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88 DESIGN007 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 design. Inspired by the tenets of the IPC- 2231A DFX Guidelines document—in short, good design takes all subsequent electronics manufacturing steps into account—we wanted to bring PCB design to the show floor, which is traditionally more focused on exhibiting fabri- cation 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 commenta- tor (sports jacket and all) and we'll have some interactive 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 man- ufacturing and design. Starting in the early aernoon, we will host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) with some of IPC's top design com- mittee volunteers, where we plan to spark a dialogue among attendees about how they can design and manufacture their products bet- ter by implementing DFX principles. e rest of the aernoon will feature 30-minute talks intended for passersby to drop in and learn more about IPC's involvement in the many facets of DFX—design for fabrication, manu- facturing, 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 entire electronics manufacturing industry and how students can get involved as they graduate from high school and move onward with their edu- cation. Our friends at Altium have put together a great group of individuals who are involved in their Upverter Education and Training 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 introducing more students to electronics and science in general. DESIGN007 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