A General Overview of Flexible Printed Circuit Board Applications

Flexible printed circuit boards can be used in diverse applications from various industries. They can be designed to meet low or high volume flexing requirements with high levels of accuracy.

Flex Circuit Board Basic Application Types

Flexible PCBs can be used in static as well as dynamic applications. The type of application has to be confirmed by the manufacturer before any design work is started. Understanding the type of application will also make a difference when choosing the type of materials and components used to build a PCB.

• Static Application: Static applications are also known as flex-to-install, or flex-to-fit. In these types of applications, the circuits are designed with a small amount of flex. As the flexing movement is minimal, flex PCBs for static applications are designed with inexpensive Electro Deposited (ED) copper.
• Dynamic Applications: Dynamic applications involve the circuit being flexed repeatedly on a regular basis. To ensure that the performance of the flex circuit board is consistent in such applications, the PCBs are designed with Rolled Annealed (RA) copper.

The flex PCB can be designed according the application requirements.

Diverse PCB Industrial Applications

The PCB industries and applications in which flex PCBs can be used are diverse. Hence, we are focusing on a few major industries and applications.

• Electronics:
  • Laptops
  • Cameras
  • Calculators
  • Printer Heads
  • Flip Cell Phones
  • Computer Keyboards
• Manufacturing:
  • Robotic Arms
  • Sensoric Equipment
  • Processing Machines
  • Bar Code Equipment
  • Human Machine Interface (HMI) equipment
• Automotive:
  • Air Bag Systems
  • Antilock Brakes
  • GPS Systems
  • Engine Controls
• Medical:
  • Pacemakers
  • Hearing Aids
  • Heart Monitors
  • Exercise Monitors
• Miscellaneous:
  • Resistors
  • Satellites
  • Capacitors
  • Tower Lights
  • LCD Fabrication
  • Light and Motion systems