Connecting the components together.
Then, then
Molded interconnects have been around in various forms for years. But they have tended to be used in niche products rather than in the main stream. “A lack of volume manufacturing is one reason molded interconnect technology hasn’t caught on. But what appears to be happening now is that manufacturing costs are going down and there is a pressure to deliver on form, fit, and reduced weight,” says David Wiens, product marketing manager at the Board Systems Div. of Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Business.
Mentor is well positioned to have a bird’s eye view of interconnect work: It provides both PCB design and MCAD software products. Wiens says Mentor has seen interest among design engineers in software tools specifically able to handle the kinds of problems that arise in MID designs.
“We find a lot of engineers working with molded interconnects now use MCAD systems rather than PCB or ECAD systems,” Wiens says. “That means the software has no intelligence about the electronics or how the electronics is built. They are trying to add intelligence about these things to an MCAD structure. Conversely, we have customers doing molded interconnects from the ECAD side, but there are tradeoffs. You must visualize in 3D, but you are still working with a planar board,” Wiens says.
Difficulties may arise when conductors go on substrates selected for their mechanical properties as in MIDs. One potential problem is that materials can change consistency when they go through a molding process. The changing parameters can affect the electrical qualities of conductors deposited on top. And putting conductors on mechanical components that bend in complicated geometries can change electrical qualities in ways that may be hard to anticipate. Consequently, the mechanical make-up of molded interconnected parts may be sophisticated, but the electronics sitting on the part tends to be relatively simple.
Of processes used to devise Mids. Consequently, Cad SUPPLIERS SAY It is Impractical to Create Design Software to Handle The Numerous Mid Process NOW Use.
Sizing up processes
Applied and then conDitioned with a thin layer of gold to ensure good soundrability.
There are conDuctors on more than one plane. And the process can’t be used to create multilayer circuits.
Vias Must be large enough to ensure unimpeded processing by the laser beam.
Produced user LDS is 2 × 2 × 0.8 mm.
, In Turn, Reincorporates It into the 3D CAD FILE Defining the Molded Part.
The ate size as a human hand) with confactive traces. The Surface of the Robot’s Palm is Covered with Sensors Whose Pressure Signals Routers.
Screen Printing
., Duratech Industries, Al stands LLC, AND T+Ink.
, Technology.
Accurately Track Touches. The top glass layer of a PCAP BRINGS More SturDines than Resistive Touch TechNology, and it is posesible for a passive stylus organ
The Mechanical PART.
We draw conductors and how tight their radius can be, but a lot of that is application defense. "
Headlights that generate little heat.
He says.
For Routing Traces Becomes An Issue as the Number of Layers Rise, "He Says. in the Same Vein, Designs with Smaller the Trace Widths and Tighter Spacing Cost More.
Important if visible blemishes are.
The Part Design and ManuFacture. Each SUPPLIER SETS Expectations for what they can be inject molded parts process.
Mechanical, Chemical, Injection Molded Parts and Environmental Requirements Helmine the Substrate inject Molded Parts Material.