Free Educational Forums add value to IPC APEX EXPO experience.

Press Release Summary:



With double-digit increases in pre-registrations, IPC APEX EXPO(TM) will have more attendees, more than 300 exhibitors, and 6 free educational forums taking place on show floor. Panels of experts on topics from test and inspection to new opportunities in photovoltaics will share their insights into successfully navigating some of industry's challenges as well as burgeoning markets. IPC Free Forums will be held April 6-8 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.



Original Press Release:



Free Educational Forums Add Even More Value to the IPC APEX EXPO Experience



BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, - With double-digit increases in pre-registrations, IPC APEX EXPO(TM) will be bustling with more attendees, more than 300 exhibitors and more ways to discover the latest in electronics manufacturing, including six free educational forums taking place on the show floor. Panels of experts on topics from test and inspection to new opportunities in photovoltaics will share their insights into successfully navigating some of the industry's challenges as well as burgeoning markets. The IPC Free Forums will be held April 6-8, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, April 6, the "Test & Inspection Summit" free forum, 1:30 pm-3:00 pm, will feature Heiko Ehrenberg, GOEPEL Electronics LLC; Chad Hankinson, Everett Charles Technologies; David Levine, Seica, Inc.; Jack Rozwat, Agilent Technologies; and Frank Silva, FocalSpot, Inc. This senior level panel will discuss the latest test challenges as well as the technologies that are emerging to deal with them, including JTAG/boundary-scan test and vectorless test techniques.

In the "Military Roadmap" forum, 3:15 pm-4:45 pm, members of the IPC Printed Circuit Board Executive Agent Task Force will provide PCB manufacturers will invaluable insight into the challenges that printed board designs and materials will need to overcome to meet future Department of Defense (DoD) and OEM needs. Task force members Steve Lach, Merix Corporation; Al Wasserzug, Vulcan Flex Circuit Corporation; George Trinite, Sanmina-SCI; and Rajesh Kumar, DDi Corp. will discuss how the roadmap will match technology capability with product performance requirements, and sustain and build upon a North American printed board industry capable of supporting DoD needs and ensuring national security. All attendees are invited to participate and provide their input.

On Wednesday, the free forums begin shortly after the show floor opens, kicking off at 10:30 with "Solar Panels: New Opportunities for Electronics." Dongkai Shangguan, Ph.D., Flextronics Corporate Technology Group, will join panelists Ryne Raffaelle, Ph.D., National Renewable Energy Lab; Bettina Weiss, SEMI International; and Alan Rae, Ph.D., TPF Enterprises LLC, to explain how electronics companies can ride the "green wave" to support solar power needs.

In the afternoon, Crystal Vanderpan and Greg Monty of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. will present "Changing Environment of Printed Circuit Board Technology and the Evolution of Safety," sharing details of UL's recent and ongoing PCB research, including possible changes in test methods, requirements and standards.

Wednesday will close with the "IPC Technology Roadmap" free forum, 3:15 pm-4:45 pm. Jack Fisher, Interconnect Technology Analysis, Inc., Michael Weinhold, EIPC, and Dieter Bergman, IPC, will discuss the critical information contained in the roadmap. Fisher will explain how the roadmap can be used to develop business and market strategies; Weinhold will discuss the use of the roadmap in Europe and the automotive industry; and Bergman will detail the new automated emulator tools provided with the roadmap to help in analyzing future product technical drivers.

"Don't Be Surprised by the New RoHS" free forum on Thursday morning, will feature IPC Director of Environmental Policy Fern Abrams along with Michael Battaion, Flextronics International; Krista Botsford, Botsford EcoTech Partners, LLC; Mike Hutchins, Sun Microsystems Inc.; and John Sharp, TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. This panel of experts will discuss proposed changes to the RoHS Directive that are currently being debated in Europe, including a new and broader scope of covered electronics, additional substance restrictions and a new compliance program under the CE mark.

The Free Forums are free to all registrants of IPC APEX EXPO 2010. For more information on the forums or other activities taking place, including the largest exhibition in North America for electronics manufacturing, visit www.ipcapexexpo.org.

About IPC

IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.7 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; and Shanghai and Shenzhen, China.

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