1. FPC circuit boards, also known as flexible circuit boards or “soft boards,” are commonly referred to as FPC in the industry. They are printed circuit boards made from flexible insulating substrates, primarily polyimide or polyester film, and feature numerous rigid printed circuits.
2. One of the key advantages of FPCs is their ability to be bent, wound, and folded freely. This flexibility allows for significant reductions in the volume of electronic products and supports the trend toward higher density, miniaturization, and enhanced reliability in electronics.
3. As a result, FPCs are widely utilized across various sectors including aerospace, military applications, mobile communications, laptop computers, computer peripherals, PDAs, digital cameras, and other fields or products.
4. The production process of FPCs is intricate, involving more than 20 stages from cutting and drilling to packaging and shipping. Throughout this extensive process, a variety of auxiliary materials are used according to customer specifications.
5. The base material of FPCs is typically double-sided or single-sided copper foil, which forms the foundation of the entire circuit board and determines its electrical performance. Other auxiliary materials are employed primarily to facilitate installation and adapt to the specific usage environment.
1. **FR4**
The texture is rigid, with varying thicknesses of 0.15-2.0mm, primarily used on the opposite side of the FPC welding area as reinforcement to facilitate stable and reliable welding. FR-4 refers to a flame-resistant material grade, not a material name. It denotes that the resin must self-extinguish after burning. Thus, while there are many types of FR-4 materials used in circuit boards, most are composite materials consisting of Tera-Function epoxy resin, fillers, and glass fiber.
2. **PI Tape**
The texture is flexible and bendable. It is mainly used to thicken and strengthen the golden finger area, making it easier to plug and unplug. PI tape, or polyimide tape, is made from polyimide film and imported organic silicon pressure-sensitive adhesive. It offers high and low-temperature resistance, acid and alkali resistance, solvent resistance, electrical insulation (level H), and radiation protection. It is suitable for electronic circuit board wave soldering, gold finger protection, high-end electrical insulation, motor insulation, and securing the positive and negative terminals of lithium batteries.
3. **Steel Sheets**
Hard texture, serving a similar function to FR4, used to strengthen the welding area. It is more aesthetically pleasing than FR4, groundable, and harder. The steel sheet is made from imported stainless steel, subjected to heat treatment and fine grinding, and is characterized by high precision, strong pulling force, smoothness, toughness, and resistance to breakage.
4. **TPX Adhesive Film**
A high-performance, high-temperature resistant resin barrier release film used in the circuit board pressing process. Through a special process design, it effectively blocks multiple lamination processes for buried holes and blind vias after resin overflow, providing glue resistance and plug hole effects.
5. **EIM Electromagnetic Film**
Applied to the surface of the FPC to shield signal interference. EIM electromagnetic film is deposited via a vacuum sputtering method, which plates shielding materials onto various substrates (PET/PC/glass, etc.), achieving EMI electromagnetic interference shielding with extremely low resistance.
6. **Conductive Adhesive**
Used for connecting and pressing steel sheets and FPCs. It is conductive and can enable the grounding function of steel sheets. Conductive adhesive contains a resin matrix, conductive particles, dispersing additives, and auxiliary agents. After curing or drying, it forms an electrical path between connected materials, making it an essential material in the electronics industry.
7. **3M Tape**
Primarily used to bond FR4 and FPCs with a thickness of 0.4mm and above, and to assemble and secure FPCs with customer products. The choice of FPC auxiliary materials ultimately depends on the customer’s use environment and functional requirements.
2. One of the key advantages of FPCs is their ability to be bent, wound, and folded freely. This flexibility allows for significant reductions in the volume of electronic products and supports the trend toward higher density, miniaturization, and enhanced reliability in electronics.
3. As a result, FPCs are widely utilized across various sectors including aerospace, military applications, mobile communications, laptop computers, computer peripherals, PDAs, digital cameras, and other fields or products.
4. The production process of FPCs is intricate, involving more than 20 stages from cutting and drilling to packaging and shipping. Throughout this extensive process, a variety of auxiliary materials are used according to customer specifications.
5. The base material of FPCs is typically double-sided or single-sided copper foil, which forms the foundation of the entire circuit board and determines its electrical performance. Other auxiliary materials are employed primarily to facilitate installation and adapt to the specific usage environment.
1. **FR4**
The texture is rigid, with varying thicknesses of 0.15-2.0mm, primarily used on the opposite side of the FPC welding area as reinforcement to facilitate stable and reliable welding. FR-4 refers to a flame-resistant material grade, not a material name. It denotes that the resin must self-extinguish after burning. Thus, while there are many types of FR-4 materials used in circuit boards, most are composite materials consisting of Tera-Function epoxy resin, fillers, and glass fiber.
2. **PI Tape**
The texture is flexible and bendable. It is mainly used to thicken and strengthen the golden finger area, making it easier to plug and unplug. PI tape, or polyimide tape, is made from polyimide film and imported organic silicon pressure-sensitive adhesive. It offers high and low-temperature resistance, acid and alkali resistance, solvent resistance, electrical insulation (level H), and radiation protection. It is suitable for electronic circuit board wave soldering, gold finger protection, high-end electrical insulation, motor insulation, and securing the positive and negative terminals of lithium batteries.
3. **Steel Sheets**
Hard texture, serving a similar function to FR4, used to strengthen the welding area. It is more aesthetically pleasing than FR4, groundable, and harder. The steel sheet is made from imported stainless steel, subjected to heat treatment and fine grinding, and is characterized by high precision, strong pulling force, smoothness, toughness, and resistance to breakage.
4. **TPX Adhesive Film**
A high-performance, high-temperature resistant resin barrier release film used in the circuit board pressing process. Through a special process design, it effectively blocks multiple lamination processes for buried holes and blind vias after resin overflow, providing glue resistance and plug hole effects.
5. **EIM Electromagnetic Film**
Applied to the surface of the FPC to shield signal interference. EIM electromagnetic film is deposited via a vacuum sputtering method, which plates shielding materials onto various substrates (PET/PC/glass, etc.), achieving EMI electromagnetic interference shielding with extremely low resistance.
6. **Conductive Adhesive**
Used for connecting and pressing steel sheets and FPCs. It is conductive and can enable the grounding function of steel sheets. Conductive adhesive contains a resin matrix, conductive particles, dispersing additives, and auxiliary agents. After curing or drying, it forms an electrical path between connected materials, making it an essential material in the electronics industry.
7. **3M Tape**
Primarily used to bond FR4 and FPCs with a thickness of 0.4mm and above, and to assemble and secure FPCs with customer products. The choice of FPC auxiliary materials ultimately depends on the customer’s use environment and functional requirements.
