April 13, 2026

New Report Examines FCC Router Restrictions and Supply Chain Challenges The Global Electronics Association report says FCC's March 2026 move to add all foreign-made consumer routers to its Covered List could disrupt supply chains, pricing, and Wi-Fi 7 rollout as most routers are made abroad and US output is minimal. Global Electronics Association

Sponsor Affordable Profiling Excellence Four channels of precision data capture from the most trusted name in thermal profiling. New and improved V-M.O.L.E.™ 2 is the ideal solution for budget-conscious electronics pros. Learn more here. ECD

Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Increased 4% in First Quarter of 2026 Worldwide PC shipments reached 62.8 million units in Q1 2026, up 4% year-over-year, as vendors built inventory ahead of memory-driven price hikes. Lenovo and Dell gained share, HP slipped, ASUS overtook Acer, and Apple surged 12.7% on MacBook Neo demand. Gartner

The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross This paper examines the risks and hidden costs of in-house solder dross recycling, highlighting contamination, compliance, quality, safety, and economic challenges that often outweigh perceived savings. Technical Paper

Apple users warned over 'nasty' iCloud storage scam Scammers send fake Apple iCloud storage alerts claiming accounts are blocked and data will be deleted, pushing users to click malicious links. The phishing emails steal personal and banking details. Users should ignore messages, avoid links, check iCloud settings directly. Taipei Times

Sponsor Dedicated Tool for Process Development Advanced plating capability at Uyemura Tech Center: Process Development, UBM, pilot production. ENIG, ENEPIG, EPIG/EPAG, RAIG immersion gold; all substrates. On-site analysis. Uyemura

China's energy strategy pays off China's long-term energy diversification and stockpiling strategy cushions it against Iran war–driven Gulf supply shocks, analysts say, as renewables and reserves boost resilience, though refining, chipmaking and chemicals still face pressure and economic risks. Taipei Times

Pre & Post Solder AOI for THT By implementing and automated THT AOI solution, first pass yields improve due to standardized consistent inspection results, increased margins by reducing labor for inspection and rework, production optimization and traceability data is automatically generated for analysis in real time. Technical Paper

Technical Papers ■ Scaling SMT Traceability ■ The Drawbacks of Internal Recycling Systems for Solder Dross ■ Engineering ESD-Safe PCB Assembly for High-Reliability IoT and Industrial Electronics ■ The Analysis of Variance: Drawing Conclusions from Data That Are Correct, Unambiguous, and Defensible ■ PCB Rework Evolves, With X-ray a Constant Support ■ How pH Cleaning Agents Affect Production Performance ■ A Universal AI-Powered Segmentation Model for PCBA & Semiconductor ■ RAIG Minimizes Corrosion, Allows Higher Gold on ENEPIG ■ High Reliability Lead-Free Solder Paste with Rosin and Anti-Crack Resin ■ Understanding Solder Dross: Causes and Control Strategies MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor SEHO makes production lines smarter Improve your work flow and reduce manufacturing costs with creative ideas and innovative solutions for automation, board handling and material management. SEHO Systems GmbH

New DeepSeek model to test China's AI ambitions DeepSeek delays its anticipated V4 AI model, fueling speculation about China's progress in chip self-sufficiency. Reports suggest it may rely on Huawei chips instead of Nvidia hardware, highlighting geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over performance and US export restrictions. Taipei Times

PC market posts modest growth in early 2026 despite memory shortages and economic strain Global PC shipments hit 65.6M in Q1 2026, up 2.5% despite a weak economy and memory shortages, IDC says. Vendors fueled gains with preemptive buying, Windows 10 upgrades, and new launches, but rising costs and logistics issues now threaten demand ahead. TechSpot

Inline Assembly of Flex PET Circuits This work further explores photonic soldering of PET flex circuits in the context of high-volume production. Technical Paper

Sponsor Plasma Etch PE-Avenger The PE-Avenger is an ultra low-cost entry level plasma cleaning system allowing more labs to utilize plasma. It's a low frequency plasma cleaner designed for surface activation and organics removal. Plasma Etch

Is DDR4 RAM Still Worth Buying In 2026? AI-driven chip shortages push RAM and GPU prices sharply higher, with DDR5 expected to rise further. Builders weigh cheaper DDR4 against limited future upgrade paths as Intel and AMD drop support, making upgrades or prebuilt PCs more practical options. BGR

Working With More Experienced Engineers Can Fast-Track Career Growth Recounts joining a strong startup where he struggled to follow foundational computer science discussions, received critical feedback, and rebuilt knowledge through structured learning, improving performance while reflecting on risks of being weakest or strongest in a team. IEEE Spectrum

A Close look at IPC X-Ray Inspection Guidelines for BGAs The massive amount of measurements and qualitative information provided by CT-Xray systems can now enable more inspections to be easily automated, ultimately reducing the burden on engineers. With access to this impressive technology, tighter processing parameters can be maintained to ultimately ensure higher quality electronic products for a variety of markets. Technical Paper

Sponsor High Precision Component Milling Automatic Removal of Electronic Components including Residual Solder on Heat Sensitive Assemblies. Air-Vac Engineering

The Magic of Agentic AI Will Come From a Holistic Approach to Chip Design Agentic AI is transforming EDA with claimed productivity gains, but experts argue it mainly automates existing workflows. Industry veterans like Simon Davidmann call for a holistic redesign of chip design tools, warning current approaches remain siloed, inefficient, and compute-heavy. EE Times

Anthropic is weighing building its own artificial intelligence chips, sources say Anthropic explores building its own AI chips amid supply shortages, but plans remain early. With a $30B+ run rate, it still relies on Google and Amazon hardware, signs infrastructure deals, and faces scrutiny after its Mythos model raised cybersecurity concerns and US briefings. Taipei Times

Sponsor Electronic Assembly Cleaning Basics Monitoring & effectively controlling chemistry concentration when cleaning electronic assemblies is crucial for maintaining optimal cleanliness results & preventing costly consequences. KYZEN

Intel tops $300 billion market cap for the first time since the dot-com boom Intel rebounds from post-pandemic struggles as its market value surges to a dot-com era high. New AI partnerships, a U.S. government stake, Google collaboration, and involvement in Elon Musk's TeraFab project drive renewed investor confidence and growth. TechSpot

Removing Warpage from PCBAs We have populated boards with components on both sides that are warped. Components are varied height. What methods can we use to flatten them? Phil Zarrow and Jim Hall, The Assembly Brothers, discuss their recommendations. Board Talk

PQC Timelines Provide Direction, but Not Action UK and EU post-quantum cryptography roadmaps guide migration but do not mandate action, leaving organizations complacent. Despite rising quantum risks and 'harvest now, decrypt later' threats, most firms lack strategy, exposing long-lived sensitive data to future compromise. EE Times

No Fear to Fail: Secrets Behind Southchip's Rapid Growth Since its 2023 IPO, Southchip posts 12 straight quarters of YoY revenue growth, ranks top 3 China's analog chip firms by 2025 revenue, and expands into automotive and industrial computing using core techs and wide-bandgap semiconductors. EE Times

Sponsor Optimizing BGA Rework: Challenges, Techniques and Quality Control The complexity of BGA packages introduces challenges during rework requiring innovative methods and inspection practices to ensure performance and reliability. Read more. BEST Inc.

Design for recycling in electronic manufacturing: enabling circularity and lower impact manufacturing through heterogeneous integration and lower impact recovery Researchers show a design-for-recycling method for electronics via additive printing and precise deposition, achieving up to 99% material recovery and 90% lower environmental impact, enabling silver recovery via ferric chloride and PCB production. Nature