Despite what some seem to believe, rigid-flex circuits are not a new technology. In fact, they are more than a half-century old. At the time of the invention, my friend Thomas Sterns was working at Sanders Associates, the pioneering flex circuit manufacturer. Like many products in the first decades of printed circuit technology, they were working on a military application. The objective was to provide a reliable method for reducing the size, bulk, weight, and questionable reliability of wire harness assemblies while simultaneously reducing cost and assuring that human error might be minimized. These were all vitally important concerns for military and aerospace products.

I was so impressed with Founder vs. Investor: The Honest Truth about Venture Capital from Start up to IPO by Elizabeth Zalman and Jerry Neumann that I just had to reach out to them. In my interview with the authors, they share how the book came about, how they often didn’t agree, and how vital that was to the integrity of the story they hoped to tell. I know this interview will be just as valuable for you as it was for me.

Koh Young’s Brent Fischthal explains how UHDI and advanced packaging are challenging inspection systems. He says the shift toward larger components and advanced packaging brings a host of challenges that impact the industry. These challenges include complexity, density, package diversity, and inspection methodologies, all of which necessitate a more innovative approach.