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92 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2026 Normalizing the Impossible The Next Era of PCB Fabrication Sunny Patel, technical sales manager at Candor Industries, sees the intersection of advanced man- ufacturing, operational realities, and strategic fore- sight. In this interview, Sunny offers a technically- grounded view of what will define PCB fabrication through 2030. It's not about incremental change, he says, but velocity, physics, and the people willing to get their hands dirty to push the limits of what's possible. From eight-stack microvias and sub-1 mil geome- tries to the geopolitical "fog" surrounding capital investment, his insights reflect an industry racing to turn yesterday's "science projects" into today's production standards, while redefining what it means to remain valuable in a rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape. What are the most influential changes in PCB fabrication, either as a PCB fabricator or equip- ment manufacturer/supplier, now through 2030? Sunny Patel: The influential change is the conver- gence of extreme complexity with extreme veloc- ity. The race to be the premier North American supplier will be won by whoever can deliver up to eight-stack microvias the fastest, without sacrific- ing yield or cost. We are seeing the high-mix, high-reliability sector go into overdrive. It is no longer enough to just be capable of high-layer counts; if you cannot move quickly on the technology curve, you fall behind faster than ever before. It is a sprint to normalize what used to be considered "science projects." F E AT U R E Q & A WITH SUNNY PATE L , C AN DOR IN DUSTRIES Editor's note: We asked several experts in PCB design and fabrication about the pressures shaping PCB fabrication today, including speed, density, geo- politics, and relentless technological complexity. The results were valuable insights about where we are, where we're headed, and importantly, what it will take to get there.