The D-Code Podcast

APEX EXPO 2026 Olivier Carnal - Essemtec

he folks at Essemtec are always a blast to talk with, and they usually bear gifts! One of those gifts was a Swiss Army knife, which is probably the best way to describe their Fox platform with its ability to jet paste and place components, all within a space-saving footprint. We are all equipment nerds here at The D-Code Podcast, so being able to get hands-on with some of Essemtec's innovative platforms was a real treat!

APEX 2026 Mike Konrad - Aqueous Technologies

Author, business owner, multi-podcaster, and one of the most recognizable faces in the SMTA... Mike Konrad is all over the place, and killing it. Unfortunately or fortunately for him, depending on the day, he has become a huge part of The D-Code Podcast origin story and gets a front row seat to how the sausage is made. He still joins us on set anyway! Thanks for the mentorship Mike!

APEX 2026 Bobby Glidwell - Magnalytix

How clean is clean enough? If you answered  1.56 µg/cm2 of NaCl equivalent, it's time to update your version of IPC J-STD-001! Class 2 and Class 3 assemblies now require "Objective Evidence" of cleanliness. Bobby Glidwell from Magnalytix stops by the set to explain how obtaining Objective Evidence doesn't have to be a pain, in fact they've put everything you need into a box!

APEX EXPO 2026 Juan Arango - PARMI

We get it—if you hear the word "AI" one more time, you might lose it. But a couple of us recently headed up to Massachusetts to check out Parmi’s new SPI and AOI tech, and it actually lived up to the hype. It’s more than just the cool laser visuals and heat maps (though those are pretty slick). The real kicker? Seeing these machines practically program themselves. We threw a board with over 100 line items at it—something the machine had never seen before—and it handled it right out of the box. No gimmicks, just results. In this episode, we’re sharing our conversation with Juan Arango at APEX and geeking out over what this means for your line. We also take a second to poke some fun at Mike Butler’s unique way of moving "R's" around in words. Stick around as we track the improvements SPI brings to the floor over the next few months. Huge thanks to Parmi for sponsoring the show and keeping these deep dives coming!

APEX EXPO 2026 Gene Weiner

What to say about Gene that hasn't already been said? Some of the best stuff you won't hear because it happened the night before the interview, but we still saved some great conversation for the cameras! We all look up to Gene for his passion, his longevity, and we were thrilled to see him get the award for 70 (yes, that's seventy) years in EMS at the MWA dinner! Don't forget to take out the trash when you get home. :)