What Is A RigidflexPCB

As the name implies, a rigid flex PCB is a combination of both rigid and flexible substrates.One or more flexible circuits are used to connect subcircuits on rigid PCBs.Rigid flex PCBs are usually produced with flexible polyimide material on copper cladding substrate and connects to the rigid FR4 board.

The flexible part of the rigid flex PCB usually features a multilayer built with padded through holes securing the interconnectivity between layers.Rigid flex PCB has grown from merely using the flexible substrate as a replacement for wire harnesses, to having actual subcircuits built on the flexible area itself.

Advantages Of RigidFlexPCB

Designing a rigid flex PCB is considerably more challenging than conventional rigid PCB.However, there are good reasons why rigid flex is used in some designs, particularly one that involves fitting the board in tight spaces.

Increase Reliability

Connectors serve their purpose when there’s a need to remove the wire harness from the PCB routinely.For a design that involves multiple interlinking subcircuits in an enclosure, adding connectors to the PCB only increases the risk of failure.

Implementing a rigid flex design removes the need for board-fto-board connectors.This also leads to lesser solder joints, which are sometimes prone to failure.

Space Saving

PCBmanufacturer talked，often, the designs that call for a rigid flex PCB is one where space is a luxury.For example, handheld thermal scanners can benefit from a rigid flex PCB design as there isn’t much space to fit in wire harnesses and high profile connectors.Instead, with the interconnecting circuit built-in on the flexible substrate, you’ll have more space to route the traces around.

Reduce Cost

Rigid flex PCBs are generally cheaper than their rigid counterparts, as the former is harder to produce.However, using rigid flex PCBs may reduce the overall cost of the product.As wired interconnects are replaced by the conductive layers of flexible material, you’ll save on the cost of assembly, which in some cases, involves manual labor.

As a rigid flex PCB is a complete circuit on its own, there isn’t a need for installing a wire harness in the enclosure it is mounted on.Such a wiring job takes up precious time and is an additional cost for each unit of the product.

Ease Of Testing

It is also easy to automate testing of a rigid flex PCB as all the subcircuits are already interconnected when the PCB is manufactured.The ability to eliminate connectivity issues before the components are assembled, further, prevent unnecessary wastage and expenses.

Sun&Lynn（深联电路） is providing a complete range of PCB services for more than 21 years.Our large facility is based in China.We have an advanced and latest PCB fabrication, testing, and assembling system.You can order all types of PCBs, assemblies, stencils, and everything, including the Rigid-Flex PCB assembly.