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November 13th, 2025
News and Resources for PCB Design, Fab and Assembly Professionals Subscribe •  Advertise •  PCD&F •  Circuits Assembly •  Tell A Friend
THE LEAD

The latest headlines span earnings reports (generally very positive) and forecasts (same), new fabrication plants and electronics assembly products, and a major trade policy change. And don’t forget: PCB West 2026 abstract submissions.

TECH NEWS

PCEA has issued a call for abstracts for PCB West 2026, with submissions due January 23, 2026.

Engineers at UC San Diego have developed a battery-free vitamin C sensor that turns a drinking cup into a health monitor by harvesting fingertip sweat and using an onboard printed circuit board to analyze and wirelessly transmit results.

Fraunhofer Institute’s latest generation of wire encapsulating additive manufacturing (WEAM) technology enables direct integration of electrical functions into components using standard wires and cables, eliminating the need for conductive pastes, inks, or powders.

Automation Thailand and PCB Thailand will return to Bangkok’s BITEC next March.

Matthias Wagner, CEO and cofounder of Flux, discusses AI-powered PCB design challenges, language prompting capabilities, democratization of product design and more.

Altron has launched South Africa’s first operational AI Factory, a locally hosted Nvidia-powered platform.

Molex introduces quad-row shield connector.

TopLine releases 979000 NASA solder practice kit.

Vision Engineering debuts ProteQ VISO 3-D digital stereo microscope.

Shenmao launches PF606-P279L ultra-fine pitch solder paste.

PCB West 2026 will take place Sept. 29–Oct. 2 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, with booth registration opening today for returning exhibitors.

PCB West 2025 reported a 3.5 percent year-over-year attendance increase, drawing a strong international crowd to its Santa Clara conference and exhibition.

Circuits Assembly opened entries for its 2026 NPI Awards, recognizing innovations in electronics assembly equipment, material and software.

Looking for networking opportunities? Join the PCEA Discord server, bringing together engineers and designers from around the world on a private channel for discussing technical questions and career opportunities.

BOARD BUYING
Again I’m Asking: Where Are All the PCB Youngbloods?
Where are all the PCB youngbloods? Why aren’t young men and women entering the industry in the numbers they did in the past? I asked these questions several years ago, and the situation has improved slightly since. But not enough.

GREG PAPANDREW

Greg Papandrew





















BUSINESS NEWS

China has suspended its ban on approving exports of dual-use metals, including gallium, germanium and antimony, to the US through Nov. 27, 2026.

Dynamic Electronics will invest almost CNY1.5B (US211M) in a new Thai factory for printed circuit boards used in artificial intelligence computing equipment.

Wus Printed Circuit reported third quarter sales of TWD 974M (US31M), up from 856M a year ago.

Pegatron reported October revenue at NT118B (US3.8B), up 2.5 percent month-over-month but down 1 percent year-over-year.

Worldwide tablet shipments declined 4.4 percent year-over-year to 38M units in the third quarter, according to IDC.

India expects domestic PCB output to surge to nearly 14B by 2029-30, even as the country still imports about 88 percent of its bare boards today.

Lacroix reported third-quarter sales essentially flat year-over-year.

Benchmark Electronics posted third-quarter revenue of 681M, up 3.5 percent year-over-year.

Inventec forecast revenue would continue to grow next year, saying that sales of notebook computers, servers and smart devices are expected to surpass this year’s levels.

Cnergenz could nearly triple its earnings next year thanks to a surge in new orders for the electronic manufacturing services firm, an analyst said.

Syrma SGS plans to start making motherboards for laptops with an aim to improve profitability and make it eligible for government incentives, its top executive said.

Ge-Shen reported a 70 percent rise in its third quarter net profit, lifted by its 40 percent-owned electronics manufacturing services company Local Assembly’s performance, cost control and data-driven production improvements.

Pakistan is pushing into fabless chip design, with FAST-NU’s Integrated Circuits Design Lab making efforts to build a domestic talent pipeline for silicon innovation.

UK-based Bramble Energy, which developed PCB-based fuel cells and electrolysers, has filed a notice of intent to appoint an insolvency administrator after failing to secure new financing.

Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry says a new technology levy will take effect in two stages, first targeting finished electronic goods, then expanding to components and modules to encourage domestic production.

Cal-Comp Electronics Thailand posted preliminary October consolidated sales of 421M.

ITW EAE announced the successful completion of its first US-built Vitronics Soltec Centurion reflow oven and MPM Momentum II Elite and HiE stencil printers at its Camdenton, MO facility.

Jabil has expanded its collaboration with metal parts manufacturer Inno to manufacture battery energy storage system enclosures in Rayong, Thailand.

Schmid Group announced two significant orders for its InfinityLine C+, InfinityLine H+, and InfinityLine V+ wet processing production equipment.

NanoFlowX has appointed MaRC Technologies as its new representative in the Pacific Northwest.

Sellectronics installed a PVA Delta 8 system.

Scanfil will supply Tomra’s S2 Rugged Plus reverse vending machines for the Polish market.

Micro Technology Services installed a PBT Works CompaCLEAN III inline cleaning system.

BEST PRACTICES
Why Rigid-Flex PCBs are an Untapped Design Solution
Think of rigid-flex as the ultimate chameleon of circuit boards, seamlessly blending the robust stability of rigid boards with the dynamic flexibility of flexible circuits.

STEPHEN V. CHAVEZ

Stephen V. Chavez






















TECHNICAL ARTICLES

5 Things that Will Haunt Your Plating Tanks this October
PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY


Electromigration in Eutectic Gold-Tin (80Au20Sn-wt%) Solder Joints
Journal of Electronic Materials


Printed Circuit Board Substrates Derived from Lignocellulose Nanofibrils for Sustainable Electronics Applications
Scientific Reports


EVENTS

Nov. 3-Dec. 1: PCEA Training Certified Printed Circuit Designer CourseOnline
Nov. 18-21: ProductronicaMunich
Dec. 3-5: HKPCA ShowShenzhen
Feb. 3-4, 2026: EIPC Winter ConferenceAix-en-Provence/Marseille, France
Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, Mar. 6: Certified Printed Circuit Design Training, Online
Apr. 28-May 1: PCB East 2026Worcester, MA
May 26-29, 2026: IEEE Electronic Components and Technology ConferenceOrlando, FL
June 9-11: ZIW Americas 2026Dallas, TX
June 15-16: PCB Detroit 2026Detroit, MI
Sept. 29-Oct. 2: PCB West 2026Santa Clara, CA


 

BOOK-TO-BILLS/MARKET TRENDS
             Oct. Trend
EMS 1.31 Up
Semiconductors         15.3% Up
PCBs 0.92 Down
Component Sales Sentiment 122.2 Up
Changes are year-over-year.    

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PCB Update is a digital newsletter for PCB design, fabrication and assembly professionals, brought to you by Printed Circuit Engineering Association™. E-mail industry press releases or links to the editors of CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY or PCD&F: pr@pcea.net.


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