IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1546580
SEPTEMBER 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 97 What's the range of things being covered? How much are you covering system design as opposed to PCB design? There is a lot of coverage around system design, which includes, by definition, all aspects of de- sign. But the scope of the topics covered is not just, "You should use this trick when you're laying out your copper traces." The discussion goes far beyond that to discuss supply chain, lead times, geopolitical considerations, qualifying new sup- pliers, single source of truth, and so on. On the production end, we will discuss communication up and down the supply chain as products move from concept to production. We also touch on design considerations for end- of-life, a requirement in Europe. Those topics might include when products are considered obsolete, how they can be disposed of, and what the cost considerations are. Cost is obviously a significant factor in most product designs, but what does that mean? Are you choosing different suppliers, starting out with a different bill of materials, or are you considering different substrate materials or components? Designing for end-of-life is not something design- ers had to address two or three decades ago. No, certainly not, and now they do. Now, part of designing a system is considering what will happen to it once it has finished its role. Addition- ally, we discuss designing for different risk factors, IP security for defense contractors, and how to measure compliance against the new standards and technologies. When will you be releasing more information about the conference and the topics themselves? The first review period concluded in mid-August, during which we gave an initial response to people who had submitted abstracts. Once we have the final list of abstracts, we will work with those people to ensure their final content meets all our quality cri- teria. So far, some of the abstracts are really inter- esting, and they provide insight into the innovation within their companies that nobody is talking about in the general community. You're right, and innovation in design is always so interesting. Much of the innovation being showcased is not only about innovative design techniques, but the whole system, becoming more efficient, and how that con- tributes at a higher level. How are we getting better, and how do we avoid getting worse? How can we leverage the crazy new tools presented by AI? What are the implications of PEDC for new design- ers who have workforce concerns? This conference is very friendly to beginners. It's a great group for newer designers to be a part of, learn from, and meet people. Because PEDC is not huge and anonymous, you see a lot of informal mentoring, and that's nice. Those who are newer to the design community can get a lot more out of this conference than they would at a larger one. That is good to hear. To wrap up, how do you feel about where electronic design is headed? We've reached the point where collaboration on information and on design is imperative. We're on the cusp of needing more powerful tools for collab- orative design. How do we achieve that, and how do we make it relatively easy for people? Who will provide the most robust and best customer expe- rience? There will always be a trade-off, but the amount of design on every square inch of a board is growing exponentially, so there's a need to involve more than just one product stakeholder. You can't accomplish some of these things by yourself. The other thing I see is that product and mate- rials lead times will really affect the designs and designers. Lead times are huge right now, so if you make a mistake, you are in trouble. There's a lot of pressure to get it right. The best way to get some- thing right the first time, or in as few revisions as possible, is to get input on how others are doing it, and how it might best be done. Then, maybe, check it six times throughout the design workflow instead of just once at the very end. That's the perfect place to end. Susan, thank you for providing an update on PEDC. It sounds like a great conference. I-CONNECT007