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AUGUST 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 11 municating with your fabricators and why they almost never get calls from a CAM department regarding their documentation. Patrick McGoff of Mentor, a Siemens Business, offers advice to new designers facing fab notes challenges and explains how intelligent file formats like ODB++ help eliminate miscues during the data handoff process. Tara Dunn illustrates how flex fab notes differ from their rigid PCB brethren, as well as how the 3D structure of flex presents even more data challenges. We also bring you columns from Barry Olney, Istvan Novak, Kelly Dack, Patrick Crawford, Phil Kinner, John Coonrod, Matt Stevenson and Bob Tise, and Dominique Numakura. We also have a great article by Olga Scheglov, CID+, on design rules for new flex designers. There's still a lot of craziness going on in the world right now, but we continue to see amazing examples of innovation in this indus- try. When COVID-19 is a thing of the past, this industry is going to blast off. The only ques- tion is, "When?" See you next month. DESIGN007 Andy Shaughnessy is managing editor of Design007 Magazine. He has been covering PCB design for 20 years. He can be reached by clicking here. to the next design now, so don't bother me. Build the board." Fabricators are caught in the middle. But what if fabricators started offering incentives for jobs that arrived with perfect data pack- ages? The small- and medium-sized OEMs, especially startups, might just jump at such an offer. If board shops monetized the documen- tation process, I bet we'd see the percentages of imperfect data start to trend downward. This month, we shine a light on the process of creating fab notes, define what should and should not go into a design data package, and what—if anything—can be done to eliminate that 5:30 p.m. call to the OEM on Friday night. We start with a conversation with columnists Dana Korf and Kelly Dack, who delve into the challenges of creating accurate fab notes, and the need to include all of the relevant data. Vet- eran CAD man Mark Thompson explains how easy it is to get design data right—and wrong— and he shares some of his tips for creating great fab notes. Rick Almeida and Ray Fugitt of Down- Stream Technologies address what happens to incorrect fab notes in the CAD department, the role EDA tools can play in this situation, and how the current system enables designers to continue to keep handing off erroneous data. Next, Jennifer Kolar and Dan Warren of Mon- soon Solutions discuss the importance of com- U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the Non-Traditional and Emerging Transporta- tion Technology (NETT) Council unveiled the guidance document on a clear regulatory framework for hyperloop in the United States. "This guidance bridges the gap between innovator and regulator, prioritizes safety during development without hampering innovation, and promotes mutual awareness between industry and government," said Chao. The regulatory guidance document for hyperloop is the first of its kind in the world, further proving that the US intends to be the leader in the industry. "Secretary Chao and the NETT Council are working at an unprecedented speed to ensure that the United States is at the forefront of hyperloop development," said Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop. "It's clear that the USDOT shares our vision for infrastructure development as a way for the country to not just rebuild, but evolve as we emerge from this crisis." As an entirely new category of transportation, hyperloop will unlock exponential growth opportuni- ties for cross-industry manufacturing and development jobs, across construction, aerospace, rail, automo- tive, aviation, electric vehicles, and autonomous control. Last month, Virgin Hyperloop announced a partnership with Spirit AeroSystems, one of the world's largest aerospace manufacturers. (Source: Globe Newswire) Secretary Elaine Chao Unveils Guidance Document for Regulation of Hyperloop