Rigid printed circuit boards include phenolic cellulose paper copper-clad laminates, epoxide cellulose paper laminates, polyester woven glass fabric laminates, and epoxide woven glass fabric laminates. The flexible circuit board is a printed circuit board with high reliability and high bending performance, which is made of polyimide or polyester film as the base material.

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What are the advantages of rigid flex PCB design?

By combining the properties of rigid and flexible PCBs, rigid-flex PCBs come with a host of benefits for both manufacturers and consumers.

·  Mechanical stability- Their basic structure consists of interchanging layers of rigid and flexible PCBs. This ensures that they're both stable and flexible, facilitating easy installation in small spaces.

·  Connection reliability- With rigid-flex PCBs, you get greater stability and polarity, making connections easier and more secure with other components. You will also require fewer connector components with each application.

·  Dynamism- Along with repeatability and precision, you'll enjoy greater flexibility with packaging.

·  Cost-effective- By using rigid-flex PCBs, you can cut down on the total expenditures.

·  High-density applications- Arguably, the best benefit of rigid-flex PCBs is that they can be used for a high-density device population. This is due to their flexibility, stability, and low space use.

·  High shock and vibration resistance- Electronic components are used in a wide range of items, some of which experience constant vibrations. With such devices, you won't have to worry about damage as rigid-flex PCB is highly resistant to shock and vibration.

What is the main factor about rigid flex PCB manufacturing?

As is the case with any other PCB, the performance of rigid-flex PCB, to no small extent, is also determined by their substrate material.

Typically, a flexible dielectric film made of polyester is in the low-end products. In contrast, more advanced products like those used in the military and aerospace purposes use fluoropolymer and polyimide.

If we compare these three types of flexible materials, polyimide tops the list for having the highest dielectric constant. It can also withstand high temperatures and offers excellent mechanical and electrical properties. However, it can absorb moisture quickly and is quite expensive.

Talking about polyimide, it also performs well, but polyester offers pretty bad temperature resistance. If you want to operate the product at high frequencies, polytetrafluoroethylene offers a low dielectric constant and serves the purpose well.

In terms of adhesive films, the best materials for this purpose include polyester, acrylic, and epoxy because of the high degree of flexibility. They also have excellent adhesion and are relatively resistant to heat and chemicals.

But here is the catch. These materials have a significant coefficient of thermal expansion, and this is why the internal thickness of the film should not exceed 0.05 mm.

What are the applications of rigid PCB?

Flex connections have mechanical advantages over conventional ribbon cables in various applications but in some cases, they also have better chemistry.

A flex circuit can be formed in complex shapes in three dimensions with branches to multiple connectors, which would be impossible to achieve with a ribbon cable. Moreover, flex circuits can be interfaced with rigid boards without the relatively tall and bulky connectors flat cables require, or in the case of rigid-flex construction, they can be integral with the boards and eliminate external connectors altogether. Furthermore, the conductor density of flex circuits can far exceed that of ribbon cables.

There are some subtle advantages of flex circuits versus conventional ribbon cables beyond the many clear distinctions. One of the materials commonly used for flex circuits, Kapton, has extremely low outgassing in ultra-high-vacuum environments, such as space. Though Kapton-insulated ribbon cables are available, they have a limited number of conductors and cannot be routed at angles in tight confines.

Rigid Printed Circuit Boards offer increased circuit density and can reduces size and overall weight of the board. This is why many electronic companies in the world use these boards in several electronic devices and gadgets:

·  Computers and Laptops

·  Telecommunications Equipment – Mobile Phone, Tablets and other Hand Help Devices

·  File server and Data storage

·  Signal transmission, mobile phone repeaters, GPS

·  Satellite

·  Medical Equipment: Testing, X-Ray, Heart Monitor, CAT Scan

·  Industrial Equipment

·  Atomic and Nuclear Systems

·  Military and Defense Equipment

·  Automotive

·  Aerospace

·  Anywhere, where complex Circuitry is needed.