Flexible Printed Circuit Board Materials, have different characteristics from rigid boards, making them particularly suitable for different applications. Unlike many rigid designs, flexible PCBs are made of bendable materials, making them more resistant to vibration and motion. Due to their miniaturised design, they can reduce package weight by up to 75%.
Flexible PCBs consist of multiple printed circuits and assemblies on a flexible circuit board. These flexible PCBs use the same component design as rigid PCBs. However, the only difference is that flexible PCBs are manufactured so that they can be bent into the desired shape during application.
FPC PCBA production cost
The production cost of flexible boards is higher than that of rigid boards. This is due to the circuit design, wiring and photo boards of flexible boards. Circuit boards designed for special applications are more complex and require higher costs during manufacturing.
1. Flexible PCBs require more stringent storage conditions than rigid PCBs. To properly store an FPC, it must be kept away from air and water. Exposure to these elements can cause the FPC to warp or distort, leading to problems during production or even rendering it unusable. This damage during storage can force expensive discards, increasing the flex-board PCBA's production cost.
2. The production process of FPCBAs requires specific fixtures, such as printing, over-oven, and test fixtures.
3. Fixtures position FPCs on pallets and hold them in place throughout the SMT (surface mount technology) process. Fixtures are available in various materials, including aluminium, acrylic, synthetic stone and fibreglass. Costs vary depending on customer preference. Typically, 2 fixtures are attached per 100 PCBAs, 3 fixtures per 100–1000 PCBAs, and so on. Such quantity requirements directly affect the cost of flexible board PCBA fixtures.
4. The inspection of flexible board PCBA mainly involves manual visual inspection, resulting in low efficiency and high labour costs. Flex board PCBA rework is also challenging, requires trained personnel, and takes longer to repair than hard boards. This increases the labour costs associated with flexible board PCBA production.
Why use FPC boards?
Why use FPC boards in product design when the production cost of flexible PCBAs is higher than that of rigid PCBAs?
1. Available Applications
Electronic devices use FPCs for their repeated bending and component assembly needs, such as connecting printers to print heads. They also help with wire connections in these applications.
Applications for FPCs include:
-Wearable devices that require a high degree of flexibility
monitors and displays
-Mobile device connectors and interfaces
medical device requirements for disposable PCBs, etc...
2. Flexibility
FPC is highly flexible and can withstand thousands to tens of thousands of bends within its allowable range without damage. This makes it ideal for moulding along product housings and turning at any angle to support product designs. The use of FPCs can also save 60–90% of space compared to rigid PCBs.
The flexibility of FPCs allows them to be bent without negatively affecting signal transmission capabilities. This feature reduces electrostatic interference and extends product life by preventing damage during repeated bending and use. It also reduces assembly time and errors, with all circuit lines pre-configured and no additional wiring connections required. This makes FPC a better choice compared to other types of circuit boards.
3. Size and weight
FPCs reduce the size and weight of electronic products and drive them towards miniaturisation, precision, density and reliability. Despite the higher cost, the use of flexible PCBAs can improve the efficiency of certain designs.
How do FPC connectors work?
FPC connectors play a vital role in the functionality of many electronic devices. The mechanism by which they work is very simple, but also fascinating. Let's break it down into simpler terms.
FPC connectors are designed to transmit electrical signals from one part of a device to another. This is possible because the flexible plastic strip has thin metal wires printed on it. Each metal wire is a separate pathway for electrical signals, and each signal can carry different types of information.
When an FPC connector is attached to a device, it creates a bridge between the different parts. The connector plugs into a special slot on each component to form a secure electrical connection. Then, when the device is switched on, electrical signals start to flow along the metal wires. This is how the different parts of the device can communicate with each other.
In a practical example, let's consider a smartphone. When you press a button to take a picture, the processor in the phone sends an electrical signal through the FPC connector to the camera module. This signal tells the camera to activate and take the picture.
So the FPC connector may be a small piece of technology, but without it, many of our everyday electronic devices would not work. The silent anchor allows the different components of a device to work together seamlessly.
Application of FPC in new energy market
The performance of FPC itself is highly compatible with new energy vehicles.FPC has the characteristics of lightweight, simple structure and convenient line connection. It is a good line carrier for connecting automotive electronic components. It has obvious advantages in terms of safety, assembly efficiency, battery life, self-weight reduction, etc. FPC connection solutions have become the absolute main solution in passenger car power batteries.
As the degree of automotive intelligence increases, the demand for electronic components in lighting systems, display systems, power supply systems, battery management systems, sensors and other fields continues to increase, and the number of circuit carriers required to connect electronic components increases accordingly. Automotive wiring harnesses, as traditional circuit carriers, are large in size and complex in connection and cannot adapt to the development trend of the increasing number of electronic components in new energy vehicles.
The acquisition line is an important part of the BMS system for new energy vehicles, which monitors the voltage and temperature of the new energy power battery cell, connects data acquisition and transmission with overcurrent protection, protects the power battery cell, and automatically disconnects it from an abnormal short-circuit, and so on.
Previously, a new energy vehicle power battery collection line used a traditional copper wire harness program. The conventional harness was connected to the battery pack by a copper wire externally surrounded by plastic, connected to a copper wire externally surrounded by plastic, and connected to each harness to reach an electrode. When the power battery pack current signal is long, a lot of wiring harnesses are needed to cooperate with the crowded space.
In Pack assembly, traditional harnesses rely on workers to manually fix the ports on the battery pack, with a low degree of automation. Compared with the copper wire harness, FPC has a high degree of integration, ultra-thin thickness, ultra-softness, and other characteristics in terms of safety, lightweight, layout, and other aspects of its outstanding advantages. In addition to the thin thickness of the FPC, the battery pack structure is customised, the assembly can be gripped by the robotic arm to be placed directly on the battery pack, the degree of automation is high, and it is suitable for large-scale mass production.
FPC in the power battery module should have the following advantages:
1. Highly integrated: since the embedded Fuse, connectors, chip NTC, aluminium and nickel terminals; not only to provide excellent and consistent electrical performance but also to meet the needs of smaller and higher density installation of the design needs of the three-degree spatial wiring and the appearance of the limitations of the space to make changes suitable for high-density, miniaturisation, and high-reliability direction of the development of the needs of the components to achieve the integration of the assembly and wire connection.
2. Automated assembly can be achieved: fast and accurate assembly, conducive to automation; in the assembly and fault tolerance here can avoid a lot of wiring harness design due to manual errors; the connector level also reduces a lot of insertion error opportunities. The use of FPC sampling can reduce the complexity of the Module integration process; FPC and battery busbar (busbar) connection can be automated, effectively reducing labour costs. Even if the customer is not mature enough to achieve automated welding, the use of traditional screw-locking methods can still effectively reduce the investment in labour.
3. Ultra-thin thickness: 0.34 mm at the line area, 2 mm at the NTC.
4. Ultra-flexibility: the line area can be assembled with 90° and 180° bends.
5. Lightweight: when used in the whole vehicle, it can reduce weight by about 1 kg compared with the wiring harness solution.
6. Cost advantage: from the cost point of view, the cost of FPC itself is not high; for the cost of connecting, there is a great reduction in the magnitude.
Compared with the copper wire harness, FPC has a high degree of integration, ultra-thin thickness, ultra-softness, and other characteristics in terms of safety, lightweight, layout, and other aspects of its outstanding advantages. In addition to the thin thickness of the FPC, the battery pack structure is customised, the assembly can be gripped by the robotic arm to be placed directly on the battery pack, the degree of automation is high, and it is suitable for large-scale mass production.
At present, the FPC solution has become the most important choice for the majority of new models of new energy vehicles. FPC to CCS (Cells Contact System, integrated bus bar, harness board integrated parts) integration, CCS products by the FPC, plastic structural components, copper-aluminium rows, etc., copper-aluminium rows will be more than one battery cell through the laser welding of the series-parallel connection, FPC through the copper-aluminium rows, plastic structural components, thus constituting an electrical connection and signal detection. The FPC is connected to the copper-aluminium row and plastic structural components to form the electrical connection and signal detection structural components.
Group Profile
ZHUHE Group has 10 subsidiaries, is a comprehensive service provider of electronic technology and electronic products, and can provide customers with professional OEM and ODM services. The company's products and technologies show a diversity of products, covering semiconductor devices, pulse motors, high-frequency transformers, inductors, and a variety of electronic products, the core components PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) & FPCA (Flexible Printed Circuit Assembly), and other products, focusing on aerospace, military, industrial control, data communications, automotive electronics, medical electronics, new energy technology, and AI smart technology. Assembly) & FPCA (Flexible Printed Circuit Assembly) and other products, focusing on aerospace, military, industrial control, data communications, automotive electronics, medical electronics, new energy technology, and AI intelligent technology, the main markets at home and abroad, the core customers throughout the United States, Japan, Germany, and other domestic and foreign customers.
We can provide customers with single and double-sided panels, high multilayer panels, soft and hard combination boards, special process soft boards, etc.; we can also customise the products according to the drawings or samples provided by customers. We strictly control the product quality at every step of the manufacturing process and provide leading technical support. Before cooperating, we will have a professional technical team to answer your questions. During the cooperation, we have a professional technical team for you. After cooperation, we have special technicians to serve you one-on-one.
We have a strong R&D team and professional automated production line, gradually introduce advanced production equipment, and increase investment in the automation of production lines to improve the production capacity and manufacturing process level, establish a perfect quality management system and supply chain system, and provide the best quality intelligent control solutions and products.
Q: How many conductive layers can you get on a flexible PCB?
A: Most flexible PCB designs have 1 or 2 conductive signal layers. Some high-density interconnect flex designs have 4 to 8 layers. The thinnest flexible PCBs tend to be single-layer, while multi-layer flexible PCBs provide the highest interconnect density in the smallest space.
Q: What line widths and spacing can be achieved with flexible PCBs?
The small features possible with flexible PCB manufacturing allow for very fine line widths and spacing. Typical alignments and spaces are 100 um (4 mils) and can be reduced to less than 50 um (2 mils) for high-density designs. This compact routing capability gives flexible PCBs an advantage over standard rigid PCB technology.
Q: Can you mount components on a flexible PCB?
Yes, surface-mount components can be assembled onto flexible PCBs, often in designated rigid sections, providing stability for the pick-and-place assembly process. Avoid placing bulky through-hole components on dynamic areas of the flexible circuit that require flexing. The SMT components should be held securely in place with solder.
Q: Will flexible PCBs fail over time?
If not designed properly, common failure modes of flexible PCBs include cracks due to conductor breakage or repeated bending, delamination between material layers, component pad detachment due to poor adhesion, and alignment damage due to stresses associated with rigid cross sections. Proper design and testing are key.
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