Flexible Thinking Flexible Circuit Technology—Looking Back and Forward
Happy’s Tech Talk #29: Bend-to-Install Semi-flex FR-4
Connect the Dots: Five Best Practices for Designing Flex and Rigid-flex PCBs
Just Ask Tara Dunn: Why Don’t Fabricators Provide More Feedback to Designers?
November 10, 2020 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 1 minute
First, we asked you to send in your questions for Happy Holden, Joe Fjelstad, John Mitchell, and others in our “Just Ask” series. Now, it’s Tara Dunn’s turn! Tara is the vice president of marketing and business development for Averatek. A regular Flex007 columnist, Tara discusses flexible circuits, rigid-flex, and rigid PCBs, as well as RF/microwave technology, microelectronics, and additive processes. She is also co-founder of Geek-a-Palooza and a show manager for the SMTA Additive Electronics TechXchange event. She has over 20 years of experience in the PCB industry. We hope you enjoy “Just Ask Tara.”
Q: Why don’t flex and rigid fabricators provide more feedback to designers, especially if it’s not good design and engineering work?
A: This is an interesting question. My initial tongue-in-cheek reaction was that fabricators are not often asked to provide feedback. In my experience, fabricators are very willing to provide feedback on PCB design, flex or rigid, and that conversation is something that I would always encourage. These conversations are always more impactful when fabricators are involved early in the design process.
Discussions about stackup and design for manufacturability concerns—especially for designs pushing the limits on multiple different fabrication parameters that require trade-offs—or for designs with concerns about flexibility and robustness of a design are critical and can have a significant impact on cost and reliability.
Unfortunately, with the rapid pace of the industry, those conversations often happen only after a design is complete and sent to the fabricator for manufacturing. At that point in the process, time deadlines often loom, and it can be time-consuming and expensive to rethink that design to improve manufacturability.
I would challenge both designers and fabricators to take a step back and find ways to better communicate about DFM issues early in the process. There is a lot of great content available, but that cannot replace conversation, or even a facility tour, as a learning tool. Reach out to your fabricators early in the design and ask their opinion.
To submit your questions for Tara, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
03/07/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007It’s been a busy week. My must-reads include articles and news items on global trends and challenges, groundbreaking technology, the hunt for the elusive young PCB designers, and some personnel changes. We also have a great column on the value of following up and keeping promises. We’re all guilty of “dropping the ball” from time to time, aren’t we?
Siemens Boosting U.S. Investments by Over $10 Billion for American Manufacturing Jobs, Software and AI Infrastructure
03/07/2025 | SiemensSiemens is ramping up investments in the U.S. to support and benefit from America’s industrial tech growth. “The industrial tech sector is the basis to boost manufacturing in America and there’s no company more prepared than Siemens to make this future a reality for customers from small and medium sized enterprises to industrial giants,” said Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
Finding and Training the Next Design Engineers
03/06/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThere are a lot of job openings for PCB design engineers, and not enough young people in the pipeline to fill these jobs. How are we going to attract this next generation of design engineers to this industry, and what’s the best course of action for continuous training of these EEs? I asked Bill Hargin, founder and “director of everything” at Z-zero, to share his thoughts continuous training and what the future may hold for design engineers of the future.
Recruiting the Next Generation of PCB Designers at Garmin
03/06/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Laura Beth (LB) Yates, PCB design engineering manager at Garmin, discusses the company's innovative approach to recruiting the next generation of PCB designers. As she points out, the best part of her job is “going to work every day with my friends and making cool stuff.”
One World, One Industry: IPC APEX EXPO 2025 Marks a Special Anniversary Year
03/06/2025 | John Mitchell -- Column: One World, One IndustryThis year marks the 25th anniversary of IPC APEX EXPO and IPC is thrilled to celebrate this event milestone with attendees, exhibitors, and presenters. Their dedication to and involvement in IPC APEX EXPO is directly responsible for its success and their efforts clearly illustrate how the entire electronics manufacturing industry comes together to “Reimagine the Possibilities of Electronics” (our theme for this year).