Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1153097
96 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2019 converted it to a Customer Interfacing Tech- nology Center supporting a lot of our different businesses. One of those was the Interconnect Solutions Group that supports Pyralux and Kapton, which is the business side I work in. The goal of our site is to work with as many customers in the Bay Area. Obviously, we'll reach further out, but we hope to get in early on prototype applications, help our OEM cus- tomers with their designs, and get our material specified in early, as Chris mentioned. We can bring designers and customers to the site, walk them through the lab space, teach them a little bit about our materials—such as how and when to best use them—and then offer a prototyping service. We can essentially build a flat circuit design, for example, on our materi - als, and build it on competitive benchmark ma- terials if we need to. Then, we can characterize and analyze the l prototype itself and supply data and recommendations to the customer. Creeden: So, this doesn't have to be a full- blown design. What you're going to do is pro- vide a test vehicle for the transmission line. Bowles: Correct. Creeden: They know what their survey is sup- posed to do, and they know what they want to receive on the load end. How would read- ers engage with DuPont's Technology Innova- tion Center? Bowles: One, come to the Bay Area. Two, you can reach most of us via email or LinkedIn, but our site in Sunnydale has open doors, and a lot of people connect with us through Insulectro, IPC, and other industry events. You can reach me at Steven.Bowles@DuPont.com. Creeden: What trends do you see as you look out into the electronics development going to- ward flex and/or printed electronics? Hunrath: We're seeing a ton of automotive and medical applications using electronics. Some innovations include weight, heat, reliability, and internet connectivity of the different de- someone went from a cable system not know- ing the nuances of flex, they might run into some trouble. Creeden: Oftentimes, it's the transition from rig- id to flex where issues occur. Are there any chal- lenges you'd see there? We've talked about some- times material oozing out at that junction point. Bowles: Yes, watch your squeeze-out. But there's also the appli- cation strain relief be- cause of material being flexed. Keep conduc- tors and through vias or any data structure away from that transi- tion zone or limitations to the area, and obvi- ously follow design recommendations. Creeden: We alluded to the fact that there's not a lot of training going on out there in flex. From teaching CID and the CID+, there's some flex information in there, but I think there could be more; it's a bit of a challenge in our industry. Hunrath: Many fabricators have good flex expe- rience, so they would be good to reach out to. But I also encourage people to come to the Du- pont Tech Center in Sunnyvale because we've had several meetings where we've brought in the fabricator and OEM, and that's worked out well. Creeden: Again, this is an impressive facility. This is the second time I've visited, but now it's fully functional. Bowles: And you haven't even seen the Innova- tion Center yet. Creeden: Right. Can you give our readers a brief overview of what's here, and what service do you hope to provide to OEMs and customers designing boards? Bowles: DuPont acquired a photovoltaic start- up back in 2011 called Innovalight and quickly Steven Bowles