Words of Advice: What are Your Biggest Problems Related to Flex Design?

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In a recent survey, we asked the following question: What are your biggest problems related to flex design? Here are a few of the answers, edited slightly for clarity.

1. We are lagging in technology.
2. None…design them correctly!
3. Stress cracking in FPC ZIF fingers.
4. We need to work more closely with our FPC fab vendors.
5. Signal integrity of signal paths through the flex and rigid parts of the PCB.

02/20/2020 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 Magazine

I spoke with Max Seeley of 3M about a design class he presented at AltiumLive in Frankfurt, Germany. We also discussed autorouting and the continuing advances in EDA tools, as well as the schism between users who embrace new technology and those who still prefer to layout their boards the old-fashioned way. Which camp do you belong to?

02/20/2020 | Kelly Dack, CID+, EPTAC

Joe Clark, co-founder of DownStream Technologies, gives Kelly Dack an overview of the company and their innovative product line, which serves to smooth the bumps that can occur between source design output and manufacturing line input. As Joe explains, 2019 was a great year for the company, and he expects that trend to hold through 2020.

02/12/2020 | I-Connect007 Editorial Team

The I-Connect007 team recently spoke with design instructor and author Eric Bogatin about the EMI challenges facing PCB designers today. Eric is a “signal integrity evangelist” with Teledyne LeCroy, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, and technical editor of the Signal Integrity Journal. In this interview, Eric explains why EMI is so prevalent and what designers and design engineers can do to avoid EMI from the start.