Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1481876
42 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2022 trends or demands from flex manufacturers that still need to be addressed? Boureau: We see more demands for specific web widths. With our current equipment, we can have under 550 millimeters web width. But we are challenged by new demands to go above 600 for very large flexible circuits. Some applications are in automotive, but we get inquiries for antennas, especially for 5G appli- cations. One of the trends is the enlargement of the exposure surface and enlargement of the images. Camus: We have seen a lot of announcements, especially in Europe, about the EV market, particularly regarding supply chain and value chain, localizing battery production, instead of depending on other countries. I believe the United States is doing something similar. So, we see that as a trend. Johnson: Yes, there is the whole trend toward supply chain resilience. Camus: It's a boon for us because that means that new factories will open, and that's more opportunities for us to sell machines. We're looking forward to the years ahead, especially in the roll-to-roll market. Johnson: From the perspective of an OEM or a design team putting together a product and wanting to use some of these flex applications that require the roll-to-roll, what technical advice or recommendations can you offer for how they approach their design? How do they best take advantage of this capability in manu- facturing their product? Boureau: One of the main issues they face pro- ducing FPC is regarding either mechanical or thermal distortion during the process. Flexi- ble circuits are very sensitive, flexible materi- als. is FPC—a single-sided, simple circuit or a multilayer circuit—will go through many kinds of equipment from the beginning of the process to the end. Considering the right type of material, such as copper and substrate thick- nesses, is very important to reach the goal of our product. Even if our equipment is designed to avoid any stress on the web, if the customer is trying to reach, for example, a very low res- olution in the images, but with a very sensitive material continuing distortion, they will have difficulties handling the process and having a good product at the end. When our customers have a specific type of material or application, we propose testing prior to the investment here at Altix on our equipment so that we can demonstrate that we are going to handle this material. If we are not, we discuss with the customer how we can improve our equipment or the process on that side. Johnson: So, there is the opportunity for a design team to test their concept through demo equipment before they commit to it. at should be very useful for somebody who is new to this. Boureau: Of course. Johnson: anks for taking the time to talk with us. Camus: You're welcome. PCB007 Alexis Guilbert is sales and product manager, Damien Boureau is R&D director, and Alexandre Camus is marketing manager at Altix. It's a boon for us because that means that new factories will open, and that's more opportunities for us to sell machines.