92 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2019
a platform for education and collaboration
among a diverse group of professionals inter-
ested in producing e-textiles technologies and
products.
All Flex Gains NASA Heater Qualification E
All Flex heaters are now on the NASA Quali-
fied Parts List and are certified for space flight.
Intense Competition to Emerge in
High-frequency CCL for 5G AAU
Applications E
Demand for high-frequency and high-speed
CCL will rise sharply to support production of
multi-layer backboards for active antenna unit
(AAU) application at 5G base stations, prompt-
ing CCL makers to step up upgrading specs of
their products to meet the demand.
Brigitflex Invests in New Excellon
Drilling/Routing System E
Brigitflex Inc. has installed Excellon's model
154L vision drill/routing system at its facility
in Elgin, Illinois, U.S.A.
New IPC Report Shows North American
PCB Industry Turnaround E
For the first time in five years, domestic PCB pro-
duction grew in 2018. North America's PCB mar-
ket also grew last year by nearly eight percent,
solidifying the turnaround that began in 2017.
Stretchable Electronics Commercialization
Progress and Challenges E
Stretchable electronics (SC) are already com-
mercial and come in many shapes and forms
but face a complicated path to the market; they
are not a replacement market in that stretch-
able electronics will often not substitute an ex-
isting component or product.
Lenthor Engineering Sustains
Capacity Expansion E
Lenthor Engineering provides updates on the
continuing progress of its capacity expansion
plan.
Rigid-flex Boards Shipments for
AirPods to Stay Robust E
Despite the US tariffs on China-sourced wear-
able devices taking effect September 1, Tai-
wanese PCB makers are expected to see their
shipments of rigid-flex boards for AirPods re-
main strong through the end of 2019 on brisk
demand for such earphones.
Printed Electronics Market to Reach
$21.44 Billion by 2026 E
Global printed electronics market size was val-
ued at $6.86 billion in 2017 and is expected to
reach $21.44 billion by 2026 to exhibit a CAGR
of 15.31% during the forecast period.
IDTechEx: The Future of Wearables
is Medical (Part 1) E
IDTechEx's most recent report on the industry in-
cludes historic data and 10-year market forecasts
for 48 different wearable technology product
types, of which 20 are types of wearable medi-
cal device. These include more traditional medi-
cal products such as hearing aids, cardiac devic-
es (e.g., Holter monitors or event monitors) and
insulin pumps.
IPC E-Textiles Europe 2019 to Bring
Technical Education to European
E-textiles Community E
IPC E-Textiles Europe 2019, a two-day tech-
nical education conference for innovators,
technologists and brands/OEMs, will provide
