cost of manufacturing flexible circuits
Flexible circuits, also known as flexible printed circuits (FPC), have become essential components in today’s electronics. They offer a wide range of benefits that make them attractive to many industries including portable and wearable devices, automotive parts, and medical equipment. But like any technology, flex circuits can come at an up-front cost premium over traditional wire and rigid PCBs. This article looks at a number of interconnected factors that influence the overall price of manufacturing flex circuits to help designers and engineers balance their technical requirements with controlling costs.
Generally speaking, flex PCBs are more expensive to produce than their rigid counterparts due to the materials and newer technology used in this technology. However, there are a number of specific circuit features that impact costs as well. To avoid surprise expenses, designers and engineers need to understand these up-front factors and optimize their design for cost effectiveness.
The complexity of a flexible circuits is a primary factor that influences overall pricing. Simpler circuits with fewer layers, components, and bends will be cheaper to produce than complex designs. To reduce costs, designers and engineers should optimize their design for manufacturability (DFM) by leveraging their PCB contract manufacturer’s expertise, optimizing design rules, copper weights, coverlay materials, and tolerances that push manufacturers’ capabilities.
What factors influence the cost of manufacturing flexible circuits?
Flex PCBs can use through-hole technology or advanced blind and buried vias that provide more space for electronic connections. These advanced holes add to a flex circuit’s fabrication cost because they require extra process steps and more inspections to guarantee their quality. To reduce a project’s cost, designers and engineers should consider using a lower-feature-count version of the flex PCB that meets their technical needs while reducing the risk of future costly upgrades.
In addition to design complexity, the size of a flex circuit’s panel will have a direct impact on pricing. This is because a large number of flex PCBs are laid out and grouped together in one panel for production before being cut into individual boards. This allows a manufacturer to reduce waste and streamline the production process, but it can also add to cost through higher labor per unit.
To control costs, designers and engineers should maximize panel utilization by grouping flex PCBs with similar layouts together in one large panel to minimize cost. Similarly, they should consider using rigid sections in areas that don’t require dynamic flexing to reduce the overall size of the circuit and save on material and labor costs. Finally, they should seek out a PCB contract manufacturer that offers transparent pricing based on their complete design specs and volume needs, as this will provide some economy of scale savings.
