84 The PCB Magazine • July 2017
Off-the-Shelf Power-Generating
Clothes Are Almost Here
A lightweight, comfortable jacket that can gener-
ate the power to light up a jogger at night may
sound futuristic, but materials scientist Trisha An-
drew at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
could make one today. They have invented a way
to apply breathable, pliable, metal-free electrodes
to fabric and off-the-shelf clothing so it feels good
to the touch and transports enough electricity to
power small electronics.
Eltek Inks Distribution Agreement
with NCAB Group Italy
Eltek Ltd., a global manufacturer and supplier of
technologically advanced solutions in the field of
printed circuit boards, announced today an agree-
ment with NCAB Group Italy to distribute Eltek's
products in Italy.
American Standard Circuits Earns Key
Military Qualification MIL-PRF-50884F
and Expands MIL-PRF-31032
American Standard Circuits' CEO Anaya Vardya
announced recently that his company has officially
received its military qualification for flex and rigid-
flex printed circuit boards: MIL-PRF- 50884F and
MIL-PRF-31032C, QPL/QML Product Assurance
Level, FSC 5998: Cage Code 4AA34: CN056313,
VQ (VQE-17-031438).
Tucking in to NIST's '3D Printer' Testbed
3D printing of metal objects is a booming industry,
with the market for products and services worth
more than an estimated $2.3 billion in 2015—a
nearly five-fold growth since 2010.
Faster, More Nimble Drones on the Horizon
There's a limit to how fast autonomous vehicles
can fly while safely avoiding obstacles. That's be-
cause the cameras used on today's drones can only
process images so fast, frame by individual frame.
Beyond roughly 30 miles per hour, a drone is likely
to crash simply because its cameras can't keep up.
DARPA Picks Design for
Next-Generation Spaceplane
DARPA has selected The Boeing Company to com-
plete advanced design work for the Agency's Ex-
perimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program, which
aims to build and fly the first of an entirely new
class of hypersonic aircraft that would bolster na-
tional security by providing short-notice, low-cost
access to space.
Compunetics and Circuits, LLC
Announce Acquisition
Compunetics Inc. is pleased to announce it has
concluded an agreement with Circuits, LLC to ac-
quire the assets of Circuits, LLC, a flexible printed
circuit board manufacturer located in Murrysville,
Pennsylvania.
Beyond Scaling: an Electronics
Resurgence Initiative
The Department of Defense's proposed FY 2018
budget includes a $75 million allocation for DAR-
PA in support of a new, public-private "electronics
resurgence" initiative. The initiative seeks to un-
dergird a new era of electronics in which advances
in performance will be catalyzed not just by con-
tinued component miniaturization but also by rad-
ically new microsystem materials, designs, and ar-
chitectures.
UQ Partners with Lockheed Martin to
Develop Next-Gen Computers for
Aerospace Applications
University of Queensland researchers have part-
nered with global technology leader Lockheed
Martin to develop next generation computers for
aerospace applications. ARC Future Fellow and
project lead Professor Warwick Bowen said the
partnership would develop a new approach to
computer technology, with the potential for future
commercial impacts in the aerospace industry.
All Flex Expands Primary
Production Facility
All Flex, a manufacturer of flexible printed circuit
boards and flexible heaters, recently completed
an expansion of its primary production facility in
Northfield, Minnesota, increasing its fabrication
footprint by 10%. With two facilities in Northfield,
the company invested $400K in consolidating its
headquarters into one location, freeing up needed
space for production capacity, fabrication process-
es, and improved material flow.
MilAero007
Highlights
