Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

Applications that rely on printed circuit boards (PCBs) to control functions can experience difficulties when having operating components or when designed in slimmed or smaller sizes. Standard rigid circuit boards have to be made in specific sizes and dimensions, which can make it difficult when designing working components that could scrape against and damage the PCB.

Rigid-flex printed circuit boards (PCBs) are a great solution to combine the benefits of both rigid and flex PCBs, but as a result, can accumulate the design challenges of both types alongside creating their own challenges along the way.

Flexible printed circuit boards are a type of printed circuit board (PCB) that has been designed to be more flexible than traditional rigid printed circuit boards. They offer many advantages over their traditional counterparts, including greater design flexibility, improved reliability, and increased cost savings.

Devices are becoming smaller and thinner, requiring circuit boards that can fit into the equipment without adding any additional weight while being flexible enough to route around components. Flexible printed circuit boards offer high-density electrical connections while also reducing space.

Rigid-flex circuit boards are the integration of rigid PCB technology with flexible circuit technology in one unit that is capable of both interconnect and operating functions in a device.

There are a wide variety of flexible circuit board design options available to solve interconnect requirements. One of the more unique is a dual access flex PCB construction. This unique construction of a dual access flex circuit can be beneficial for many applications.

The unique capabilities of flexible circuits allow for additional design elements that are not available in rigid PCB designs. A very common one is integrating Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSA) into the design. A PSA is a double-sided adhesive tape that can serve multiple purposes. The PSA is attached to the flex as part of the manufacturing process and the release film is retained on the exposed side to protect the adhesive until it is installed.

At the conclusion of our webinar, Electrical vs Mechanical Requirements in Flex & Rigid-Flex PCB Designs, we had several questions submitted to our presenter, Paul Tome, Product Manager Flex and Rigid-Flex, at Epec. We have compiled these questions into a readable format on our blog.

Identifying the differences between rigid PCB FR4 materials and flex circuit polyimide materials can be useful to customers who are implementing flex circuit designs for the first time. Beyond the obvious difference in flexibility, the two types of materials have different available thicknesses, copper types, and properties that impact high-speed controlled impedance signals.

The hot air solder leveling surface finish (HASL) is the second oldest surface finish available for printed circuit boards and up until a point in time was virtually the standard surface finish used in the electronics industry (originally with leaded solder and more recently the RoHS version with lead-free solder).