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Connect the Dots: Five Best Practices for Designing Flex and Rigid-flex PCBs
Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should
March 20, 2025 | Tony Plemel, Flexible Circuit TechnologiesEstimated reading time: Less than a minute
Decisions are usually made by gathering information and differing opinions, then making the best choice based upon that information. The same process is used when designing flexible circuits and rigid-flex circuits.
For example, when designing a flex circuit or rigid-flex circuit, we consider some basic factors:
- Required layer count
- The size and shape based upon limited space
- Components on one side or both sides of a rigid or stiffened area
- Electrical, mechanical needs
- Layer stackup
These factors need to be carefully weighed on their own merit, and on how they interact with each other, in order to arrive at the most reliable and cost-effective design.
Let’s say a customer comes to me with a four-layer rigid-flex circuit design where the rigid copper-clad material is on the top and the flex copper-clad is on the bottom.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the March 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
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