Volume 79 | February 2021
FEBRUARY 2021
In This Issue
"Under the Hood"
with Don Monn
Years ago, not many boards were used for the automotive industry. But one thing is for certain today, solder mask goes on circuit boards and A LOT of circuit boards now go into cars. Take the POP QUIZ at the end for your chance to win a limited-edition Taiyo America T-shirt.

Covering the World: Predictions for 2021
Taiyo's John Fix shares insights into innovative predictions for the printed circuit board (PCB) industry in 2021 (including; 5G and electric vehicles) as well as what you will see from Taiyo-America.
What do Taiyo America and Aerospace Have in Common?
When it comes to printed circuit boards (PCBs), the Aerospace industry always demands the highest technical performance, reliability, and extreme environmental tolerance. Taiyo’s solder mask continues meet each of these requirements.
The History of Flex PCB and the Retinal Implant
To understand the evolution of the flexible printed circuit board, one must look more closely at the evolution of electricity. What is interesting here is that before the printed circuit board became rigid, the vast majority of carrier materials for wires and circuits were flexible.
Hanging Out With A Legend - Chris Kalmus
Chris Kalmus has been in the PCB industry so long there barely was an industry when he started. Always an outspoken advocate (and sometimes critic) of our industry, Dan Beaulieu thought it would be fun to have a chat with Chris and get his thoughts about the current state of the business.
Pop Quiz:
How Much Do You Really Know?


Take the Pop Quiz inside of Don Monn's "Under the Hood" for your chance to win a limited-edition
Taiyo T-shirt!
Upcoming Events
IPC APEX VIRTUAL EXPO
March 8-12, 2021
8AM-5PM PST

Catch the Taiyo New Product Presentation on March 9, 2021 at 11:00AM PST (replay at 4PM PST)
PCB West 2021
October 5-9, 2021
Santa Clara, California
Mission Bay Ballroom @ Santa Clara Convention Center
Productronica 2021
November 16-19, 2021
Munich, Germany
Featured Video
In this 15-minute presentation, Taiyo America's Don Monn showcases how solder mask has changed to meet the growing demands over the past four decades, who is driving these changes and where will it all lead.
Featured Taiyo Products
Beat the Heat
Because the PCB industry is evolving, PCDs are getting smaller, more functional, and in some cases, thicker with copper. To combat this added heat, Taiyo America as introduced Thermo Cool, a revoluntionary solder mask that can dissipate heat at over 10 W/m K.
Featured Equipment
CF200 Hole Filling Machine
One of the most important and most frequently expressed wishes is to significantly minimize the contamination of operating personnel with the filling paste. This means that the handling step of manually moving the freshly filled panel into the cleaning chamber must be avoided. As a result, we now have a combined filling and cleaning chamber in this new system. The cleaning takes place automatically - immediately after the filling process.
Established 30 years ago TAIYO AMERICA, INC. is a subsidiary of TAIYO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., the world's leading manufacturer of specialty inks and solder masks for printed circuit boards. Taiyo offers conductive inks for manufacturing printed electronics, lighting & displays and other applications.