April 3, 2025

Statement from IPC on 'Liberation Day' Pressing for Domestic Manufacturing Strategy IPC welcomed President Trump's focus on U.S. manufacturing but warned tariffs alone won't revive electronics production. Instead, IPC urged targeted investments and pro-trade policies to rebuild domestic capabilities and strengthen global supply chain resilience. IPC

Sponsor Micro Dispensing Technology White Paper The trend toward micro-dispensing technology increases as electronic assembly's shrink & component packages decrease in size. DL Technology

IDC Predicts AI Solutions & Services will Generate Global Impact of $22.3 Trillion by 2030 IDC projects AI will add $22.3 trillion to the global economy by 2030, driving 3.7% of global GDP. Their analysis highlights AI's growing role in innovation, infrastructure investment, and regional competitiveness across technology ecosystems. IDC

2D SPI and a 2D AOI now integrated in your SMT Production Machine SMT assembly technology offers unmatched flexibility, efficiency, reliability and quality assurance by seamlessly integrating SPI and AOI inspection capabilities into Dispensing and Pick & Place equipment. Technical Paper

Apple leads a drop in tech stocks after Trump tariff announcement Apple tumbled over 6% in after-hours trading Wednesday, leading a tech sell-off after Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs. Nvidia, Tesla, Meta, and others followed suit, as markets reacted sharply to Trump’s aggressive trade policy shift. CNBC

Sponsor Unlocking the Potential of Nanoscale Conformal Coatings Revolutionary Plasma Coating as Conformal Coating - discover it now! PlasmaPlus® enables ultra-thin, solvent-free functional coatings under atmospheric pressure - without post-treatment. Plasmatreat GmbH

Amazon submits bid for TikTok as ban deadline nears Amazon submitted a last-minute bid to buy TikTok from ByteDance, hoping to secure the app's U.S. operations before a looming April 5 ban. Officials aren't treating the bid seriously, but TikTok's future remains uncertain amid national security concerns. CNBC

Technical Papers ■ Unlocking the Potential of Nanoscale Conformal Coatings ■ 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 MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

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

Trump's tariffs incite fury in China and dismay in Europe: Live updates U.K. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned Trump's new tariffs threaten Britain's open economy, despite its mild 10% rate. He urged continued trade talks but didn't rule out countermeasures, as EU allies prepare stronger responses to steeper levies. CNBC

Four Ways Engineers Are Trying to Break Physics Physicists are planning next-generation particle colliders to surpass the Large Hadron Collider, aiming to uncover new physics and deepen our understanding of the Higgs boson. These massive projects face steep engineering and geopolitical challenges ahead of a 2030s debut. IEEE Spectrum

Sponsor Silver Filled, Heat Curing Epoxy Master Bond EP4S-80 is a one part, electrically conductive, silver filled adhesive for bonding, sealing and coating with a low curing temperature of 80°C. Master Bond

Tesla reports 13% drop in first-quarter vehicle deliveries from a year ago Tesla delivered 336,681 vehicles in Q1 2025, missing estimates and marking a 13% year-over-year drop. Shares rebounded 5% despite the weak report, which analysts called a crisis moment amid factory issues, global backlash, and mounting competition. CNBC

It's Not Them, It's You — Find Your Leadership Blind Spots or Risk Losing Valuable Employees The founder of Novakid reflects on his leadership evolution, admitting past flaws and embracing self-audits, active listening, and coaching. By empowering senior hires and fostering authenticity, he's built a culture of innovation and resilience that drives success. Entrepreneur

Sponsor Our Solutions Discover Essegi Automation's modular solutions: flexible hardware and software seamlessly integrated into SMT and THT environments. Essegi Automation

The Evolution of Optical Computing: Part 2 Optical computing is gaining momentum as a high-speed, energy-efficient alternative to traditional computing, especially for AI and big data. While breakthroughs abound, major challenges still block widespread commercialization and real-world deployment. EE Times

A coal plant was imploded to build an AI data center Homer City Redevelopment and Kiewit will transform a former coal plant into a $10B gas-powered AI data center campus. Spanning 3,200 acres, the site aims to deliver 4.5 GW and power construction begins this year. Quartz

Sponsor AIT ORMET® TLPS for Thermal Conductivity AIT ORMET® TLPS is proven with stress relief for stable long-term metallic thermal conductivity & low thermal interface resistance for high temp >175°C Ormet TLPS

The AI shift is leaving traditional compute vendors behind Taiwan's specialty compute ecosystem, long built around Intel, faces a reckoning as AI reshapes the market. With Intel's struggles and Nvidia's rise, legacy vendors must adapt quickly—or risk becoming obsolete in the evolving AI-driven landscape. TechSpot

The U.S. already has tariffs on a few sectors. It hasn't gone that great U.S. sugar tariffs keep domestic prices high, helping some producers but hurting candy makers like Spangler Candy. CEO Kirk Vashaw says costly sugar has pushed competitors overseas, threatening American jobs and exposing the downsides of protectionist trade policies. NPR

Apple Shifts Focus To India As Foxconn Prepares To Double iPhone Manufacturing Foxconn plans to more than double iPhone production in India to 30 million units by 2025, supporting Apple’s shift away from China. Trial runs in Bengaluru are underway as Apple deepens its manufacturing and hiring footprint in India. Mashable India

Sponsor Proven Strategies for Reliable Tin Mitigation Unlock the secret to component lead tinning for tin mitigation using robotic hot solder dip. Download our newest whitepaper now! Circuit Technology Center

Trouble With Skewed DPAK Components We are having trouble with surface mount DPAC components skewing during reflow. We checked our profile and tried a diagonal hatch aperture. Circuit Insight - Board Talk

India Approves Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme to Strengthen Electronics Supply Chain India’s Union Cabinet greenlit a ₹22,919 crore Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme to boost domestic production, attract ₹59,350 crore in investments, and generate 91,600 jobs, aiming to strengthen India’s electronics ecosystem and reduce import dependency. EE Times India

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