IN BUSINESS, TIMING is everything. When is the best time for an OEM product or industrial designer to collaborate with their flex manufacturer and assembler? The correct answer should be: "That involvement is an infinite loop that begins during a product's conception and perpetuates during a product's evolution." In my October column, I focused on how to use flex technology as an enabler to make devices thinner, smaller and lighter. Now, I would like to illustrate an ideal methodology for OEMs to work with the flex manufacturer and assembler to enable technological products that consumers desire. From my experience, the best flex manufacturers and assemblers provide engineering support early in the product lifecycle, which is typically comprised of six phases:
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