Rigid flex circuits and assemblies are hybrid constructions consisting of rigid and flexible substrates laminated together into a single structure. Rigid Flex products integrate the features of a PCB with the advantages of flexible printed circuit (FPC) technology. Rigid flex circuits should not be confused with rigidized flex constructions that are simply flex circuits with locally attached stiffener(s) to support electronic components. Rigid Flex circuitry can be built with three to 20 or more layers of conductors. Molex’s Rigid Flex increases reliability and reduces costs by eliminating connectors and cables, allowing tighter packaging and reducing application weight. Rigid Flex Assemblies allow the end user to process multiple board and cable terminations in one pass of the reflow process. It is a complete, applied-cost solution that should be considered early in a customer design. Rigid Flex Assemblies are part of the Copper Flex product line. For requirements from high-speed signals to power distribution, Copper Flex Assemblies provide solutions where standard rigid boards or cables cannot.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
• Integrated packaging solution of PCB technology and copper flex circuitry provides a reliable power and signal solution in one unit at a low, total applied cost and improves reliability by eliminating separate boards, cables and connectors
• Minimal geometry changes to cause impedance discontinuities is ideal for high-speed applications that are complex, small, lightweight or within harsh environments
• Light-weight, ultra-reliable packaging technology is excellent for portable devices
• Three-dimensional substrate enables optimized packaging and can be bent or folded to fit into small device enclosures (application specific)
• Surface mountable on one or both sides of the circuit increases circuit density
• Un-bonded leads available provide maximum flexibility for tight spaces
• Each flexi rigid pcb circuit is designed to the specific customer application to ensure a wide range of material-stack up and design-layout options to meet the unique requirements of the application.
They are ideal for hand-held to large storage devices, Rigid Flex Circuits and Assemblies combine the benefits of flexible copper circuitry and rigid PCB circuitry into a unitized power and signal solution for superior reliability, system cost savings and optimized packaging
Further advantages:
• Signal Integrity – The material used in the construction of flex minimizes signal loss, maintaining high-speed integrity
• Impedance Control – Flex-rigid promotes a robust design pitch due to the close proximity of circuitry and ground planes/shields
• Temperature Resistant – Materials used in the construction of Flex-rigid have closely matching thermal expansion rates. This causes Flex to be suitable for hot and cold temperatures as well as large temperature fluctuations.
• Thermal Management – Flex-rigid requires moderate cooling. It also dissipates heat quickly.
• Space Reduction – Flex-rigid is able to occupy lesser space. It can be bent alongwith rigid and even over itself in order to fit into a much smaller device enclosure.
• Weight Reduction – Due to flex part, its weight is significantly thinner and lighter than traditional circuit boards.
