FPC is also known as flex circuit or flex cable.This flexible printed circuit board is used in many electronic products such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, etc.
INTRODUCTION
Flexible circuit board (FPC) is a highly reliable and excellent flexible printed circuit board made of polyimide or polyester film.
At present, flexible circuit boards are widely used in consumer electronics and automobiles, and the demand has maintained steady growth. High-precision flexible circuit boards have broad potential and extremely high barriers to entry in the field of consumer humanoid robots.
However, with the rapid development of the electronics industry, the design of circuit boards is becoming more and more high-precision and high-density. Manual inspection methods have inevitably failed to meet the requirements. FPC defect automatic inspection has become an industrial development may have been determined.
Did you know that flexible circuits are a technology developed in the 1970s and created for aerospace and rocket technology.
A printed circuit with high reliability and excellent flexibility, embedded in the circuit design on a bendable thin and light plastic sheet. And a large number of precision components are placed in a small space to form a bendable circuit. So when you get this circuit, it is a circuit board that can be bent freely. When you understand these, you will understand why the demand for flexible circuit boards is so great.
（Picture of Wonderful PCB）
FPC COMPOSING MATERIAL
The FPC we introduced is mainly composed of three materials:
- insulating film
- Conductor
- adhesives
The insulating film forms the base layer of the circuit. At the same time, there are many types of insulating film materials, but the most commonly used are polyimide and polyester materials, which can withstand high temperatures and have good bending properties.Generally used as the main material of FPC.
Copper is a conductor, and the adhesive can bond the conductor and the insulating film together to make the bottom plate of the FPC.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING FPC?
- It can be bent, folded and rolled freely, and can be moved and stretched freely in three-dimensional space.
- With good heat dissipation performance, FPC can reduce the size and weight of electronic products.
- Realize light weight, miniaturization and thinning, so as to achieve the integration of component device and wire connection.
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING FPC?
- The cost is high. We all know that FPC is manufactured for special equipment, so there will be high costs in circuit design and wiring.
- It is difficult to repair, the change must start from the base map or the compiled light painting program, and there is a protective film on the surface, which is a very complicated job.
- It is easy to be damaged. If you are not a professional, improper operation may cause the circuit to be damaged. Soldering needs to be learned.
PROCESS FLOW
Single panel circuit board
Copper foil–dry film–exposure–developing–etching–stripping–AOI–covering film–plating–cutting–testing–inspection–packing
Double panel circuit board
Copper foil–drilling–PTH–copper plating–dry film–exposure–developing–etching–stripping–AOI–covering film–plating–punching–testing–inspection –packing
Here we share a few used process flow, most manufacturers will not use this manufacturing process. If your requirements are not too high, and you only want to make single-sided circuit boards, I would recommend you to consider this process.
Making screen–copper foil–UV drying–etching–removing film–solder mask printing–nickel gold electroplating–punching–testing-packing
FPC APPLICATION FIELD
MP3, MP4 players, portable CD players, home VCD, DVD, digital cameras, batteries, medical, automotive and aerospace fields.
Commonly used in electronic products such as computers, TVs, mobile phones, tablets and gaming systems.
In the smart phones that we use more in our daily life, FPC can be used for the connection of the fingerprint identification module and the connection of the battery.
Apple mobile phones and Huawei from China also use more FPCs. Therefore, more companies have put forward higher requirements for quality. In 2023, it is expected to become the fastest growing year.
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