Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

Battery management systems (BMS) are safety devices integrated into battery packs to monitor the cells during charging and discharging phases. These systems can activate safety controls when problems arise while logging data that you can use to evaluate the cell's stability. When functioning properly, the BMS can improve the efficiency and longevity of the battery pack. Unfortunately, BMS design flaws may cause serious risks and failures to cells.

Typically, when stiffeners and adhesives are thought of, they are only considered for flexible PCBs rather than rigid-flex PCBs. In reality, stiffeners can be applied to rigid-flex designs just as they are in flexible circuits.

Products that use battery packs may require certification through national and international quality and safety organizations. These regulations ensure that the battery packs meet compliance standards for packaging, transportation, use, storage, and disposal.

If you have ever walked across a carpeted floor in the winter and touched a metal doorknob, you have experienced electrostatic discharge firsthand. The quick snap and jolt may be surprising, but for most people, it is harmless and quickly forgotten. For electronics, however, that same event can be far more serious.

Medical devices using portable battery packs require special design considerations to ensure optimal power for these devices while upholding the highest levels of safety. The medical devices can use lithium-ion, lithium metal, lead acid, NiMH, silver-oxide, and alkaline battery cells based on power requirements and usage. The battery packs cannot malfunction when in use, during sterilization, or when placed into storage.

When it comes to flex and rigid-flex printed circuit boards, flex is typically seen as insurmountable compared to rigid. This is primarily due to the two main differences between flex and rigid: the materials and the function, both of which seem to give pause to many designers.

Designing a keypad that feels intuitive, durable, and precise is both an art and a science. While touchscreens and soft-key interfaces have become increasingly common, hard keys remain a staple in many industries, especially where tactile feedback, durability, and reliability are crucial.

When it comes to modern electronics, space is always at a premium, reliability is paramount, and design decisions can significantly impact product performance. Flexible circuits (flex) and rigid-flex PCBs often sit at the center of these decisions.

Every device requires unique power and energy needs, whether it requires a strong jolt of power when starting up or a steady amount of energy for long periods of work activity. Yet factors such as aging, degradation, extreme temperatures, and severe discharging events can impact the available capacity of a battery cell.

Newer technological devices require battery cells to provide higher levels of power while being lightweight and small. When seeking higher levels of energy and power in battery packs, these circumstances create an environment that leads to potentially unstable battery chemistries, elevated temperatures, short circuits, cell swelling, loss of capacity, and overcharging/over-discharging.