Technical Library | 2016-08-11 01:21:34.0
Be it a residential building, hospital, shopping mall, hotel, school, educational institution or any kind of a building, the security of the building is a prime facet to get a complete building solution. This also includes protecting the building, its assent and the human life from the airborne toxic industrial chemical, radiological and biological attacks or any accidental release apart from fire, water, earthquake and other security concerns. For these high value security solutions, the upgraded technology for the building safety system is now a top priority, especially in the commercial building sector and residential constructions. To introduce a completely new concept and a unique solution, it is necessary to focus on the dynamic electronic design and manufacturing solution in consultation with the custom PCB experts.
Technical Library | 2016-09-29 17:23:51.0
The old tactic of outsourcing to a low cost geography simply to deliver lowest cost direct and indirect labor was never a panacea supply chain solution. In fact, when evaluating solutions for lower volume and higher mix products typically found in the medical, industrial and public safety segments of the OEM market, IL & DL costs are only one subset of the total cost to land the product and service the ultimate customer. In this paper, there will be examination of what actual cost components should be included in a landed cost analysis, the soft costs that an OEM should consider to deliver outstanding performance in quality, logistics and delivery management of the supply chain solution. A detailed comparison using a 'case study' will be presented to demonstrate a total landed cost option versus one that is focused on IL/DL cost.
Technical Library | 2016-06-16 15:29:31.0
Embedding components within the PC board structure is not a new concept. Until recently, however, most embedded component PC board applications adapted only passive elements. The early component forming processes relied on resistive inks and films to enable embedding of resistor and capacitors elements. Although these forming methods remain viable, many companies are choosing to place very thin discrete passive components and semiconductor die elements within the PC board layering structure. In addition to improving the products performance, companies have found that by reducing the component population on the PC board's surface, board level assembly is less complex and the PC board can be made smaller, The smaller substrate, even when more complex, often results in lower cost. Although size and cost reductions are significant attributes, the closer coupling of key elements can also contribute to improving functional performance.This paper focuses on six basic embedded component structure designs described in IPC-7092.
Technical Library | 2017-02-28 12:39:50.0
During the last 5 years mobile phones and other portable consumer electronics have been extremely popular and spread all over the world in different climate zones in very high volumes. At the same time the mobile phone terminal for many people has become a necessity that is brought with them in any activity they practice. These changes in user behavior have heavily changed the impact on handheld terminals from moisture, sweat, corrosive atmospheres and mechanical drop. As a result of this the requirement to solder joint reliability, corrosion stability and wear resistance are heavily increasing to keep a high reliability of the terminal.Immersion Ni/Au has been the overall dominant surface finish on Printed Wiring Boards (PWB's) for the last 10 years, but a paradigm shift to avoid use of this thin and porous surface finish is ongoing nowadays because it can’t address these challenges in a satisfactory way.In today's handheld terminals, Organic Solder Preservative (OSP) has replaced Immersion Ni/Au on solder pads. Carbon surface finish for Key- and spring contact-pads, combined with the right concept design can make use of Immersion Ni/Au unnecessary in the near future. The result will be higher reliability with less expensive and simpler processes.This paper will discuss the various considerations for choice of surface finish and results from the feasibility studies performed.
Technical Library | 2019-10-17 08:44:01.0
There has been an increase in sealing and encapsulation applications mainly in the field of autonomous driving. Safety and assistance systems already make driving safer and more comfortable today. With increasing progress even more electronic systems will be added. The smooth functioning of computers, sensors, cameras, etc. - and thus our safety as road users - also depends on optimally applied potting media. These can be applied economically, quickly and with high quality in individual applications and are now mastered. With the changing mobility concepts, however, the prerequisites in manufacturing are changing. The requirements are often not fixed at the outset, but only develop during the course of the project. The aim here is to generate a flexible standard that enables attractive pricing and short delivery times. However, we are prepared for these developments: with our modular system consisting of scalable system modules. From this, individual processes can be taken and combined according to requirements. Our new LiquiPrep systems have recently become part of this modular system. They represent a further development of the proven A310 product family and enable reliable processing and conveying of self-levelling media. In addition to a significantly more intuitive operation, the LiquiPrep systems also offer higher performance thanks to a new, patented membrane pump and an optimized agitator. Image: Optimally applied sealants and casting materials form the basis for high quality and smooth functioning of the components.
Technical Library | 2020-08-19 19:13:00.0
Commercially available health monitors rely on rigid electronic housing coupled with aggressive adhesives and conductive gels, causing discomfort and inducing skin damage. Also, research-level skin-wearable devices, while excelling in some aspects, fall short as concept-only presentations due to the fundamental challenges of active wireless communication and integration as a single device platform. Here, an all-in-one, wireless, stretchable hybrid electronics with key capabilities for real-time physiological monitoring, automatic detection of signal abnormality via deep-learning, and a long-range wireless connectivity (up to 15 m) is introduced. The strategic integration of thin-film electronic layers with hyperelastic elastomers allows the overall device to adhere and deform naturally with the human body while maintaining the functionalities of the on-board electronics. The stretchable electrodes with optimized structures for intimate skin contact are capable of generating clinical-grade electrocardiograms and accurate analysis of heart and respiratory rates while the motion sensor assesses physical activities. Implementation of convolutional neural networks for real-time physiological classifications demonstrates the feasibility of multifaceted analysis with a high clinical relevance. Finally, in vivo demonstrations with animals and human subjects in various scenarios reveal the versatility of the device as both a health monitor and a viable research tool.
Technical Library | 2019-09-24 15:41:53.0
This paper focuses on three different coating material groups which were formulated to operate under high thermal stress and are applied at printed circuit board manufacturing level. While used for principally different applications, these coatings have in common that they can be key to a successful thermal management concept especially in e-mobility and lighting applications. The coatings consist of: Specialty (green transparent) liquid photoimageable solder masks (LPiSM) compatible with long-term thermal storage/stress in excess of 150°C. Combined with the appropriate high-temperature base material, and along with a suitable copper pre-treatment, these solder resists are capable of fulfilling higher thermal demands. In this context, long-term storage tests as well as temperature cycling tests were conducted. Moreover, the effect of various Cu pre-treatment methods on the adhesion of the solder masks was examined following 150, 175 and 200°C ageing processes. For this purpose, test panels were conditioned for 2000 hours at the respective temperatures and were submitted to a cross-cut test every 500 h. Within this test set-up, it was found that a multi-level chemical pre-treatment gives significantly better adhesion results, in particular at 175°C and 200°C, compared with a pre-treatment by brush or pumice brush. Also, breakdown voltage as well as tracking resistance were investigated. For an application in LED technology, the light reflectivity and white colour stability of the printed circuit board are of major importance, especially when high-power LEDs are used which can generate larger amounts of heat. For this reason, a very high coverage power and an intense white colour with high reflectivity values are essential for white solder masks. These "ultra-white" and largely non-yellowing LPiSM need to be able to withstand specific thermal loads, especially in combination with high-power LED lighting applications. The topic of thermal performance of coatings for electronics will also be discussed in view of printed heatsink paste (HSP) and thermal interface paste (TIP) coatings which are used for a growing number of applications. They are processed at the printed circuit board manufacturing level for thermal-coupling and heat-spreading purposes in various thermal management-sensitive fields, especially in the automotive and LED lighting industries. Besides giving an overview of the principle functionality, it will be discussed what makes these ceramic-filled epoxy- or silicone-based materials special compared to using "thermal greases" and "thermal pads" for heat dissipation purposes.
