Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1339822
22 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2021 gies 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 real- ly 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 re- al-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 expect- ed from the IPC APEX EXPO 2021 technical conference, which is centered around smart manufacturing, Factory of the Future, emerg- ing technologies, and driving the electronics 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 re- ally excited about this year's conference is the fact that we're doing something that is push- ing the envelope and driving the industry for- ward, and we're talking about a lot of new sub- jects. We're moving beyond our core technolo- Tech Program Preview