Webinars

PCEA Announces Upcoming Technical Webinars

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – NOVEMBER 21, 2023 – Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today announced three upcoming PCEA member webinars on PCB materials, PCB thermal management, and the impact of artificial intelligence on electronics to be presented by industry experts.

On December 13, Tony Senese and Eriko Yamato of Panasonic will present PCB Material Properties – Consideration for Design and Manufacturing. Engineers use PCB material product charts to reference electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties to seek best solutions for specific applications. It is important to understand the significance of a given property and how it affects PCB design and manufacturing. This presentation will cover key material properties such as Tg and modulus to guide how they can impact PCB design and processing. The presenters will also discuss IPC test methods and why they matter. 

On January 17, Doug Brooks and Dr. Johannes Adam will present Via and Trace Currents and Temperatures. Rather than thinking of current density, the presenters say, focus on material parameters and properties that determine the temperature of a trace and how these are calculated. Results of some simulations of vias of varying widths and amps will be shown.

And on January 23, a special panel will debate AI in Electronics. Artificial intelligence has made its way into ECAD and other software used in electronics manufacturing. But what’s the actual intelligence in these tools? And in what ways — and how soon — can we expect them to impact our roles? CTOs and related domain experts from a handful of ECAD companies will offer a snapshot of where we are, what’s feasible, and the forecasted timeline for implementation.

All webinars will include time for audience questions. To register, visit https://pcea.net/events.

PCEA member webinars are free for all PCEA members. Join as an individual member for free at https://pcea.net/pcea-membership.

Conferences

Last Call for Abstracts for PCB East 2024 

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – NOVEMBER 8, 2023 – Abstracts for the upcoming PCB East technical conference are due November 15, the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) said today. 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.

The three-day technical conference will take place June 4-7, 2024, in Boxborough, MA. The event includes a one-day exhibition on June 5.

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 to https://pcbeast.com/abstract-submission-guidelines by November 15, 2023. No emailed abstracts will be accepted.

PCB West

PCB West 2024 Opens Booth Space to Any Company

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – OCTOBER 31, 2023 – The exhibition floor for PCB West 2024 is now open to any interested company, the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) announced today.

The show floor is expected to sell out, show organizers added, as booth space is now open to companies that did not exhibit last year. 

Booth sales opened in mid-October to returning exhibitors, and the show floor is currently more than 50% sold out.

“PCB West has sold out nine of the past 10 years, and we fully expect it to do so again,” said Frances Stewart, vice president of sales and marketing at PCEA. “Attendance at the show was up 5% year-over-year in 2023, and attendees have noted the access to vendors and each other as the primary reasons why they come to PCB West.” 

PCB West will be held October 8-11, 2024, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on October 9.

For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net. 

Certification

PCEA Announces PCB Design Training Classes for 2024

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – OCTOBER 23, 2023 – PCEA Training, LLC is offering three upcoming training classes in 2024 over a span of five days (one class per week) for printed circuit engineers, layout professionals, and other individuals currently serving in the design engineering industry or seeking to get into it. 

Upcoming class dates include:

• Class 1: Feb. 5, 12, 20, 26, March 4
• Class 2: April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3
• Class 3: June 14, 17, 21, 24, 28

These 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.

There are no prerequisite requirements to enroll. Upcoming classes will be held online. All courses are led by experienced instructors.

Registration fees include a copy of Printed Circuit Engineering Professional, a 400-page handbook on circuit board design authored by Michael Creeden, Stephen Chavez, Rick Hartley, Susy Webb and Gary Ferrari.

The course includes an optional certification exam recognized by the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA).

For information about the course overview, class format, and materials to prepare in advance for the class, visit pceatraining.net/course-overview.

For information about the instructors of the course and authors of the course material, visit pceatraining.net/instructors-authors.

To enroll, visit pceatraining.net/registration for the next available class or email pceatraining@pcea.net for additional information.