April 2, 2025

How Dairy Robots Are Changing Work for Cows (and Farmers) Robots now handle milking, feeding, and cleaning at Lely-equipped dairy farms, giving cows more autonomy and reducing farmer workload. Happier cows produce more milk, while farmers enjoy flexibility, lower labor costs, and a more sustainable lifestyle. IEEE Spectrum

Sponsor Get the Revisiting Underfill Handbook Today's underfill applications are constantly evolving. As chip populations increase, dispensing applications must deliver smaller amounts of fluid with precision. Read this handbook. Nordson Electronics Solutions

Trump tariffs kick off today: Electronics companies hope for a reprieve As Trump’s administration readies new tariffs, India’s electronics sector eyes a waiver amid intense negotiations. Industry leaders expect any imposed tariffs to be short-lived, pending the finalization of a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. The Economic Times

Recycling vs Circularity: Minimising E-Waste in Manufacturing Electronic waste generation is increasing globally. This paper explores solutions for electronic manufacturers to minimise their contribution, particularly through recycling and circular inventory practices. Technical Paper

Meta’s head of AI research announces departure Joelle Pineau, Meta’s VP of AI research, announced she’ll leave the company on May 30. Her exit comes as Meta races to dominate AI, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg investing heavily in AI assistants and artificial general intelligence. CNBC

Sponsor Copper Stud & CTE Nano Tech Underfill AIT's proven flip-chip and BGA multi-level underfills offer both 18 ppm/°C copper CTE matching fine-pitch & nano-pitch with 10 µm & 0.3 µm respective cut-off particles. AI Technology

Auto Tariffs Send Ripples Across Supply Chains – Part 2 President Trump’s auto tariffs threaten to raise vehicle prices by up to $10,000, slash U.S. auto sales, and spark global retaliation. Automakers face higher costs, consumers lose affordability, and global trade tensions escalate sharply across major markets. EE Times

Technical Papers ■ Recycling vs Circularity: Minimising E-Waste in Manufacturing ■ Optimizing Cleaning Strategies for Advanced Packaging Technologies with Low Standoff Components ■ Probe Card Manufacturer 'Sees the Unseen' With X-ray ■ Electronic Assembly Cleaning Basics: Manual Concentration Monitoring Methods ■ An Eight-Step Methodology for Bringing a Process Under Statistical Control ■ Bismuth in Solder Alloys: From Bulk Constituent in Low Temp to Performance Enhancer in High Rel ■ Plasma as a Key Technology: Increasing Efficiency and Quality Assurance in the Electronics Industry ■ Use of Numerical Simulation Methods for the Development of Thermal Systems & Coating Equipment ■ Recent Advances in Final Finishes Push Past the Limits of Conventional Electrolytes ■ Smart pH Employment in Electronic Cleaning MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor McDry Ultra-Low Humidity Storage Cabinets McDry dry cabinet for MSL components and desiccators provide optimal ultra-low humidity and moisture-proof storage for IC packages. Seika

How Digital Archivists Are Saving Public Information from the Memory Hole The Internet Archive and Harvard’s Library Innovation Lab race to preserve vanishing U.S. government datasets, vital to science and engineering. Under Trump’s second term, thousands of pages disappeared, threatening research integrity and sparking urgent digital archiving efforts. IEEE Spectrum

Trump’s upcoming tariffs ‘will be effective immediately,’ White House says President Trump will unveil and immediately implement sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on Wednesday, targeting nations with duties on U.S. goods. Dubbed “liberation day,” the announcement follows weeks of buildup, though details about scope and impact remain unclear. CNBC

Sponsor Inline Automatic X-Ray Inspection: TruView™ Verus TruView™ Verus is a high-resolution inline AXI system offering advanced 2D, 2.5D, and 3D imaging to detect defects in electronic assemblies with exceptional accuracy and speed. Creative Electron

Protecting Robots in Harsh Environments with Advanced Sealing Systems Freudenberg Sealing Technologies tackles outdoor robotics challenges with its Ingress Protection Seals for Robots (IPSR), engineered to withstand extreme conditions. Using advanced simulations and materials like Fluoroprene XP, IPSR seals boost durability, reduce friction, and enhance robotic safety. IEEE Spectrum

GM’s first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales lead industry as automakers braces for tariffs General Motors led a strong first-quarter sales surge in the U.S., jumping 16.7% year-over-year, fueled by electric vehicle and SUV demand. Hyundai, Kia, and others also posted gains, as the industry braces for looming Trump-era auto tariffs. CNBC

Sponsor Underfill Epoxy Offers Thermal Conductivity Master Bond EP29LPTCHT is a low viscosity adhesive that can be used for underfill & encapsulation apps. It offers thermal conductivity & electrical insulation. Master Bond

The Evolution of Optical Computing: Part 1 Optical computing uses light’s speed and parallelism to solve complex problems faster than traditional computers. Though early systems faced limitations, breakthroughs in spatial light modulators and neural networks laid groundwork for today’s promising new generation. EE Times

White House considering roughly 20% tariff on most imports, report says White House aides have drafted a proposal for sweeping 20% tariffs on most imports, The Washington Post reports. While still under discussion, the plan could reshape U.S. trade policy and intensify investor and business uncertainty. CNBC

Sponsor Vapor Phase Profiling Thermal profiling the vapor phase soldering process – especially those with vacuum – is challenging. ECD's M-VP™ sealed barrier can take it. Learn more. ECD

Lip-Bu Tan seeks US support to rebuild Intel Foundry, aims to secure 2-3 key customers At Intel Vision, new CEO Lip-bu Tan unveiled his strategy: spin off non-core assets, boost AI products, and partner with the U.S. government to secure two to three major customers for Intel’s foundry business. Digitimes

Consumer electronics see electric performance China’s consumer electronics sector is surging, fueled by government subsidies, AI innovation, and a resilient supply chain. Smartphone sales soared, foldable devices dominated globally, and companies raced to upgrade products, driving growth across upstream and midstream industries. China Daily.com.cn

No technical obstacles to new giant particle collider in Europe: CERN CERN confirmed no technical obstacles to building the $17B Future Circular Collider, aimed at maintaining Europe’s physics leadership. While officials push for funding, critics slam the project's massive cost, environmental impact, and disruption to local communities. Phys.org

Sponsor AIT ORMET® TLPS for Component Attach AIT ORMET®TLPS is proven for outstanding reliability for component attaches and MLCC build-up for high temperature applications beyond 175ºC Ormet® TLPS

North American PCB Industry Sales Up 11.3% in February IPC reports February 2025 North American PCB shipments rose 11.3% YOY, while bookings jumped 17.8%, driving the book-to-bill ratio to a record 1.33 and signaling strong demand momentum in the industry. IPC

Huawei 2024 revenue surges to near-record high as China smartphone comeback takes hold Huawei's 2024 revenue surged 22.4% to 862.1 billion yuan, driven by strong telecom and consumer sales. Despite a 28% profit drop, Huawei ramped up R&D and expanded into AI, cloud, EVs, and automotive tech to counter U.S. sanctions. CNBC

Memory Safety Will Be Key to Tackle Fundamental Cyber Security The U.K.'s Digital Security by Design initiative showcased CHERI, a memory-safe hardware technology, in London. Experts praised its cybersecurity potential but noted adoption challenges. With 160+ companies involved, standardizing memory safety remains a key priority. EE Times