SHENZHEN, China, March 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Wonderful PCB, a leading provider of PCB manufacturing and assembly services, today announced the expansion of its PCB reverse engineering and PCB cloning services, designed to help global electronics manufacturers quickly rebuild design data from existing circuit boards and bring products to market faster.
With increasing demand for legacy product support, cost optimization, and competitive analysis, many companies face challenges when original PCB design files are missing, outdated, or unavailable. Wonderful PCB addresses these challenges by delivering high-precision reverse engineering solutions that transform physical PCBs or PCB assemblies (PCBA) into complete, production-ready digital files.
"Many of our customers come to us with only a sample board and no design documentation," said Gong Shengwen, CEO of Wonderful Group. "Our reverse engineering services enable them to recover critical design data, optimize performance, and restart production efficiently. We aim to provide a fast, reliable, and secure path from existing hardware to full design reconstruction."
Wonderful PCB offers a full suite of reverse engineering and cloning services tailored to a wide range of industries and applications:
-- PCB Reverse Engineering: Extracting complete design data from existing PCBs, including schematics, Gerber files, and bill of materials (BOM), with support for multilayer boards. -- PCB Cloning & Copy Services: Accurate duplication of circuit boards for rapid prototyping or mass production, ensuring electrical and functional consistency. -- IC Unlock & Firmware Extraction: Advanced capabilities to analyze and extract firmware from microcontrollers (MCUs), DSPs, and other programmable components, supporting deeper product analysis and redevelopment. -- PCB Redesign & Optimization: Enhancing existing designs for cost reduction, component substitution, improved manufacturability (DFM), and performance upgrades.
Helping Customers Reduce Costs and Time-to-Market
Wonderful PCB's reverse engineering solutions deliver significant value to customers by:
-- Recovering lost or incomplete design files -- Extending the lifecycle of legacy electronic products -- Accelerating product redevelopment and iteration cycles -- Reducing R&D and production costs -- Enabling competitive benchmarking and product improvement
By converting physical boards into accurate digital design assets, customers can move from analysis to production in a significantly shorter timeframe.
Umicore MDS, the exclusive European distributor for the Japanese plating specialist Uyemura, has successfully installed the advanced Thru-Cup® EVF-YF9 copper process for plating blind vias (blind holes) at the high-tech PCB manufacturer Hi-Tech Corporation in North Macedonia. The project underscores Umicore MDS’s long-standing expertise in implementing and supporting sophisticated Uyemura processes at leading European PCB manufacturers.
Thru-Cup® EVF-YF9 is an electrolytic copper process specifically developed for the reliable plating of blind vias. It offers exceptional process stability, particularly due to the (CVS) analyzability of all additives used, a long service life and enables the simultaneous plating of through-holes (PTH) and blind vias in panel and pattern technology – a decisive advantage for the production of complex HDI printed circuit boards. The process is also REACH-compliant and meets the highest environmental sustainability standards.
“The installation at Hi-Tech, carried out in close collaboration with the process supplier Uyemura and the European equipment manufacturer involved, is an excellent example of successful international cooperation,” explains Andreas Groß, Head of PCB Processes at Umicore MDS. “Especially in times when Europe is losing ground in the field of printed circuit board manufacturing and dependence on Asian markets is growing, such projects are particularly important. They demonstrate how European industry can regain its competitive edge – through the careful selection of reliable project partners and trusting collaboration at all levels.”
Based in Skopje, Hi-Tech Corporation has been a leading manufacturer of complex printed circuit boards for demanding applications in the automotive, telecommunications, medical technology and industrial sectors for over 40 years. Umicore MDS supports its long-standing customer Hi-Tech by providing innovative coating solutions to help ensure its technological leadership in a global competitive environment.
Milan Stankovic, Director of Manufacturing at Hi-Tech, is extremely pleased with how the project has progressed: “The new process delivers consistent, high-quality results with short cycle times. Without the support of Umicore and Uyemura, we would not have achieved these results in such a short time. Their technical expertise was crucial – both in configuring the equipment and in ramping up the process.”
For decades, Umicore MDS has been successfully implementing Uyemura processes at European printed circuit board manufacturers. Technical expertise, a deep understanding of the process and high service standards make the company a reliable partner for sophisticated plating solutions.
Umicore MDS, the exclusive European distributor for the Japanese plating specialist Uyemura, has successfully installed the advanced Thru-Cup® EVF-YF9 copper process for plating blind vias (blind holes) at the high-tech PCB manufacturer Hi-Tech Corporation in North Macedonia. The project underscores Umicore MDS’s long-standing expertise in implementing and supporting sophisticated Uyemura processes at leading European PCB manufacturers.
Thru-Cup® EVF-YF9 is an electrolytic copper process specifically developed for the reliable plating of blind vias. It offers exceptional process stability, particularly due to the (CVS) analyzability of all additives used, a long service life and enables the simultaneous plating of through-holes (PTH) and blind vias in panel and pattern technology – a decisive advantage for the production of complex HDI printed circuit boards. The process is also REACH-compliant and meets the highest environmental sustainability standards.
ATLANTA, GA – Coming off a very successful 2025 Executive Conference, ECIA is pleased to announce the Core Committee that will join the leadership team in planning for the 2026 Executive Conference, scheduled to take place October 19-21, 2026, at the Westin O’Hare Hotel.
The following ECIA members will plan this year’s conference:
Michael McCaig – Co-chair Speaker Vetting - Luscombe Engineering
Bob Garcia - QuadRep Ferrari Technologies
Julie Fajardo – TDK-Lambda Americas
Pam Berigan – Sager Electronics
Robert Derringer – Crouzet North America
Sean Sorteberg - DigiKey
“In a world defined by constant change, clarity is our greatest gift,” commented Zach DeVillers, President
Brainard-Nielsen Marketing, Inc. and this year’s Conference Chair. “I am sincerely thankful to the 2026 Conference Core Committee for delivering focus, purpose, and excellence to every step of this journey. The dedication and hard work they continue to invest in the months ahead will make this conference truly exceptional.”
“The Executive Conference is the premier event for industry executives,” noted Stephanie Tierney, ECIA’s Director of Marketing Communications and Member Engagement. “In 2025, we moved the conference to the Westin O’Hare Hotel to accommodate increasing attendance. The conference continues to grow thanks to the hard work from the volunteers. I look forward to working with the committee to deliver an agenda and program for 2026 that builds on the momentum that we have started,” she added.
AURORA, CO ― March 2026 ― AdvancedPCB has expanded its high-density interconnect (HDI) quality inspection capabilities with the installation of the CIMS Phoenix MDI AOI system in its Chandler, Arizona facility, enabling precision inspection of mechanical drills down to 150 µm in diameter. The investment supports the company’s broader 2026 Technology Acceleration Initiative focused on expanding precision circuit board fabrication capabilities across its U.S. operations.
As drill diameters continue to shrink and layer counts increase, maintaining tight control over hole quality has become essential to yield and reliability. The new AOI machine allows AdvancedPCB to verify fine mechanical drill features earlier in the fabrication process, reducing variability and improving consistency across complex HDI builds.
This added capability elevates AdvancedPCB’s ability to support stacked and staggered microvias and high layer-count designs required in aerospace and defense, AI hardware, and advanced computing applications. By improving early-stage verification, the company can optimize downstream processes such as plating, lamination, and via fill, ultimately increasing overall production stability and repeatability.
“Precision control at every step is what enables reliable HDI manufacturing,” said Greg Halverson, CEO of AdvancedPCB. “As our customers push into tighter geometries and more complex stack-ups, this level of early-stage inspection gives us the process control to deliver consistently, even on the most demanding builds.”
The company's Chandler, Arizona facility plays a key role in supporting advanced, domestic PCB manufacturing. This expanded inspection capability reinforces the company's commitment to delivering high-performance boards with greater process transparency and control.
AdvancedPCB’s 2026 Technology Acceleration Initiative includes coordinated investments across multiple U.S. facilities to expand advanced fabrication technologies, increase capacity, and support next-generation electronic systems.
Global tablet shipments declined by around 3% QoQ and 4% YoY in Q4 2025, marking a clear step into a more mature phase for the market, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Tablet Market Tracker. This growth followed a stronger Q3 and a high comparison base in the prior year, when Q4 2024 shipments had grown nearly 8% YoY as the market rebounded on the back of leading OEMs like Apple and Samsung returning to more regular launch cycles, and the rapid expansion of Chinese OEMs.
For full-year 2025, the market remained in the mid-100-million-unit range, signaling a shift toward a steadier replacement-driven trajectory. As the category matures, premium products and deeper ecosystem integration are becoming increasingly important, with leading vendors placing greater emphasis on value creation and long-term user engagement rather than chasing short-term shipment spikes.
Within this digestion phase, most OEMs prioritized cleaner channels and healthier economics over aggressive unit growth. Inventory was managed more tightly, promotions were more measured, and brands leaned into higher-value products where they had clearer strengths, from Apple’s premium productivity-oriented iPads to Android vendors’ higher-end tablets with stylus and ecosystem integration. Apple stood out in this environment – iPad’s global ASP rose from $527 in Q3 2025 to $583 in Q4 2025, underscoring the continued strength of the premium segment and Apple’s ecosystem. Meanwhile, Android vendors focused on stabilizing demand by reinforcing mid-range price bands and expanding productivity features such as keyboard and stylus support while maintaining strong coverage in value segments. Supply-side signals, including a pullback in tablet display panel shipments, also pointed to normalization rather than a large build ahead of 2026.
Looking ahead, the global tablet market is expected to face renewed pressure in 2026 as rising memory prices weigh on the economics of mid-range and entry-level devices, particularly for Android vendors. While shipments may soften in the near term, demand is expected to gradually stabilize as component costs normalize and replacement cycles resume. The continued shift toward premium and productivity-oriented tablets should also help support a more replacement-driven market structure over time. The latest iPad Air, launched in the first quarter of 2026, further strengthens the premium‑leaning segment of the market by offering a refreshed option between flagship Pro models and base iPads that maintains robust performance and memory configurations at broadly consistent price points, giving cost‑conscious upgraders an accessible premium choice and helping Apple defend a richer premium mix and relatively stable iPad shipments even as rising memory costs pressure the broader tablet category.
About Counterpoint Research
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Freudenstadt, Germany – Schmid Group, a leading global supplier of advanced wet process equipment for the electronics manufacturing industry, has secured a lower two-digit million-USD purchase order from a major Asian high-end PCB manufacturer for a new HDI multilayer production line. The systems will support the manufacturing of next-generation AI server boards and high performance computing (HPC) platforms, one of the fastest-growing segments of the electronics industry.
The customer is a leading high-technology PCB manufacturer in China with strong exposure to global hyperscale and data center infrastructure markets. The order covers multiple wet process systems dsigned for high-layer-count HDI multilayer boards, addressing the increasing complexity and reliability requirements of AI and HPC hardware.
Driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, next-generation server boards require higher layer counts, tighter structures, and significantly improved yield stability. This trend is creating strong demand for highly controlled wet processing technologies capable of delivering consistent quality, high throughput, and superior process stability at industrial scale.
Schmid’s advanced wet processing InfinityLine H+ and InfinityLine V+ platforms are working horses, specifically engineered to meet these requirements, enabling manufacturers to reliably produce high-density multilayer server-boards used in AI accelerators, data center networking hardware, and HPC systems.
Executive Statement – Roland Rettenmeier, chief sales officer, Schmid Group: “The explosive growth of artificial intelligence infrastructure is fundamentally transforming the global PCB and advanced electronics manufacturing landscape. AI server boards and HPC platforms are pushing HDI multilayer technology to new limits in terms of layer count, precision, and reliability.
With this significant order, SCHMID once again demonstrates its strong positioning as a key equipment partner for leading PCB manufacturers addressing these demanding markets. Our highly stable, high-quality wet process equipment solutions InfinityLine H+ and InfinityLine V+ enable our customers to scale production while maintaining the process control and yield performance required for next-generation computing infrastructure.”
Schmid has built a strong reputation in the global high-end PCB and substrate industry for delivering robust, high-precision wet processing equipment that combines process stability, high throughput, and superior production quality. These capabilities are increasingly critical as the industry scales manufacturing capacity for AI data centers, advanced networking hardware, and high-performance computing systems.
The newly ordered equipment will be installed in the customer’s next-generation production facility, supporting volume manufacturing for global technology leaders operating in the AI and HPC ecosystem.
With demand for AI infrastructure accelerating worldwide, SCHMID continues to strengthen its role as a technology partner enabling the manufacturing backbone of the digital and AI driven economy.
SCHMID Group secured a multimillion-dollar order for InfinityLine wet-process systems to support HDI multilayer PCB production for AI and HPC infrastructure.
