62 The PCB Magazine • August 2017
First-Ever Helicopter-Based Firing
of High Energy Laser
Raytheon Company and the U.S. Army Apache
Program Management Office, in collaboration
with U.S. Special Operations Command, recently
completed a successful flight test of a high energy
laser system onboard an Apache AH-64 at White
Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
All About Flex: Etchback on Type 3
and Type 4 Flexible Circuits
Through-hole etchback is a requirement that is
sometimes specified on medical, military and aero-
space procurement documents for multilayer flex-
ible circuits and combination multilayer flex/rigid
board circuits. It specifically relates to the copper
plated through-holes and the relative dimensions
between the dielectric layers and copper layers.
Mil/Aero Electronics Supply Chain
Facing New Challenges
For this month's issues of I-Connect007 publi-
cations, we invited a sampling of professionals
whose experience centers on the electronics in-
dustry in the military and aerospace world, includ-
ing experts from design, PCB manufacturing, and
the assembly arena, to sit down with us for a frank
discussion. Our discussion centered on the chal-
lenges associated with military work, including
the new regulatory requirements for cybersecuri-
ty, dealing with leaded vs. lead-free components,
and the differences and similarities with the com-
mercial world.
PNC Inc. Invests in LED Laser Direct
Imaging system from Miva Technologies
This 2000L 2LE model is capable of imaging a
maximum size 24" x 24" PC board or film size.
With any large format film, positional accuracy can
be a challenge but the Miva's dynamic scaling fea-
ture can increase accuracy to minimize tolerance
build-ups during the imaging process.
A.I. Will Prepare Robots for the Unknown
"The goal is for A.I. to be more like a smart assis-
tant collaborating with the scientist and less like
programming assembly code," said Chien, a se-
nior research scientist on autonomous space sys-
tems. "It allows scientists to focus on the 'thinking'
things—analyzing and interpreting data—while
robotic explorers search out features of interest."
American Standard Circuits Promotes
Tim Hudson to Flex, Rigid-Flex and
Special Products Manager
American Standard Circuits CEO Anaya Vardya has
announced the promotion of industry expert Tim
Hudson to the position of flex, rigid-flex and spe-
cial products manager. Hudson was formerly the
company's plant manager. During his 31-year ca-
reer in the printed circuit board industry, he has
held key positions with several companies includ-
ing Midwest Printed Circuits, DEH and Bartlett.
Rockford Region Cultivates Opportunities
at Paris Air Show
More than a dozen aerospace organizations and
companies promoted the strength of the Rockford
Region's aerospace supply chain and pursued op-
portunities to expand their scope worldwide June
19–22 at the 52nd International Paris Air Show.
Greg Papandrew to Lead Advanced
Circuits' Offshore Division
Offshore PCB sourcing expert Greg Papandrew has
been tapped as the offshore sales director for Ad-
vanced Circuits' newly created offshore division.
Papandrew is responsible for creating a seamless
process and providing the most cost-effective off-
shore manufacturing solution for high-volume
PCB production to customers in the North Ameri-
can market.
Smart Quadcopters Find their Way
without Human Help or GPS
Milestone series of tests have quadcopters slalom-
ing through woodlands, swerving around obsta-
cles in a hangar and reporting back to their start-
ing point all by themselves.
Eltek Receives $1.4 Million Loan from Nistec
Eltek Ltd has obtained a loan of NIS 5 million
(approximately US$1.4 million) from Nistec Ltd,
the company's controlling shareholder.
MilAero007
Highlights
