Flexible Printed Circuit Board Overview

Introduction

On a slightly less romantic level, it would not be feasible to have such a standard laptop or mobile phone without flexible print circuit technology, which enables components to be linked electrically, in a dynamic, three-dimensional fashion. Flexible circuit technology has a long history that dates back over 100 years. The early patent activity emphasizes the fact that inventions such as Thomas Edison, Frank Sprague, and others in the early twentieth century experimented on ideas for flexible circuit materials and designs that were only used on a commercial basis in recent decades.

Background

Flexible printed circuits (FPCs) are the heart and soul of flexible films and thin layers of conducting traces. These typically represent the flexible circuit laminate base that can be used to connect electronic equipment – such as the LCD screen or a laptop’s keyboard – as a reliable cable replacement, or electronic components can be directly fitted to it through solder or conductive adhesive to form a completed, flexible printed circuit board.

Flexible PCB advantages

Flexible, FPCs may be bent and curved to provide more flexibility of application design and operation. Flexible circuits may also be adapted to tiny or inappropriately shaped areas, which cannot be supported by conventional rigid circuits. There is another benefit of flexible PC Board is that to reduce the weight of the motherboard of the application, they need less space. The effective utilization of existing areas also helps to improve thermal management and reduce the dissipation of heat.

Flexible PCBs may also be more dependable and longer-lasting compared to stiff PCBs, particularly in situations where constant vibration and mechanical stress are experienced. Based on soldered wires and hand-connected connector models, standard connecting methods are replaced by flexible printed circuits, with exceptional weight and thickness, and with strong mechanical resistance.

Think for example of connecting numerous electronic equipment, such as dashboards, display, and man-machine interfaces, in the automobile industry (rotary controls, buttons, etc.). All these gadgets are exposed to constant mechanical strains and vibrations and need a stable connection in all vehicle operating circumstances. Flexible printed circuits ensure zero reliability, durability, and maintenance in the automobile industry.

Flexible printed circuit boards provide a variety of possible advantages including:

• Flexible PCBs provide cost-effective benefits that include decreased requirements for materials and packaging, reduced component replacement costs, and assembly mistakes that may lead to repair requirements.
• These advantages make flex PCBs suitable for a broad variety of sectors, including consumer electronics, transport, medical, communications, military, automotive, industrial applications, and aerospace.

Missing Dielectric Material Callouts

Flexible and stiff flexible circuits are made utilizing a variety of material types to satisfy a broad range of physical and electrical costs and performance criteria. Because of this variation, the designer must give comprehensive information on the dielectric materials to be utilized about the potential problems associated with each choice. It is suggested that designers learn about the cost and performance options available. The Internet is filled with information about flexible circuit materials and how they may be utilized. This issue may also be helped by the PCB manufacturer. The fundamental kinds of flex materials are:

• Adhesive materials without acrylic binding the copper to dielectric polyimide
• Adhesive materials with acrylic copper bonding with dielectric polyimide
• Flammable and non-flammable laminates, covers, and bonding flakes.

Incomplete or Insufficient Rigid-Flex Base Material Type Definition

The selected base material determines the rigid-flex circuit’s performance limitations in-process and field operation in many applications. For most solders devoid of plumage, the highest temperature requirements for soldering may be as high as 260°C, which usually requires the use of polyimide laminates. The choice of material and its electrical characteristics may, however, influence other performance problems.

One important issue is to control the characteristic impedance of the system and guarantee signal integrity with increasingly prevalent designs of higher-frequency circuits (these latter subjects will be given more attention later). The requirements for the temperature range of the stiff laminates used in rigid-flex structures must also be taken into account and handled. The stiff material should be capable of high temperatures. Polyimide laminate is a frequent callout, although epoxy resins are often appropriate for better applications.

Copper Type and Thickness Callout

Whilst many metal foils are available for flexible circuits, copper is the most frequently utilized metal for electronic interconnections. It is extremely conductive, mixable (making it flexible and foldable), reasonably easy to manufacture via graving and placing, and relatively cheap. The copper type most often used for flexible circuits is roll and copper (RA copper) with the greatest characteristics for dynamic flex applications.

The choice of type and thickness for the copper design should correspond to the electrical and mechanical requirements for use. Thicker copper is usually utilized for greater energy and thinner copper for circuits requiring repetitive bending (dynamic flexing). The options of thickness are many, but at present, one ounce (17μm or 0.7mils) and one ounce (35μm or 1 mil) are the most utilized for creating flexible circuit laminates. Additional copper may often be placed on the circuit, and this should also be taken into account in the specification. If the designer is unsure, he should seek the assistance of engineers for advice.

Cover layer or Solder Mask Over Flex Circuits

Covers are polymer materials used for the covering and protection of the copper traces of the flex circuit product. As is indicated, many solutions for the protection of the circuits are accessible and they meet various design criteria in terms of cost, performance, and flexural durability optimization. It is essential to describe the choice not only of the kind of cover material but also of the thickness required. This may be extremely significant for certain building types, especially when a flex circuit experiences dynamic flexing during usage.

As far as costs are concerned, a flexible solder mask is usually the cheapest. Someone or two-layer flexible circuits, which are not subjected to repeated flex cycles or severe radius curves, may be covered with a solder mask epoxy-based to flex without breaking. However, this is not advised if the design needs severe or dynamic flexing.

The second choice is the laminated cover. These materials are usually identical to the flexible core materials and are best suited for flexible dynamic circuit applications. The cover is a polyimide sheet with one side acrylic adhesive. It is usually pre-machined to open the sheet where the final finish is needed.

The cover sheets are typically coated with specific pads in a laminating machine to ensure that the copper characteristics of the flex layer are conformed. For rigid-flex circuits, the overlayer is usually reduced to not exceed 50 miles in the rigid part. The aim is to ensure that all the plated holes in the stiff-flex are empty of any acrylic adhesive, since they may influence the integrity of the hole wall plating.

Flexible Printed Circuit Board disadvantages

Although there are many significant benefits, the FPC technology also has several inconveniences or downsides. First and foremost, FPCs have significant one-time startup costs compared to conventional rigid PCBs. The initial expenses associated with the circuit and prototype design are greater than for rigid PCBs because flexible systems are developed for highly particular purposes. If the cost is a deciding factor in the choice of the kind of PCB, the use of FPC technology is preferable only for not too low manufacturing quantities.

The difficulty of fixing or changing the PCB when it is rebuilt is another drawback. In this situation, in reality, the protection film that covers the circuit must first be removed, the procedure carried out and protection restored. In order to provide their clients with this kind of product, flexible PCBs are quite a new technology and not all manufacturers are prepared. Moreover, considerable care must be exercised during the assembling stage, because the circuit may be easily destroyed by improper handling or by unauthorized people.

Structure

The historical electric connection methods have been revolutionized, typically for connecting various portions of the same circuit or different electronic devices by introducing flexible PCBs. The flexible PCB-based solution enables significant space, weight, and costs to be reduced compared to an equivalent solution using rigid PCBs due to its flexibility and compactness as well as the high density of electrical connections available. Many kinds of cable systems, frequently manual in multiple applications, have been replaced with flexible printed circuits which reduce overall electrical cable costs by up to 70%.

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Final Thoughts

In the last few years, the FPC business has expanded significantly led by the development of wearable and electromedical devices that are increasingly tiny and light. Flexible PCBs may remove connector and cable requirements in many applications, enhance connection reliability and reduce assembly time, assembly cost, and total device sizes. We can state that flexible PCBs have enabled new in conclusion, fascinating applications to be implemented that are not possible with conventional rigid PCBs.

Flexible printed circuits, from cars, VCRs, camcorders, cell phones, and SLR cameras up to the complex military and aviation systems, are present in all areas. There are numerous high-profile uses of flexible circuits. One example is the employment of flexible-circuit technology in the Sojourner, a robot that explored the Mars surface and collected data in the summer of 1997, in the stiff flexible wire harnesses employed.

Do you have any further questions? Feel free to write us at sales@pnconline.com

Written by Sam Sangani

Sam Sangani is the President & CEO of PNC Inc., a Nutley, NJ based Printed Circuit Board manufacturer. Sam graduated from L. D. Engineering College with a BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also continued his education and graduated from Steven’s Institute of Technology where he acquired a Master’s degree in Computer Science.

After completion of his BS, Sam worked as a QC Manager, for Xerox, Romania and London. He was responsible for the Quality Control of Cable and Wire Harness imports from Romania. After completing his Master’s Degree, he worked as a Senior Programmer with IBM, Tucson, Arizona. Sam was responsible for leading the Mainframe System Programming Team.

In 1997, Sam acquired PNC INC., a Nutley, NJ based PC Board fabrication Shop. From 1997-2013, Sam has made tremendous improvements and changes within PNC INC., as he added many new Products and Technologies in PNC’s portfolio. With his proven track record and leadership, PNC has never had an unprofitable year and has continued its growth yearly since 1997.

His current responsibilities are Strategic Planning, Corporate Management, New Business Ventures, Sales & Marketing, Trade Shows, Professional Services and leading productive teams to achieve peak potential. He has also utilized Lean Management techniques which have built a foundation for PNC’s high-paced growth. Sam also enjoys real-estate investing, web design & SEO, trading stocks, options, futures and Forex markets.