This is an article designed to be a guide for how to maximize your time at a trade show.  Read the Introductory article here. Since IMS 2009 (International Microwave Symposium) is the next significant conference I will be a part of, it will be the example used throughout these short articles.
For the attendee, there are three distinct aspects of the Symposium that ought to be taken advantage of.  The first is Networking, the second Vendor Qualification, and the third Education.   This first short installment is designed to give you some …

Windows up and Radio off, I made my way towards Waltham, MA this past Wednesday morning.  Silently I attempted to prepare myself for my first trade show.  This was my first opportunity to represent my company face-to-face with potential and current customers.  Having never been to a show, I was unsure what to expect.  Although anxious, there was no fear – just uninformed anticipation for a long day ahead.
It was instantly clear that although competitive, most vendors shared a sense of camaraderie, and were open to talking with me and …

Just as a boy becomes a man when he picks up his first BB Gun, so too have I entered the EMS Industry with the arrival of my first trade magazine addressed to my name.  Of course, I live by the motto of “go big or go home” and so it was only fitting that two would arrive, and that they would be the extent of today’s mail.
A little over a  month ago I applied for membership with IEEE and joined a variety of societies pertaining to my line of …

Working in a business development role means that I spend a lot of time working my way into various communities and developing mutual beneficial relationships with potential customers and affiliates. One of the tools I use is LinkedIn – “facebook for professionals” is how I often describe it to those who have yet to hear of it. I find the ability to search for professionals worldwide very beneficial, although I spend a lot of time filtering out irrelevant content and have a fairly low reply rate to my personal messages that I send to fellow group members. Industry groups are a fantastic tool for any professional, but some are better that others. Below I outline a few groups that I am a member of that pertain to the industry.

Etsy.com is “your place to buy & sell things handmade.”
Whether you are a novice artist looking to make a little extra money on the side selling things you’ve made, or if you are a broker of handmade and unique products, Etsy.com is a great resource.
I came across some really cool looking products made from recycled circuit boards. From Earrings to desk organizers, there is a plethora of creative, useful, and artistic items that have been put up for sale.  I’m sure that I will be following the site as different …

Every day we read or hear about how a healthy life is about balance.  There are only two things my dad critiques me about when it comes to my health: “sit up straight and stretch more”.  I find that amusingly ironic.  The same desires my dad has for me have made their way into the PCB Industry.  As designers have sought to develop longer lasting and more complex electronics, circuit boards have been forced into a regimen of balancing traditional rigidity with the ability to bend, twist, and essentially be …

It is amazing how flexible circuits allow intricate and complex electronics continue to decrease in size.  As flex and rigid-flex are developed, unique applications will continue to arise.  This picture really makes you wonder how complex in the inner workings of our most common, taken for granted, electronics are.

The following article can be found it its original form at this link.
Extreme-resolution microflex processes enable a reduction in conductive trace width and pitch that opens a door for miniature-scale microcircuits used in medical devices.

Written by Luke Volpe – director of engineering at Dynamics Research Corp.’s Metrigraphics division (Wilmington, MA).

Microflex circuitry can drive development programs for medical implants.

Technological advances in the medical field often hinge on the ability to create viable components and devices that are chemically compatible to human tissue and small enough to suit the internal workings of …