Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1481876
38 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2022 those are critical features. It saves part count and assembly time. In electric vehicles, it gives data to the battery management system (BMS), such as the temperatures or voltage. If I go a bit deeper, you have a thermal management system for the batteries, and you need to send this data as well to the BMS. A lot of data needs to be transmitted—and not only to the BMS as you have the com- munication between the BMS and the dashboard. is is incorporated for the driver to look at. Johnson: By using flex circuits, in this case, you can get more data channels into a smaller space? Camus: It's a win-win because you save space, and you get more out of the product. It's a clear upgrade. No downsides. Barry Matties: Is there an advantage for elimi- nating crosstalk or noise compared to the wire harness? Guilbert: Yes. ere is less noise concern when you have an FPC compared to a wire harness. at is also true. Matties: at's probably one of the big advan- tages in design as well. We're talking automo- tive, but are you seeing any trends into perhaps the commercial or military aircra spaces as well? Camus: Yes. I've definitely seen cases for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in both mili- tary and civilian applications. We haven't seen the end of the market yet. It's still growing. Matties: With the roll-to-roll technology, there's no limit to the length, correct? Guilbert: at's correct. Damien Boureau: In fact, this is part of what we are bringing together with our contact printer or direct machine units in roll- to-roll. We can bring options to help our customer produce something like an unlimited flexible circuit. We added some functions, like stitching images all together over the web, or clip- ping a very long image so that we can recompose it at the end. Johnson: Are there other sectors or parts of the market that seem to be moving toward roll-to-roll? Guilbert: Yes. We see more equipment work- ing in the medical sector. For example, we see some FPC manufacturers making a med- ical catheter. It seems that the FPC makers can develop a new and effective method for this type of product. They can save the cost and improve the performance of such a product by using FPC boards. We're also seeing what they call minimally invasive sur- gery (MIS). e product is a long FPC of two meters, and they are running with very small tracks and spaces between 35 to 50 microns. We see an increasing demand to build such a product. Johnson: I hadn't thought about having to go for a long-distance on a medical catheter. Seems to me like that's a similar design demand: more data in a very small and flexible space, travel- ing what would be considered a significant dis- tance. In this case, multiple meters in length. Guilbert: Yes. is is the most difficult aspect as an exposure manufacturer. We must build equipment that can do very thin lines and spaces over a very long length, about two meters and sometimes more. erefore, we developed Adix Roll to Roll (RtR), which has been running for four to five years. Alexis Guilbert