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July 9th, 2025
News and Resources for PCB Design, Fab and Assembly Professionals Subscribe •  Advertise •  PCD&F •  Circuits Assembly •  Tell A Friend
THE LEAD

Global semiconductor sales hit 59B in May, rising 27 percent year-over-year and 3.5 percent over April, driven by strong demand in the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Syrma SGS Technology will invest 215M to build India’s largest PCB and CCL facility in Andhra Pradesh, with support from Shinhyup Electronics.

TECH NEWS

Samsung’s latest smartglasses patent outlines embedded speaker systems and confirms internal use of printed circuit boards.

Automotive software developer Elektrobit has signed a joint development agreement with Foxconn to build an AI-powered platform for software-defined, electric vehicles.

A new study addresses RF challenges by developing optimized fabrication techniques for printed textile rectennas operating at 2.45GHz.

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.

Bond has launched the Bond Ring, a wearable health device using space-grade PCB fabrication and medical-grade components.

Researchers have developed a 3D-printable liquid metal emulsion gel with high conductivity and stretchability, enabling flexible PCB applications in printed LEDs and NFC tags.

Toray Industries releases STF-2000 polyimide.

Cofactr cofounder Phil Gulley and VP of marketing Libby Melton join Matt Leary, Geoffrey Hazelett and Mike Buetow to discuss the company's supply chain procurement tools and software integrations.

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.

FOCUS ON BUSINESS
Forecasts, fires and false hopes: Are you ignoring the heat?
What do you do when your train is on fire? Imagine you are at a train stop. The train you want to board pulls up and it is on fire. What do you do? Despite early warnings and smoke in the air, some electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies seem to ignore the looming train fire. The results can be disastrous.

JAKE KULP

Jake Kulp





















BUSINESS NEWS

Foxconn reported quarterly revenue of 57B, up 15.8 percent year-over-year, driven by AI demand, though signs of geopolitical strain emerged with the withdrawal of over 300 Chinese engineers from its India operations.

With the EDA tool ban lifted, China’s PCB sector is rapidly advancing into AI server and HDI applications, leveraging renewed access to key design software.

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro criticized Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying that the company has not moved quickly enough to reduce its reliance on China for manufacturing.

Beshtau Technologies will invest 13.4M in the first phase of a printed circuit board production facility in Rostov-on-Don.

As the deadline for submitting applications for the electronics component manufacturing scheme draws near, homegrown contract manufacturers such as Dixon Technologies, Amber Enterprises, PG Electroplast, Epack Durable, Micromax’s Bhagwati Products and Optiemus are finalizing most of their proposals with South Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese companies as equity partners, CEOs of these Indian firms said.

A recent documentary on Taiwan's semiconductor development highlights how RCA licensed and transferred semiconductor technology to Taiwan, launching a half-century journey to the top of the electronics supply chain.

China Silver Technology Holdings announced new procurement agreements with Shenzhen Zhengjiaxing Electronics and Shenzhen Xiaobai Assistant Technology to supply printed circuits and AI electronics products.

ViTrox has partnered with Maxim SMT to strengthen its presence in India.

Naprotek has named James Eisenhaure chief financial officer.

BEST PRACTICES
Cloud Collaboration: Avoiding PCB Design Chaos
Before I get into how cloud-based collaboration is transforming PCB design workflows, allow me to paint a fictional example of a scenario where cloud collaboration was not implemented in a PCB flow, leading to costly mistakes and potential damage to industry reputation. 

STEPHEN CHAVEZ

Stephen Chavez






















TECHNICAL ARTICLES


When Do You Need Nitrogen in Reflow?
PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY



Non-Line-of-Sight 3D Object Reconstruction via mmWave Surface Normal Estimation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology



Liquid Metal-Vitrimer Conductive Composite for Recyclable and Resilient Electronics
Advanced Materials

EVENTS

June 23-July 21: PCEA Training Certified Printed Circuit Designer CourseOnline
Aug. 4-Sept. 2: PCEA Training Certified Printed Circuit Designer CourseOnline
Sept. 12-Oct. 17: PCEA Training Certified Printed Circuit Designer CourseOnline
Sept. 30-Oct. 2: PCB WestSanta Clara, CA
Oct. 28-30: CPCA Show PlusShanghai
Nov. 3-Dec. 1: PCEA Training Certified Printed Circuit Designer CourseOnline
Nov. 18-21: ProductronicaMunich
Dec. 3-5: HKPCA ShowShenzhen
Apr. 28-May 1: PCB East 2026Worcester, MA


 

BOOK-TO-BILLS/MARKET TRENDS
             May Trend
EMS 1.43 Flat
ICs 27% Up
PCBs 1.03 Down
Component Sales Sentiment 93.1 Down
Changes are year-over-year.    

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ABOUT

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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