Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1073397
JANUARY 2019 I FLEX007 MAGAZINE 9 manufacturing flex versus rigid PCBs as their business in that arena grows. They also talk about HDI on flex as well as flex assembly. In a wide-ranging conversation, Jabil's Dan Gamota gives us his take on the current state of flex and alternative substrates and explains why modeling, automation, and process con- trols are key to flex manufacturing. Our regular columnist Dominique Numak- ura of DKN Research wrote for this issue. He describes in detail the available material options for flex circuits—including the require- ments for wearable electronics technology. In a short interview with Publisher Barry Matties, Brendan Hogan from MivaTek Global discusses ways a designer can stay current on manufacturing technology and better design for flex. He also touches on direct imaging for reel-to- reel processing of flex. American Standard Cir- cuits' Dave Lackey and Anaya Vardya continue with part four of their series of excerpts from the eBook on flex and rigid-flex, focus- ing on the data package and explaining a number of require- ments unique to flex and rigid-flex. Printed Circuits' Bob Burns has writ- ten a great article on how the manufacturing of rigid-flex PCBs is both similar and different from manufacturing rigid boards and flex cir- cuits. He takes us from front-end engineering through final preparation for assembly. Tara Dunn, Omni PCB, teams up with ASC's Anaya Vardya to share a story on flex that didn't, um, flex. They continue with a clear discussion on the types of copper foil, grain direction, bend areas, balanced construction, and how to ensure one's flex circuit design will survive final installation. In an interview conducted at the recent Alti- umLive event, Jeremy Blum of robotics com- pany Shaper discusses his first-ever hand-held CNC machine. He answers the question as to how the Shaper Origin—originally designed for woodworking hobbyists—relates to the Patricia Goldman is managing editor of Flex007 Magazine. To contact Goldman, click here. PCB industry. He further discusses the impor- tance of communication between design and manufacturing, supplier and customer, and his most important tool—empathy. Now, for you test engineers, we have a technical article by Yi-Chun Liu from Uni- flex Technology on a reliable method for test- ing flex materials under high-frequency and high-speed conditions. Their test results also show the lowest insertion loss was achieved using a liquid crystal polymer dielectric. Take a look. Drum roll, please, for one more column by Joe Fjelstad. I guess Joe has more knowledge to impart than a once-a-quarter column allows, so he has supplied us with a second column for this issue. This column is on designing your circuit to optimize mate - rial utilization on a panel array—thus, saving material costs. He concludes with a statement that applies to much more than saving material: "In summary, the decisions made by the flex circuit designer…will have an impact that lasts the entire [design-through-assembly] pro - cess." This is one packed issue, but there's a lot going on in our industry, especially on the flex and rigid-flex side. Our next issue (April), we will examine the entire design-through- final-product process with flex in mind. In the meantime, keep up to date with our sister pub- lications Design007 Magazine, PCB007 Maga- zine, and SMT007 Magazine, as well as our daily and weekly newsletters. Register and sign up for any or all of these free publica- tions here to have them delivered right to your inbox. FLEX007