Rigid & Flex PCB

Flex PCBs (Flexible Printed Circuit Boards) are printed circuit boards that are bendable, either bent once as they are being installed like the ones in a miniature camera, or bent multiple times (even continuously) like the ones in an ink jet printer.

Flex PCBs can be single sided, double sided, or multi-layered. They can have stiffeners to provide areas of non-flexing, or they can be part of a Ridged-Flexible assembly to allow a Rigid PCB to be bent on assembly.

Flexible PCB Uses

Reducing both labour cost and assembly size, Flexible PCBs are used in more and more electronic assemblies. Some of the uses for Flexible PCBs:

Automobiles

Cameras

Cell Phones

Military Electronics

Avionic Electronics

Computers

Tablets

Flex PCB Advantages

Flexible Printed Circuit Boards have advantages over rigid PCBs, ribbon cable, and discrete wiring with its ability to:

Reduce overall package size/weight

Reduce assembly errors

Increase reliability

Increase control of impedance/inductance

Improve heat dissipation

Allow for a 3-dimentional packaging scheme

Improve the appearance of the package

Flex PCB Concerns

Where components are attached or where the flexible circuit board is to be bent as it attaches to non-flexing circuits, stiffeners are included. This prevents damage to both the connections and the Flex PCB.

Flexible PCBs, by their nature, are made to odd shapes; they aren't a convenient rectangle. After the Flex PCB is manufactured, it has to be routed, or skived, to shape it to fit. To make sure the edges of the circuit traces are not going to be damaged in the process of the routing, care must be taken in the layout and design stages to keep the circuit traces back from the edge.

When there will be continuous or dynamic flexing of the circuit material, special considerations are needed. On multi-layered Flex PCBs, this includes taking into account the number of layers while making sure the conductors will not be fatigued while the PCB is flexed.

The professional and high quality Flexible Printed Circuit Boards from 4pcbassembly.com insures that your printed circuit boards follow the strictest standards.