88 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2022
Multek to Reduce Carbon Emissions
by Half by 2030 E
Multek will work to reduce its carbon emis-
sions by half by 2030 and continue to acceler-
ate toward carbon neutrality.
Altix Receives Bundle Machine Order
from Major Chinese FPC & PCB Player E
Altix is delighted to announce a significant
order for both direct imaging and contact
printer equipment. e bundle encompasses
both panel and RtR solutions to be installed at
a new plant in Jiangxi province.
FLEX Conference 2022 to Highlight
Latest Flexible Hybrid Electronics
Innovations E
FLEX Conference will gather industry experts
July 11-14, 2022, at the Moscone Center in
San Francisco for keynotes, panel discussions,
technical sessions, and product-based demon-
strations highlighting the latest innovations in
flexible and printed electronics.
Catching Up With Alpha Circuit's
Prashant Patel E
ere is plenty of evidence that the American
PCB industry is going through a revitaliza-
tion. While a few new companies are being
established, others are being rejuvenated as
investors gain more interest and confidence
in domestic PCB companies. I reached out
to Prashant Patel, owner and president of
Alpha Circuit Corporation in the greater Chi-
cago area. I wanted to hear about his invest-
ment and the unique path he took to owning
a PCB shop.
S & P Flex Circuits Ltd Opts for Kaima
Universal Fixture Tester From Gardien E
Gardien Group is pleased to announce the
installation of the Kaima bare circuit board
fixture tester to S & P Flex in Scarborough,
Ontario, Canada.
Flexible Thinking: The Fascinating
History of Wearable Electronics E
Wearable electronics have been capturing much
attention in the press, both technical and busi-
ness, over the past few years. Articles for con-
sumption by the public, as well as technical
research papers on the topic, have been increas-
ing steadily in recent times. However, wearable
electronics are far from new. Moreover, the term
"wearable" is quite fungible and encompasses a
broad spectrum of prospective embodiments.
Beyond Design: Designing for the
SAP Fabrication Process E
PCB designers are continually challenged with
demands for reduced product size. However,
form factor-driven design pressures have been
relieved, in part, by the increased use of high-
density interconnects (HDIs), which enable
more functionality per unit area than conven-
tional PCBs. Leveraging finer lines, thinner
materials, and laser-drilled vias, HDIs have
played a crucial role in device miniaturization.
However, the traditional PCB subtractive etch
processing becomes very difficult for feature
sizes below 3 mil trace/space. is forces PCB
designs to become more complex as electron-
ics packages shrink—adding extra routing lay-
ers, and microvia layers, and increasing the
number of lamination cycles required, all of
which impact yield, reliability, and thus cost.
