Pick, Place, Podcast

Flexible PCBs can solve some incredible mechanical design challenges—but they also introduce a whole new set of manufacturing considerations.
In this episode, we answer a listener's question about flex and rigid-flex circuit assembly, covering what actually changes on the manufacturing floor when a board bends instead of staying rigid. Chris shares lessons learned from developing Worthington and CircuitHub's flex PCB assembly process, including the custom fixtures, dummy boards, baking requirements, and reflow considerations that make these jobs very different from traditional FR-4 assemblies.
If you're designing a flex or rigid-flex PCB—or thinking about it—this episode offers practical advice that can save both time and money before your design reaches manufacturing.
f you're designing flex or rigid-flex PCBs, Chris recommends these Global Electronics Association resources:
IPC-2223: Sectional Design Standard for Flexible/Rigid-Flexible Printed Boards – The primary design standard for flex and rigid-flex PCBs. Covers bend regions, stackups, conductor routing, fabrication drawings, ZIF connectors, dielectric thicknesses, and many other design considerations. Used alongside IPC-2221.
https://shop.electronics.org/ipc-2223/ipc-2223-standard-only
IPC PCB Design for Flex & Rigid-Flex Boards Course – An in-depth instructor-led training course covering flex PCB design, manufacturing, assembly, documentation, and industry best practices.
https://www.electronicsu.org/product/pcb-design-flex-rigid-flex-boards
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In this episode Chris and Melissa dig into one of Chris’s favorite PCB design topics: pocket masking vs. gang masking on fine-pitch components.
Chris explains why solder mask slivers matter, how PCB design tools can accidentally create manufacturability problems, and what designers can do to help prevent solder bridging during assembly. The discussion covers solder mask expansion, registration tolerances, stencil printing, pick-and-place placement pressure, and why “gloves, not mittens” is the mental model to remember.
The episode also opens with a few updates, including Chris becoming a Certified Electronics Program Manager and CircuitHub announcing a $28 million raise from Plural Ventures.
TL;DR: 
For fine-pitch components, especially 0.5 mm pitch and smaller, pay close attention to your solder mask expansion.
Chris’s rule of thumb:
Start checking at 0.5 mm pitch or smaller
Aim for 10 mil spacing between copper pads, edge-to-edge
Reserve 3 mil for solder mask registration on each side
Preserve a 4 mil solder mask sliver between pads
In metric, that means roughly:0.25 mm copper-to-copper spacing
0.075 mm registration allowance on each side
0.1 mm solder mask sliver

If space is tight, Chris recommends trimming the copper lands slightly rather than sacrificing the solder mask sliver. The sliver is what helps prevent solder from bridging between pads during printing, placement, and reflow.
The short version: protect the solder mask sliver. Gloves, not mittens.
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In this episode, Chris and Melissa return after a long break with a recap of Chris’s trip to APEX. They discuss customer visits, EMS management meetings, the value of trade shows, and why x-ray inspection is becoming such a big topic in PCB assembly. Chris also talks about AI, reusable checklists, his new Feeder Pugs project, and the time a hotel accidentally drilled into his room. Melissa closes things out with a pet peeve about signs that block traffic visibility.
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Chris and Melissa welcome Pete Staples, CEO & co-founder of Blue Clover Devices, for a deep dive into how to plan tests, capture evidence, and debug those mysterious boards that look perfect but don’t work. 
Topics include:
Who is Blue Clover Devices & what’s the PLT? 
Bed-of-nails, ICT, flying probe, and PLT
What assemblers really need when a board fails
Production test vs. validation
Updates on the Stick It Up Your Tube movement
Ben the Beaver
Links & resources
Blue Clover Devices — Production Line Tool (PLT).
Blue Clover Devices
PLT Reference Docs (test plans, reports, hardware reference).
docs.pltcloud.com+1
Blue Clover — Design-for-Test (DFT) Guide (request the PDF).
Blue Clover Devices
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After a long break (and a few listener wellness checks!), Chris and Melissa return to catch up on what’s kept them busy and share some updates from around the industry. Then, they dive into this episode’s big topic: who’s responsible for the inevitable fallout when it comes to quick-turn PCB assembly?
Topics include:
Catching up after six months of growth, hiring, and training
Andrew Seddon’s appearance on The Amp Hour — and how it ties back to the origins of this podcast
IPC’s rebrand to the Global Electronics Association
The ongoing saga of stuck parts in tubes (a.k.a. “Stick It Up Your Tube”)
Quick-turn fallout:Why some customers expect and accept a small percentage of failures
Why others demand 100% working boards
How assembly shops handle each scenario (good, bad, and ugly approaches)
Practical tips for managing fallout: thermal cycling, batch troubleshooting, and respectful customer–assembler relationships

Pet Peeve of the Week: LinkedIn (and why it feels so weird)
Links & Resources
Andrew Seddon on The Amp Hour: CircuitHub 12 Years Later

IPC rebrand: Global Electronics Association announcement

LinkedIn post – stuck part in a tube

LinkedIn post – sustainability rant

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