I thought summer was supposed to be a time when things slowed down, a time when people take vacations and some time to relax. No such thing is happening here at UPMG.

For the last few months, we’ve been busy putting the program together for PCB West. This year we’ve pared the conference down to three days. One of the reasons is we’re moving the Design Excellence Certificate program to an online learning site that we call Printed Circuit University. PCU will launch right around the time of PCB West. As I’ve mentioned before, it will be a resource site for everyone involved in PCB design and will include a certificate program similar to the DEC we’ve held at the PCB Design Conferences for years. Stay tuned for more information on PCU.

During the three-day conference this year, we’ve scheduled almost 40 classes and presentations on subjects from the basics series by Susy Webb to Tom Hausser’s universal routing grid. In between we’re covering EMI, transmission lines, RF design, flex, embedded passives and many other subjects important to designers and engineers. We’ve even added a Tuesday track that covers subjects like counterfeit components and LED boards.

This year exhibit sales are slightly ahead of last year, including every major EDA company in the PCB market, as well as manufacturing and materials suppliers closely involved in the world of PCBs. Yes, these are companies that want your business, but they are also great resources for your design questions.
Registration is now open online, and you can get a look at the exhibitor list and complete program, including the “free” classes on Wednesday, by going to www.pcbwest.com.

Bottom line, PCB West may be only three days this year, but it is chock full of opportunities for everyone. Hope to see you there, and stay in touch.

p.