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July 6th, 2026
News and Resources for PCB Design, Fab and Assembly Professionals Subscribe •  Advertise •  PCD&F •  Circuits Assembly •  Tell A Friend
THE LEAD

The Defense Department is seeking industry input on a proposed procurement rule that would restrict military purchases of PCBs from certain foreign adversaries while establishing new hardware assurance standards. North American PCB bookings more than doubled year-over-year in May, pushing the region's book-to-bill ratio to a historic 1.60.

TECH NEWS

Assam Skill University has launched internship programs in semiconductor assembly and testing, IoT, PCB design and other industry-focused disciplines.

PCEA announced a dedicated electronics assembly program for PCB West 2026, featuring 10 technical sessions on solder paste, placement, reflow, stencil design and cleaning.

Binder has unveiled a manufacturing approach that enables electronic functions to be printed directly onto component surfaces, a move aimed at reducing component count, saving space and supporting increasingly compact device designs.

CalcuQuote introduces Product Change Notifications.

Stackpole Electronics expands CSSU Series current sense resistors.

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.

BOARD BUYING
Beating the NRE Game: Changing Designs Without Paying Tooling
Knowing which PCB specification changes require new tooling and which do not can help designers and buyers reduce nonrecurring engineering costs while avoiding unnecessary delays.

GREG PAPANDREW

Greg Papandrew





















BUSINESS NEWS

The Defense Department is seeking industry feedback on a proposed DFARS rule that would restrict procurement of printed circuit boards from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea while establishing new hardware assurance and supply chain security requirements for military acquisitions.

North American PCB bookings more than doubled year-over-year in May, lifting the region's book-to-bill ratio to 1.60.

Foxconn reported record second-quarter revenue of over $78B, up nearly 40 percent year-over-year.

Samsung Group will invest 140 trillion won ($90B) through 2040 to expand semiconductor, display, battery and advanced chip packaging production in South Korea's Chungcheong region.

North American EMS shipments rose 5 percent year-over-year in May as the industry's book-to-bill ratio remained above the benchmark 1.0 mark for a ninth consecutive month.

Asahi Kasei will build a new processing facility for semiconductor substrate materials in Taiwan.

The US Army is expanding production capacity at Tobyhanna Army Depot with new PCB assembly lines to support large-scale manufacturing of drones under its Drone Dominance initiative.

GS Group subsidiary CTS in Russia is launching production of PCBs for Katyusha printers and multifunction devices, with an initial run of 50,000 units aimed at increasing domestic electronics manufacturing.

Parmi appointed Cope Assembly Products manufacturers' representative for Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

BEST PRACTICES
When the BoM Breaks the Design: Why Supply Chain Resilience Starts at the Engineer’s Desk
Supply chain disruptions may be inevitable, but the ability to design around them doesn’t have to be an afterthought.

STEPHEN V. CHAVEZ

Stephen V. Chavez






















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

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
             May Trend
EMS 1.36 Flat
Semiconductors         79% Up
PCBs 1.60 Up
Component Sales Sentiment 146.6 Flat
Changes are year-over-year.    

Brought to you by the Printed Circuit Engineering Association
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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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