Some Basic Facts about Flexible Printed Circuit Boards

Printed circuit boards or popularly known as PCB are of two types – rigid PCB and flexible PCB. Now the question arises why we need flexible circuits?

Most of PCB’s in the past were rigid and in today’s modern age, most of PCB’s are flexible. A flexible PCB is made of flexible boards, wirings and connection pads that are used on the edge of flexible boards.

In general, the front and rear surfaces of them are covered with insulating layers for preventing a wiring pattern from being conducted to other wiring pattern formed on other circuit board.

A copper foil is plastic-coated to a resin substrate the layers and joined with adhesive or with the application of heat and pressure into an integral board. The plastic substrate of flexible printed circuit boards is formed of polyimide or similar thermoplastic material, such as polyetherimide.

The substrate is then coated with an adhesive and includes a cable with a plurality of embedded electrically conductive lines. Apertures may be formed in one of the insulation layers for electrical connection to other electronic components. Electronic devices are then connected to each other.