News

Limited Seating Left for CPCD Training at PCB West

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 – PCEA Training announced that only a handful of seats remain for the Certified Printed Circuit Designer (CPCD) training and certification program at PCB West 2026. The dates for the course and certification exam are Sept. 28 through Oct. 2.

The classes will take place during PCB West at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. All courses are led by design instructor Stephen Chavez, a principal technical product marketing manager at Siemens with over 30 years of experience. 

These in-depth classes cover the gamut of printed circuit design engineering, from layout, place and route to specifications and materials to manufacturing methods. Schematic capture, signal integrity and EMI/EMC are also part of the comprehensive program.

“This is a great opportunity for designers and manufacturers who prefer to get training in-person,” said Mike Buetow, president of PCEA. “And it also allows registrants access to more than 20 additional classes and the 110+ exhibitors at PCB West.”

Class registration is open to printed circuit engineers, layout professionals, and other individuals currently serving in the design engineering industry or seeking to get into it. There are no prerequisite requirements to enroll.

Registration is $1,695 ($1,795 after Sept. 28) and includes a copy of Printed Circuit Engineering Professional, a 400-page handbook on circuit board design authored by Michael Creeden, Stephen Chavez, Rick Hartley, Susy Webb and Gary Ferrari, plus the certification exam recognized by the PCEA. 

To enroll in the Certified Printed Circuit Design program at PCB West, visit pcbwest.com.

For information about the course overview, class format, and materials to prepare in advance for the class, visit pceatraining.net/course-overview. 

For other questions, contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net. 

News

PCEA Announces Free Technical Sessions for PCB West 2026

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – August 27, 2026 – Registrants for the PCB West exhibition in September will gain access to 11 free technical sessions (plus a keynote presentation) ranging from printed circuit design to fabrication and assembly, the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) announced today.

The free sessions take place on Sept. 30 at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center, and cover topics including AI and PCB design, flex design, simulation, UHDI, and more. “Free Wednesday” kicks off with “Career Day,” an all-day event featuring classes and a moderated panel aimed at students and graduates interested in a career as a PCB designer.

Signal integrity instructor Rick Hartley will discuss the pros and cons of “Copper Pours on PCB Signal Layers.” Next, Ed Dodd, VP of government and defense for Cofactr, will present “The Prototype Trap: Bridging the Sourcing Gap to Volume Production.”  

Matt Leary, founder of Newgrange Design, will delve into “Changing PCB Design Software: No Big Deal, Right?” Longtime industry analyst Dr. Hayao Nakahara will share “The PCB Market Outlook,” and Al Block of DirectPCB will present “The Hidden Failure Mode Using Mixed VIPPO in BGA Structures.”

The morning sessions will conclude with Itera CEO AJ Cooper’s keynote presentation “It’s Time to Kill the Respin,” followed by lunch on the exhibit floor, which is free to all show registrants.

Free sessions resume in the afternoon with five sessions:

  • The Most Common Issues Seen in Incoming Designs for PCB Fabrication 
  • Designing High Thermal PCBs with Advanced Dielectrics
  • Lessons Learned from Installing AI in an EMS NPI Environment
  • The Journey of a Material Disruptor
  • Cutting Edge PCB Technologies

Following the free sessions is a reception on the exhibition floor sponsored by Cofactr.

Anyone who registers for the exhibition and free sessions by Sept. 28 will receive free admission. Day of show registration for the exhibition and free sessions is $25.

PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazines are media partners for the event.

For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net.

News

PCEA Launches Designer Career Day at PCB West 2026

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – AUGUST 25, 2026 –  PCB West this year will debut Designer Career Day, a free program targeted at students, graduates, and anyone interested in careers in PCB design and design engineering, Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) announced today. 

The daylong event will be held on September 30, and is chaired by Matthew McBride and John Burkhert, Jr. Designer Career Day will feature sessions by industry experts including Stephen V. Chavez, Tomas Chester and Dan Beeker, as well as a panel discussion. Speakers will cover everything from interview skills, networking and compensation through technology, CAD tools and the reality of working as a PCB design professional today. 

Attendees will learn about securing industry internships, certifications, fine-tuning a resume and utilizing social media, plus “soft” skills such as communication and problem-solving. Career pathways, education, and training opportunities will also be discussed.

“Designer Career Day could end up being a pivotal moment in a young engineer’s future,” said Burkhert. “I can still recall the first time I was shown a CAD workstation. From that point onward, I knew what kind of work I wanted to do.”

This year’s show will feature more than 100 exhibitors showcasing the leading companies in the PCB industry, including the top CAD and CAM vendors and top names in printed circuit fabrication and electronics assembly. 

PCB West will be held September 29 – October 2, 2026, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on September 30.

PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazines are media partners for the event.

For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net. 

News

PCB West Panel to Take On What’s Next for PCB Design

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – AUGUST 18, 2026 – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today announced a panel discussion on the technologies reshaping printed circuit board design over the next two to five years will take place at PCB West 2026.

“The Future of PCB Design” (session 10) will be moderated by Matt Leary, founder and president of Newgrange Design. The 90-minute session takes place Sept. 29 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. It is included with conference registration.

The panel will examine four developments designers are likely to encounter before the end of the decade: the current – and realistic – role of AI in PCB design; interposer boards that sit between the PCB and the semiconductor; advances in high-speed and high-current design; and the integration of optical interconnects. The emphasis is on exposure to what is coming, and on what designers should be doing now to prepare, rather than a deep technical dive into any single topic.

Panelists include Joe Dickson of WUS Printed Circuits, Takuro Sakamoto of Elephantech, Steven Clark, Ph.D., of Stanford University (retired), and Mohammad Matin of Celus.

Leary founded Newgrange Design, a Wakefield, MA-based PCB design and engineering services firm, in 1996. The company marks its 30th year in 2026 and today fields a staff of more than 30 designers and engineers working across the major ECAD platforms, along with library development, signal integrity simulation and cable documentation. Leary began his career as a full-time PCB designer and is a frequent speaker at PCEA events.

“These four topics are not academic exercises – they are going to land on designers’ desks, and sooner than most people think,” said Mike Buetow, president, PCEA. “Designers who understand where AI actually helps today, what interposers mean for their stackups, and how optical integration changes the rules will be the ones companies turn to. Matt has built a business by staying in front of exactly these shifts, and he has assembled a panel that spans fabrication, materials, research and design automation. This is the kind of session that pays for itself.”

PCB West will be held Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. The event includes a one-day exhibition on Sept. 30. Registration is open at pcbwest.com.

Editors: A photo of Leary is available upon request.

News

PCB Market Authority Nakahara to Deliver Industry Outlook at PCB West

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – August 14, 2026 – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today announced that Dr. Hayao Nakahara, president of N.T. Information Ltd. and author of the annual NTI-100 ranking of the world’s largest printed circuit board manufacturers, will present “The PCB Market Outlook” at PCB West 2026.

His session, “The PCB Market Outlook,” takes place Sept. 30 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.

Dr. Nakahara will examine the past, present and future of the PCB market, the forces pushing the industry, and the effects of AI – not only on demand, but on the technology changes fabricators and designers will be asked to absorb. The class is open to all experience levels and is intended for designers, hardware and test engineers, fabrication and assembly personnel, and business leaders.

Dr. Nakahara has compiled the NTI-100, the definitive ranking of printed circuit board manufacturers with annual PCB revenues above $100 million, every year since 1999. The list is published each fall in PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB.

His most recent ranking found a record 159 fabricators topped the $100 million mark in 2024, up from 134 the year prior, and put worldwide PCB production at approximately $96 billion, with China accounting for roughly 59% of global output. The 2024 data also tracked an accelerating buildout in Southeast Asia, where more than 60 fabricators are constructing plants in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Dr. Nakahara founded N.T. Information in 1986 and has toured more than 600 PCB manufacturing plants in 67 countries over a career spanning six decades. He began in the industry at Photocircuits Corp. in 1965 and spent 15 years with the PCK Technology division of Kollmorgen Corp. He holds a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and a doctorate in electrical engineering from Columbia University.

“Dr. Nakahara’s data are the backbone of how this industry understands itself,” said Mike Buetow, president, PCEA. “When an OEM decides where to source, or a fabricator decides where to put its next dollar of capital equipment, the NTI-100 is the reference they reach for. No one else has spent six decades walking the factory floors in 67 countries and then done the arithmetic. For anyone making a sourcing, capacity or investment decision, this hour is the best market intelligence in the industry.”

Registration is open at pcbwest.com. Conference registrants who sign up by August 21 can take advantage of the Early Bird Special discounts for the conference.

PCB West will be held September 29 – October 2, 2026, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on September 30, which will include a free lunch on the exhibit floor.

Editors: A photo of Dr. Nakahara is available upon request.

PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazines are media partners for the event.

For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net. 

News

A Day of Assembly Classes at PCB West 2026

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – August 12, 2026 – PCB West 2026 offers 11 presentations on circuit assembly processes across two days in September at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. 

The two-day event on September 29-30 features a half-day workshop on solder paste qualification, coupled with 10 presentations spanning the spectrum on electronics assembly, from basic fundamentals of circuit assembly processes to more advanced topics.  

The program “Introduction to Circuit Assembly Processes” covers the fundamentals: Chrys Shea of Shea Engineering’s class on the SMT printing process, pick-and-place fundamentals with Daniel Stanphill of Aurora Boardworks, the basic components of solder paste with Anna Lifton of MacDermid Alpha, and the basics of cleaning with Doug Pauls of ItDepends.

“Advanced CA Processes” picks up in the afternoon: X-ray imaging resolution misconceptions, Type 5 solder pastes and beyond, stencil design and manufacturing, placement for high-reliability applications, formic acid reflow soldering, and cleanliness measurement with conformal coatings.

Shea will also present “A Data-Driven Solder Paste Qualification Process,” a half-day course on building a qualification protocol that produces defensible data instead of opinions.

PCB West will be held Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, 2026, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on September 30.

To register, visit pcbwest.com.

News

‘Early Bird’ Discount for PCB West Technical Conference Ends August 21

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – August 6, 2026 – The discounted price for the PCB West 2026 technical conference ends August 21, conference organizers said today. From August 22 through September 29, registrants will pay the advanced conference price, which is $100 more than the “early bird” rate.

The technical program for PCB West 2026 features more than 50 classes and over 120 hours of in-depth electronics engineering training on circuit board design and assembly. The conference features classes for every level of experience, from novice to expert. 

 Rick Hartley, Karen Burnham,  Susy Webb, Stephen Chavez, and Tomas Chester are among the headliners of this year’s conference. It will be held September 29 to October 2 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. 

The scope of classes ranges from the basics of design engineering, libraries and circuit grounding to more advanced fare such as power distribution, EMC, stackups, and thermal management. 

 More than 25 of the presentations are new to the conference, including curriculum for advanced dielectrics for thermal PCBs, AI, and time budgets for new projects.

“Act now to get the best rates for this industry-leading conference,” said Mike Buetow, president, PCEA. “There is simply no other place to gain access to the leading experts in PCB design and engineering.”

PCB West will be held September 29 – October 2, 2026, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on September 30, which will include a free lunch on the exhibit floor.

PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazines are media partners for the event.

For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net. 



News

PCB West 2026 Show Floor Almost Sold Out 

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – July 16, 2026 – The exhibition floor space is almost sold out for this year’s PCB West, the largest exhibition and conference for printed circuit board design, fabrication and assembly in the Silicon Valley, Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) said today. 

Fewer than 5% of booths remain for the annual event, PCEA added. Last year marked the eleventh time in 12 years that all booths have been sold for the popular exhibition.

“We had a fantastic PCB West 2025, and booth sales for our 2026 event have been strong,” said Brooke Downey, vice president of sales at PCEA. “We’re looking forward to another great event.” 

PCB West will be held September 29 – October 2, 2026, at the Santa Clara (CA) Convention Center. The event includes a one-day exhibition on September 30.

This year’s show will feature more than 100 exhibitors showcasing the leading companies in the PCB industry, including the top CAD and CAM vendors and top names in printed circuit fabrication and electronics assembly. Attendees will be treated to a free lunch on the exhibit floor during the exhibition on September 30. 

PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB and CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY magazines are media partners for the event.

For more information about PCB West, visit pcbwest.com or contact Conference Director Mike Buetow at 617-327-4702; mike@pcea.net. 



News, PCB West

PCB West Keynote: It’s Time to Kill the Respin

Posted on by Andy Shaughnessy

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – JULY 6, 2026 – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today announced that AJ Cooper, CEO and cofounder of Itera, will keynote PCB West 2026.

His keynote, “It’s Time to Kill the Respin,” takes place Sept. 30 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.

Itera, a new deep tech startup, has developed the world’s first “fluid” circuit board, which can rewire itself in real time. Built upon an electrowetting platform, the system replaces copper traces with reconfigurable liquid metal interconnects embedded in glass. When the design is updated digitally, the system reroutes the liquid metal traces to match the new design. The company says that this technology can make hardware iteration 1,000 times faster than the traditional PCB design process.

In his keynote, Cooper will discuss fluid PCB technology, its potential for accelerating development of AI infrastructure, and why he believes that hardware updates will eventually be as simple as a software update – triggered with the push of a button. 

Cooper served as director of hardware engineering for Lyft and head of electrical engineering for Uber, as well as a director of engineering at Flex. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.S.E.E., both from the University of Virginia. 

“AJ Cooper has a deep understanding of the fabrication and assembly issues designers face in trying to realize their novel ideas,” said Mike Buetow, president, PCEA. “Itera has developed a unique process for overcoming the up-to-now inherent obstacle that affects every designer and design engineer: in getting a printed circuit board design from a drawing board to a working prototype.”

PCB West will be held Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. The event includes a one-day exhibition on Sept. 30.



News

PCB West 2026 Conference Registration Now Open

Posted on by PCEA Staff

PEACHTREE CITY, GA – MAY 11, 2026 – The Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA) today opened registration for the technical program for PCB West 2026, featuring over 50 classes and more than 120 hours of in-depth electronics engineering training on circuit board design and assembly.

Rick Hartley, Karen Burnham, Susy Webb, Stephen Chavez, and Tomas Chester are among the headliners of this year’s conference. It will be held September 29 to October 2 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. It features classes for every level of experience, from novice to expert.

Registration for both the technical conference and the exhibition takes place at pcbwest.com/. Those who sign up by August 21 can take advantage of the early bird special discounts for the conference.

The scope of classes ranges from the basics of design engineering, libraries and circuit grounding to more advanced fare such as power distribution, EMC, stackups, and thermal management.

More than 25 of the presentations are new to the conference, including ones for advanced dielectrics for thermal PCBs, AI, and time budgets for new projects.

“PCB West is the leading conference and exhibition for printed circuit design and manufacturing in the world,” said Mike Buetow, conference director, PCB West. “It is the best place to find subject matter experts designing and building everything from popular consumer devices to the most sensitive and critical high-reliability technologies.”

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