Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

Advancing technology has impacted rigid-flex PCB designs in the same manner as rigid printed circuit boards. Increasing interconnect requirements and smaller form factors require higher circuit densities and increased layer counts. The impact of these elements on rigid-flex circuit designs is potential reliability issues both electrically and mechanically.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) require holes to be drilled through or partially through laminate materials. These holes are used to create continuity between the top and bottom or to a mid-layer on the PCB. The holes allow traces, pads, and copper polygons to be connected throughout the different layers of the board.

Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially challenging for many electronics manufacturers. As the world’s production flood gates opened, deliveries that were on hold for the past year are now being asked to be rushed and pulled ahead.

As our world continues to evolve to an online buying market for everything for our homes, schools, and offices, you may have noticed in some cases, the quality is not exactly what you thought you saw and bought online. We have all had that men’s XL shirt we bought for dad’s birthday arrive only to fit our 7-10-year-old, or the gift for Christmas arriving in January. Is it cost vs. quality, convenience vs. going out shopping, or is it the ongoing COVID-19 situation?

Applications with high-power needs and complex systems may use lithium batteries to operate. Lithium batteries can pack a high-energy density into smaller pack sizes, making them lightweight and small enough to be used in common everyday products such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, and hoverboards. However, the battery's chemistry can create safety hazards when not being constantly monitored.

Within the first few pages of IPC standard for printed circuit boards, there is a reference table 1-2 that is called “Default Requirements.” When reading the standard looking for some guidance, one may question “default” as part of a requirement. Often, when we receive circuit board production files there is not enough information from a manufacturing standpoint but certainly enough to quote.

Flexible heaters made from silicon and polyimide materials are designed to provide heating features to a wide range of applications. Their flexibility allows the heaters to wrap around odd-shaped surfaces when used inside or outside products. The flexibility of the heater is to provide enough heat for the intended application at the specific area without interfering with its functions.

At the conclusion of our webinar, PCB Design & Layout - Checklist of What You Need Before You Start, we had several questions submitted to our presenter, Angie Brown, PCB Product Manager at Epec. We have compiled these questions into a readable format on our blog.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) may go through extreme wear-and-tear based on environmental factors. They may be placed in applications where there will be fluctuating temperatures, extreme heat, extreme cold, high humidity, salt water, and excessive moisture.

In some areas of a flexible circuit board design, the trace widths and spacings, trace to pad spacings, and via pad sizes are the same as used in rigid circuit boards but will differ in other areas. This is due to the flexible nature of the polyimide materials used, the type of material used to encapsulate the external layers, and the unique plating process used for most flex circuit designs.