Flex is Where It’s At
August 18, 2016 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

A number of the more astute PCB companies are finding the local SMTA expos very advantageous to attend and exhibit at, and it is interesting to talk with them when possible. I met with Jack Baculik of Circuits LLC, a rather new flex manufacturer not far from the SMTA-Ohio Expo we were both attending. It sure seems that flex and rigid-flex is what everyone is looking at.
Patty Goldman: Jack, please fill me in a little bit on Circuits LLC. I don't know very much even though they're rather close by to me.
Jack Baculik: We are close by. Circuits LLC has been in business since 2008, so we’re a relatively new company located in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. We’re considered a small company by the federal government; we have 25 employees. We make flex and rigid-flex printed circuit boards, so we don't make any rigid boards, but if it has a piece of flex in it we'll build it. So that's one niche of ours.
Another niche of ours is our experience. Even though we're a new company we have well over 200 years of manufacturing and engineering experience in making the flex product. We work with companies up front and help them out with material choices, bend radius, impedance—because a lot of companies are still new to flex, even though flex has been around for many, many years some people are new to it.
Goldman: I feel like they're waking up to it.
Baculik: Waking up to it out of necessity. Some people have maybe used it 20 years ago, got burned by it because it was just a bad experience and now they need to fit something big into a small footprint and flex or rigid-flex is the only way to go.
Goldman: I guess there are more and more applications, and more need?
Baculik: Yeah, a lot of hand-held products. Military is big in flex and rigid-flex. It's a very robust product. We make boards that go into military devices. They're out in the field and these soldiers need to communicate with each other so they can't be having breakdowns out in the field.
Goldman: So military is one of the markets you serve. How about medical?
Baculik: Medical, industrial controls, industrial products.
Goldman: So a lot of things use flex, really.
Baculik: Yes. Your iPhone has flex even though it's not bent, like for weight issues, because it's very light and thin.
Goldman: Are most of the applications involving something that's going to be bent or folded? Like you said, the cellphone has it in there but it's flat.
Baculik: I would say the majority of the applications would be bend-to-install. So you'll populate the parts and you'll bend the flex circuit and put it into whatever box it's going into.
Goldman: And there it stays.
Baculik: It temporarily stays. Sometimes it can be dynamic, where it's opening and closing a couple hundred thousand times, but more times than not it will be bend-to-install.
Goldman: That's a pretty important part of it though, because otherwise it won't fit! Laughs)
Baculik: We need to know bend-to-install versus a dynamic application. If it’s dynamic, you’re going to get a change of material, you’re going to have to change your copper, and then change how it’s manufactured. It's good to work with the costumer up front to know what their end products will be so we can help them go down the right path.
Goldman: I hear that both ways, that some costumers don't want to work with the circuit board shop. They just want to throw it over the wall. Do you find in flex that most people want to work with you?
Baculik: They do, because you can take the other parts and throw it over the wall and who knows how many times you're going to revise something to get it to work. You’re spending all that time and money trying to get your end product to do what you want it to do. Whereas if you work with them up front it will only take one or two spins, and then you can define the design a lot quicker and cheaper. It's less of a headache for everybody.
Goldman: How long have you been with Circuits LLC?
Baculik: I've been there since 2013. So three and a half years.
Goldman: It's going well, I take it?
Baculik: Yeah, things are going well. Business is improving every year and there's more and more need for flex.
Goldman: It's the latest, greatest, we always say. Especially when you throw in rigid-flex, your possibilities become endless, I would think. How's the show here for you?
Baculik: The show's been going well. We've had a few people stop by that could be some potential business. All it takes is the one good one and it's all worthwhile.
Goldman: As I was thinking before that, if you want to pick up business in the local area, these little SMTA shows seem like the way to go. They present a great opportunity to meet potential customers face-to-face in a nice, laid-back atmosphere.
Baculik: We're about half way through the day, but it's been going good.
Goldman: Great. More power to you! Nice talking with you.
Baculik: Thank you very much.
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/18/2025 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007It may be the middle of the summer, but the news doesn’t quit, and there’s plenty to talk about this week, whether you’re talking technical or on a global scale. When I have to choose six items instead of my regular five, you know it’s good. I start by highlighting my interview with Martyn Gaudion on his latest book, share some concerning tariff news, follow that up with some promising (and not-so-promising) investments, and feature a paper from last January’s inaugural Pan-European Design Conference.
Elephantech Launches World’s Smallest-Class Copper Nanofiller
07/17/2025 | ElephantechJapanese deep-tech startup Elephantech has launched its cutting-edge 15 nm class copper nanofiller – the smallest class available globally. This breakthrough makes Elephantech one of the first companies in the world to provide such advanced material for commercial use.
Copper Price Surge Raises Alarms for Electronics
07/15/2025 | Global Electronics Association Advocacy and Government Relations TeamThe copper market is experiencing major turbulence in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on imported copper effective Aug. 1. Recent news reports, including from the New York Times, sent U.S. copper futures soaring to record highs, climbing nearly 13% in a single day as manufacturers braced for supply shocks and surging costs.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/11/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThis week, we have quite a variety of news items and articles for you. News continues to stream out of Washington, D.C., with tariffs rearing their controversial head again. Because these tariffs are targeted at overseas copper manufacturers, this news has a direct effect on our industry.I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
Digital Twin Concept in Copper Electroplating Process Performance
07/11/2025 | Aga Franczak, Robrecht Belis, Elsyca N.V.PCB manufacturing involves transforming a design into a physical board while meeting specific requirements. Understanding these design specifications is crucial, as they directly impact the PCB's fabrication process, performance, and yield rate. One key design specification is copper thieving—the addition of “dummy” pads across the surface that are plated along with the features designed on the outer layers. The purpose of the process is to provide a uniform distribution of copper across the outer layers to make the plating current density and plating in the holes more uniform.