Flex cable to rigid PCB connection

It can be done...

But if you want to manufacture in quantity you should be thinking about time and cost of manufacture & test (and repair if it becomes necessary) I'd go for a ribbon cabble with a connector at each end..this could be bought in, there are plent of companies who will make up cables (or make them up yourself) and a header on each board.

Alternatively there are IDC (insulation displacement connectors) which are clenched onto the ribbon cable, the pins of which go through the pcb and are then soldered.

Design for manufacture (and test)...go and ask the people who will build and test it what is quickest and easiest for them! Don't penny pinch and end up with an unmakeable product!

You can design your flat flexible circuit to mate with a standard (off-the-shelf) flat flex connector (FFC) - think laptop PC drives. You should avoid soldering as heat will probably damage the flex cable.

Alternatively, I have seen two or more rigid PCBs connectd by an embedded flat flex circuit, the cable being the inner lamination of the PCBs as well as a cable. In your case you would have only one rigid part. No connectors, no mess!

http://www.innovative-circuits.com

http://www.fit4flex.com

I have no affiliation with these websites, just found them googling.

Hello,

There could be many ways, a flex manufacturer could provide this one: it depends on the number of rigid circuit layers and the overall surface area of the interconnect (rigid + flex area size), if your circuit can be made with just 2 copper layers, then a past single circuit solution approach has been to make the whole a single flex circuit (probably polyimide 2 layer if its to withstand soldering), with no interconnect then rqd at all, just the tracks, which is what I think you were asking for a way to do this?. A seperately made stiffener body of bare FR4 (no copper) is made to selectiveley 'rigidise' the area below where the normal rigid PCB would have been and is then bonded during flex circuit manufacture below to provide the properties of a normal rigid board. The rigid support has been predrilled or has milled areas removed in places for clearances (usually largish) for any through solder holes if to be soldered below or to permit attachment to other bodies later on. whether its cost effective to do this usually depends on the volumes being considered (usually has to be in the thousands), the number of copper layers and the total surface area, if the total area is large, or the number of layers higher than 2, its will be more expensive than separate interconnect assy solutions. Then other interconnect solutions would have to be considered. You would be wise to ask for help in considering a flex cct assy design.

Best regards

Hi, thanks a lot for your replies!

We've actuallly been designing a couple of those "flex-rigid" cards at our company, the kind with rigid outer layers and flexible inner layers also acting as interconnections between cards. However, we feel that this is a too expensive solution in this case.

Normally I would have aimed at some standard header-connector-flat cable solution, but in this case it wont fit, there is simply not enough space on the card. Secondly, the project management has banned all kind of connectors for this product, since the electronics will be fitted into a very harsh environment (vibration, dirt...). Also, the card will need four copper layers, there is a CPU and stuff on it. The PCB CAD team has also said no to making the whole thing as a flex card, meaning the properties of a flex card does not match the requirements of a CPU for example.

Thanks again for making an effort, more ideas are welcome! /Fredrik

We've actuallly been designing a couple of those "flex-rigid" cards at our company, the kind with rigid outer layers and flexible inner layers also acting as interconnections between cards. However, we feel that this is a too expensive solution in this case.

!!!

It strikes me that you have a lot of people in the company who are only capable of

telling you what they can't do...I bet they are all paid more than you too!

It is easy to say it's too expensive...but they are contradicting themselves.

If it has to be rugged small and reliable (and cheap to assemble /test) then do it right, with the flexi rigid...it will be cheaper in the long run.

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