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June 26th, 2026
News and Resources for PCB Design, Fab and Assembly Professionals Subscribe •  Advertise •  PCD&F •  Circuits Assembly •  Tell A Friend
THE LEAD

MIT developed a technique for printing electronic circuits directly onto living tissues and complex biological surfaces. OpenAI and Broadcom unveiled the design of their first custom AI chip.

TECH NEWS

IBM has demonstrated a laboratory prototype of what it calls the world's first sub-1-nanometer (0.7nm) chip technology, using a new 3D transistor architecture to pack nearly 100 billion transistors onto a fingernail-sized chip, with commercial production projected within five years.

Princeton researchers started to develop machine-learning-driven algorithmic methods for designing RFICs and, in many cases, the physical prototypes bested state-of-the art circuits in terms of performance.

OpenAI and Broadcom unveiled the design of their first custom AI chip, Jalapeño, which is intended for AI inference workloads and forms part of OpenAI’s plan to deploy enough custom hardware to support data centers consuming up to 10GW of power.

Researchers at MIT developed a nanoparticle-free printing process that enables electronic sensors and circuits to be printed directly onto living tissues, biological materials and complex curved surfaces.

Hackaday highlighted the toner transfer method as a low-cost DIY alternative to commercial PCB fabrication, demonstrating how a circuit printed in a magazine can be scanned, transferred onto copper-clad board, and chemically etched to create a functioning PCB.

Researchers at MIT developed a nanoparticle-free printing process that enables electronic sensors and circuits to be printed directly onto living tissues, biological materials and complex curved surfaces.

Hackaday highlighted the toner transfer method as a low-cost DIY alternative to commercial PCB fabrication, demonstrating how a circuit printed in a magazine can be scanned, transferred onto copper-clad board, and chemically etched to create a functioning PCB.

CE3S and Desco Industries will host a free four-part ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 training series throughout August.

CE3S and Desco Industries will host a free four-part ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 training series throughout August.

Rigol unveils DG70000 Series arbitrary waveform generators.

Registration is open for PCB West 2026, which will feature more than 120 hours of PCB design and assembly training this September in Santa Clara.

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.

THE ROUTE
No Shortcuts to Success
Not to beat a dead horse, but we’ve been speaking the past few months about corporate mergers and the intersection between academia and industry, and while these are separate topics, to be sure, I am motivated to continue both conversations.

MIKE BUETOW

Mike Buetow





















BUSINESS NEWS

NCAB Group acquired Florida-based PCB supplier Board Shark for an upfront purchase price of $15M.

Taiwan's PCB output is projected to reach nearly $9B in the second quarter.

India is expected to announce the next round of beneficiaries under its Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) as early as August, with a focus on rare earth materials and high-precision manufacturing equipment.

Redboard Technology will invest up to approximately $125M to expand its high-end HDI production capacity.

Somacis has finalized its acquisition of the entire capital of the ACB group, a printed circuit board manufacturer based in France and Belgium.

Elsewedy Electric plans to invest more than $200M in Egypt to build an e-waste and copper recycling complex and an aluminum rod production line, with operations targeted to begin in the first quarter of 2028.

Yunchuan Technology plans a roughly $209M, two-phase investment to establish a high-performance MLCC manufacturing base.

FLEXPERTS
IPC-6013F Updates Flexible Circuit Requirements for HDI, Backdrilling and ENIG Defaults
In anticipation of revision F of IPC-6013 being released, this is a great time to highlight some of the biggest changes that impact manufacturers and end-users.

NICK KOOP

Nick Koop






















TECHNICAL ARTICLES

Reflow AI – Before There was Artificial Intelligence
PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY


AI-Enabled RFIC
2026 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC)


I Met With China’s Top AI Experts. They’re Freaking Out, Too
Wired


EVENTS

June 24-26: Vietnam Intcomm 2026 & Electronic Vietnam 2026Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Sept. 4, 11, 18, 25, Oct. 9: Certified Printed Circuit Design Training Online
Sept. 28-Oct. 2: Certified Printed Circuit Design Training Santa Clara, CA
Sept. 29-Oct. 2: PCB West 2026Santa Clara, CA
Oct. 16, 23, 30, Nov. 6, 13: Certified Printed Circuit Design Training Online
Feb. 17-19, 2027: Nepcon Japan Tokyo


 

BOOK-TO-BILLS/MARKET TRENDS
             April Trend
EMS 1.36 Up
Semiconductors         79% Up
PCBs 1.24 Up
Component Sales Sentiment 147 Flat
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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