The impact of lead-free solders on printed circuit board (PCB) design will be the cornerstone of the keynote address at PCB Design Conference East 2004 in Manchester, NH. In his keynote on October 5,  Joe Fjelstad will cover materials, feature design and finishes likely to be impacted by the switch to lead-free boards

Fjelstad is the well-known cofounder of SiliconPipe, a Silicon Valley IP firm dedicated to extending the limits of copper-based circuit technology.

"While some PCB designers believe the move to lead-free will have no effect on the way they design boards, others predict that lead-free will affect the designer's job at every level," said Fjelstad. "As a concerned designer, what can you do to ensure that your designs will be sufficiently robust to survive lead-free assembly and the operational environment for which the design was intended?"

Fjelstad has more than 30 years of international experience in electronic interconnection and packaging technology. Before founding SiliconPipe, Fjelstad was the first fellow of Tessera, the chip packaging firm. He is author or editor of several books and numerous articles on electronics manufacturing. Fjelstad is also a prodigious inventor, with more than 150 U.S. patents issued or pending.

"We are thrilled that Joe Fjelstad will deliver the keynote address at PCB East 2004," said UP Media Group (Atlanta, GA) president Pete Waddell. "His experience and knowledge make him the perfect person to deliver a keynote that complements this year's conference theme: ‘Education for Your Most Pressing PCB Design Challenges, Including Lead-Free, Embedded Components, High Speed and PCB Design Fundamentals.' "

A number of conference courses also focus on lead-free, currently the hottest issue in PCB design, manufacture and assembly.

The keynote address is free for all conference and exhibition-only registrants; however, space is limited. Interested parties are urged to register for the keynote online at www.pcbeast.com.

Copyright 2004, UP Media Group. All rights reserved.