CHAPTER NEWSLETTER – July 2025
Hello members!
We truly enjoyed our week in the Motor City during our premiere of PCB Detroit. We are especially grateful to our exhibitors, including Cofactr, which sponsored our networking event, and Wayne State University, which hosted the conference.
One of the aspects that I came away with was how eager the local college students were in learning about the PCB industry. They showed up all day, listened actively even though the content was aimed at much more experienced designers and engineers, and stuck around and chatted (“networked”) after the classes ended each day.
This runs counter to the perception that college students are software-focused and not necessarily interested in hardware, other than buying the latest iPhone. Several of those present were in the PCEA Certified Printed Circuit Designer course we taught at Wayne State last spring, and have now passed the CPCD exam. And there was widespread lobbying – from academia and industry – for PCB Detroit to return next year.
All in all, we feel we learned as much as the attendees. The industry often talks about how we must attract the next generation. It’s great to be part of an organization that is working on doing just that.
In June we opened our annual salary survey of printed circuit board designers, design engineers and other layout specialists. We undertake this each year to get an understanding of salaries, job functions, experience, education, job satisfaction, and ECAD tools used, among other data. We then publish the aggregate data in a free downloadable report on our website and in the PCD&F/Circuits Assembly magazine. Individual responses are not shared. The survey can be taken here. For a list of past results, click here.
And don’t forget registration is open for PCB West, featuring more than 125 hours of in-depth electronics engineering training spread over more than 50 sessions. The program includes 30 classes never before taught at the show. 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 September 30 to October 3 at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center and features classes for every level of experience, from novice to expert.
Mike Buetow
PCEA President
mike@pcea.net
PCEA Training Update
Congratulations to our newest certified designers:
- Arthur Gonzalez
- Yael Legaria
- Joanna Pang
- Raymond Schad
- Kimberlee Shimizu
- Tara Taylor
- Jason Trout
- Noah Vilceus
Recent Discord Chatter
Overheard on the PCEA Discord server:
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- Skills and certifications employers seek
- Converting designs across ECAD tools
- Requirements and Service Portal in Altium
Want to join? Send a note to membership@pcea.net.
Local Chapters
Please forward your chapter news to pcea@pcea.net for inclusion on our website and in future newsletters.
National: Thanks to John Johnson of ASC Sunstone will present a free webinar last this summer.
PCB East 2026 will take place at a new location. The one-day exhibition takes place Apr. 29, at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. The four-day technical conference takes place Apr. 28 to May 1. The DCU Center is a first-class facility, and Worcester is the second-largest city in New England, with all the amenities of Boston but at a much lower cost for attendees. Abstracts for the technical conference are due Sept. 5. The conference focuses on training and best practices for printed circuit board design engineers, electronics design engineers, fabricators and assemblers. Preference is given to presentations of two hours in length or more, and no presentations of less than one hour will be considered. Please use the link; no emailed abstracts will be accepted.
Orange County: The next chapter meeting is Jul. 22 from 11 to 2 at the Siemens Costa Mesa facility (located within The MET at 535 Anton Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA). Stephen Chavez of Siemens will speak on Optimizing Engineering to Manufacturing Efficiencies. Contact Terri Kleekamp for more information.
Portland, OR: Our June presentation featured Don Telian of SIGuys, the SI designer of the PCi bus and the originator of IBIS, who contrasted the pace of IC density versus PCB design and the dramatic effect it has on signal integrity as we know it.
The next meeting takes place Jul. 24, featuring Michael Gay of Advanced Chip and Circuit Materials, who will discuss new materials and capabilities. Contact Stephan Schmidt for details. Our Oct. 23 meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held at the Portland State University Electronics Prototyping Lab.
Richmond, VA: Dan Beeker presented on transmission lines design to pass EMC compliance testing at our kickoff meeting in June. We have interest from a few people to start planning future presentations. Contact Michael Burns if you are interested in helping.
Silicon Valley: Thanks to Jayson Harames and Siemens EDA for hosting and presenting at our June meeting.
New Corporate Members
Click here to find a supplier or join today!
Upcoming Events
- PCB West. Sept. 30-Oct. 3 at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center.
- PCEA Training. PCEA will hold Printed Circuit Engineering Professional curriculum and certification classes as follows:
- Aug. 4, 11, 18, 25, Sept. 2
- Sept. 12, 19, 25, Oct. 10, 17
- Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24, Dec. 1
- PCB East. Apr. 28-May 2, 2026, at the DCU Center, Worcester, MA.
Reading Material
See below for highlights of the recent issues of PCD&F/Circuits Assembly. Read it all here.
Have an idea for an article? Contact us at pcea@pcea.net. No writing experience required!
- Breaking the Six Sigma wall with causal AI. By seamlessly linking and analyzing all data across the entire value chain, a new level of transparency and efficiency can be achieved.
- Optimizing mixed signal circuit designs. An analog world is where we live. A digital world drives our data.
- The importance of test probing in PCB manufacturing.. Verification processes are highly challenging and require a full understanding of the design scope of ECAD tools and the mechanical capabilities of the equipment used.
- Developing organizational culture for troubleshooting. Continuous improvement and problem troubleshooting are integral to using Lean Six Sigma in global manufacturing industries. How senior executive commitment, critical thinking, understanding root causes, solutions and knowledge management all play a role.
- When do you need nitrogen in reflow? A good process might be enough. When does nitrogen make a difference, and when is it just added overhead.
- Read it all here: https://digital.pcea.net/issues/july-2025/ Have an idea for an article? Contact us at pcea@pcea.net. No writing experience required!