he North Texas Chapter IPC Designers Council (NTDC) is continuing to
                 achieve record attendance at their monthly meetings. Our April meeting just
                 set another new chapter record, with forty-one of our seventy-nine members
                 coming together to network, learn, and dine at Juan's Hacienda in Dallas.
                 The fabulous Tex-Mex lunch was served buffet style by our gracious hosts.

                 The meeting was kicked off with Damon Oran of Precience ringing a
                 'wake-up' bell to alert all members that it is time to sign up for the IPC
                 Dallas Learning Symposium to be held at Ramada Plaza — Market Center
                 on May 20-25. Several members said they were planning on attending.
                 Time is getting short, so please go to http://dc.ipc.org/DLS/DLS.HTM on the
                 Web to see more information and to register. Damon encouraged
                 members to e-mail the officers at the local Web site

                 (See NTDC at www.circuit-technology.com/html/ipc_design_council.html) to
                 help them identify topics of interest for future meetings. He also mentioned
                 that the NTDC would like to treat members to a summer outing in June or
                 July. Please send your suggestions to NTDC officers who need some
                 ideas from members to plan these events.

                 Charlie Capers of Plexus was up next with a very interesting presentation
                 on designing intelligently to avoid part obsolescence. Charlie gave some
                 great examples and showed that if proper component availability planning
                 is done early in the design cycle process, a designer can help the company
                 avoid many costly, assembly 'time-to-market' delays. His presentation was
                 well done and there were several questions answered for attendees.

                 After Charlie's presentation, NTDC held door-prize drawings. A copy of
                 CAMCAD Vision software, which was generously donated by Router
                 Solutions (provided by Doug Boone of Plano CAD Engineering), was
                 presented to David Guerin of Fish Net Circuit Design. Other giveaways
                 included a gift certificate for Juan's Hacienda, which went to Jeff Tregre, a
                 PCB design student at Collin County Community College, and a polo shirt
                 with an NTDC logo went to Steve Morrison of Integrated Device
                 Technology-Dallas Design Center.

                 Andy Kowalewski of Sychip, an IPC Certified Master Instructor, was next
                 with a review of the Spring 2002 PCB West presentations. Andy mentioned
                 that several of the speakers from PCB West would also be presenting their
                 topics at the IPC Dallas Learning Symposium, May 20-25. Andy encouraged
                 members to get involved, participate in discussions, and share ideas. He
                 said that PCB Designer attendance at the technical seminars and
                 symposiums is essential for increasing their knowledge and staying
                 competitive in this fast-paced industry.

                 Don't forget to stop by and visit with the members of the North Texas
                 Chapter IPC Designers Council at the Dallas IPC Learning Symposium,
                 May 20-25. NTDC is hosting a 'Hang Out' suite for designers to network
                 and visit with CAD vendors. There will be free drinks, great snacks, and
                 some cool door prizes. See y'all there!