President Trump will impose a 50 percent tariff on copper starting August 1, aiming to boost US production of the metal essential to electronics and semiconductors, though industry analysts warn of cost spikes and delayed domestic capacity.

TTM Technologies has acquired the former TDK Hutchinson facility in Wisconsin and land in Penang to expand advanced PCB production for AI, data centers and medical applications.

The US Department of Energy is seeking public input by September 30 on the White House’s forthcoming National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing.

Researchers have introduced PCES-YOLO, an enhanced YOLOv11-based model for PCB defect detection that improves small-target feature capture and localization accuracy, achieving a mAP50 of 97.3 percent and outperforming mainstream detection algorithms.

Hon Hai Research Institute has unveiled ModeSeq, an AI-driven model for predicting vehicle and pedestrian trajectories.

PCEA announced that PCB East 2026 will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, with exhibits on April 29 and a technical conference from April 28 to May 1, reflecting the event’s growth and focus on providing a first-class venue for attendees.

PCD&F launched its annual salary survey for PCB designers and engineers to gather industry compensation data.

Binghamton University’s Integrated Electronics Engineering Center has secured 1M annually for 10 years after being redesignated a New York Center for Advanced Technology.

University of Rochester researchers have developed a method to more efficiently route data within qudit-based quantum computers, potentially reducing processing steps and improving performance in quantum systems.

Rigol Technologies launches DS80000 series.

Cofactr cofounder Phil Gulley and VP of marketing Libby Melton join Matt Leary, Geoffrey Hazelett and Mike Buetow to discuss the company's supply chain procurement tools and software integrations.

PCEA has announced the technical program for PCB West 2025, featuring over 125 hours of training and more than 50 sessions, including 30 classes new to the industry-leading tech conference.

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.

Vietnamese electronics and PCB manufacturers are shifting operations to ASEAN and Mexico and increasing automation to navigate new US tariffs and reduce reliance on Chinese inputs.

Cisco reaffirmed India’s role as a strategic growth hub, expanding PCB assembly and R&D operations, but will await global trade clarity before committing to deeper investment.

Shenmao America has acquired Taiwan-based Profound Material Technology to expand into advanced semiconductor packaging.

NEPCON ASIA 2025 will return to Shenzhen from October 28–30, showcasing hundreds of new electronics manufacturing technologies and hosting over 600 exhibitors.

Syrma SGS will invest in building India’s largest PCB and CCL facility near Tirupati.

Nordson Test & Inspection has expanded its partnership with smartTec, extending distribution of its X-Ray and Test solutions to Scandinavia and the Baltic region.

Innoviz Technologies has shipped its first InnovizTwo LiDAR units from Fabrinet’s production line.

Viasion Technology is now offering flexible, high-quality PCB fabrication and turnkey assembly services.

Airtel has selected Ericsson’s core network platform to support its Fixed Wireless Access rollout in India.

AIM Solder has appointed JD Sawali sales engineer for Southeast Asia.

HT Global Circuits named David Warner business development manager.

When Do You Need Nitrogen in Reflow?
PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY

Non-Line-of-Sight 3D Object Reconstruction via mmWave Surface Normal Estimation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Liquid Metal-Vitrimer Conductive Composite for Recyclable and Resilient Electronics
Advanced Materials

EVENTS

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.