In many instances, OEMs fail to realize that some of their PCB assembly and manufacturing production going offshore can easily be brought back to the United States, saving them time, money, and best of all, keeping their IP intact and protected. Certainly, the lion’s share of PCB SMT production continues to be found at offshore […]
Continue Reading...- 17
- Nov
- 2020
C4 or C2 Bumps in PCB Microelectronics?
C4 and C2 bumps for flipchip assemblies are among the top techniques that require close attention during PCB microelectronics assembly. Those two are flipchip (FC) bump connection techniques and are crucial for efficient and cost-effective microelectronics assembly. In short, C4 and C2 are interposers that connect a small die in a FCBGA, using flipchip on […]
Continue Reading...- 13
- Oct
- 2020
FCBGA Comes Into PCB Microelectronics Assembly
OEMs and in particular medical equipment OEMs should become familiar with a packaging term now being introduced into PCB microelectronics assembly. This packaging involves a combination of flip-chip and BGA (FCBGA) packaging, Fig. 1. Figure 1: A BGA and a flip-chip interposer. (Source: Thorsten Meyer, Wikipedia, with minor modifications in red) FCBGA is critical due […]
Continue Reading...- 15
- Sep
- 2020
DOEs Ready for New, Smaller Medical Devices
The technology trends in the medical OEM field are moving toward smaller and advanced technologies, as shown in Fig. 1. Some of those advanced technologies are revolutionary new. For example, bio sensors for human and machine interface or HMI and new, flexible electrodes are leading the way. They are among the most recent developments and […]
Continue Reading...As I’ve said in earlier columns, the demand for smaller circuitry and packaging, as well as ever-shrinking PCB real estate, have continually pushed PCB assembly and manufacturing protocols. Newer, smaller, portable, and ingestible medical devices are opening new frontiers and are leading OEMs from other industries down that same road. Continue Reading at IConnect007
Continue Reading...- 18
- Aug
- 2020
Are Soft Electronics Coming to Medical Devices?
A light-sensitive hydrogel for ingestible medical devices has recently been developed by MIT researchers, Fig. 1. Integrated with medical devices, doctors can insert those tiny systems into the human body to treat, diagnose or monitor disorders. Once those devices are no longer needed, they can then be dissolved inside the body by exposing them to […]
Continue Reading...Medical electronics continue to make even greater technological advances with recent R&D developments and promise to take on new forms. Biosensors for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and new, flexible electrodes are leading the way. They are among the most recent developments and promise more sophisticated medical wearable devices for health monitoring. Continue Reading at IConnect007
Continue Reading...As I’ve often said, growing numbers of OEMs are producing small, more portable devices, especially medical electronics OEMs that are pioneering insertable and ingestible medical devices. With these newer, smaller devices coming on the market, EMS providers and contract manufacturers (CMs) must adjust their PCB assembly technologies to comply with these demands. Thermal profiling and […]
Continue Reading...Medical electronics continue to be a game changer, with miniaturization being foremost today in the minds of medical OEMs. In a previous column, I discussed ingestible and implantable medical devices based on remarkably small and unique PCBs, and the technology trends supporting those products continue to dramatically escalate. Today, there is a growing demand for […]
Continue Reading...- 27
- Apr
- 2020
PCBs on the Medical Ventilator Frontlines
The unprecedented demand for thousands upon thousands of life-saving ventilators appears to be among the biggest challenges facing medical electronics OEMs today due to the coronavirus pandemic. News reports say that America’s biggest manufacturers are working with medical systems companies to produce the volumes of ventilators needed across the country. But there is also a […]
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