As the demand for flexible and rigid-flex PCBs continues to grow, understanding the factors that influence their cost is crucial for optimizing designs and ensuring cost-effective production. Rigid-flex PCBs offer significant advantages, such as enhanced flexibility, reliability, and space-saving capabilities, but they also come with unique challenges that can drive up costs if not properly managed. This article explores key design considerations, cost factors, and strategies for optimizing rigid-flex PCB designs.
As the demand for more compact, reliable, and flexible electronic devices grows, rigid-flex PCBs are becoming increasingly popular. These boards combine the best of both rigid and flexible circuits, offering unique advantages such as enhanced durability, reduced package size, and fewer connectors.
Rigid-Flex PCB is a hybrid of both rigid and flexible PCBs. In its simplest form, Rigid-Flex PCB consists of a rigid circuit board joined with a flexible circuit board, combining the advantages of both types.
A Rigid-Flex PCB is made by laminating a rigid and a flexible substrate together to form a single board. Double-sided or multi-layer Rigid-Flex PCBs are interconnected by Plated Through Holes (PTH).
A Rigid-Flex PCB is a hybrid circuit board combining elements of both flexible circuit boards and rigid circuit boards, with an end result of a board that is able to be folded or continuously flexed and is normally formed into a flexed shape or curve during the manufacturing process.
These PCBs create a more challenging design for rigid-flex manufacturers, but we’ve been able to supply successful designs with full compliance and reliability. By engineering these in a 3D environment, we’re able to achieve spatial efficiency and incorporate folds and flexes to help you meet the desired shape that works best with your application.