South Korean negotiators are struggling to close gaps with the US despite a cordial summit and handshake “deal,” with no joint statement, last month’s tariff agreement still unwritten.

The US Commerce Department has voided the Biden-era setup and taken control of the 7.4B National Semiconductor Technology Center research funds, denouncing the nonprofit as illegal and a “slush fund.”

A new study led by a research team at Notre Dame summarizes the latest development trends and results in 3D printing technology for structural electronics, focusing on the materials, conformal manufacturing technology, printing process control strategies, and their practical applications.

ECIA’s 2025 Executive Conference adds an expanded cybersecurity session led by CrowdStrike’s Thuy Nguyen, focusing on eCrime trends and AI-enabled attack playbooks.

Researchers demo biodegradable, stretchable strain sensors/electrodes by printing AgNW ink onto a NaCMC–glycerol elastic substrate, showing stable performance over 1,000 cycles and dissolving in room-temperature water within an hour.

Bangkok’s THECA 2025 wrapped with 250 exhibitors, underscoring Thailand’s rise as a regional hub for PCBs, EMS, semiconductors and advanced electronics.

Dbrand teamed with Linus Tech Tips to launch UV-printed circuit board skins and cases that mimic real PCB traces, and even glow in the dark.C’s microelectronics pipeline with a local high school shows a workable model.

Toshiba launches 650V SiC MOSFETs in top-side-cooling open leaded LGA packages.

AT&S launched the second “Young Wilds” global development program, pairing early-career employees with senior leaders and the executive board for mentoring, cross-site projects and skills training to accelerate innovation and knowledge transfer.

LongCloud Engineering rolls out SMT Spool tool-less fastening solution for PCB handling.

Exhibition space for PCB West 2025 is almost fully booked, with fewer than 10 booths left, says PCEA. The show runs Sept. 30–Oct. 3 in Santa Clara, CA.

Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall talk SMT assembly issues on the latest Reliability Matters podcast.

PCEA opened the call for abstracts for PCB East 2026, seeking technical talks and workshops focused on PCB design, fabrication and emerging technologies.

PCEA announced that PCB East 2026 will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, with exhibits on April 29 and a technical conference from April 28 to May 1, reflecting the event’s growth and focus on providing a first-class venue for attendees.

PCD&F launched its annual salary survey for PCB designers and engineers to gather industry compensation data.

PCEA has announced the technical program for PCB West 2025, featuring over 125 hours of training and more than 50 sessions, including 30 classes new to the industry-leading tech conference.

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.

TSMC reportedly will tighten its oversight of Taiwanese suppliers ahead of the compay’s 2nm rollout.

Trump’s proposed chip tariffs should have minimal impact on TSMC, said Taiwan’s NDC chief, and TSMC board member, Liu Chin-ching, citing tariff exemptions.

Spirit Electronics signed a distribution deal with Kontron to deliver rugged COTS embedded computing to defense-aerospace programs.

Uspace Technology Group has reportedly racked up big losses at its 200,000-sq. ft. EMS production operation in Hong Kong.

Carlo Gavazzi, the Swiss electronics manufacturer, has announced it will progressively reduce and eventually close its production operations in Malta, ending almost 40 years of activity on the island.

KIC is expanding in Mexico with a third field service engineer and new calibration/repair centers in Juarez and Cuautla.

Agentic AI: The Future of the Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain
PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY

A Fully-Integrated Flexible in-Sensor Computing Circuit Based on Gel-Gated Organic Electrochemical Transistors
NPJ Flexible Electronics

Scalable Roll-to-Roll Approach for Encapsulating Long-Length Flexible Printed Circuit Boards
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

EVENTS

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.