MILPITAS, CA – The global semiconductor packaging materials market is expected to start a growth cycle with a 5.6% compound annual growth rate projected through 2028, SEMI, TECHCET and TechSearch International announced in their latest Global Semiconductor Packaging Materials Outlook (GSPMO) report.

SAINT HERBLAIN, FRANCE – Lacroix reported revenue of €268.1 million ($296.7 million) for the first half of the year, down 9.1% from the first half of 2023.

CAD as we know it for printed circuit design came into existence in the mid-1960s. And while some industry designers still remember the days (more fondly than I would!) of hand-taping components and traces, then using a camera to produce films for fabrication, it didn’t take too long before computers started taking over.

In 1970, Racal-Redac, which later was acquired by Zuken, released its original PCB, schematic and silicon layout tool. A few years later, Scientific Calculations introduced SCICARDS for generating photoplots from Gerber files. Of course, the dimensions back then were epic in size – pads were 70 mils or more, and lines and spaces were 25 mils.

By 1976, the EDA market was starting to pop with companies, and not just for design. Makoto Kaneko founded Zuken. A trio of professors at the University of Texas – James Truchard, Bill Nowlin and Jeff Kodosky – launched National Instruments. A former Tektronix engineering manager, Doug Campbell, started Polar Instruments.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – Electronics industry sentiment declined significantly in September due to rising cost concerns and weakening demand, according to IPC’s September Sentiment of the Global Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Report.