July 20, 2026

Hon Hai Eyes Production at Texas Site Hon Hai will begin small-scale AI server production in Texas within two months, using Nvidia-powered humanoid robots for assembly. The company is also expanding US smart factories and overseas high-tech parks to strengthen global supply chains. Taipei Times

Sponsor Depaneling machine for separating circuit boards SCHUNK offers solutions for the entire spectrum of the depaneling operation — from product selection, workpiece holder solutions and optimization of milling. SCHUNK

SpaceX Awards Foxconn A Part In A Huge $52 Billion Order For 13,000 Racks Of NVIDIA GB300 AI Servers, Where Each Rack Costs $4 Million And The Total Order Spans Nearly 1 Million GPUs SpaceX reportedly awarded Foxconn a $52 billion order for about 13,000 NVIDIA GB300 AI server racks, with deliveries starting in Q4 2026. The deal strengthens Foxconn's AI server ambitions, breaks the Dell-Supermicro dominance, and supports SpaceX's expanding AI infrastructure. wccftech

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

How Growing Companies Lose the Clarity That Made Them Successful — and How It Hurts Your Customers' Experience Companies begin with a clear mission to solve problems differently, messaging and customer experiences. In the early stages, founders keep every customer-facing decision aligned, creating a consistent, intentional experience driven by a shared vision rather than coordination. Entrepreneur

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Data center projects drawing increasing pushback worldwide Governments are competing to attract AI data centers, but public opposition is rising over land, power, water and environmental impacts. Protests, lawsuits and new regulations worldwide are forcing leaders to balance AI expansion with community concerns. Taipei Times

Low-Voiding High-Reliability Lead-Free Solder Paste for Automotive A novel lead-free solder paste, Durafuse® HR (DFHR), has been developed using Durafuse® technology. This technology demonstrates the combined merits of each constituent solder powder in the paste. DFHR is based on Sn-Ag-Cu alloy system and contains bismuth (Bi), indium (In), and antimony (Sb). Technical Paper

Technical Papers ■ Flux-Free, Reliable, Efficient: Soldering with Formic Acid ■ Redesigning Material Logistics for High-Mix EMS Production ■ Unlocking Academic-Industry Synergy: A Collaborative Model for Hands-On Electronics Manufacturing Education ■ Viscosity Does Not Equal Rheology: What Solder Paste Measurements Really Tell You ■ Salvaging Electronic Components: A Reliable Method for Reducing Electronic Waste and Ensuring Economic Reuse ■ Digital Warehouse Automation in High-Mix PCB Assembly ■ Evaluation of Techniques for Intentional Contamination of PWB Substrates for Quantitative Cleanliness Analyses ■ Scaling SMT Traceability ■ The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross ■ Engineering ESD-Safe PCB Assembly for High-Reliability IoT and Industrial Electronics MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor PAE Certification – Oct 2-5, 2026 Advance your expertise with the ESDA Process Assessment Engineer (PAE) Certification at the 2026 EOS/ESD Symposium. Learn ANSI/ESD SP17.1 principles to assess and improve EOS/ESD processes. EOS/ESD Association

Here's What A Data Center Actually Does (Besides Use Electricity And Water) AI data centers power models with high-performance hardware but consume much more electricity and water than traditional facilities. Communities challenge rising resource demands, utility costs and impacts as AI infrastructure expands worldwide. BGR

iPhone owners hit 87% loyalty rate this year, Android-to-iPhone switching drops to 12% A CIRP survey shows Apple strengthened iPhone user loyalty in 2026, with 87% of buyers upgrading from older iPhones and only 12% switching from Android. The findings suggest most smartphone users remain committed to their preferred mobile platform. TechSpot

iNEMI Board Assembly –Press-Fit Technology Roadmap A press-fit roadmap team including press-fit manufacture, OEM/ODM and EMS are getting together every two years to identify the future technology trend, future technical challenges and needs and then to find potential solution for next 5 to 10 years in the horizon. Technical Paper

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New Material Beats Copper's Thermal Conductivity UCLA and Argonne researchers unveiled theta-phase tantalum nitride, a metal with 1,100 W/m-K thermal conductivity, nearly three times copper's. Its atomic structure cuts electron-phonon interactions, improving heat transfer for advanced electronics. EE Times

Xi calls for global cooperation on AI At the World AI Conference, Xi Jinping urged global cooperation on AI governance and opposed control by any single nation. China promoted human-centered regulation while showcasing advanced AI models and technologies to boost AI leadership ambitions. Taipei Times

Opens With Assembled QFN Components We are experiencing opens on assembled QFN components at a rate of 9%. The failure only appears in rows near the component center. What is happening? Board Talk

Sponsor Highly Thermally & Electrically Conductive TLPS via Filing Paste New filing highlights advanced sintered metal paste enabling faster installation, superior heat dissipation, higher conductivity, and reliable thermal drain performance without long processing cycles. Ormet TLPS

Taiwan to keep best TSMC tech despite US push Taiwan pledged to keep TSMC's most advanced chip technology at home after the company unveiled another US$100 billion for Arizona. Officials cited new domestic fabs, infrastructure investment and steady semiconductor growth to strengthen global leadership. Taipei Times

Japan's first national AI factory will use 27,500 GPUs across 382 Vera Rubin racks Nvidia will build a 140MW AI factory with Japan's Noetra consortium to power FRONTia robotics. The Rubin-based facility will train multimodal AI models, boost Japan's physical AI infrastructure, and support its push to lead the AI robotics market. TechSpot

Sponsor J-STD-001 Solder Training Kit BEST's IPC J-STD-001 Revision H-J training kit features circuit boards representing actual soldering conditions including multilayer boards with challenging thermal conditions. BEST Inc

Apple, Nvidia vie for title of world's most valuable company Apple briefly overtook Nvidia as the world's most valuable company before Nvidia reclaimed the top spot by market close. Apple's 2026 rally, driven by AI optimism, product launches and analyst upgrades, has outpaced Nvidia as investors shift toward memory and infrastructure stocks. CNBC

Study of Lead-Free Solder Materials for Power Module Packaging Assembly This study focused on the thermal fatigue performance and the microstructural evolution of five lead-free solders under harsh service conditions. Technical Paper

U.S.-China AI feud sees ASML walk tightrope between sales and geopolitics ASML expects China to drive about 20% of 2026 sales as chipmakers expand equipment purchases despite export curbs. The company navigates strong AI demand while facing U.S. pressure to tighten restrictions and manage growing geopolitical risks. CNBC

How a quality management system identifies suspect counterfeits Counterfeit electronic parts are spreading as AI demand and supply shortages fuel risks. ERAI reported a 25% rise in suspect parts in 2024, threatening critical industries and prompting companies to improve testing, sourcing, and prevention measures. Sourceability

Sponsor vCONNECT: Your Next Level of Digital Connectivity Discover vCONNECT: Analyze inspection data, monitor machine performance, predict maintenance needs, store data securely and access AI tools and the latest Viscom News. Viscom

Apple lawsuit targets OpenAI's AI hardware ambitions Apple has sued OpenAI, alleging trade secret theft, highlighting a broader battle over AI access points. As large language models become increasingly similar, competition is shifting from model capabilities to controlling the devices and platforms through which users interact with AI. Digitimes