Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1335241
20 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2021 well known to the industry. Not that we're not interested in them, we're absolutely inter- ested and they're very important to our indus- try, but much of it is quite mature. is year's conference is building upon that core technol- ogy—PCB fabrication, for example, quality, reliability, assembly, and test—but we're really focusing in on new "Factory of the Future" type of topics. Johnson: It seems like there is quite an exten- sive lineup of papers and presentations that talk to core technologies but others that add some new capabilities for some new conversa- tions as well. Chris Jorgensen: I think we have a great mix of topics, including some things we've talked about at past events, but what's really excit- ing, especially about the Factory of the Future track, is that the attendees are going to see real- world examples of what's happening. ese Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 Nolan Johnson speaks with IPC's Matt Kelly and Chris Jorgensen about what can be expected from the IPC APEX EXPO 2021 technical conference, which is centered around smart manufacturing, Factory of the Future, emerging technologies, and driving the elec- tronics manufacturing industry forward. Nolan Johnson: Gentlemen, thanks for joining me to discuss IPC APEX EXPO 2021. I've heard that is this is arguably the best technical pro- gram ever at APEX EXPO. Why would that be? Matt Kelly: One of the main reasons we're really excited about this year's conference is the fact that we're doing something that is pushing the envelope and driving the industry forward, and we're talking about a lot of new subjects. We're moving beyond our core technologies Tech Program Preview