Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/327747
June 2014 • The PCB Design Magazine 53 tim's takeaways sition for the enemy ace. The radio exploded with shouts of help from the next victim in the enemy's sights. And then it happened. McGuire had already violated not one but all three of his cardinal rules of combat. Now eager to help, he pulled his plane around in a maneu- ver that tried to beat the invisible laws of aero- dynamics. But the big Lightning simply could not turn that tight at such a slow speed with the extra weight of the drop tanks still attached, and it aerodynamically stalled. Plunging out of con- trol towards the ground below he almost pulled it out, but there simply wasn't enough room. A blinding sheet of flame in a lonely jungle setting marked the end of Tommy McGuire. He wasn't engaged with the enemy, and no one was shooting at him. But still McGuire died because he thought that he could just this one time break those very rules that he insti- tuted for protection. He died because he didn't believe that there was anything out there that could beat him. How about us? Do we understand that there is always something out there that is wait- ing to snare us if we give it opportunity? Do we understand that DRCs are designed to pro- tect us and not to frustrate us? CAD vendors build those rules into our tools so that we can be prepared for the unexpected; we just have to take the time to use them. McGuire's story has always served as an example to me when I am tempted to rush a job to completion as to what can happen if I disregard those very rules that are designed to protect me. Now, I have a couple of DRCs that I need to run. PCBDESIgN Tim haag is customer support and training manager for inter- cept Technology. DESIgN RULE CHECkS: FoR YoUR PRoTECTIoN continues realtimewith.com CliCk To View Video Interview Pete uka, director of technology at Q-Flex inc., joins guest editor Joe Fjelstad to discuss a few of the unusual flex solutions his company provides to various customers. in business since 1998, Q-Flex is moving into specialty products says uka, including a 15-foot flex board, an 8-foot, 8-layer flex board, heat-sensing products, and extremely tiny flex products smaller than a grain of rice. Supplying Unusual Flex to Meet Customers' Needs by Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO