Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1035071
8 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2018 Transitions happen. We grow, change and evolve. Time moves forward, as do we all, like it or not. It's an honor to relieve Stephen Las Marias as managing editor of SMT007 Maga- zine. Stephen has contributed much to this publication. I have some big shoes to fill as Stephen takes his talents into his next assign- ment as managing editor for I-Connect007's newsletters. I may be new to the magazine, but I'm not new to the industry. I joke that I have a serial number from Tektronix somewhere on my body, given that my mom and dad met at Tek HQ. As a teenager, I was fortunate to watch PCB fabrication emerge as an industry first- hand. My dad worked in Tek's first PCB fabri- cation facilities; years later, he retired from Merix Corporation. As for me, I received a degree in computer science and launched my career in 1984 writing software for a little-known 200-person Tektro- nix spin-off called Mentor Graphics at the time (now Mentor, a Siemens Business). Years later, my CV includes stints at industry names such as: ESI, Tektronix, Brooks Automation, GE, and Sunstone Circuits. My areas of respon- sibility over the years have included software development, user interface design, hardware installations, customer technical training, product management, marketing communica- tions, sales department management, and stra- tegic planning. I'm no stranger to transitions. The common thread, though, has been telling stories through my work. So, with no further ado, let's tell some stories! There's a technical transition underway in the electronics manufacturing industry, which we explore in this issue of SMT007 Maga- zine. The Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) On the Surface by Nolan Johnson, I-CONNECT007 CFX: The Data Train is Now 'Boarding'