Frequently Asked Questions About Our Custom Flex Circuit Services

Sure. Here’s what you can expect:

1. Get NDA in place (mutual preferred.)

2. Send us an RFQ containing dimensioned drawings, gerbers, fab drawings, and notes. We will review the information and request a meeting to collaborate on how we will build this device.

3. Once we gain enough information we will propose our solution by quotation in the form of either a lot charge or dollars per part plus NRE. Both are based on expected number of panels processes to safely yield the quantity of parts you order.

4. When in agreement, we accept purchase orders or credit card orders. We will confirm the order with a Sales Order Confirmation and once all that is in place, the build begins. You can ask for additional information on process flow from your account manager.

5. Once the parts are completed, they will be shipped to you within the agreed upon time frame.

The main cost drivers are: 1) materials selected, 2) number of parts per panel, 3) layer count, 4) and complexity. Our team can guide you through the best alternatives to optimize your design for optimal manufacturing/fabrication.

Gerbers, .DXF and, .DWG. We then translate to our CAM system to visualize the details, do a DRC, panelize for optimum number of parts on a given panel size and make sure the drill locations and sizes make sense for the design to arrive at a check plot for your review and approval.

Upon request we can electrical continuity test (open/shorts) and/or perform AOI (automated optical inspection). We always have our expert inspectors QC the parts under a high-powered microscope.

Yes. We use Polar’s simulation and test suite to determine geometries needed to accommodate controlled impedance applications.

IPC has a guideline for flex circuits and a calculator for reference (IPC2223 spec). Typically it is around 10X over the area of bend. Avoid vias in bend areas.

We work with super thin materials and in many cases the bend radius can exceed the results of the calculator. Collaboration with our applications engineers can inform on your circuit specifically.

We use copper-cladded polyimide from Dupont (Kapton) and Panasonic (Felios) as the primary base substrate. Both suppliers make a wide range of FPC materials that we have tuned our processes for to achieve the tight trace and space registration, dimensional accuracy and high performance FPCs.

A list of materials and technical data sheets are available.

Currently we do not build traditional rigid flex (with plated vias through both the polyimide and the FR4). At MicroConnex, we do what is known as unbalanced rigid flex. This construction is a flex PCB with a stiffener attached in a specific area where rigidness is required. The stiffener can be thin or thick ranging from a few mils of Cirlex to a thicker FR4 of stainless steel.

The maximum temperature is primarily based on the base materials used in a specific construction. We can provide detailed data sheets for all the materials we use to determine specific maximum temperatures. Typically flex circuits can operate up to 125 degrees C. Some of our materials can withstand 165 degrees C.