Design Activities at APEX EXPO

If you lead or influence electronic systems design, APEX EXPO 2026 is the most essential industry event available to you. The event program is designed to help senior engineering leaders navigate the growing complexity of modern systems and shorten development cycles without compromising reliability.

APEX EXPO provides cross-functional insight into the engineering challenges that impact system performance and manufacturability, along with access to emerging methodologies that improve design predictability and reduce downstream failure risk. Explore the design-focused activities, education, and on-the-show-floor experiences at APEX EXPO below to see how the program supports design excellence across the product lifecycle.

IPC-2581 Adoption Summit – Tuesday, March 17 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

The 2581 Consortium is an industry group formed to promote and advance IPC-2581, an open, neutral, vendor-independent data format for PCB design-to-manufacturing transfer. This summit is a full-day collaborative session bringing together OEMs, EDA vendors, PCB manufacturers, and EMS providers focused on advancing adoption, improving the IPC-2581 standard, and strengthening design-to-manufacturing data interoperability across the electronics industry. Open to existing consortia members as well as other interested companies.

Hear real implementation stories, see how leading companies are reducing cycle time with IPC-2581, and discover how adopting an open digital format can remove the friction—and risk—built into today’s multi-file handoff methods.

If your team is still managing complex CAM imports, chasing missing stackups, or dealing with avoidable build issues, you’ll walk away with practical next steps and a clear picture of how IPC-2581 can modernize your process.

The IPC-2581 Adoption Summit is included with any APEX EXPO registration package. Enter promo code 2581 on the contact details page to register and waive the Event Essentials (Exhibit Hall Only) fee.

Join us and see how much easier your builds can be.

Design Town Hall – Wednesday, March 18 | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Celebrate last year's progress in Standards, Education, Events, and New Solutions. Share your input and join the thought leadership panel with the Design Leadership Council. Technology Pavilion, Booth 6652.

Design Village and Technology Pavilion 

APEX EXPO 2026 puts design front and center with the debut of the Design Village—a new show-floor destination showcasing advanced electronic packaging, system co-design, next-generation EDA tools, multiphysics simulation, and digital manufacturing. 

At the heart of the Design Village will be the Technology Pavilion, an exposition show floor destination featuring the latest technologies and solutions through a lineup of technical presentations. Together, the Design Village and Technology Pavilion are a hub for engineers and system architects exploring what’s next in ultra-HDI, high-speed routing, advanced substrates, and complex PCBAs—featuring perspectives from both established industry leaders and emerging voices shaping the future.

Technology Pavilion Schedule

Committee Meetings

Standards development committee meetings, spanning PCB design rules, Cold Joining/Press-Fit, and Wire Harness design.

• D-31B IPC-2221/2222 Task Group
• 5-21M Cold Joining/Press-Fit Task Group
• 5-21N Cold Joining/Press-Fit Handbook Task Group
• 7-31K IPC-D-620 Task Group and 7-31H IPC-HDBK-620 Joint Meeting
• D-11 Flexible Printed Board Design Subcommittee 

Professional Development Courses 

Professional development courses, from model-based PCB design to high-density semiconductor package technologies. 

• PD 01 Adapting and Engineering Sustainability and Digital Twins Concepts to Model-based PCB Design
• PD 02 Carbon Accounting for Semiconductors
• PD 04 Troubleshooting and Process Optimization - Lessons Learned from the Trenches and a Decade of Board Talk Part One
• PD 09 Design for High Reliability
• PD 13 The Reliability of the Electronic Assembly and Components as a Function of Assembly Cleanliness
• PD 15 Design and Assembly Process Challenges for Bottom Terminations Components (BTCs) such as QFN, DFN and MLF in Tin-Lead & Lead Free World
• PD 16 Mitigating Risks in Wire Harness Design for Critical Systems
• PD 18 Proactive Design Methods for Approaching Zero Field Failures
• PD 20 Ask the Flexperts--Flexible Circuits, Design Through Test with Lessons Learned
• PD 21 Field Reliability of Microelectronics - Perspectives and Approaches using Physics of Failure and Risk Based Decision Making
• PD 22 PCB Design Engineers Introduction to High Density Semiconductor Package Technologies- 2D, 2.5D and 3D System-in-Packaging and Ultra High-Density Hybrid Bond Interconnect

Advanced Electronic Packaging Conference Sessions 

Advanced Electronic Packaging Conference sessions, with focus areas such as thermal characterization and imaging techniques for IC materials, interfaces, and complete packages.

• S1 Electrical Design & Simulation.
• S6 Thermal Design & Simulation
• S7 Solders & Adhesives
• S13 Mechanical / Thermomechanical Design & Simulation
• S18 Sustainability for Electronics Part 1 (overlaps with Design)
• S21 Additive Manufacturing Processes & Assembly (under Electronics Design)