36 The PCB Design Magazine • February 2016
CES: Day One
CeS Unveiled is the official media event for CeS. It
is the first official happening of what promises to
be a very busy and fascinating week. At this event,
members of the press get to preview a number of
innovative startups as well as some new products
from a few established global brands.
WKK's Hamed El-Abd on the Current
State of China
In the world of real estate, the key term might
be "location," but in manufacturing today, it's
automation, automation, automation. I had the
opportunity to interview WKK's Hamed el-Abd at
the recent HKPCA show, who discussed the com-
pany's entry into the direct imaging market and
how certain areas of the Chinese market are being
flooded by a staggering amount of Chinese equip-
ment manufacturers.
AT&S Offers Expanded PCB Sales Support
in the U.S.
AT&S, one of the global leading manufacturers
of high-end PCBs, with headquarters in Leoben,
Austria, is committed to absolute customer orien-
tation supporting its vision: "First choice for ad-
vanced applications."
Digital Imaging Revisited
The advantages of digital circuitization techniques
have been described in detail by suppliers of
equipment and photoresist. Since phototool gen-
eration and conditioning are omitted, there is the
advantage of shorter lead time.
Catching Up with HSIO's
James Rathburn
I have interviewed James Rathburn a number of
times in the past few years and he always has
something new to say. one of the industry's lead-
ing technology inventors, Jim is always finding
himself on the cutting edge of our technology.
The recent acquisition of the former HeI operation
in Tempe, Arizona exemplifies the path his compa-
ny is taking towards a goal of being the industry's
true technology leader.
IoT, Community and Content at
the Centre of CES
Phillip Stoten writes about his observations during
the recent CeS 2016 Show in Las Vegas, including
new trends driving the next generation of consum-
er electronics technologies such as IoT and content.
Happy's Essential Skills: The Need for
Total Quality Control (Six Sigma and
Statistical Tools), Part 1
In this first of many columns covering my "Twenty-
Five essential Skills every engineer needs to Learn,"
I will expand on each of those skills. The introduc-
tion to this series published in the January issue of
The PCB Magazine. As a quick recap, here are the
25 skills that I will be writing about over the next
18 months or so, to publish every three weeks or
so in the PCB007 Daily newsletter.
CES 2016 Wrap-Up, Part 1
CeS 2016 is now history and most of us are home,
or at our next port-of-call. I have seen various atten-
dance numbers, but it's somewhere in the range of
175,000; it was busy, crowded and impossible to
see everything. Here is my review of some of the
most innovative devices and technologies at CeS.
CES 2016: Press Day, Showstoppers
and LaunchIt Event
Tuesday, January 5 was press day at CeS 2016.
Some of the largest press conferences are held on
press day. Many of them are one- or two-hour ad-
vertisements with a number of new product an-
nouncements inserted, and some do provide a
great deal of market data and trends. The bigger
"pressers," such as the Samsung event, fill multiple
auditorium-sized rooms as well as overflow rooms.
Weiner's World
In this article, industry veteran Gene Weiner looks
back at some of the industry highlights in 2015,
and ponders on the challenges and opportuni-
ties to expect this year. He also highlights recent
industry events, including the 2015 International
Printed Circuit & APeX South China Fair and SeMI-
Con Japan.
pcb007
Highlights
