Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1543584
MARCH 2026 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 43 sheet variants and their properties. FR-4 is a known and stable system with known limits, known compat- ibility, known workarounds when it fails, large-scale supply, and over 50 years of de-risking. By comparison, bio-based substrates, where a significant part of the material originates from renew- able feedstocks, are not necessarily lower in perfor- mance, nor biodegradable, disposable, or exper- imental, but there are notable design constraints and differences to their performance envelope. Are they good enough to be used as drop-in replacements for FR-4, even if matching the main specifications of FR-4? They have no universal compatibility, and new workarounds are needed when they fail. They are novel materials, so there is no 50-year track record. But scale follows adoption, and they have significant potential to improve the bottom line across the value chain. Verlinden admitted that bio-based materials have performance-window constraints regarding moisture, thermal limits, mechanical strength, and durability, and are initially more suited to lower layer-count boards, non-HDI designs, and moder- ate reflow exposure. Their introduction should follow risk-profiles and he gave examples of realis- tic applications. His charts of available constituent biomaterials and their properties demonstrated that reinforc- ing fibres could reach exceptional strengths at low densities and that resin components span the full range from degradability to long term durability. The conference ended with a discussion on supply chain improvements, weaknesses, and sustainability by a distinguished panel comprising Andre Bodegom of Adeon, Chris Haley of Amphe- nol-Invotec, Vincent Dronnet of Elvia Electronics, Joachim Verhegge of Group ACB, Thomas Michels of ILFA, and Hugo Tang of Ventec. The conversation was centred on the question, "How do PCB manu- facturers incorporate EU regulations," and was skil- fully moderated by Rico Schluter. Schluter brought proceedings to a close, thank- ing all who had participated, and extending an invi- tation to attend the upcoming EIPC Summer Confer- ence, June 9–10, in Vilnius, Lithuania, which will include a visit to Teltonika. My personal thanks to Tarja Rapala-Virtanen for organising an outstanding programme and to Kirsten Smit-Westenberg and Carol Peltzers for their expert management of another excellent event. And thank you Kirsten for sharing your photographs. SMT007 Top Three Reads: Tariffs, AI Agents, and the Rise of Consumer Robots There is so much happening—both exciting and challenging for our industry. Here's what is top of mind for me at this moment. First, the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump's primary tool (IEEPA) for justifying his power to impose tariffs was overturned. There are so many ques- tions now. What happens to the previously illegally collected monies? Under what and how quickly will these new tariff threats come to light? What is the quote (curse)? "May you live in interesting times…" Second, there have been so many rapid changes to the world involving AI, it is hard to keep up. A recent development I'm keeping my eye on is, OpenClaw, which seems to be what all the Agentic AI hype has been pointing to. No big data center required just a BY JOHN W. MITCHELL, GLOBAL ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION $600 Mac mini by one account—cool and potentially scary advances here! Third, in a recent conversation, I asked an executive what he thought the biggest near-future impact would be in electronics. He surprised me a little when he said robots. However, after a few days at CES, I'm starting to believe. See the market projections in the article below. anRobots for everyone! 1. Tariff ruling limits Trump's leverage but won't end uncertainty for trade partners 2. OpenClaw—what happens when AI stops chatting and starts doing 3. Humanoid Robot Market Size to Surpass USD 251.40 Billion by 2035