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 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.

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