PCB Tech - ​Take you to understand the difference between FPC and PCB

PCB circuit board manufacturers will show you the difference between FPC and PCB. First of all, the role of PCB:

The role of PCB After the electronic equipment adopts printed boards, due to the consistency of similar printed boards, manual wiring errors can be avoided, and electronic components can be automatically inserted or mounted, automatic soldering, and automatic detection, ensuring electronic The quality of the equipment improves labor productivity, reduces costs, and facilitates maintenance.

PCB development:

printed boards have evolved from single-layer to double-sided, multi-layer and flexible, and still maintain their respective development trends. Due to the continuous development of high precision, high density and high reliability, continuous reduction in size, cost reduction, and performance improvement, the printed circuit board will still maintain a strong vitality in the future development of electronic equipment.

Summary of domestic and foreign discussions on the future development trends of printed board manufacturing technology are basically the same, that is, to high density, high precision, fine aperture, fine wire, fine pitch, high reliability, multilayer, high-speed transmission, light weight, The development of thin type, in the production, at the same time, to increase productivity, reduce costs, reduce pollution, and adapt to the development of multi-variety, small-batch production. The technical development level of the printed circuit is generally represented by the line width, aperture, and plate thickness/aperture ratio on the printed board.

What is PCB?

PCB (PrintedCircuitBoard), the Chinese name is printed circuit board, printed circuit board for short, is one of the important parts of the electronics industry. Almost every kind of electronic equipment, from electronic watches, calculators, to computers, communication electronic equipment, military weapon systems, as long as there are electronic components such as integrated circuits, printed boards are used for the electrical interconnection between them. . In the research process of larger electronic products, the basic success factors are the design, documentation and manufacturing of the product's printed board. The design and manufacturing quality of printed boards directly affects the quality and cost of the entire product, and even leads to the success or failure of commercial competition.

What is FPC?

FPC (flexible circuit board) is a kind of PCB, also known as "soft board". FPC is made of flexible substrates such as polyimide or polyester film. It has the advantages of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness, flexibility, and high flexibility. It can withstand millions of times of dynamic bending without damaging the wires., According to the space layout requirements, it can move and expand arbitrarily, realize three-dimensional assembly, and achieve the effect of integration of component assembly and wire connection. It has advantages that other types of circuit boards cannot match.

Multilayer FPC circuit board application:

1. Mobile phone

focuses on the light weight and thin thickness of the flexible circuit board. It can effectively save the product volume, easily connect the battery, the microphone, and the buttons into one.

2. Computer and LCD screen

Using the integrated circuit configuration of the flexible circuit board and the thin thickness. The digital signal is converted into a picture, which is displayed through the LCD screen

3. CD Walkman

focuses on the three-dimensional assembly characteristics and thin thickness of flexible circuit boards. Turning huge CDs into portable companions

4. Disk drive

Whether it is a hard disk or a floppy disk, it is very dependent on the high flexibility of the FPC and the ultra-thin thickness of 0.1mm to complete fast reading of data. Whether it is a PC or NOTEBOOK.

5. The latest use

Hard disk drive (HDD, harddiskdrive) suspension circuit (Suinsi. ncireuit) and xe package board and other components.

future development:

Based on the vast FPC market in China, large companies from Japan, the United States, and Taiwan countries and regions have all set up factories in China. By 2021, flexible circuit boards, like rigid circuit boards, have achieved great development. However, if a new product follows the "start-development-climax-decline-elimination" rule, FPC is now in the region between climax and decline. Before there is a product that can replace the flexible board, the flexible board must continue to occupy the market share, We must innovate, and only innovation can make it jump out of this vicious circle.

So, in which aspects will FPC continue to innovate in the future? Mainly in four aspects:

1, thickness. The thickness of FPC must be more flexible and must be thinner.

2, folding resistance. The ability to bend is an inherent feature of FPC. In the future, FPC must be more resistant to bending, which must exceed 10,000 times. Of course, this requires a better substrate.

3. Price. At this stage, the price of FPC is much higher than that of PCB. If the price of FPC comes down, the market will definitely be much broader.

4. The level of craftsmanship. In order to meet various requirements, the FPC process must be upgraded, and the smallest aperture and the smallest line width/line spacing must meet higher requirements.

Therefore, from these four aspects, the FPC is innovated, developed, and upgraded, so that it can usher in the second spring!

Summarize:

In recent years, the consumer electronics market, led by mobile electronic devices such as smart phones and tablet computers, has grown rapidly, and the trend toward miniaturization and thinning of devices has become more obvious. As a result, traditional PCBs can no longer meet the requirements of products. For this reason, major manufacturers have begun to research brand-new technologies to replace PCBs. Among them, FPC, as the most popular technology, is becoming the main connection of electronic devices. Accessories.

In addition, the rapid rise of emerging consumer electronics markets such as wearable smart devices and drones has also brought new growth space for FPC products. At the same time, the trend of display and touch control of various electronic products has also enabled FPC to enter a broader application space with the help of small and medium-sized LCD screens and touch screens, and the market demand is increasing day by day.

The latest report shows that in the future, flexible electronic technology will drive a trillion-scale market, which is an opportunity for China to strive for the leap-forward development of the electronics industry, and it can become a national pillar industry.