Flex circuit fabrication trends

There are some problems in flex circuit fabrication methods on the market. However, with the rapid development of miniaturization and intelligence of wearable intelligent textiles, the development of flex circuit fabrication also has a growing trend. Flex circuit fabrication is seamless with other flexible electronic components. Flex circuit fabrication is similar to textile fabrication. In the course of daily use, characteristics such as bending, shearing, air permeability and washing resistance are becoming more and more important to the development of the flex circuit. Flex circuit fabrication is ideal for stable, low-power current transfer. Stable and low-power current is of great significance to the reliability and service life of flex circuit fabrication.

Flex circuit fabrication method

Flex circuit fabrication methods include conductive yarn insertion and screen printing. An important step in flex circuit fabrication is finding conductive yarns suitable for weaving. Conductive fabric has light weight and good air permeability, which not only has the comfort of ordinary fabric, but also has excellent electrical conductivity. The screen printing technology of flex circuit fabrication is simple to prepare conductive circuits, but each ink for printed electronic functions requires a separate screen, and the high cost and waste of printing materials limit the large-area flex circuit fabrication.

Construction of flex circuit fabrication

The basic structure of the flex circuit fabrication of single-sided structure. In the traditional flex circuit fabrication case, the copper foil conductor is fixed to a substrate film, such as polyimide, with binder such as epoxy resin, and then covered with a protective film on the etched circuit. It is necessary to exclude binders with low heat resistance from flex circuit fabrication. Such a structure could not only reduce the thickness of the entire flex circuit fabrication to a minimum, greatly improving mechanical characteristics such as bending resistance, but also facilitate the formation of microcircuits or multi-layer circuits. Flex circuit fabrication The double-sided circuit fabrication in flex circuit fabrication is basically the same as that of rigid PCBS, and multi-layer Flex circuit fabrication is more complex than single-double panel fabrication. The addition of layers to flex circuit fabrication reduces flexibility, and the reduction of layers in parts intended for bending purposes, or the exclusion of bonding between layers, improves the degree of freedom of mechanical activity.

Flex circuit fabrication of technology

With the versatility and miniaturization of flex circuit fabrication, the flex circuit used in electronic equipment requires not only high density circuits, but also high performance. Based on flex circuit fabrication spacing and pilot hole aperture, high-density circuits are roughly classified as traditional FPC, high-density FPC, and ultra-high-density FPC. Advances in flex circuit fabrication technology have made FPC more reliable. As circuits become more high-density, the performance of flex circuit fabrication requires variety and high performance. These performance requirements are largely dependent on the technology or materials used in circuit fabrication.

Flex circuit fabrication process

The current flex circuit fabrication process is almost completed by the method of reduction (etching). Usually, copper-covered foil plate is used as the starting material to form the corrosion resistance layer by photolithography, and the circuit conductor is formed by etching away the unnecessary copper surface. The etching method for the flex circuit fabrication process is limited to the fabrication of microcircuits due to problems such as side erosion. Because flex circuit fabrication process is difficult to process and maintain microcircuits with high qualification rate, various semi-addition methods have been proposed. In the flex circuit fabrication process, the semi-addition method can be used to fabricate ultra-fine circuits with spacing of 5um and pilot holes of 10um.

Flex circuit fabrication notes

1. Most parts of flex circuit fabrication are coil materials, while RTR technology cannot be used for double-sided FPC with through-holes, so sheet fabrication of materials is required.

2. Generally, materials for flex circuit fabrication are very thin and fragile, so special attention should be paid to the protection of materials during fabrication.

3. If the amount of material for flex circuit fabrication is small, manual fabrication is required. If the amount is large, it needs an automatic slicer.

4. If flex circuit fabrication materials were made up, they would have to be stacked neatly by equipment, which could effectively reduce the occurrence of pits, creases and folds.

5. If you are folding by hand, you need gloves that are not easy to remove fibers, preferably gloves such as latex, to prevent surface contamination of flex circuit fabrication materials.

6. If the flex circuit fabrication material cut during processing is copper-covered plate, attention should also be paid to the direction of the calendering copper.

7. In the pre-design or subsequent fabrication of flex circuit fabrication, the opening frame should not be used as the positioning basis for the post-fabrication.

Flex circuit fabrication uses materials

Flex circuit fabrication is mainly composed of the following materials:

1. The conductor layer used in flex circuit fabrication is copper. Copper has excellent electrical properties and low cost. Other suitable conductor materials include stainless steel, beryllium copper, and white copper.

2. The adhesive for flex circuit fabrication consists of a layer of acrylic or epoxy resin between copper and an insulating film (polyimide). Acrylic adhesive materials offer better heat resistance, but have poor electrical properties and lower bonding strength. 

3. Flex circuit fabrication insulators, also known as substrate or dielectric, are flexible materials that give the circuit board the ability to bend. Polyimide for flex circuit fabrication is the most commonly used material, but some boards have polyesters, polyamides, various copolymers or fluorinated polymers.

Flex circuit fabrication applications

1. Flex circuit fabrication is used in high-speed digital, RF and microwave connectors.

2. Flex circuit fabrication can be used for industrial sensors.

3. Flex circuit fabrication can be applied to instrument consumables.

4. Flex circuit fabrication can be used in medical devices, wearables and more.

5. Flex circuit fabrication can be applied to automotive equipment.

6. Flex circuit fabrication can be applied to satellite equipment.

7. Flex circuit fabrication is applicable to avionics.

8. Flex circuit fabrication is applicable to consumer electronics.