Self-confidence comes from meeting new challenges.

I shake my head when I see the large amount of self-idolizing today on LinkedIn. Who describes themselves as visionary, disruptive, a rainmaker, the prophet, the catalyst, the wizard, a guru, a Jedi master, or a creative genius?

Do you feel that this hubris is believable to peers? When did our egos start to dilute the need for getting up every day, working hard, looking at problems from multiple angles, being bold to take mindful chances, understanding we make our own luck and being thankful for small victories when running a business? Your title is stated on your business card; use it.

Disruptive people, technologies or real advancements in our society are so few, it seems we now must minimize these people or events when they actually occur due to the overuse of this term. For most of us, success is a byproduct of very hard work, learning from failures, collaboration with the people we are surrounded by, an ability to see the real issues affecting our businesses with a focus on solving the critical few, a strong competitive drive for “winning,” and yes, a little good luck.

The country’s growing industry could prove a viable alternative to China.

I have been involved in the electronics manufacturing industry for over 20 years, with much of that time based out of Hong Kong. China is a manufacturing powerhouse, supplying not only the world but its own large population with electronic products ranging from home appliances to ultra-modern electric vehicles. China is well beyond being called a “developing nation.” It is a very mature economy – especially when it comes to any kind of manufacturing.

Recent geopolitical tensions from past and present US administrations, however, as well as supply chain concerns that came about during the Covid pandemic, have forced many OEMs and EMS companies to look elsewhere for their PCB needs – a task that is easier said than done.

In response to industry demands, I have traveled to several countries in southeast Asia over the past 18 months to learn as much as I can about the printed circuit board industry outside of China.

It was during my third and most recent trip to Thailand last July that I attended Thailand Electronics Circuit Asia 2024 (THECA), the electronics circuits and services showcase event in Bangkok.

Whether in wire or trace form, keep copper thickness in mind for your design.

Once upon a time, about eight decades back, we didn’t have printed circuit boards. We had copper wires that came in various diameters. Carrying a larger amount of current requires conductors of a larger diameter. These various diameters were identified by the American Wire Gauge (AWG) where smaller numbers indicated thicker wires. There is a metric equivalent where the opposite is true – a higher number for a thicker conductor. Set that aside for this discussion.

Heavy gauge wire for power. A 12- to 14-gauge wire is about the diameter of a cooked spaghetti noodle (~2mm) and is commonly found in power cords for smaller electronics such as a table lamp or a fan. An electric dryer running on 220V will require something between 10- and 6-gauge wire depending on the amperage of the appliance. Again, smaller numbers refer to larger cross-sections.

For the sake of flexibility, these thicker wires are typically constructed of several smaller wires twisted like a candy cane prior to adding the insulation coating. The coating itself is not part of the gauge, only the conductor matters in that regard.

On the cusp of 6G, are we also on the verge of a materials breakthrough?

The world has barely experienced a fraction of the services 5G mobile promised to deliver, and already the drive toward 6G is gathering momentum. The standardization process begins this year, and the final specifications are expected to be released in 2028, with rollout beginning in 2030. It’s proof, if more were needed, that we are an impatient and ambitious species.

Ericsson has helpfully described the 6G standardization process, which is expected to permit a much cleaner transition than we have seen in the move from 4G to 5G. Although 6G will leverage some 5G infrastructure, particularly in the core, connectivity will be standalone from the start and should perform better as a result. It’s hard to grasp, but 6G data rates and latency are expected to be about 1000 times faster than those of 5G.

The bigger picture is working toward a pervasively connected world that supports our lives and adapts to our needs, wherever we are and however those needs change in real-time. Wireless is the only connectivity that can do this for us. Realizing the necessary connections is extremely challenging at every level, from the standards-setting efforts undertaken by the 3GPP, the global body managing mobile standards, to the subcomponent level – including the new materials we must develop to build the systems that can realize the performance promised in the specifications.