Flex Talk: Troubleshooting Flex Circuit Applications for Mil/Aero Projects
October 6, 2016 | Tara Dunn, OMNI PCBEstimated reading time: 1 minute
I imagine that everyone has been in this position at one time or another: Despite everyone’s best attempt at creating the perfect design, PCB fabrication and assembly, something goes wrong and the troubleshooting begins.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Ed Knutson, the president and founder of Dimation, to swap some of our best war stories. Ed specializes in quick-turn assembly and design. Our banter, to which I brought the fabrication piece of the puzzle, was primarily focused on flexible circuit applications for mil/aero projects. I am not sure if that is because of the more stringent requirements for those applications or because we both work regularly in that industry segment. At the end of our discussion, we concluded that most of our war stories could be traced back to a breakdown in communication and often simply not fully understanding how each piece of the design-fabrication-assembly puzzle fits together. Here are a few of our stories and lessons learned.
UL Materials
Aircraft applications typically require materials rated to UL94V-0. The assembly is complete and the burn test fails. What happened? The perfect storm. When the design files were created for fabrication and assembly, the UL requirements were noted in the assembly files only and called out by test requirements, not UL 94V-0. This was an ITAR application, so the PCB fab files were separated from the assembly files and forwarded to the flex manufacturer. Because there were no UL requirements listed on the fabrication notes, the supplier defaulted to their standard materials and the flex was not built with flame-retardant materials. That explains why the final assembly failed the burn test. Lesson Learned: Always clearly communicate UL requirements and include the requirement in both the PCB fabrication notes and the assembly notes.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the September 2016 issue of The PCB Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Cadence, TSMC Collaborate on Wide-Ranging Innovations to Transform System and Semiconductor Design
04/25/2024 | Cadence Design SystemsCadence Design Systems, Inc. and TSMC have extended their longstanding collaboration by announcing a broad range of innovative technology advancements to accelerate design, including developments ranging from 3D-IC and advanced process nodes to design IP and photonics.
Ansys, TSMC Enable a Multiphysics Platform for Optics and Photonics, Addressing Needs of AI, HPC Silicon Systems
04/25/2024 | PRNewswireAnsys announced a collaboration with TSMC on multiphysics software for TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engines (COUPE). COUPE is a cutting-edge Silicon Photonics (SiPh) integration system and Co-Packaged Optics platform that mitigates coupling loss while significantly accelerating chip-to-chip and machine-to-machine communication.
Siemens’ Breakthrough Veloce CS Transforms Emulation and Prototyping with Three Novel Products
04/24/2024 | Siemens Digital Industries SoftwareSiemens Digital Industries Software launched the Veloce™ CS hardware-assisted verification and validation system. In a first for the EDA (Electronic Design Automation) industry, Veloce CS incorporates hardware emulation, enterprise prototyping and software prototyping and is built on two highly advanced integrated circuits (ICs) – Siemens’ new, purpose-built Crystal accelerator chip for emulation and the AMD Versal™ Premium VP1902 FPGA adaptive SoC (System-on-a-chip) for enterprise and software prototyping.
Listen Up! The Intricacies of PCB Drilling Detailed in New Podcast Episode
04/25/2024 | I-Connect007In episode 5 of the podcast series, On the Line With: Designing for Reality, Nolan Johnson and Matt Stevenson continue down the manufacturing process, this time focusing on the post-lamination drilling process for PCBs. Matt and Nolan delve into the intricacies of the PCB drilling process, highlighting the importance of hole quality, drill parameters, and design optimization to ensure smooth manufacturing. The conversation covers topics such as drill bit sizes, aspect ratios, vias, challenges in drilling, and ways to enhance efficiency in the drilling department.
Elevating PCB Design Engineering With IPC Programs
04/24/2024 | Cory Blaylock, IPCIn a monumental stride for the electronics manufacturing industry, IPC has successfully championed the recognition of the PCB Design Engineer as an official occupation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This pivotal achievement not only underscores the critical role of PCB design engineers within the technology landscape, but also marks the beginning of a transformative journey toward nurturing a robust, skilled workforce ready to propel our industry into the future.