How to Ensure Consistency From a Flex PCB Manufacturer
Consistency From a Flex PCB Manufacturer
If you’re planning to work with a flexible printed circuit board manufacturer, you’ll want to choose one that is capable of scaling production for small prototype runs or large volumes. The ability to do both will help ensure consistent product quality and reduce time-to-market. In addition, a flexible PCB manufacturer should be willing to customize designs and materials to meet unique application needs.
Unlike rigid PCBs, which have a base made of a woven fiberglass impregnated in epoxy resin, flex and rigid-flex boards are created with a substrate material called polyimide. This material is extremely durable, very tough, and incredibly heat resistant. It is also tolerant of solder reflow cycles, and has a good coefficient of expansion and contraction with temperature.
Aside from the substrate, a flex or rigid-flex PCB has a layer stack that includes copper, dielectric materials (insulators), metals (vias and pins), and other components. Typically, the copper is plated on both sides of the substrate with either tin or soft gold finishing. This is done to prevent electrical shorting and provide a good mechanical connection between the pad and the bottom substance.
How to Ensure Consistency From a Flex PCB Manufacturer
It’s important to clearly identify the rigid and flex regions of your design early in the process. This will allow you to determine the minimum bend radius of your flex PCB and avoid exposing the copper to damage during manufacturing. A bare minimum, the flex region should be at least 100 times thicker than the rigid area. Adding a stiffener to your flex or rigid-flex pcb manufacturer is another way to protect the underlying copper from damage. Stiffeners can be added to flex and rigid-flex single- or double-sided, or multilayered PCBs. Ideally, they should be placed as close to the rigid-to-flex transition points as possible.
The rigid-to-flex transition point is the place where the flex section of your PCB meets the rigid sections. The rigid-to-flex transition point must be strong enough to resist repeated bending, as well as the tensile stress caused by component movement. This is why it’s crucial to use a high-quality rigid-to-flex transition point material.
As with any circuit board, a flex or rigid-flex circuit requires careful design to ensure consistency. It’s a good idea to request a stack-up from your flex or rigid-flex manufacturer during the design phase and make sure that it satisfies your functional requirements. It’s also a good idea to test your circuit board in the same environment that it will be operated in. This will help you determine how much flex the circuit can take, and what type of assembly conditions are necessary for it to operate correctly.
Using a rigid-flex or flex PCB requires a different approach to circuit board layout and routing than that of a rigid board. Ensure that you’re using the right PCB design software to help you create and manage your design. Altium Designer offers a wide range of CAD features that can help you create reliable flex and rigid-flex PCBs. Start your free trial today to get started.