#tmg electronics

In this month's edition of PCB Magazine, the cover story dives into one of this generation's most interesting technological developments.  That is, embedding components into the substrate of circuit boards in order to increase the efficacy of said assemblies.  So, what exactly makes this such a big deal? Haven't advanced manufacturers been experimenting with the idea of embedding components onto PCB for decades? The short answer is that not only does placing larger systems into circuit boards enable designers to create smaller products, but those products use less materials and occasionally end up costing less to manufacture. Of course, since size and expenses are two of the primary drivers of innovation in modern tech, we have been toying with the idea of embedded components for some time now, but due to the meteoric rise of mobile's popularity in recent years, it has become more timely and urgent than ever to engineer smaller PCB assemblies for ever-smaller applications.  

Why embed?

Placing components closer to the board's substrate is more efficient and potentially cheaper—for both PCB companies and ultimately their entire supply chains. More specifically, the reduction of electrical path lengths cuts down not only on material used, but on the clarity of high-frequency signals. Reducing the amount of physical space that the PCB occupies reduces superfluous thermal activity and minimizes capacitively and inductively coupled noise, both of which will adversely affect overall product performance. 

High-density, low-profile

Embedded components are the wave of the future, at least within the world of printed electronics. They can enable us to design and execute the production of thinner, more powerful mobile phones, tablets, wearable devices, and perhaps even flexible televisions.  

Embedded components will keep your firm competitive

Whether you are the manager of a well-established manufacturing company that creates medical devices or you've just broken ground on a new startup that is looking to get its feet wet in its own niche in the world of manufacturing, the fact of the matter is you're probably going to need a reliable electronics provider.  Unequivocally, there has never been a better time to consider the fiscal and executional advantages of circuit boards with embedded components.

It just became a whole lot easier to get into space. Well, not to get you into space per se, but to blast your own satellite up into orbit.  With the advent of better circuit board technology, lighter and cheaper building materials, and some enterprising minds, it’s become possible to send small rocket-ships into space for about $80,000.  We’re not saying that’s cheap, but we are saying that nations can send up a loaf-of-bread-sized satellite into space for less than the price of a Tesla. They’re called CubeSats, and they help countries keep tabs on the landscape of outer space.

The technology isn’t new—in fact, it’s been around since the late 90s, when US students crafted the tiny devices to be used in miniaturized mock space missions.  The quality, however, has been vastly improved, and these PCB-powered shoeboxes and now identify terrestrial gamma ray events.  The original models used Sputnik-era radio communications, but that has since been upgraded for long-distance pinging.  Over the past 20 years, over 200 countries have launched CubeSats, and there are currently 24 projects in space.  

One of the coolest (and most useful) electronic innovations we’ve seen in a while has come from students at California State University – Long Beach.  The technology is called Vibrisee, and it's a printed electronics-powered device that attaches to the front of a bicycle’s frame in order to help keep rider’s more visible (and therefore, less prone to being hit) at night when roads are dark.

Here are 5 reasons Vibrisee and similar devices will create a new niche for printed electronics and redefine what modern PCB can do:

1.  Sets a precedent for biomimicry

Biomimicry, or the phenomenon of adapting natural forms for use in emerging technology, is the way of the future, and if PCB-based technologies can be used effectively in biomimicry-based designs, then it will bring science closer to replicating (and ultimately improving upon) human and animal biology.

2.   Encourages more student-based research projects

The only way any industry or movement will survive is if it is continually backed by future generations of dreamers, makers, and doers. Projects like Vibrisee, which empower tomorrow's engineers to start thinking realistically about today's problems and how to solve them will ensure that we continue to nurture a love and respect for PCB and its applications. 

3.  Makes people safer

Vibrisee's proprietary "whisker" design was adapted from the way seals and cats use their whiskers to interact with and learn from their environment in order to prevent themselves from entering into risky situations. 

4.  Encourages crowd-sourced research and development

California State University has engendered a great spirit of community by working together on the Vibrisee project and hopefully this sets a standard for the sort of awesome endeavors that can be undertaken in the PCB community when great minds come together for a common cause.

5. Connects electronics to a zero emissions technology

The more next-generation electronics that are produced that are carbon-neutral (or close to it), the more favorable society's view of these electronics will be.

A Budapest-based electronics firm has just announced that it has harnessed the power of 20 custom-printed printed circuit boards to create a battery-powered fabric that automatically changes colors to blend into its environment.  Call it chameleonic electronics, call it an “e-textile”, or call it just plain crazy, but whatever you think of the new Arduino-powered technology, you have to admit that it would make a pretty darn good camouflage!

Judit Eszter Karpati spearheaded the research, which is a part of her “Chromosonic” project, and she hopes that it demonstrates the capacity for marrying the worlds of digital media and textile art.  Though the fabric looks like the preferred clothing material for the costumes in a bad straight-to-DVD science fiction movie, it in fact houses some really innovative technology.  The device can sense heat, touch, and even sound, and react in real-time with pre-programmed color animations. In a world moving ever-closer to wearable devices and malleable electronics, this recent innovation focuses less on the thinness of the device (there’s no graphene to be seen here!) and focuses more on interweaving the tech directly within the actual fabrics of the clothes.

As advanced manufacturers, we at TMG love staying up-to-date on the latest and greatest printed electronics solutions on the market today.  It’s not only fun for us to learn about our passion, but we have to keep our heads in the game if we want to continue to improve what we do here in-factory and maintain the level of PCB manufacturing performance that our customers have come to expect!  The most recent tech story that’s captured our team’s imagination has been researchers, developers, and students’ tireless search for a way to mimic human brain activity with computers.  It’s an exciting prospect. The idea of a world where computers work like brains would be extremely rewarding for the advanced manufacturing industry as well as cognitively-disabled medical patients across the globe.  Let’s take a look at just how fast the world’s fastest computers are, who’s making them, and when we might expect to see the first “digital brain.”

Great Britain and the US have both announced campaigns recently that aim to create computer-generated brains in order to push the bounds of what is possible in tech and medicine.  Yesterday, Stanford University announced that they’ve designed and tested a microchip that has been modeled on the human brain.  Unfortunately, up to this point, these “exascale brains” have only been able to mimic the activity of a human brain.  However, as long as science and technology progress at their current speed, one would imagine that a finalized version of these sorts of cutting-edge electronics will undoubtedly one day help us make huge strides in medicine and robotics.

  Stanford’s “brain,” straight out of a sci-fi film, is modeled on an energy efficient microchip that operates 9,000 times faster than today’s most powerful PCs. Computers have been developed in the past that can rival the human brain, but one of the biggest drawbacks was the overwhelming amount of energy that they required.  This latest development uses 40,000 less power to complete the same tasks. The design is based on a breakthrough setup called “Neurogrid,” which is a circuit of 16 chips that can simulate billions of synaptic connections and do the work of up to 1 million neurons.  But here’s the real kicker: the device runs on an iPad battery! The future is here!

Between Neurogrid and projects like IBM’s SyNAPSE, we’ve never been closer to re-creating the complex and intricate processes of our own human cognitive processes, which means it might only be a matter of time before we see unprecedented advances in prosthetic limbs and other medical and scientific miracles.  The price (40,000 bucks!) is simply too high for mass-production to be possible at this point, but as research advances and the price falls, Stanford’s latest innovation could forever change the way we, as electronics engineers, medical professionals, and patients live, work, and play.

If modern printed electronics experts are artists (and we at TMG will humbly accept that compliment), then their current palette of choice is undoubtedly the contact lens.  From blood sugar monitors to retina cameras, technology companies are beginning to take advantage of new advancements in nano-electronics in unprecedented ways.  The latest electronics research, executed at the University of Michigan, has led to the field’s biggest break-through yet: contacts that allow the wearer to see in the dark!  Not only does this discovery have huge implications for an electronics manufacturer, but it could change the very structure of society as we know it.

First off, the fact that the American tech community is potentially on the brink of being able to produce a lightweight, unobtrusive alternative to bulky, military-grade night-vision goggles means that all of the money and resources being poured into nano-tech research is well worth it.  Though the product is still in its nascent stage and is currently too expensive to profit on mass-production, this advancement will re-invigorate interest in wearable technology and perhaps spur on the next chapter in the “Internet of Things” (could you imagine a contact lens with WiFi connectivity?)

Graphene, a 1-atom-thick conductive material, has been the object of much research and development recently, and this latest use for the revolutionary conductor could change the way humans interact with their environment forever.  Imagine being able to see in absolute twilight.  Night-shift employees, early-morning deliverymen, security guards, even truckers might be afforded the opportunity work with better vision. The societal implications could be huge, and we can’t wait to see how this positively affects the world.

There are no two ways about it: electronics can be dangerous.  If not disposed of properly by an accredited agency, experienced company, or technician, then microchips, cables, and circuit boards can be extremely harmful to a person’s health.  More often than not, electronics that are chucked into public dumpsters or thrown into bags at the ends of driveways will end up in landfills either in the US or abroad, where cadmium, lead, and other poisonous materials can endanger wildlife, and in some cases, humans.  Of course, electronics are the lifeblood of an advanced modern society, and it would be silly to throw the baby out with the bathwater; however, we need to seriously rethink the ways we get rid of e-waste if we want to continue reaping the benefits of both a high-tech world and a healthy environment.

Spreading awareness is the first step to fixing any issue, so we’ve compiled the top 5 reasons why you (and everyone you know) should care about e-waste:

It’s dangerous

Allowing e-waste to simmer in a landfill in a developing country is dangerous because reactions take place as metal and cadmium decay and interact with air, water, and heat.  Oftentimes, young children are sent out to scour these landfills for re-usable parts, which is a major international human rights health concern.  Unfortunately, some companies who are looking to recycle old electronics properly are actually using methods that release cyanide fumes and other hazardous materials into the air, hurting e-waste workers.   

It’s preventable

Of course, we don’t exactly mean that disposal of any and all electronics is 100% preventable.  After all, companies are improving on current electronics all the time, thereby rendering the outdated versions obsolete.  However, throwing these gadgets away can be done in a manner that is far less dangerous than some current e-waste removal operations suggest. The technology is there; it’s just a matter of getting people on board!

It’s finally getting some legislative face-time

Newly-introduced Chilean e-waste legislation requires unprecedented levels of governmental oversight during electronics recycling processes. This is huge!  As Latin America becomes a major player in the urban e-mining game, implementing these types of laws could potentially improve the quality of life for thousands of citizens in Chile and surrounding nations.

It’s getting people riled up

There are already various movements afoot that aim to lessen the instances of inappropriate e-waste disposal around the world.  The recent revelation of a Chinese e-waste black market that smuggles 8 million tons of illegal electronics waste every year has upset average citizens the world over, and it finally looks like governments are ready to tamp down on these types of clandestine exchanges of hazardous materials. 

It’s lucrative

Getting rid of electronics the right way doesn’t have to be strictly about saving the environment (though we think that’s reason enough!)  In fact, e-waste can generate some serious cash-flow!  If there’s adequate demand from citizens on a local, national, and international level for safer, more environmentally-conscious methods of getting rid of old PCB, cables, and microchips, then companies that specialize in this sort of recycling will start popping up left and right!

What the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) has discovered in a recent study of nanomaterials could be a game changer.   It looks as though researchers have taken the next step towards fully understanding the potential synergies between miniature tech and solar energy.  

The studies have found that in the near future, nanotechnology will bring measurable improvements to the energy sector, saving advanced manufacturers an arm and a leg.  We can expect to see major advancements in battery and solar panel technology, and we can’t wait to see how it will make circuit boards and electronics assemblies more efficient and affordable one day. 

In fact, we already may be closer than we think.  

On Wednesday, IBM announced that it had developed a revolutionary new method for harvesting solar energy using mirrors and small semi-conductors.  Known as the High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system, the breakthrough technology is reportedly able to convert an unprecedented 80% of captured radiation into disposable energy!

One of the major speedbumps that solar panel innovation had been hitting before these latest breakthroughs, was that there was no way to cool down photovoltaic systems once they reached a certain temperature.  IBM’s HCPTV system (and hopefully future nanotech designs) are tackling this issue by covering the semiconductors with nanomaterials that are so thin that liquid coolant can get closer to the scalding chip, thus cooling them better than ever before.