PCB Chat

In this episode of PCB Chat, Ryann Howard speaks with Miroslava Velasco, a senior designer and manager at Qualcomm, about her journey into electronics and PCB design, the mentors who shaped her career and her experiences at industry events like PCB West.

From overcoming early underestimation to inspiring the next generation of women engineers, Miroslava reflects on the role models who encouraged her to succeed while staying true to herself.

The High Density Packaging User Group recently released its Annual Progress Report. In this episode, Marketing Director Madan Jagernauth discusses the group's R&D activities over the past year, as well as the challenges facing designers and manufacturers working with today's extreme densities and the organization's future plans. He also shares a preview of several sessions that the group will present at PCB West 2026.

Adhesive failures can be frustrating because the problem isn’t always obvious. The adhesive may have been properly selected, the part may look clean, and the process may seem under control. But weeks or months later, a coating lifts, an encapsulant separates, or a bond fails in the field.

So what went wrong?

In this episode of Reliability Matters Mike Konrad is joined by David Dworak, material scientist at Dymax, to discuss the science behind reliable adhesion in electronics manufacturing.

They talk about why adhesive bonding is about much more than choosing the right material. Dworak explains the role of adhesive chemistry, surface energy, wetting, contact angle measurement, surface preparation, plasma treatment, and why even a visually clean surface may not be ready for bonding.

Also explored: how manufacturers can troubleshoot adhesion failures, control their bonding process, and gather objective evidence that a surface is truly ready for adhesive application.

If your process involves conformal coatings, encapsulants, underfills, component bonding, or any adhesive used in electronics assembly, this conversation will help you better understand what really makes a bond reliable.

“The Principals of Adhesion: Understanding Adhesive Chemistry, Application and Surface Science for Optimal Bonding Performance.”
https://circuitsassembly.com/ca/editorial/menu-features/43078-the-principals-of-adhesion-understanding-adhesive-chemistry-application-and-surface-science-for-optimal-bonding-performance.html

Thermal management is a “hot” topic right now, and with today’s rising power densities, thermal issues are moving into more mainstream PCB designs. If you’ve ever wondered whether you could squeeze another heat sink onto your board, you won’t want to miss this episode of PCB Chat.

Chris Parker is the director of product engineering at TCLAD, a company that develops PCB materials designed for managing excessive heat. Today, Chris discusses a case study that TCLAD conducted with the Rochester Institute of Technology. Researchers built two electrically identical test boards – one constructed with standard FR-4, and one with TCLAD’s SFL-12 dielectric.

As Chris explains, the choice of dielectric made a big difference in surface temperatures, with one power component running 26 degrees cooler on the board made with TCLAD material than on the FR-4 test board. He also walks us through what they learned from the use of thermal bridges.

Tom Kastner is the founder of GP Ventures, a company that provides M&A advisory services. He's been involved in PCB industry mergers and acquisitions for decades, and he's written extensively about M&A challenges and opportunities.

In this episode of PCB Chat, Tom discusses his background and the career path that led him to become an M&A expert. He also examines some of the trends he's seeing in mergers and acquisitions, as well as the current PCB fabrication and assembly landscape in the U.S., and around the world.

Plus, he answers this immortal question: How many board shops are still operating in the U.S. right now? Check it out.