Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

When we look at where we are today vs. 1980 or earlier with technology, it is truly amazing. Just think about an appliance, for example, the household refrigerator/freezer. It used to be that you opened the door, looked inside, found what was needed, and closed it. I can hear my parents yelling, “shut the door,” like all the cold is coming out and everything will spoil. Settings were cold/coldest on a dial you turned.

When submitting your prints for any CNC machined part, there are three key steps to remember to take if you’re looking to get your parts delivered in a quicker fashion with the most economical cost. Having all three up front saves time on our end as well as yours, all but eliminating the need for any time-consuming, back and forth conversation.

Magnetism is such a fascinating and important phenomenon that our world quite literally would not exist without it. Magnetic fields, electromotive force, and electromagnetism are wildly complex subjects while at the same time and at a high level, somewhat simple to understand. What is important is that these principles help electric motors run, earth’s magnetosphere shield civilization, and refrigerator magnets stick unless, of course, your appliances are stainless steel.

Printed circuit board (PCB) production has used standard panel sizes, such as 18x24 inches, to produce multiple PCBs at the same time, along with several other panel standards. A panel containing single format PCBs typically would use routing as the method of removing the single pieces from the master size.

There's a lot of electrical, mechanical, and chemical considerations when it comes to developing a custom battery pack. In addition to deciding on the cell chemistry, a customer also must know how the battery pack may perform in various environmental conditions related to the application. They want to know the shelf life of the battery, the charge/discharge rates, and any possible hazards that could occur when the battery pack is in use.

Flexible heaters offer a way for commercial, industrial, and mil-aero applications to receive the desired heat at specific places. These heaters can be used for multiple purposes, from keeping food warm in cafeterias and drying up condensation in aerospace control panels to being used to control temperatures in medical equipment.

Consumers use battery packs for devices used in diverse environments. While the ideal device would experience cool temperatures without drastic temperature changes and be free from corrosion, chemicals, water, shocks, and vibrations, this setup is not always the case. Some devices used in chemical manufacturing processes may experience chemical exposure. Other devices used outdoors may have to deal with harsh temperatures and an abundance of moisture.

Mechanical bend reliability is a critical element in a successful flex or rigid-flex PCB design. One area that can have a significant impact is the transition line(s) that occurs from a rigid area, in a rigid-flex circuit design, or from a stiffened area, in a flex circuit with stiffeners design, to the flex layer(s) only areas. 

The appeal of lithium-based batteries for products has grown immensely. They provide high amounts of power while being light enough for portable devices. However, the battery chemistry is considered unstable, as it requires a battery management system to monitor the pack's temperatures, State of Health (SoH), State of Charge (SoC), and other factors. If the battery should experience a short or thermal runaway, it could cause the pack to catch fire or explode.

At the conclusion of our webinar, Dealing With Component Shortages That Impact Battery Packs Designs, we had several questions submitted to our presenter, Randy Ibrahim, Battery Development Consultant at Epec. We have compiled these questions into a readable format on our blog.