FLEX CIRCUITS DESIGN GUIDE

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Glossary Access hole A hole in the cover layer of a circuit that allows electrical access to a flex circuit’s conductor pads and through-holes. Conductor width The width of a conductor measured across its base. Conductor Width Annular ring The ring of exposed copper or solder that surrounds a flex circuit’s through-holes. Annular Ring Access Hole Artwork The original pattern of conductor strands for a flexible circuit. Chemically milled die (CMD) A tool used in a punch press with blades formed by a chemical milling process, and mounted on a 1" (2.54cm) thick aluminum base. Conductor The path that carries electrical current from one point to another. Minco’s flex circuit conductors are commonly found in the form of copper strands. Conductor Adhesive Polyimide Cover Insulator material laminated to an etched element. Covers can be located on the inner or outer layers. Internal cover layers are found in the unbonded regions of a circuit. Dynamic application The use of a flex circuit in an environment that requires flexing in use. Flex circuit Flexible printed circuits made from etched foil conductor strands. The conductor strands are laminated between insulating layers. Flex circuits can vary in complexity from the simplest single-layer circuit to a complex multilayer. Flex-Coil Flex circuits with internal or attached wire-wound coils. Hold-down tabs An extension of foil on a conductor pad that aids the pad in gripping to the substrate insulation. Hold-down tabs are also referred to as “anchoring spurs.” Hold-Down Tab Conductor spacing The width of space between conductor strands. A certain minimum conductor spacing must exist in order to prevent conductors from shorting together. Conductor Spacing I-beam effect The tendency of a flex circuit to have reduced flexibility and fracture conductor strands if the conductor strands are layered directly over each other, instead of being staggered from layer to layer. Adhesive Polyimide 28
Glossary Impedance The measurement in ohms of the apparent resistance of an AC circuit. Impedance depends on several factors: DC resistance, capacitance, inductance of the line, the width of the conductor strands, and the conductor spacing relative to ground and insulating layers. Major access hole An access hole (see “Access hole”) that is large enough to expose a major portion of a conductor pad, which is usually coated with solder. Major Access Hole Minor access hole An access hole (see “Access hole”) that exposes only a very small portion of a conductor pad, used on holes where a solder pad is not needed or desired. The cover hole must still be larger than the through-hole to allow for normal registration tolerances. Minor Access Hole Pad The portion of a conductor, usually surrounding a through-hole, that is used to connect a component for an electrical connection. Pads are sometimes referred to as “terminals” or “lands.” Profile tolerance Dimensional tolerancing where the part trim line is contained within a tolerance zone consisting of the area between two parallel lines, separated by the specified tolerance. For example, a circuit to be trimmed with a steel rule die might have a tolerance of 0.015" (0.38mm) (A 0.030"/0.76mm wide profile tolerance zone). The circuit trim line could vary anywhere inside the zone. A Pad DRAWING CALLOUT .030" (0.76mm) A B B NOMINAL TRIM LINE Nesting Designing circuits so that they lay closely together on a panel during production. This maximizes the usage of panel space, which minimizes production cost. EXAMPLE .030" (0.76mm) WIDE TOLERANCE ZONE Punch-and-die Hard-tooling that is used in a punch press. A punch-and-die consists of two precisely matched metal plates held in special die shoes. When the punch press is activated, the plates come together in order to punch a specific pattern into material. 29
Page 1 and 2: FC302(A) FLEX CIRCUITS DESIGN GUIDE
Page 3 and 4: How to Get Started 1. Understand Ho
Page 5 and 6: Design Options Rigid-flex Hybrid ha
Page 7 and 8: Design Guidelines Manufacturing a f
Page 9 and 10: Design Guidelines Circuit types Rig
Page 11 and 12: Minco’s General Capabilities Test
Page 13 and 14: Minco’s General Capabilities Cond
Page 15 and 16: Standard Design Recommendations How
Page 17 and 18: Standard Design Recommendations Hol
Page 19 and 20: Standard Design Recommendations Mat
Page 21 and 22: Value Added Design Options Stiffene
Page 23 and 24: Value Added Design Options Custom a
Page 25 and 26: Request a Quote Artwork checklist M
Page 27: E2E — Engineer to Engineer Early
Page 31 and 32: Next Steps Minco welcomes the oppor

FLEX CIRCUITS DESIGN GUIDE

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