IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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60 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2026 Although still somewhat controversial within the PCB design community, AI adoption will be neces- sary to improve product design and find creative solutions to many design challenges. Considering the rapid advancements in technol- ogy, what are the most difficult challenges ahead for PCB design? 3D printed and UHDI PCBs require more mechani- cal design knowledge and tools. For example, in our current PCB design work, we think and work in 2D: traces are flat, layers are parallel to each other, and vias are vertical and perpendicular to the layers. In 3D design, the entire design must be considered as a single, homogeneous structure. Layers do not need to be parallel. Layer transitions will not necessarily be perpendicular or require drilling and plating to form. Instead, they will be formed at the same time the traces are formed using the same printing process. The use of ultra HDI to form increasingly smaller features will necessitate a shift from traditional subtractive feature formation to an additive process. This will enable the formation of features with more desirable vertical side walls, characterized by reduced surface roughness. Additionally, the top surface will also have significantly better surface roughness, i.e., it will be smoother, since etchants are not used in the formation of the feature. This will improve the performance of the signals as the speeds/frequencies continue to increase, reducing or mitigating the impedance discontinuities resulting from the skin effect losses normally seen in subtrac- tive-formed traces. How will PCB designers engage in advanced packaging? Will they remain largely in their lanes, or will they be required to cross-train in multiple discipline areas or learn different meth- odologies around design that perhaps go slightly beyond the PCB as we've come to define it? Future PCB designers will need to be cross-dis- cipline experts. In addition to the current skill set of traditional PCB design, they will also need to gain expertise in 3D design concepts and meth- ods used in mechanical engineering. They will need to understand alternate advanced materials and how to design with them, including not only the electrical properties they are currently famil- iar with—such as dielectric constant, dissipation factor, and electrical strength—but the mechanical properties as well. For example, when we select our prepregs and cores, we usually select thicknesses based on elec- trical properties such as what thickness is needed to meet characteristic impedance. Mechani- cal strength is usually not considered by the PCB designer and assumed to be met by the reinforce- ment and resin of the layer. Now that all the mate- rials of the layer will be deposited by 3D printing, there will not be the reinforcement material seen in traditional boards. This will require the designer to consider not only the elec- trical properties but also the mechanical properties when making design decisions for the board and stackup. Furthermore, the adoption of AI and AI tools in the design flow will be essential to take full advantage of these new tech- niques. AI will be needed to assist in finding creative solutions to the design challenges. Kris, going forward, what do new designers need to know to be truly valuable in their jobs? The single most important thing that new design- ers can do to become and remain valuable is to be open to new techniques, tools, and methodologies. It is also important to be open to continuous learn- ing and improvement. In this case, learning to effec- tively use and interact with AI tools, and specifically the natural language interface styles, will be critical to successful and efficient design implementation. This will be one of the greatest challenges to the designers and engineers, as the current educa- tion curriculum for most engineering disciplines focuses on math, logic, critical thinking, and analy- sis. Very little focus is on language and specifically natural language. So, this will need to be added to engineering curricula to teach engineers to effec- tively interact with AI tools. DESIGN007 " How will PCB designers engage in advanced packaging?"