After being canceled as an in-person event in 2021 due to the pandemic, the IPC Apex Expo was back live in San Diego from January 22 to 27, 2022 - with a lively start under an ambitious, almost metaphysical-sounding headline. Around 9,000 visitors were expected in the spacious San Diego Convention Center. Due to the coronavirus restrictions that also apply to visitors from abroad (full vaccination or current negative test result), only around 3,600 trade fair participants were able to attend. So here too, as with all internationally frequented high-tech shows, there was a considerable dip in the result.
'Lead Drive Achieve Digital Transcendence', the motto of the largest exhibition and conference on electronics manufacturing and related topics in the USA, is not easy to translate into German. However, it could be understood as a claim to achieve the highest level of development in industrial production with end-to-end digital transformation. The topics of the event were automation, factory of the future, data analytics, digital twin and other current concepts. As in previous years, the organizing US association IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries) had put together a rich professional program: With two prominent keynoters, various committee sessions on standards development (the IPC's core mission), a 'Leadership Summit' (more or less an executive networking event), a technical conference with four tracks (Factory of the Future Implementation / PCB Fabrication and Materials / Quality, Reliability, Assembly, Test and Inspection / Materials, Assembly and Environment), a series of continuing education courses for the next generation of industry professionals, as well as the usual award ceremonies ('Best Paper' and the like).
The main focus was, of course, once again the exhibition with the most important manufacturers and their innovations, although the majority of them came from the USA and Asia. According to the trade fair directory, a total of 282 exhibitors from all over the world were present. Another highlight was the 'Factory of the Future' joint stand, which featured around a dozen exhibitors with demonstrations such as AI-supported inspection, AI machine learning, CAD, 3D design, simulation and 3D printing. PLUS 2/2022 reports on the event in detail.
