APEX 2019

The largest electronic manufacturing tradeshow in North America, IPC Apex Expo 2019 took place in the beginning of the year, with its main theme being: Technology’s future comes together. Professionals, developers, and experts came together and exchanged ideas, innovations, and creative solutions.

Next year, the show will take place on February 4-6, 2020.

With increasing board complexity, the gathering of large amounts of data, and new innovations, education is important to stay on top of current trends. A variety of topics were available for the technical conferences, from dispensing/jetting and embedded components, to Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0.

This year, design forum courses were part of the technical conference program, which included design for manufacturing, additive manufacturing, and 3D printing. Professional development courses also covered topics, such as advanced rework, thermal management, lead-free solder joints, and more.

The Conference Brochure showed what was planned during the event in detail, from meetings and conferences, to buzz sessions and the list of exhibitors.

Below is a quick overview of what occured this year:

• CTO and co-founder of Tesla, JB Straubel, was this year’s keynote speaker. He opened the show and discussed the Tesla Story.
• The New Products Corridor was where equipment and services of the future was shown.
• The Buzz sessions covered a diversity of topics, including conformal coating, e-textiles, and more.
• IPC-CFX (Connected Factory Exchange) took place again at the show. Participants were able to see live demonstrations of the show floor, and see how machines communicate with each other.
• The hand soldering competition was a hit! Contestants competed to show who has the best soldering and rework skills.