Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1433652
44 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 Feature Article by Patrick Crawford IPC During IPC APEX EXPO 2022, we are dedi- cating one portion of the show floor to PCB de- sign. Inspired by the tenets of the IPC-2231A DFX Guidelines document—in short, good de- sign takes all subsequent electronics manufac- turing steps into account—we wanted to bring PCB design to the show floor, which is tradi- tionally more focused on exhibiting fabrica- tion and assembly technologies. Yes, everything starts with design. ere will be an event in the Design@APEX booth every day of the exposition, starting on Tuesday, January 25 with our IPC Design Com- petition 2022 Finals. e competitors are cur- rently working on their preliminary designs, and the finalists will be invited to compete in a layout competition at APEX. I'll be moder- ating the event a la a PGA Tour commentator (sports jacket and all) and we'll have some in- teractive Q&A with the competitors, as well as some special guest judges who will stop by to say hello. Wednesday will be a Day of DFX with ses- sions dedicated to that cross-section of manu- facturing and design. Starting in the early af- ternoon, we will host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) with some of IPC's top design com- mittee volunteers, where we plan to spark a di- alogue among attendees about how they can design and manufacture their products better by implementing DFX principles. e rest of the aernoon will feature 30-minute talks in- tended for passersby to drop in and learn more about IPC's involvement in the many facets of DFX—design for fabrication, manufacturing, test, environment, etc. Both the AMA panel roster and a compre- hensive schedule of talks will be published in the first week of January. Finally, ursday will be dedicated to STEM, specifically, how PCB design affects the en- tire electronics manufacturing industry and how students can get involved as they graduate from high school and move onward with their education. Our friends at Altium have put to- gether a great group of individuals who are in- volved in their Upverter Education and Train- ing departments who will be standing by in the Design@APEX booth to speak with students during their show floor tours. I'm personally very excited for this as I'm passionate about in- troducing more students to electronics and sci- ence in general. SMT007 Patrick Crawford is the manager of design programs and related industry programs at IPC, and an I-Connect007 columnist. To read past columns or contact him, click here or email PatrickCrawford@ipc.org. Revving Up Design Patrick Crawford