Rigid-Flex PCB Technics Capacity

Rigid-flex board has both a rigid layer and a flexible layer, and is a multi-layer printed circuit board.
Although the cost of rigid-flex board is more expensive than traditional rigid board, it provides an ideal solution for the project. Utilizing the interconnection of flex substrates, rather than connecting devices of multiple PCBs, is the key to reducing footprint and weight, which is required in many designs. Designers of rigid-flex boards can replace composite printed circuit boards with multiple connectors, multiple cables, and ribbon cables with a single component for greater performance and stability, while also extending the design range Confined to one component, bend and fold lines like a stack of paper to optimize available space.
The rigid-flex board has the characteristics of being bendable and foldable, so it can be used to make customized circuits, maximizing the use of the available space in the room, using this to reduce the space occupied by the entire system, and the overall cost of the rigid-flex board It will be relatively high, but with the continuous maturity and development of the industry, the overall cost will continue to decrease, so it will be more cost-effective and competitive.

Rigid-flex boards are widely used, but due to the mixed use of various materials and multiple production steps, the processing time of rigid-flex boards is longer and the production cost is higher. When making multi-layer rigid-flex boards, the processing technology of the flex layer is completely different from the outer FR4 layer. The layers made of different materials must be brought together by lamination, then drilled and electroplated. Therefore, it may take 5 to 7 times longer to make a typical four-layer rigid-flex printed circuit board than to make a standard four-layer rigid printed circuit board.
The application scope of rigid-flex board mainly includes: aerospace, such as high-end aircraft-mounted weapon navigation systems, advanced medical equipment, digital cameras, camcorders, TWS headsets, and high-quality players. The rigid-flex board improves the connection reliability while reducing the weight. Of course, the benefits brought by the smaller overall volume cannot be ignored.

Physical properties of rigid-flex boards
The flex-rigid board is different from the original flex board and hard board in terms of materials, equipment and process. In terms of materials, the hard board is made of FR4 of PCB, and the soft board is made of PI or PET. There are problems such as bonding and thermal compression shrinkage between the two materials, which is very important for the stability of the product. It is a difficult point in terms of degree, and because of the characteristics of the three-dimensional space configuration of the rigid-flex board, in addition to the consideration of the stress in the XY-axis direction, the stress in the Z-axis direction is also an important consideration. Board manufacturers provide improved materials suitable for flexible and rigid boards, such as epoxy resin (Epoxy) or modified resin (Resin) and other materials, to meet the bonding problem between PCB rigid boards or flexible boards. In terms of equipment, due to the difference in material properties and product specifications of the flex-rigid board, the equipment in the lamination and copper plating parts must be corrected. The applicability of the equipment will affect the product yield and stability. Production must first take into account the suitability of the equipment.

iPCB is based on providing PCB and Rigid-Flex PCB products and PCB design services with fast delivery, reliable quality and low comprehensive cost. Our products are widely used in communication, power supply, equipment, industrial control, automotive electronics, intelligent equipment and security electronics and other fields, and our products are exported to Europe and the United States and other countries. All products of the company comply with ROHS and other environmental protection standards and relevant laws and regulations. The system is complete and the quality is stable. We are committed to providing our customers with more convenient and fast services! The company has more than 10 years of industry experience, a stable backbone technical management team and a well-trained workforce, and has established a strict quality assurance system from raw material procurement, manufacturing production, finished product inspection and other links.

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