Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1199133
JANUARY 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 89 • Drawings Overly or Too Tightly Dimensioned: It is important to remember that you are pur- chasing a flexible circuit, not a machined part. The materials used to manufacture flexible circuits both permit and require looser tolerances than rigid PCBs. Each dimension placed on a drawing will have to be verified, so ask yourself, "Is this dimension adding value or just cost?" All non-critical dimensions on your flex circuit drawing should be designated as reference • Dissimilar Layer Counts in PTH Areas: All areas that have plated through-holes should have the same layer count and construc- tion • Multiple Final Finishes: While multiple final finishes can certainly be accomplished, it usually requires a series of hand masking operations that will add cost • Small Features: Because of the inherent dimensional instability of flex circuit materials, small circuit features (i.e., via pads) can cause processing difficulties and reduced yields. There are instances where it would be less expensive to add additional layers with larger features than to design with very small features. For this reason, it is advisable to contact your flex supplier early in the design stage for guidance • Blind and Buried Vias: These are significantly more expensive than through-holes Flexible Circuit Technologies is a flex fabrica- tor with locations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Shenzhen, China. This article was adapted from their flex design guidelines, available at www.flexiblecircuit.com. FLEX007 NIU Technologies introduced two new electric vehicles, the RQi-GT and TQi-GT, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The new RQi-GT is an urban performance electric motor- cycle, allowing riders to reach the outer limits of their city at top speeds of estimated 160km per hour. Designed and built around NIU's advanced technology, the motor pro- vides a peak output power of 30 kW and the two remov- able batteries (combined 7 kWh) can take riders up to 130km on a single charge. The TQi-GT is NIU's first self-balancing electric three-wheeler, which comes s ta n d a rd w i t h a u to n o - mous driving functionalities, including self-parking. De- signed to provide urban commuters with an advanta- geous way to enjoy their city, the TQi-GT can reach top speeds of 80 km per hour and has a range of up to 200 km to provide more than a week of urban commuting range. At present, NIU IoT can use smart sensors to detect information in real time and aggregate cloud computing analysis to recognize people, vehicle, cloud connectiv- ity. With the arrival of the 5G era, NIU IoT will have a lot more space for innovation. And NIU aims to build a trans- portation network platform called the NIU FLEET and it can be the perfect urban mobility model that NIU envi- sions for the new decade. The mass production of the new models, RQi-GT and TQi-GT, is expected in the second half of 2020 and will be made available to con- sumers a few months later. (Source: Business Wire) NIU Launches the Future of Urban Electric Motorcycles: 5G Connected, Autonomous and Self-Balancing