March 6, 2026

India's PC Market Records Its Strongest-Ever Year, Shipping 15.9 Million Units India's traditional PC market hit a record 15.9M units in 2025, up 10.2% YoY, led by notebooks (+12.4%) and booming AI-enabled models (+129.3%). Enterprise demand drove growth, with HP, Lenovo, and Dell leading, while rising component costs may temper 2026 expansion. IDC

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

VIEWPOINT 2026: Mike Buetow, President, Printed Circuit Engineering Association Workforce development and training are taking center stage among the discussions and priorities in electronics manufacturing and – at long last – in academic settings as well. While colleges and industry have long pointed fingers over whose responsibility it is to prepare the next generation for job readiness, the two ... Printed Circuit Engineering Association

Maintenance: The Basics of Cleaning Series Part 4 This article is the fourth and final part of the series titled "The Basics of Cleaning". In this final chapter, some of the common mistakes in maintenance cleaning applications found in electronic assembly operations will be covered and a summary of the entire series. Technical Paper

Deloitte Expert Says AI Enhances Manufacturing Instead of Replacing Human Workers Manufacturers are accelerating AI adoption, but Deloitte's 2025 survey finds a gap between investment and value. Success hinges on solid data, infrastructure, workforce upskilling, and sourcing practical use cases, with AI enhancing—not replacing—human roles. Design News

Sponsor Reliable drying of UV materials Rehm Thermal Systems launches the RDS UV dryer to meet faster hardening demands, enabling efficient, eco-friendly UV coating for electronics and various industries. Rehm Thermal Systems

Broadcom CEO sees AI chip sales topping US$100 billion in 2027 Broadcom CEO Hock Tan says the company expects AI chip sales to exceed $100 billion by 2027, challenging Nvidia's dominance. Surging demand for custom accelerators and networking chips, plus deals with OpenAI, Google, and others, is driving rapid revenue growth. Taipei Times

Failure Analysis - Using Chromatography and Ion Chromatopgraphy/Mass Spec From component and fabrication to complete electronic assemblies, IC analysis has been the de facto method for evaluating ionic cleanliness of electronic hardware. Technical Paper

Technical Papers ■ The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross ■ Engineering ESD-Safe PCB Assembly for High-Reliability IoT and Industrial Electronics ■ The Analysis of Variance: Drawing Conclusions from Data That Are Correct, Unambiguous, and Defensible ■ PCB Rework Evolves, With X-ray a Constant Support ■ How pH Cleaning Agents Affect Production Performance ■ A Universal AI-Powered Segmentation Model for PCBA & Semiconductor ■ RAIG Minimizes Corrosion, Allows Higher Gold on ENEPIG ■ High Reliability Lead-Free Solder Paste with Rosin and Anti-Crack Resin ■ Understanding Solder Dross: Causes and Control Strategies ■ Optimizing BGA Rework: Challenges, Techniques and Quality Control MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor Bring IPC Training to Your Facility Mobile training center offers IPC certified classes at your company’s facility making solder training effective and convenient for your entire team. BEST Inc.

Amazon Quietly Abandoned Its Robot Innovation Amazon has scrapped its Blue Jay warehouse robot less than six months after launch, citing high costs and integration issues. The move highlights how hard it is to scale warehouse robots, even as Amazon pushes ahead with AI automation. BGR

Apple M5 chips introduce a new "super core" tier in its CPU design Apple updates the MacBook Pro with M5-series chips introducing new "super" CPU cores above performance and efficiency tiers. Fusion Architecture multi-die packaging enables scalable designs and boosts multithreaded performance overall. TechSpot

Assessment of 2nd Level Interconnect Quality in Flip Chip Ball Grid Array Package Wire bonding is extensively used in the electronic packaging industry. One of the difficulties with flip chip technology is testing its reliability. Technical Paper

Sponsor BGA Component Rework Simplified When you're confronted with tough BGA rework, who do you turn to? Discover the #1 resource used by military contractors. We have solutions for all your BGA rework and repair needs. Circuit Technology Center

From TV Repairman to Electromagnetic Compatibility Expert David A. Weston defied low academic expectations to build a successful engineering career. Self-taught and persistent, he became an expert in electromagnetic interference and compatibility, founded EMC Consulting, and shared his inspiring journey in encouraging future engineers. IEEE Spectrum

5 Compelling Reasons Why All Entrepreneurs Should Play Chess Chess is experiencing a global resurgence, fueled partly by The Queen’s Gambit and a growing appreciation of its real-world value. Experts argue the game sharpens positioning, resilience, and decision-making—skills that can apply to strategy, setbacks, and long-term business success. Entrepreneur

Process-Property Relationships for Flexible Additive-Printed Electronics In this paper, a detailed study of the effect of aerosol-jet process parameters on the resistance, shear strength, and elastic modulus has been presented. Technical Paper

Sponsor High-Reliability for Low-Temp Processes Durafuse® LT low-temp, high-rel solder paste is bismuth-free, reduces warpage in large BGAs, enhances thermal cycling, drop shock reliability, and reduces energy use up to 15%. Indium Corporation

Lawmakers launch probe into hidden "eavesdropping" risks in modern computers U.S. lawmakers Ron Wyden and Shontel Brown asked the Government Accountability Office to examine whether modern phones and computers leak electromagnetic or acoustic signals attackers could exploit for side-channel surveillance, reviving TEMPEST-era spying concerns. TechSpot

What $5 billion humanoid robots taught me about risk, jobs and the future of the economy Apptronik has secured $520 million in funding with Google DeepMind as a partner, accelerating its push to build humanoid robots for industrial work. The startup aims to tackle global labor shortages with AI-powered machines capable of performing demanding physical tasks. CNBC

Sponsor Gripping Systems from micro assembly to heavy lifting The first industrial-suited grippers from SCHUNK were a milestone. Since then we have brought countless newly and further developments to market. SCHUNK

At MWC, Intel Outlines CPU-Driven Case for Telecom Networks At the Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Intel unveiled its Xeon 6 platform, integrating AI acceleration into CPUs to power telecom networks. The chip targets RAN and core workloads, promising lower costs, reduced energy use, and simplified infrastructure without GPUs. EE Times

Can Solder Mask Be Considered an Insulator? Is solder mask considered an insulating material and not a defect if proven the solder mask has dielectric withstanding voltage greater than 500 volts? Board Talk

Allen Wu on Disrupting $100M Cost of Building Custom AI Chips Allen Wu, founder of CoreLab Technology, is slashing AI chip development costs by 75% with Atlantis, an open, RISC-V-based multi-architecture platform, delivering affordable, customizable AI processors for robotics and emerging physical AI applications. EE Times

US tech firms pledge at White House to bear costs of energy for datacenters Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and AI firms signed a White House pledge to fund new electricity generation for datacenters, aiming to prevent rising US power costs for households while easing community opposition to energy-intensive AI infrastructure. The Guardian

Sponsor New SELECT Synchro soldering system A multi-station selective soldering system that uses a unique, synchronous motion to increase throughput, improve cost-of-ownership, and provide flexibility for electronics manufacturers. Nordson Electronics Solutions

The Reason Why Your Keyboard's 'F' And 'J' Keys Have Little Bumps On Them Standard QWERTY keyboards include small tactile bumps on the F and J keys to guide finger placement for touch-typing. These markers help users locate the home row without looking, improving typing speed, accuracy, accessibility, and reducing hand strain during extended use. BGR