Eight things you should do when your PCB vendor has been acquired.

Your printed circuit board supplier has been acquired. Will this acquisition benefit you as a board buyer? Or will it lead to higher prices and a reduced level of service?

The reality is that your relationship with the supplier and the level of service will likely change. Here are steps you can take to protect your PCB supply chain.

1. Don't wait to be visited by the new supplier team, especially if the acquired firm was a big part of your PCB spend. Request a meeting sooner rather than later. Pay attention to how receptive the new supplier is to the meeting and be ready to ask as many questions as you need to get the lay of the land.

Exclusively staying ahead or behind the technological curve can lead to misfortune.

Over the past decades, it has been my experience that there are two basic categories of technology: "cutting-edge" and "behind the curve." Electric (rechargeable) automobiles, for instance, would be considered cutting-edge while hybrid (gasoline and battery) automobiles are behind the curve.

Interestingly, when it comes to technology adoption, there also seem to be two types of users. There are those who must be ahead of the curve, always first with the latest technology regardless of how well it may work or how much it costs. And there are those who use only proven technology that is reliable, cost-effective and offers value.

Back in 2013, a friend took delivery of an early Tesla Model S. He was so excited to finally have an electric car, and it sure was a beauty. I remember asking him how it drove. "Like nothing else I have ever driven," he responded. But when I asked how far it could go between charges, he replied "I do not know."

Embracing the fear-based sell.

In times of uncertainty, the fear-based sell can be very effective in the electronics manufacturing services industry. There is no question that the past two years – and the current one – qualify as times with a lot of uncertainty. The difference between the prior two years and this one is that the uncertainty factor was so high in 2021-22, many customers were afraid to rationalize their EMS supply-chain strategy due to component availability concerns. OEMs are shopping now, however. The question becomes: How do you differentiate your company from the rest of the industry? The solution lies in the fear-based sell. In its barest form, the fear-based sell advertises a fear that keeps customers up at night and then discusses how your company keeps that from happening. The differentiating value proposition can be more elaborate, however.

Multiple advanced printing capabilities converge for next-gen LED technology.

What’s behind that TV panel? Light-emitting diodes – or LEDs. LEDs are found in just about every display, from flatscreen televisions to high-end desktops and all kinds of products in between. The most common type of display – the liquid crystal display, or LCD – relies on light from LEDs for illumination, as an LCD pixel cannot illuminate itself, unlike an organic LED (OLED). Behind the LCD screen, areas are divided into zones of LEDs that are switched on to backlight the colors. And, in areas where the screen is to remain black, no light is emitted through those zones. Older designs or lower-end LCDs, however, may suffer from zone leaching. This is when the light in a specific zone may be switched off, but light from an adjacent zone crosses into the black, unlit zone. This results in a haloing effect.

For high-end desktops, ultra-high resolution flatscreens, and other display electronics, black must be black to deliver tight contrast. And, as with all things electronic, the answer seems to come from miniaturization. To overcome the definition dilemma, a newer technology, Mini Backlight LEDs – or Mini LEDs – provide a solution. Ranging in size from 50μm to 150μm, these small devices provide the tight dimensions needed for exceptional contrast and fine lines. Instead of the coarseness of the previously described traditional LED zones, Mini LEDs can be individually turned on or off to provide intense granularity and sharpness.