When you are working on a PCB design project, you need to make sure that you are getting everything right the first time. Whether you are working on a flex circuit or one that follows the rigid-flex flow (rigid flex circuit), you need to ensure that everything is in the right place. Of course, designing a rigid-flex PCB can be tricky, especially when it comes to figuring out the best practices.
To help you with this, we are going to give you some of our best tips that can improve your flex circuit design. Keep reading if you’d like to find out more.
How to Improve your Flex Circuit Design
1. Avoid Bending At Corners
When it comes to improving flex circuit design, you need to ensure that you are considering your bends. One of the best practices for flex circuit design is to avoid bending at the corners. Of course, this is something which cannot always be avoided, but if you can do so, then you will see your design improved. Try to keep your copper traces at right-angles, and this should help to improve your overall plan.
2. Support Your Pads
Our next tip for those who want to improve their flex circuit design is to try to add support on the pads within the circuit. The last thing you want is for your copper to detach as this can cause further issues. Try to add some through-hole plating in order to support the pads within your circuit. This can help keep everything together throughout the process.
3. Using Hatched Polygons
In-circuit design, you might have come across something which is called hatched polygons. This usually comes in handy when you need to design something flexible as you will find that these hatched polygons add flexibility. If you are creating a flex circuit, then you can see why a hatched polygon might come in handy in this case. If you can locate a hexagonal hatch pattern, then you will find that this can work even better.
4. Trace Directions
Finally, if you want to improve your flex circuit design, then you need to consider your trace directions. It is often best to avoid laying your traces in the same direction over one another. Try to keep them as staggered as possible and this should help you to ensure the tensions are distributed more evenly. While trace directions might not be your main concern, they are definitely something which you should consider.
Final Verdict
Working on a rigid-flex circuit design can be tricky, but if you spend some time working on the things that we have discussed in this article, then you should be able to improve your design. Think about the support on your pads and try to avoid having your traces go in the same direction. If you can follow this advice, then you should find that your future designs work more effectively. Flex PCBs are ubiquitous, and so it is vital that you can nail the design.
Originally posted on September 26, 2019 @ 6:22 pm
