or course proposal. E-mail questions about the call for abstracts or interest in exhibiting to Chris Jorgensen, IPC’s director of technology transfer, at ChrisJorgensen@ipc.org.

IPC presented Committee Leadership, Special Recognition and Distinguished Committee Service Awards on February 3 and 5 at IPC APEX EXPO 2020 at the San Diego Convention Center. The awards were presented to individuals who made significant contributions to IPC and the industry by lending their time and expertise through IPC committee service.

Receiving Committee Leadership Awards for their contribution to the 2-19b Trusted Supplier Task Group that developed IPC-1791, Trusted Electronic Design, Fabricator and Assembly Requirements were William May, NSWC Crane and Richard Snogren, Bristlecone LLC. Receiving Special Recognition Awards for their contribution to developing IPC-1791, were Peter Bigelow, IMI Inc.; Marc Carter; Aeromarc, LLC; Zhiman Chen CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co., Ltd.; Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Michael Ford, Aegis Software; Dennis Fritz, MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions; Ife Hsu, Intel Corporation; Joe Hughes, Hughes Circuits, Inc.; Mark Kirkman, SAIC; Mark McMeen, STI Electronics, Inc.; Kathy Nargi-Toth, Bowhead; David Reichert, DuPont; Stephanie Richards, Labinal Salisbury; Roger Smith, NSWC Crane; John Timler, SAIC; and Stephen Tisdale, Tisdale Environmental Consulting LLC.

Mike Carano, RBP Chemical Technology, Inc.; earned a Committee Leadership Awards for his outstanding contributions to 7-24 Printed Board Fabrication and Assembly Process Effects Subcommittee that developed IPC-9121, Troubleshooting for Printed Board Fabrication Processes, Amendment 2. Receiving Special Recognition Awards for their contribution to IPC-9121, were Paul Cooke, FTG Circuits; Tom Fitzgerald, TTM Technologies; Denny Fritz, MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions; Gary Hirst, TTM Technologies, Inc.; Ife Hsu, Intel Corporation; Mike Jawitz, Raytheon Missile Systems; Sharissa Johns, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Suriyakan Kleitz, Schlumberger Well Services; Leo Lambert, EPTAC Corporation; Jennifer Ly, BAE Systems; Karen McConnell, Northrop Grumman Corporation; Joey Rios, Raytheon Missile Systems; Robert Roessler, ABB Critical Power; Anjana Shyamsundar, ABB Critical Power; David Sommervold, Henkel Corporation; Steve Tisdale, Tisdale Environmental Consulting LLC; and Miou Yamoaka, Meiko Electronics Co. Ltd.

Earning Special Recognition Awards for their contribution to 4-14 Plating Processes Subcommittee that developed IPC-4552B, Performance Specification for Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) Plating for Printed Boards, were Scott Bowles, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company; Denise Charest, Amphenol Printed Circuits, Inc.; Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Joey Rios, Raytheon; David Sommervold, Henkel US Operations Corp.; and Ingrid Swenson, TTM Technologies, Inc.

For their leadership of 7-31bv J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610 Automotive Addendum Task Group that developed J-STD-001GA/IPC-A-610GA Automotive Addendum to IPC J-STD-001G, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies and IPC-A-610G, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies, Gaston Hidalgo, Toyota Motor North America; Jose Servin Olivares, Continental Temic SA de CV; Udo Welzel, Robert Bosch GmbH received Committee Leadership Awards. Receiving Distinguished Committee Service Awards for their contributions to the Automotive Addendum Task Group were Thomas Ahrens, Trainalytics GmbH; Mitsuhiro Asaka, Japan Unix Co., Ltd.; Jasbir Bath, Koki Solder America; Tiberiu Baranyi, Flextronics Romania SRL; Javier Cobos, Eaton Corporation; Robert Cooke, NASA Johnson Space Center; Alejandro Cruz, GPV Americas S.A.P. I de C.V.; Miguel Dominguez, Continental Temic SA de CV; Hans-Otto Fickenscher, Continental Automotive GmbH; Gunter Gera, Robert Bosch GmbH; Andrew Goddard, ZF; Robert Kinyanjui, John Deere Electronic Solutions; Yusaku Kono, Japan Unix Co., Ltd.; Alain Le Grand, Continental Automotive France SAS; Patrick Leidich, Robert Bosch GmbH; Stuart Longgood, Delphi Technologies; Walter Montoya, Senju Comtek; Stanton Rak, Continental Automotive Systems; Ivan Roman, Continental Automotive; Manuel Tabarez, Continental Automotive Nogales S.A. de C.V.; Toshiyasu Takei, Japan Unix Co., Ltd.; Wayne Thomas, Nexteer Automotive; Hans-Peter Tranitz, Continental Automotive GmbH; Indira Vazquez, Continental Temic SA de CV; and Thomas Zettner, Continental Automotive GmbH.

Receiving Committee Leadership Awards for their contribution to D-33a Rigid Printed Board Performance Specification Task Group that developed IPC-6012E, Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards were Mark Beuchner, BAE Systems and Randy Reed, R. Reed Consultancy LLC. Earning Distinguished Committee Service Awards for their dedication to developing IPC-6012E, were Lance Auer, Conductor Analysis Technologies, Inc.; Scott Bowles, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company; Denise Charest, Amphenol Printed Circuits, Inc.; Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Gary Ferrari, FTG Circuits; Vicka Hammill, Honeywell Inc. Air Transport Systems; Philip Henault, Raytheon Missile Systems; Nick Koop, TTM Technologies, Inc.; Clifford Maddox, Boeing Company; Chris Mahanna, Robisan Laboratory, Inc.; Joey Rios, Raytheon Missile Systems; Patrick Smith, Cirexx International; and Marshall Stolstrom, TTM Technologies.

Earning Committee Leadership Awards for their outstanding contributions to the D-11 Flexible Circuits Design Subcommittee that developed IPC-2223E, Sectional Design Standard for Flexible & Rigid-Flexible Printed Boards, were Mark Finstead, Flexible Circuit Technologies, Inc. and Bill Ortloff, Raytheon Company. Receiving Distinguished Committee Service Awards were Lance Auer, Conductor Analysis Technologies, Inc.; Gary Erickson, Sanmina Corp.; Kevin Kusiak, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company; and Steven Murray, Northrop Grumman Corporation.

For their leadership of the 5-21m Cold Joining Press-Fit Task Group that developed IPC-9797, Press-Fit Standard for Automotive Requirements and other High-Reliability Applications, Hans-Peter Tranitz, Continental Automotive GmbH and Udo Welzel, Robert Bosch GmbH, earned Committee Leadership Awards. Receiving Distinguished Committee Service Awards for the contributions to developing IPC-9797, were Erika Crandall, TE Connectivity Germany GmbH; Hermann Eicher, EPT Guglhoer GmbH; Philippe Jaeckle, Robert Bosch GmbH; Frank Uibel, Uibel Consulting; and Heike Woldt, Diehl Metal Applications GmbH.

Receiving Committee Leadership Awards for their outstanding contributions to 5-33a Conformal Coating Task Group that developed IPC-CC-830C, Qualification and Performance of Electrical Insulating Compound for Printed Wiring Assemblies, were Brian Chislea, Dow Corning and Jeffrey Sargeant, Humiseal Division of Chase Corporation. Earning Special Recognition Awards for their dedication to the 5-33a Conformal Coating Task Group, were Lloyd Duso, Diamond-MT Inc.; Ben Gumpert, Lockheed Martin Missile & Fire Control; Jason Keeping, Celestica International L.P.; Phil Kinner, Electrolube; Richard Litavis, Paradign Inc.; Randy McNutt, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems; Graham Naisbitt, Gen3 Systems Limited; Doug Pauls, Collins Aerospace; Amanda Rickman, Raytheon Systems Company; Barry Ritchie, Electronics Protection Chemistries Group; Stefan Schroeder, Lackwerke Peters GmbH & Co KG; John Waryold, Humiseal Division of Chase Corporation; Fonda Wu, Raytheon Company; and Lamar Young, Specialty Coating Systems Inc.

Receiving Special Recognition Awards for their contribution to the 2020 Technical Conference Program Committee, were Beverly Christian, ABC Electronics Manufacturing Consulting; Martin Goetz, Northrop Grumman Corporation; David Hoover, TTM Technologies; Jason Keeping, Celestica Inc.; Milos Lazic, Indium Corporation; Weifing Liu, Flex; Sandra Nelle, Atotech Deutschland GmbH; Russell Nowland, Nokia Corporation; Stanton Rak, Continental Automotive Systems; Karl Sauter, Oracle America, Inc.; Julie Silk, Keysight Technologies; Bhanu Sood, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; and Brian Toleno, Microsoft Corporation; Udo Welzel, Robert Bosch GmbH.

Receiving Special Recognition Awards for their service to the Design Community through the Designer Council Executive Board, were Stephen Chavez, UTC Aerospace Systems; Soo Lan Cheah, Selangor Human Resources Development Center; Michael Creeden, San Diego PCB Design, LLC; Kelly Dack, I-Connect007; Richard Ellinger, Circuit Source; Gary Ferrari, FTG Circuits; Paul Fleming, Integrity Engineering & Design Solutions; Richard Hartley, Rhartley Enterprises; Lucas Hausherr, San Diego PCB Design, LLC; Cherie Litson, Litson1 Consulting; Bob McCreight, Tesla Motors Inc.; Scott McCurdy, Freedom CAD Services Inc.; Andrew Pollack, Surface Mount Circuit Board Association; Thomas Romont, IFTEC; Luis Saracho, Yazaki Service, S. De R.L. de C.V. (YSS); Rainier Taube, Taube Electronic GmbH; Rainier Thueringer, Facherband Elektronik Design e.V.; and Suzy Webb, Design Science.

For their leadership of the 2-17 Connected Factory Initiative Subcommittee that developed IPC-2591, Connected Factory Exchange (CFX), Matt Kelly, IBM Corporation; Marc Peo, Heller Industries Inc.; and Jason Spera, Aegis Software, received a Committee Leadership Award. For their contribution to developing IPC-2591, Marybeth Allen, KIC; Paul Austen, Electronic Controls Design Inc.; Ruffin Blackard, CBH Solutions, LLC; Zhiman Chen, Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co., Ltd.; Alexis Fouquet, Europlacer; Symon Franklin, Custom Interconnect Ltd; Michele Gray, Aegis Software; Khoo Yak Hua, ViTrox Technologies Sdn. Bhd.; Eric Huang, HaiNa Cognitive Connections; Vincent Levannier, SYNEO, LLC; Michael Lo, HaiNa Cognitive Connections; Karen McConnell, Northrop Grumman Corporation; Jim Monarchio, TTM Technologies; Hoa Nguyen, OK International; Mark Ogden, ASM Assembly Systems; Pat Ortiz, FlexLink Systems, Inc.; John Perrotta, Europlacer North America; Florian Ritter, ASYS Group; Neaven Seo, Keysight Technologies; Daniel Stran, Aster Technologies; Liu Suzhong, Shenzhen Hengzhiyuan Technology Corporation Ltd; Siew-Siew Wee, Keysight Technologies; Johann Yang, HaiNa Cognitive Connections; and Ben Zhai, Swissmic; received a Special Recognition Award. Receiving Distinguished Committee Service Awards were Michael Ford, Aegis Software; Nicholas Francheteau, Europlacer; Thomas Marktscheffel; ASM Assembly Systems GmbH & Co. KG; Frank Pruefer, iTAC Software AG; Simon Smith, Pillarhouse International, Ltd.; and John Walls, Aegis Software.

For their leadership of D-72 E-Textiles Materials Subcommittee A Team that developed IPC-8921, Requirements for Woven and Knitted Electronics Textiles (E-textiles) Integrated with Conductive Fibers, Conductive Yarns and/or Wires, Stephanie Rodgers, Apex Mills, Inc. and Diana Wyman, AATCC; received Committee Leadership Awards. For their contributions to IPC-8921, Ken Araujo, NAMICS Technologies, Inc.; Andy Behr, Panasonic Industrial Devices Sales Company of America (PIDSA); Daniel Christe, Drexel University; Cedric Cochrane, ENSAIT GEMTEX Lab; Genvieve Dion,Drexel University -Westphal College of Media Arts & Design; Steve Frierson, V Technical Textiles / Shieldex US; Mary Hakam, Woodlands Textiles; Christopher Hunt, Pireta; Augustus Jones, DuPont; Gwo-Tsuen Jou, Taiwan Textile Research Institute; Chuck Kinzel, Liquid Wire Inc.; Matt Kolmes, Volt Smart Yarns; Vladan Koncar, ENSAIT GEMTEX Lab; Jeffrey Lee, iST - Integrated Service Technology; Eric Lewallen, Wearable Electronics Product Development; Chi-hung Lin, Taiwan Textile Research Institute; Weifeng Liu, FLEX; Satosha Maeda, Toyobo; Kalana Marasinghe, MAS Holdings PVT LTD; Riccardo Marchesi, Texe Srl; John Niggle, Pelican Wire Company; Jan Obrzut, NIST; Sigrid Rotzler, IZM (Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration); Haridoss Sarma, GO 2 Scout 4 R&T; Arielle Schock, OTEX; Remington Scott, AATCC; Leslie Thomas, Factory 404 LLC; Xing Tong, SAIC; Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Yuasa System CO., LTD.; Praneeth Weerasekara, MAS Innovation; and Shahood Zaman, ENSAIT GEMTEX Lab, received Special Recognition Awards. Receiving Distinguished Committee Service Awards were, Zainab Ali, Honda Research & Development, Inc.; Ben Cooper, FLEX; MaryAlice Gill, Jabil Circuit, Inc.; Connie Huffa, Fabdesigns, Inc.; Anjali Khemani, Propel LLC; Birgit Leitner, Propel LLC; Madison Maxey, Loomia; Oona Oksjarvi, Clothing Plus; Bethany Pollack, Pratyush Rai, Nanowear Inc.; Brian Toleno, Microsoft Corporation, Sharon Tracy, Steelcase Inc.; Carole Winterhalter, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Soldier Center.

Receiving Special Recognition Awards for their contributions to D-72 E-Textiles Materials Subcommittee that developed IPC-WP-025, IPC White Paper on A Framework for the Engineering and Design of E-Textiles, MaryAlice Gill, Jabil Circuit, Inc.; Birgit Leitner Propel LLC; Madison Maxey, Loomia; Pratyush Rai, Nanowear Inc.; Stephanie Rodgers, Apex Mills, Inc.; and Sharon Tracy, Steelcase Inc.

Receiving a Committee Leadership Award for his contributions to the Technology Solutions that developed IPC-WP-026, IPC Technology Solutions White Paper on Blockchain and the Electronics Industry: A Review of the Current State of Blockchain Technology and Its Potential Applications in Electronics Manufacturing, Mike Carano RBP Chemical Technology, Inc. Receiving Special Recognition Awards were Radu Diaconescu, Swissmic; Michael Ford, Aegis Software; Curtis Grosskopf, IBM Corporation; Craig Lax, Septillion Technologies; and Cameron Shearon, Raytheon Company.

For their leadership of IPC D-32 Thermal Stress Test Methodology Subcommittee that developed IPC-TM-650 Method 2.6.7.2C, Thermal Shock, Thermal Cycle, Continuity and Microsection, Jim Monarchio, TTM Technologies; Joey Rios, Raytheon Missile Systems; Jerry Magera, Motorola Solutions received Committee Leadership Awards. For their outstanding contributions to IPC-TM-650 Method 2.6.7.2C, Lance Auer, Conductor Analysis Technologies, Inc.; Scott Bowles, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company; Don Dupriest, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control; Tim Estes, Conductor Analysis Technologies, Inc.; Stefan Gerhold, Atotech Deutschland GmbH; Chris Mahanna, Robisan Laboratory, Inc.; and Nick Meeker, Conductor Analysis Technologies, Inc. received Distinguished Committee Service Awards.

For their leadership of Hermes Standard Initiative that developed IPC-HERMES-9852, the Global Standard for Machine-to-Machine Communication in SMT Assembly, Florian Ritter, ASYS Group and Thomas Bliem, ASM (Assembly Systems) GmbH & Co. KG received a Committee Leadership Award.

For their leadership of 7-31f IPC WHMA-A-620 Task Group that developed IPC/WHMA-A-620D, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies, Bud Bowen, Winchester Interconnect; Catherine Hanlin, Precision Manufacturing Company, Inc.; George Millman, Raytheon Missile Systems; and Richard Rumas, Honeywell Canada, received Committee Leadership Awards. Receiving Special Recognition Awards, were Bob Cooke, NASA Johnson Space Center; Scott Meyer, Collins Aerospace; Garry McGuire, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; and Debbie Wade, Advanced Rework Technology-A.R.T. Receiving Distinguished Committee Service Awards, were Gerald Bogert, Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc.; Zhiman Chen, Zhuzhou CRCC Times Electric Co., Ltd.; Symon Franklin, Custom Interconnect Ltd; Ben Gumpert, Lockheed Martin Missile & Fire Control; Tim Hoover, Raytheon Company; Joseph Kane, BAE Systems; and Jonathan Vermillion, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

For more information on these awards or the award recipients, contact Sandy Gentry, IPC communications director, at +1 847-597-2871.

IPC invites engineers, researchers, academics, technical experts and industry leaders to submit abstracts for the IPC Electronics Materials Forum – From Fabrication to Assembly – to be held June 18, 2020 in Raleigh, N.C., in conjunction with IPC SummerCom.

The Electronics Materials Forum will focus on developments in materials and processes associated with advanced electronics assembly and manufacturing. The content will focus on emerging technologies challenging existing material sets for board fabrication, assembly, and post-assembly protection.

Expert technical presentations are being sought in the following areas:

An approximate 300-word technical conference abstract summarizing original and previously unpublished work covering case histories, research and discoveries must be submitted. The submission should describe significant results from experiments and case studies, emphasize new techniques, discuss trends of interest and contain appropriate technical test results.

Technical conference paper abstracts and course proposals are due March 13, 2020. To submit an abstract or course proposal, contact Brook Sandy-Smith, IPC technical conference program manager.

IPC and ANSYS invite engineers, researchers, academics, technical experts and industry leaders to submit abstracts for the High Reliability Forum, to be held May 12-14, 2020 in Baltimore, Md.

With a focus on electronics subjected to harsh use environments, expert papers and presentations are being sought on the following topics:

• Connector failure modes and reliability
• Design and simulation approaches to avoid EMI/EMC and ESD/EOS failures
• Design for reliability
• Design rules for spacing and staggered vias
• Device level reliability, including transistor aging and wear-out
• Failure modes effects analysis (FMEA)
• Fatigue behavior and reliability testing for solder joints using next gen solder alloys
• Harsh environment reliability and testing
• HDI reliability
• Materials compatibility
• Vibration and shock test methods for predicting reliability
• Microvia concerns and test methods
• Microvia reliability and design rules
• 3D package level reliability
• Reliability assurance and prediction workflows
• Robustness of interposers and new first level connection methodologies
• Solder fatigue and the role of underfill, mirroring, and housing
• System-level effects on solder joint reliability
• PDBA surface reliability (including cleaning, testing and coating strategies)
• Thermal mitigation
• Thermal stress test methods
• Use of simulation in the design process

Abstracts summarizing original and previously unpublished work must be submitted for consideration to present. Presentations should be non-commercial and describe significant results from experiments, emphasize new techniques, discuss trends of interest and contain technical and/or appropriate test results. Final presentations should be 45 minutes in length, including time for questions and answers.

The deadline to submit abstracts is February 21, 2020. For information, contact Brook Sandy-Smith, IPC technical conference program manager.

For information on sponsorship or table-top exhibitor opportunities please contact Alicia Balonek, IPC senior director, tradeshows and events.

In recognition of their leadership roles and support of IPC standards, education, advocacy and solutions to industry challenges, four of industry’s best and brightest were presented with an IPC Rising Star Award at IPC APEX EXPO 2020.  Award recipients were Gaston Hidalgo, Kate Stees, Stephanie Rodgers, and Zhiman Chen.

Hidalgo, a senior industrial engineer at Toyota Motor North America, was honored for his leadership of the IPC-A-610/J-STD-001 Automotive Addendum committee, the J-STD-001 committee as well as his work as an IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainer (CIT).

Rodgers, director of advanced product development at Apex Mills, was honored for her leadership in the development of the first industry consensus standard for e-textiles materials, applications and requirements, IPC-8921, Requirements for Woven and Knitted Electronic Textiles (E-Textiles) Integrated with Conductive Fibers, Conductive Yarns and/or Wires.

Stees, a materials and process engineer at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, who recently completed IPC’s Emerging Engineer program, was honored for her leadership roles on the IPC-A-610 committee.

Chen, an engineer with ZhuZhou CRRC Times Electric Co., Ltd, was honored for her leadership of the IPC/WHMA-A-620C-R and 7-31 China Task Group and IPC-A-610G-R, as well as her promotion of IPC in China.

“The work that the Rising Star recipients have done to enrich the industry and IPC within the last five years will continue to have a lasting impact for many years to come,” said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “IPC is privileged that Gaston, Kate, Stephanie and Zhiman have chosen to share their knowledge and expertise with us and with the entire electronics industry.”

For more information on the IPC Rising Star Award and this year’s award recipients, contact Sandy Gentry, IPC communications director, at +1 847-597-2871.

In recognition of their significant contributions of time, talent and ongoing leadership in IPC and the electronics industry, four IPC volunteers were presented with IPC President's Awards at IPC APEX EXPO 2020. Award recipients were Michael Ford, Aegis Software; Dale Lee, Plexus Corporation; Joe O’Neil, Green Circuits; and S Manian Ramkumar, Ph.D., Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Ford was honored for his thought leadership on Industry 4.0 and his considerable contributions to IPC industry standards, including the Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) and IPC-1782 traceability standard. An active participant on more than a dozen IPC technical committees and a sought-after speaker on software solutions for assembly manufacturing, Ford helps to promote and position IPC’s digital manufacturing best practices by contributing articles, columns and blogs to several leading industry publications.

Lee was recognized for his extensive knowledge in DFX analysis, root cause failure analysis related to design, process and tooling impacts on manufacturing processes and yields. Currently serving on more than 10 technical committees, including the PERM council, the land pattern subcommittee, the DFX standards subcommittee, and the ball grid array task group.

O’Neil, recent immediate past Chairman of the IPC Board of Directors, was honored for his work on the V9-20 PCB President’s Management Council Steering Committee, the G-10 Government Relations Steering Committee, the G-11 IPC Department of Defense Task Force, the G-11A, Defense Road Map Task Group, and the G-12, Government Relations Grassroots Participants committee. An active participant in the IPC Cares program as well as IPC’s Workforce Champions initiative, O’Neil was one of a four-member IPC team presenting the initiative to the U.S. White House in 2019.

Dr. Ramkumar was recognized for his frequent instruction of courses for the electronics packaging industry. A subject matter expert in robotics, automated manufacturing and surface mount electronics assembly education and research, he was instrumental in establishing the advanced manufacturing and electronics packaging laboratories at RIT. An active participant in technical conference sessions at IPC APEX EXPO, Dr. Ramkumar has been a valued instructor on advanced packaging, surface mount, soldering and assembly process topics since 2002, educating hundreds of his industry peers at various workshops and conferences.

“The contributions that Dale, Michael, Joe and Ram have made to IPC and the electronics industry cannot be overstated,” said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “Their leadership and willingness to share their time and expertise with us has been invaluable.”