Avoiding via failures caused by barrel plating separation.

PCB manufacturers face challenges in the precise registration of multiple layers, which is required to ensure reliable interconnects, and in integrating new technologies that enhance performance. We continuously optimize and simplify processes to improve efficiency, yield and maintain product quality. Balancing these factors is crucial for producing high-density, high-performance PCBs that meet the specific needs of various applications.

Here, we review and explain problems associated with conventional copper wrap plating requirements specified in IPC-6012B, and explore the advantages of the newly developed “Innovative Wrap” technology.

Boards aren’t the only things getting more complex. Workloads are too.

PCB designers are, by and large, a veteran crew. Many have been in the game for decades, steadily turning out increasingly complex boards while titles and org charts shift around them.

Likewise, the annual PCD&F Salary Survey shows a stable but strained picture. Respins haven’t surged, which speaks well for quality, but workloads are climbing and professional development support hasn’t kept pace. Designers say they can keep projects on track, but they’d like better resourcing and clearer priorities before the pressure ratchets higher.

Financially, the story is steady if not perfect. Salaries continue to climb and bonuses are common, but benefits have stagnated or dropped for a third of respondents. And although job satisfaction trends positive, nearly half see themselves stepping away from the role within the next five years – a reminder that retention and succession planning will soon be just as important as design rules.