Despite the provocative headline, this column is not a rant about how much I despise defects or the havoc they wreak on yields and profits; that's already well established! Rather, this month's space will focus on dedicated tooling and print platform vacuum control. Most printing specialists are very aware of the fact that today's thinner substrates (defined here as lmm or less) are generally supported by dedicated tooling plates, rather than other automatic board support mechanisms, simply because of the flexibility of the boards. Though often referred to as "rigid" substrates, the PCBs used for the majority of today's handheld devices are far from rigid by definition, as they have quite a bit of flex in them.
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