All Flex Adds In-house Laser Capability

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All Flex Flexible Circuits, LLC, manufacturer of flexible printed circuits and heaters, announced a capital equipment purchase of an Optical Laser Ablation System. The recently completed headquarters facility expansion accommodates the new equipment in Northfield, MN.

All Flex has been manufacturing flexible circuits for nearly a quarter of a century and added flexible polyimide and silicone rubber heater circuits to their product line in 2008. All Flex also provides comprehensive surface mount and thru hole component assembly services.

Utilizing the additional laser capability will allow All Flex to further expand internal capabilities for flexible circuits requiring features for high density interconnection. One of the last steps in flex fabrication is excising individual parts from the substrate panel. Laser cutting is done by an optically controlled beam that defines the cutline and internal hole patterns. Sophisticated optical laser equipment has software algorithms to maximize cutline and via generation accuracy.

V.P. of Operations Gary Ryan, says the new laser has the latest optical alignment technology giving the company an advantage in growing markets: “The exceptional performance of this capital equipment brings our fine line Maxi-flex® and fine line capability to a new level, it demonstrates our commitment to fulfill the increasingly fine line, extended length requirements for applications primarily in the medical and aerospace industries.”

This advanced system gives All Flex the in-house capability to laser cut the outline for extremely small or tight tolerance applications. Depending on required tolerances the company also excises circuits using traditional methods such as a steel rule die or a Class “A” hard die.

According to Ryan this laser purchase will help alleviate manufacturing constraints: “We now have about thirty percent more floor space to add new technologies and capabilities so we can grow with our customer on a number of different fronts. The capacity is really important to deliver on our value proposition of being responsive to our customers. It’s a core part of our success and having available capacity, equipment, and people is a very key part of delivering on that promise.”

About All Flex

All Flex is a privately held company that manufactures quick-turn to high volume production runs of flexible circuits and flexible heaters with component assembly. All Flex flexible circuits are commonly used in the medical, military, aerospace, automotive, instrumentation, and various industrial markets. All Flex is headquartered in Northfield, MN with a third manufacturing facility 35 miles north in Bloomington, MN. The company is: AS9100C\ISO 9001:2015 Certified, MIL-P-50884 Qualified, UL Recognized, ITAR/JCP Registered and is an active IPC Member.