Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

Over the last 25 years, the evolution of touch screen technologies has brought sweeping changes to how society uses human-machine interface (HMI) products. Originally touch screens were small, monochrome, and required a stylus and single touchpoint to operate.

Even though the last financial crisis was over 8 years ago, most engineering departments at electronic OEMs have never fully staffed back to the levels that they were before the economic disaster. That means that there are many engineers doing two or more jobs, all while their senior management still insists on meeting tight timelines with limited budgets.

When creating your SMART user interface design, the operating environment should be taken into careful consideration. Environmental contaminants, moisture, temperature extremes, UV radiation, and overall wear and tear from use in outdoor environments are factors that should be considered before determining material and component selection for your SMART user interface.

Before designing your custom human-machine interface (HMI) project, it's important to have an idea of all the steps involved before and during production. Each step has variable length so while there isn't an exact timeframe for production, having a more informed viewpoint is critical to everyone's ability for following HMI design best practices.

It is critical for any flex circuit design to be free of errors and violations in order to get the application to market as fast as possible without unnecessary delay. To help designers avoid common IPC PCB design standards violations in rigid-flex PCBs, this blog post will discuss three of the most common IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries design violations.

Navigating through the complex cable industry can be both difficult and time consuming. This is especially true if, for whatever reason, you have to change your cable assembly manufacturers. This blog post is intended to give you a perspective of what to expect if you find yourself in need of switching an existing cable assembly design to a new supplier.

When developing an overmold tool for a custom cable assembly, consideration needs to be given to the tactile features of the finished part. There are several areas that constitute these considerations, including the desired finish of the end part as well as the precision of the molding tool itself. The choices you make in physical features may seem insignificant, but the touch, feel, and appearance can have a real impact on the final cable assembly.

Your PCB design for manufacturing is critical to the success of your final application. Design features which make your board difficult to build add cost to your product, either by slowing down the production process, or by increasing the scrap rate.

Membrane switch style user interfaces often face long-term outdoor UV, chemical, and moisture exposure. To help improve membrane switch design, there are several considerations that apply. Veteran manufacturers with substantial engineering experience ensure the optimal result of each application. Numerous solutions can be provided specific to any given industry.

Understanding the environment which your assembly will be used in may determine whether or not your application will require shielded cables. Applications where cable assemblies are utilized are often electrically noisy, industrial environments, where factories can create interference within cables. If your cables at at risk of electrical noise interference, shielded cables can greatly improve the performance of your equipment.