Citation
Willis, B. (2004), "Interactive Guide to Flexible Circuit Technology", Microelectronics International, Vol. 21 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mi.2004.21821aae.003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Interactive Guide to Flexible Circuit Technology
Interactive Guide to Flexible Circuit Technology
Teknoflex www.teknoflex.com
Interactive CD-ROM format
The company has been through a number of transitions over the years, but is one of the most established producers of flexible circuits in the UK. They have only a few reel to reel flexible manufacturing lines in the Europe, which is extremely impressive to watch in action. Their engineering team have a wide experience in flex and are passionate about the technology. This free interactive CD-ROM (Plate 3) has been a long time in the making and includes much of the information which the company has provided to design engineers over the years in two volumes of extremely well illustrated text. It could be said that this is just a sales tool, yes it may be, but few CDs like this provide so much useful information.
Plate 3
The free interactive CD-ROM from Teknoflex
Flexible circuits are unique as a packaging solution, intriguing to manufacture due to the expansion and contraction of the base materials and a pain to assemble unless you follow correct design rules. Having developed specific skills to assemble flex, some guidelines are included on the CD, but the assembly section could have been more specific as tooling is the key to assembly. Some of the assembly section is weak and very few of the issues regarding soldering are covered. This is also true of the flexible text books on the market.
There are many reference to do's and dont's in flex design and manufacture and it is nice to have them all in one place. Certainly, the material contained will benefit design departments, but direct discuss with a flex supplier is the best approach.
The CD is split into key sections covering:
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technologies,
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design,
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electrical considerations,
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material,
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assembly,
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quality,
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design checklists, and
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glossary of terms.
The interactive CD-ROM is text and drawing- based and should have incorporated more photographs to illustrate good and bad design. Video footage of the reel to reel facility would have been extremely interesting to many engineers and a key feature of the facility. The reel to reel facility is not for all customers due to the volume requirement, but a key interest to anyone with a passing interest in flex. The company included capability information alongside the parameters of the flex materials, which is useful.
There is no question that any design or process engineer will benefit in reviewing the information on this CD. If you want to move on to a book on the subject you can check out manuals by Joe Fjelstad also reviewed in these pages.
Bob Willis,2 Fourth Ave., Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 4HA.Tel: 01245 351502Fax: 01245 496123Mobile: 07860 775858E-mail: bob@bobwillis.co.ukWeb site: www.leadfreesoldering.com and www.bobwillis.co.uk