40 The PCB Design Magazine • August 2015
PCB007
Highlights
for the second day of the EIPC Summer Conference
in Berlin, continuing the theme of improving profit-
ability through technical leadership and innovation
to meet future market requirements, with sessions
on materials and processes for high performance
PCBs and advanced material testing strategies to
meet OEM and ODM needs.
EIPC Summer Conference, Berlin: Day 1
Berlin, capital of Germany and a world city of cul
-
ture, politics, media and science, was the venue for
the 2015 EIPC Summer Conference, which attracted
delegates from sixteen countries, including Russia,
Hong Kong, Japan, Israel, USA and Canada, as well
as the European Union, to experience a programme
of 21 technical presentations over two days. Also
included was a visit to the Berlin laboratories of
Fraunhofer Institute, Europe's largest application-
oriented research organisation.
IPC Releases PCB Industry Results
for May 2015
Total North American PCB shipments decreased
4.2% in May 2015 from May 2014, and year-to-
date shipment growth declined to -1.8%. Com
-
pared to the previous month, PCB shipments were
down 3.5%.
IPC Promotes Philip Carmichael to
IPC President, Asia
IPC has promoted Philip Carmichael to IPC presi-
dent of Asia. Carmichael has served as president
of IPC Greater China since January 2013 and will
now expand his responsibilities to include mem-
ber acquisition and support in Japan, Korea and
ASEAN member states including Cambodia, Indo-
nesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam.
iPhone 6S Series Drives Sales of Flex PCBs
The upcoming release of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 6S se-
ries, which will feature Force Touch technology, is
expected to drive demand for flexible PCBs (FPCBs)
as Apple is set to increase its orders from Taiwanese
firms Zhen Ding Technology and Flexium Intercon
-
nect, according to a Digitimes report. This is expect-
ed to boost sales of both Zhen Ding and Flexium for
the second half of 2015.
Kelly Dack Discusses His Recent Move
It's no secret that Prototron is one of the fabrica-
tors to watch in the US. I've known the Prototron
staff for years, and worked with them for a number
of years as well. So, when I heard they had hired
Kelly Dack, a longtime PCB designer and guest edi
-
tor for PCBDesign007, I wasted no time meeting
with Kelly.
Catching Up with Vector Fabrication's
Quang Luong: Here Comes Vietnam!
I have known Quang Luong, the owner of Vector
Fabrication, for many years now, and I have always
been interested in his business and how it operates,
especially since he is the only PCB shop owner I
know of who has a company both in the U.S. and
in Vietnam.
TTM: Consult Fabricators Early
for PCB Designs
Recently, I attended the Designers Council "Lunch
and Learn" at Broadcom's office in Orange County,
California. One of the speakers at this event was Julie
Ellis, a field applications engineer with TTM Tech
-
nologies. She sat down with me to discuss her pre-
sentation and some of the ways fabricators can assist
PCB designers.
Coated Ultra-Thin Copper on
Printed Circuit Laminates
Nanocopper based copper foil has great promise
for high-density microcircuits. Utilizing conventional
coating capability, volume production is easily scal
-
able and cost-effective.
Institute of Circuit Technology
41st Annual Symposium
The Institute of Circuit Technology continues to grow
its membership, and the Annual Symposium is a ma-
jor occasion that attracts most of the leading names
and faces of the UK PCB industry. This year's event
was not only a platform for exchange of knowledge
and ideas, but another great opportunity for build
-
ing networks and collaborative relationships.
EIPC Summer Conference: Day 2
Refreshed after an excellent conference dinner, and
for most, a good night's sleep, delegates returned
40 The PCB Design Magazine • August 2015
