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

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. 

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