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PCB News - Processes and Advantages of Flexible Circuit Boards

PCB News

PCB News - Processes and Advantages of Flexible Circuit Boards

Processes and Advantages of Flexible Circuit Boards
2023-02-15
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Author:ipcb

In our lives,cell phones,computers,televisions,telephones,cameras,and hearing aids are all getting thinner and smaller,thanks to the increasing performance of flexible circuit boards and electronic components.


Flexible pcb board provides excellent electrical performance,meet the design needs of smaller and higher density installations,and help reduce assembly and increase reliability.FPCs are the solution to meet the miniaturization and mobility requirements of electronic products.


Flexible dual-panel manufacturing process

Material opening →drilling →PTH →plating →pretreatment →dry film →alignment →exposure →developing → graphic plating → stripping → pretreatment → dry film → alignment exposure → developing → etching → stripping → surface treatment →cover film →pressing →curing →nickel deposition →printing →shearing →electrical testing → punching →final inspection →packaging →shipping


Flexible Single Panel Process

Opening → Drilling → Dry Film → Alignment → Exposure →Photolithography →Etching →De-filming →Surface Treatment →Cover Film →Pressing →Curing →Surface Treatment → Nickel Immersion → Printing → Shearing → Electrical Measurement → Punching → Final Inspection → Packaging →Shipment

flexible circuit board

Flexible Board Structure


Copper Film

Copper film is basically divided into two types:electrolytic copper and calendered copper.Common thicknesses are 1oz, 1/2oz and 1/3 oz.


PI Substrate Film:Common thicknesses are 1 mil and 1/2 mil.Polyimide (PI) is an aromatic heterocyclic polymer compound with an acylimide chain in its molecular structure,and is known as the “golden film” and the “problem solver”. Due to its excellent performance, it is widely used in aerospace,aeronautics,microelectronics,nanotechnology,liquid crystal,and lasers.


Adhesive:Thickness depends on customer's requirement.


Cover Film


Cover Film:For surface insulation. Common thicknesses are 1 mil and 1/2 mil.


Adhesive:Thickness depends on customer's requirement.


Release paper:To avoid the adhesive from sticking to the foreign matter before pressing. Easy to work.


PI Stiffener Film


PI Stiffener Film:To strengthen the mechanical strength of FPC and facilitate the work of surface mounting. Common thicknesses range from 3mil to 9mil.


Adhesive:Thickness depends on customer's requirement.


Release paper:To avoid adhesive foreign matter before pressing.


EMI: Electromagnetic Masking Film to protect the wires in the circuit board from external interference (strong electromagnetic area or interference prone area).


Advantages of Flexible circuit board

Flexible boards are printed circuit boards made of flexible insulated substrate circuit printing, with many advantages that rigid printed circuit boards do not have.

1.Flexible boards can be freely bent, rolled, folded, arranged according to the requirements of the spatial layout, and in the three-dimensional space of arbitrary movement and expansion and contraction, so as to achieve the integration of component assembly and wire connection.


2. The use of flexible board can greatly reduce the volume and weight of electronic products,suitable for electronic products to high-density,miniaturization,high-reliability direction of development needs. In this way, FPC has been widely used in aerospace, military, mobile communication, laptop computers, computer peripherals,PDA,digital cameras and other fields or products.


3. Flexible board also has good heat dissipation and solderability and easy to install and connect,integrated into the lower cost and other advantages,the combination of rigid and flexible design is also to a certain extent to make up for the flexible substrate in the component loading capacity of the slight shortage.


Disadvantages of flexible pcb board

1.One-time initial cost is high:As a result of flexible PCB is designed for special applications and manufacturing,so the beginning of the circuit design,wiring and photographic film required by the cost is higher.Unless there is a special need for the application of flexible boards,usually a small number of applications,it is best not to use.


2.Flexible board changes and repair is more difficult:once the flexible board is made,to change must start from the base map or the compilation of the optical drawing program,it's not easy to change.The surface is covered with a protective film, which is difficult to remove before repair and restore after repair.


3.Size constraints:Flexible boards in the case of not yet universal,usually with intermittent technology manufacturing,and this is limited by the size of the production equipment,can not be made very long,very wide.


4.Improper operation of the flexible boards are prone to damage:improper operation of the assembly and connection of staff is prone to cause damage to the flexible circuit,its soldering and rework need to be operated by trained personnel.


We have the expertise required to construct any type of PCB,including FPC boards,and provide SMT component assembly for these boards.


We offer you quality,reliability and durability,which means you can use our products in high-temperature, high-density applications without worry.


Additionally,our prices are reasonable and our lead times for PCBs are 5-6 days and 3-14 days respectively. Build time varies by design.


The bending characteristics of FPC flexible boards make them ideal for the construction of compact packages and equipment.If you have a project that requires this type of board,please contact us for more details on the flexible board and to get a quote for your design or to get a quote.