New at NextFlex: a Post-processing Finishing Lab

By Art Wall, Director of Fab Operations

NextFlex recently established a new post-processing facility to provide dedicated environment for encapsulation, integration, and inspection. This effort was initiated by Zander Brandt, NextFlex FHE Design Engineer, Process Technologies, and supported by the fab team. As the initiative grew and gathered momentum, eventually it gained support across the Institute and many colleagues helped bring it to its current form, from designing it, acquiring the required parts, and executing the build.

The new space includes fume hoods for encapsulation and overmolding, a vacuum oven for curing, safety exhausts, several 3D printers, pad printing, connectorization tools, and a soldering station with ventilation. NextFlex projects are increasingly aimed to deliver complete solutions including encapsulation and integration for devices and systems such as textile integration. The emergence of post processing capabilities was significant for several recent projects including the Wearable Confined Space Monitor, the Machinery Monitor, and others. This laboratory allows for expansion to enhance NextFlex’s capabilities further and is an important milestone for professional finishing for prototypes and pilot production.

The lab, affectionately known internally as, “Larry the Lab,” is a great new addition to NextFlex’s capabilities. Ask about it the next time you visit NextFlex!

If you are interested in submitting a story or interview for the NextFlex blog, contact us here.