90 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2020
Innovators Create Flexible, Printed Coil
for Stringed Instruments E
The Purdue team's circuit board works in the
same general way as a conventional electric
guitar pickup: string vibrations cause the elec-
tromagnetic field to oscillate and induce a volt-
age in the stationary coil. The electric signal
generated is then carried to a power amplifier
and speaker.
Flex Talk: The Black Magic in
the Business E
When you work with flex or rigid-flex, the
communication between designer and fabrica-
tor needs to be impeccable, and the primary
method of transferring information is through
the fabrication notes. Tara Dunn gives a recom-
mendation that, although not strictly required
by the fabricator to build the product, will cer-
tainly benefit the end-user.
I-Connect007's Latest Innovation:
Joe Fjelstad's E-Workshop on
Flexible Circuits E
I welcomed the opportunity to enjoy a privi-
leged preview of I-Connect007's latest innova-
tion in technical webinars: a series of e-work-
shops covering structures, applications, mate-
rials, and manufacturing processes in flexible
circuit technology with the industry's leading
authority—Joe Fjelstad.
GTX Corp 4G LTE SmartSoles
Gaining Interest E
GTX Corp, a pioneer in the field of health and
safety wearable GPS human and asset track-
ing systems and personal protective medical
equipment, announced it has begun taking
pre-orders as field testing its new 4G LTE MB
IoT GPS SmartSoles commences.
Documenting Your Flex Circuit Design E
As a flex circuit applications engineer, when
Flexible Circuit Technologies' Tony Plemel
receives an RFQ, the first thing he does is look
at the customer's data and review their manu-
facturing notes. Quite often, he finds notes that
supersede IPC specifications in manufacturing
documents, as customers often believe these
added notes and associated specifications will
make the circuit more robust.
Consider This: Let's Talk About the
Basics of Flex E
Flexible PCBs, by their very nature, are
designed to be flexible. This presents prob-
lems in securely and reliably attaching the
ends of the flex circuits to a solid, stiff, main
PCB or other electronic devices. A combination
of hard, as well as semi-flexible, stiffeners, is
used for this purpose.
EPTE Newsletter: Circuit Board Shipments
in Taiwan up Slightly E
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt
the global economy. In this column, Dominique
examines the impact on Taiwan. Taiwanese
companies posted positive results compared to
last year as manufacturing and exports increase.
Flexible Thinking: Thermal Management—
Electronic Technology's Rodney
Dangerfield E
Thermal engineering has, unfortunately, often
been treated with less respect than it deserved.
Dealing with the heat generated by electron-
ics was often not given full consideration until
after the design was completed and proto-
typed, and the problem manifests as a failure.
Joe Fjelstad emphasizes why keeping devices
cool is a vital objective.
