What are flexible PCBs used for
Technologyflexible PCBs
PCBWay has a detailed calculator for determining the cost of your design. They also offer many options, including etching and solder mask colors, silkscreen, plating edge terminals with gold and more. They even offer a rigid-flex option for those who need both flexible and rigid circuit boards in their final product.
Flexible circuit boards are incredibly versatile, allowing you to achieve all sorts of design goals in your product. They’re perfect for situations where reliability is a must but space is limited. They’re also ideal when you need to withstand repeated bending and flexing during package assembly.
The core of a flexible pcb board is a polyimide (PI) or PET substrate. PI is unlike standard network epoxy resins, which become rigid when thermoset, because it’s a very tough material that doesn’t noticeably stretch or tear, even when repeatedly bended. Additionally, PI is highly heat resistant, so it can withstand countless solder reflow cycles and high temperatures.
What are flexible PCBs used for
This makes PI ideal for a flexible circuit board, as it can bend and flex thousands of times with little to no damage. Additionally, PI is incredibly lightweight, as it can be made as thin as 12 to 120 microns. Combined with the flexibility, this allows a flex circuit to reduce overall product weight significantly.
Flex-PCBs are used for a variety of electronics, ranging from the flexible screen of a smartphone to the read/write head of a hard drive. These circuits are often required to endure billions of flexing operations during their lifetimes. Additionally, flex circuits are ideal for a range of medical applications, such as swallowable pill cameras and gastroscopy.
A common use of a flex-PCB is in warehouse and fulfillment systems, where employees need to scan products and packages for shipment and tracking. These devices need to be small and durable, as they’re often handled by busy workers on the floor of a warehouse. A flex-PCB can help make these devices smaller and lighter, while offering the durability that’s needed for an industrial environment.
Single and double-layer flex circuits are usually built with the same layer stacks as rigid PCBs, with the flex section being added on the end or center of the board. Typically, the flex portion of the layer stack is held in place by stiffeners created from pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) and FR-4 fiberglass pieces. The stiffeners allow the flex circuit to withstand repeated bending and flexing, as well as the force of zero-insertion-force (ZIF) connectors that may be attached to the end of the PCB.
The outer layers of a flex circuit board can be any color and pattern that you desire, as long as the copper conductors are clearly outlined. Rigid or flex-rigid insulation can be applied to the outer layers, as desired. Outer layers can also include exposed pads or covers, as needed for the final product.