Rigid flex PCBs are well-known and much preferred due to their ability to provide mechanical support as well as flexible connections in a single piece. Wondering what’s the primary reason behind their usage? Well, they are ideal for items that require both rigid and flex connections but have limited space.
If you’re new to the topic or want to learn about this in detail, this blog covers everything you need to know about them. Although rigid-flex PCBs are often more expensive to manufacture than regular stiff or flexible boards alone, considering their overall cost including printed circuit boards, cable and wires, assembly cost, maintenance cost and reliability, it is still the most cost-efficient solution for a lot of electronics applications.
Let’s learn about that, we’ll also rigid-flex PCB from basics to its types, applications, features, benefits, and challenges in a way to have such PCB.
What is a Rigid Flex PCB?
Rigid-flex PCB is a kind of PCB that has the qualities of both rigid and flexible PCBs offer strength and flexibility at the same time. These are a hybrid design that incorporates rigid characteristics and flexible PCB characteristics, for example, the rigid part is for component mounting or PCB stuffing while the flexible part is for folding or bending to fit it in the compact space in the sleek electronic device.
The rigid part is generally fabricated by the material used to manufacture conventional rigid PCBs like epoxy resin, and FR-4 which provide strength to hold electronic component and their soldering, on the other hand, flexible material is used in another part of rigid-flex PCB to provide flexibility for bending and folding purposes.
Types of Rigid Flex PCB
Rigid – Flexible printed circuit board is a sandwiched structure (dual-side) with rigid laminates forming the outer layers of the sandwich and the flexible substrate in the middle. For the rigid laminate, rigid materials like glass fibre and FR-4 are used to introduce the core strength it and substances like polyimides suffice the role of flexible core materials.
These PCBs are designed in 3D ensuring their smooth bending and flexibility. These are very lightweight boards, apt for use in portable electronic devices like smartwatches, mobile phones, tablets and laptops. The flexibility property allows them to fit into any small and thin gaps present. They are convenient to use on bent surfaces and toward the edges.
website - https://www.viasion.com/
