10 Must-Knows for Your First Flex PCB Design | Hemeixinpcb

A flex PCB is a flexible printed circuit board with a polyimide or polyester resin supporting structure. The flexible PCB can be warped and twisted in numerous ways to meet the manufacturing requirements of any given application.

Lightness, thinness, softness, ductility, smallness, flexibility, and high-wiring density are some of the manufacturing qualities of a flexible printed circuit board. Its structure and construction allow design freedom in numerous electronic equipment while saving space and downsizing the equipment.

However, there are a few things you should be aware of before you get started on designing your first flexible PCB since they require a slightly different approach than rigid or rigid-flexible PCBs.

1. You Should Use the Right FLEX PCB Materials

It's crucial to understand how the selection of materials affects thickness and elasticity. According to the type of materials used in a multi-layer design and its manufacturing, flexibility can drastically decrease.

Typically, polyimide is used for the coverlay and flex core layers, as they offer better properties than the materials used to make rigid PCBs. Polyimide has a uniform thickness ranging from 0.5 to 4mils.

Electro-deposited or rolled annealed copper is the material used to clad the flex cores. This copper is extremely thin, and it can be used for both static and dynamic purposes. Acrylic adhesive can be used to bond the polyimide with the copper, or it can be cast directly onto the material.

Adhesives are suitable for outside environmental conditions since these materials are able to absorb moisture, but they can crack when heated. Hence, there should be anchors or teardrops included in your design. On the other hand, adhesive-less materials have reduced flex thickness, increased flexibility, better impedance, and more durability.

2. Flex PCB Trace Routing is An Important Factor

The traces in your design should be routed perpendicular to your PCBs bend line. When you are routing a bus around a bend, alternate the upper and bottom traces rather than stacking them on top of one another. As a result, the mechanical force will be distributed evenly over all traces. On a Flex PCB, sharp, right-angled corners should be prevented. Alternatively, employ curves to extend the circuit's longevity. When you offset traces on adjacent layers, you can add layer-to-layer crosstalk.

3. Use IPC Guidelines to Test Your Flex PCB

When it comes to designing durable flex PCBs, the IPC rules are usually an excellent starting point. The protocols IPC-2223 and IP-FC-234 are suggested for getting going with flexible PCB testing. These documentations ensure that your flex PCBs are as reliable as possible. Observing the general criteria will provide you with a solid foundation for creating a variety of flex PCBs.

4. You Need to Understand How Much Flexing Will Be Required for Your Application

When you design your PCB, you will likely have a particular application in mind. This will help you determine how flexible your PCB needs to be. For instance, a static board can flex less than 100 times, but a dynamic board can flex on a regular basis, withstanding thousands of bends.

To increase flexibility, you should avoid high strain by avoiding sharp bends and plated through-holes, and multilayered circuits are more effective when staggered.

5. Identify the Correct Bend Radius

Initially, in the design process, the bend radius must be appropriately specified. This ensures that your design can accommodate the required amount of bends without causing damage to the copper. The number of layers in the flex PCB can be used to calculate the bend radius. Since the flex PCB prototype may be bent at multiple angles, it is better to make sure the pads are large enough to cover the drilled hole.

6. You Can Minimize Your Bend Radius with Cutouts or Slots

When there are insufficient traces in the bend area, cuts or slots are sometimes inserted to reduce the bend radius. The amount of material needed to bend can be reduced if cuts are used. Another method is to remove areas of the flex in which no circuitry is present, albeit this must be done longitudinally and will necessitate routing.

7. Heat-Forming Can Give a Tighter Bend Radius

Heat-forming necessitates the use of a steel jig because it compels the board to remain in a specific position. After that, the steel jig is placed in an oven. One of several advantages of heat-forming is that it allows for a tighter bend radius. On the other hand, it is primarily employed for easy installation. A tighter bend radius is merely one of the extra features it delivers.

8. Flex PCB Layers Should Be Placed in the Center of the Stack-up

The external plating is protected from damage by the employment of flex layers around the interior of the stack-up. This position also optimizes manufacturing and boosts impedance and sturdiness in the flex area. Since the flex layer is created separately, inserting it inside enables flex designers to safeguard the flex layers, while modifying the design.

9. Add Rings or Anchors to Reduce Risk in Flex PCB Vias

Flex vias can break or crack, which is why you should make sure they are tear-dropped and that you use large annular rings and anchors to prevent this.

Avoid positioning vias too close to a stress point, fold, or tear point. Add stiffeners as needed to avoid cracks or stress spots. Within the bent areas, pads and vias must not be installed. Teardrops should also be added to plated holes to enhance their toughness.

10. Select the Right FLEX PCB Expert to Assist You

Flex circuits can be found in printers, smartwatches, keyboards, mobile phones, and other industrial uses in today's devices. The market for flex PCB design has risen in response to the ongoing pattern of electronics becoming relatively small. Since these are different from rigid PCBs in terms of manufacturing, it is important to consult an expert for your design.

Flexible printed circuits provide a wide range of physical and electrical connectivity options that rigid printed circuit board designs cannot match. We provide a wide variety of flexible circuit manufacturing as well as circuit board assembly services at Hemeixinpcb. Click here to get a quote.