Factors influencing the line width include conductor, etch mask and the different types of conductor used. In this process, copper foil thickness is half the line width loss. The etching process is used to compensate for any isotropic losses during the manufacturing process. The thin copper is responsible for the circuit’s flexibility and makes it suitable for dynamic applications. Thin copper is used as a conductive material on the board. The service loop ensures the servicing length and circuit assembly which is the amount of extra material you add beyond the designer’s limit. Steps to manufacture flexible boards include: Looping To appropriately use the polyimide material, the nesting technique is used to keep circuit boards close to each other. This material is more expensive than FR-4, thus needs to be used carefully. Polyimide is used as a base substrate material to manufacture flexible PCBs. And these circuits require less space due to their flexible bend capability and they cover only 10% of the area compared to rigid circuit boards. The flexible designs are more reliable as they come with fewer interconnections that ensure fewer solder joints and contact crimps. The material selection for making flexible circuit boards is a bit tricky and depends on many factors including chemical and mechanical resistance, current, temperature, capacitance, and types of flexing. An adhesive is required to bond the conductive copper layer to the substrate while sometimes vapour deposition is equally handy to attach the copper with the substrate. The thickness of the copper conductive layer can vary from 0.0001’’ to 0.010’’ and the thickness of the dielectric material can range from 0.0005’’ to 0.010’’. The flex designs are composed of polyimide or a transparent polyester film as a substrate material that comes with high heat resistance which makes it a right fit for solder mounting components.Ī flexible circuit comes with a conductive layer of traces made up of copper that is combined with a polyimide dielectric layer. They are widely used for high-density and high-temperature applications. What is Flexible PCB?įlexible PCB, also known as flex prints or flex circuits, is a special type of circuit board that you can bend into the desired shape. Here in this article, we’ll only cover flexible circuit boards. The PCB boards are categorized into different types including single layer, double layer, multiple layers, and rigid, flexible, rigid-flex, and aluminum circuit boards. The PCBs you see today have evolved over years into a more sophisticated circuit board – compare the circuit boards installed in TVs of the 1990s with the ones available in modern LED designs and smartphones. It is the basic building block of many electronic projects, opening the door for small, compact, and less erratic designs. In this post today, I’ll walk you through the Flexible PCB in detail.Ī PCB (printed circuit board) is an electrical circuit that provides mechanical support to electrical components connected through conductive copper wires.