Although flex circuits are nothing new in today’s technology roadmap, the testing of unpopulated flexible circuits can be challenging. These circuits can be very thin, have challenging geometrical configurations and in some cases be a combination of rigid bare board and flex. There are basically three different methods available to test these challenging circuits: manual, [...]
I have known Quang Luong, the owner of Vector Fabrication, for many years now, and I have always been interested in his business and how it operates, especially since he is the only PCB shop owner I know of who has a company both in the U.S. and in Vietnam. Saigon Silicon City Based on [...]
Today’s wide variety of laminate materials and specialized dielectric choices pose a challenge for process engineering. In particular, smooth surfaces, such as polyimide, flex circuit substrates and rigid-flex constructions with window cut-outs, can be a challenge for electroless copper and plating processes. Conventional electroless copper systems often required pretreatments with hazardous chemicals or have a [...]
When I recently visited the West Coast offices of Nano System Inc. I caught up with Sam Sekine, formerly of Hitachi. Nano System is a new company focused on producing and selling laser drill systems to the PCB industry. In this interview, Mr. Sekine discusses his staff, the company’s technology, and Nano System’s strategy for [...]
What is an UAV? UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehiclewhich is any aircraft that is operated by remote control rather than a pilot; UAVs are also known as drones. People probably first started learning about drones from the military operations in the Middle East, where UAVs are used extensively in search and destroy operations. Military [...]
IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced today the April findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales and orders were both down slightly, compared to last year. The book-to-bill ratio remained positive but decreased to 1.02. Total North American PCB shipments decreased 1.0 percent in April 2015 from April [...]
All Flex Flexible Circuits, LLC, manufacturer of flexible printed circuits and heaters, announced a capital equipment purchase of an Optical Laser Ablation System. The recently completed headquarters facility expansion accommodates the new equipment in Northfield, MN. All Flex has been manufacturing flexible circuits for nearly a quarter of a century and added flexible polyimide and [...]
It seems that flex circuit technology is definitely coming into its own. The market for flex circuitry has always been growing, but now it is rapidly accelerating, with new technologies and new applications in the news nearly every day. Flex is not just in your laptop and camera anymore, it is in your car, in [...]
Electroless nickel/electroless palladium/immersion gold (ENEPIG) is sometimes referred to as the universal finish, because of the versatility of its applications. It is a multifunctional surface finish, applicable to soldering and wire bonding (gold, aluminum, copper and palladium clad copper). In addition, it is also suitable as the mating surface for soft membrane and steel dome [...]
Final finishes can be subdivided into metallic and organic finishes. For the purpose of this article, the focus will be on the metallic finishes using the combinations of nickel (Ni) and/or palladium (Pd) and/or gold (Au). Variations on this theme are used extensively in the electronics market of today. The Ni/Pd/Au mutations are [...]