Flex & Rigid-Flex Manufacturing Process
Below you will find our image gallery from the flex and rigid-flex manufacturing process. Including, material preparations, etch, drilling, plating, to final fabrication.
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Material Preparation (Pre-Clean)Production panels chemically cleaned, prior to application of circuit forming photo resist film, to ensure proper film adhesion. Conveyorised process utilizing thin core handling equiped systems to prevent damage to ultra thin material cores. -
Circuit Pattern ExposurePhoto resist coated panels, overlayed with circuit artwork patterns, exposed with collimated UV light to transfer circuit image(s) to production panels. Both sides exposed simultaneousely if required. -
Etch ProcessCircuit patterns chemically etched using specialized thin core handling equiped conveyorized systems. Both sides of panels etched simultaneously if required. -
Drilling ProcessHigh speed, high precision, small hole capable, drilling systems create required circuit hole patterns in production panels. Laser based systems available for ultra small hole requirements. -
Copper Plating ProcessFully automated electrolytic copper plating systems deposit required additional copper within plated through holes to form layer to layer electrical interconnects. -
Coverlay ApplicationPolyimide Coverlays aligned and tacked into place on prodcution panels prior to Coverlay lamination process. -
Coverlay LaminationCoverlays laminated to production panels under heat, pressure and vacuum to ensure proper adhesion. -
Stiffener ApplicationLocalized additional stiffeners (if required by specific design) aligned and applied prior to additional lamination process under heat, pressure and vacuum. -
Electrical Test100% netlist driven electrical test per IPC –ET-652. Simultaneous testing of all circuits for continiuty and isolation. Both grid and flying probe test systems utilized. -
Final FabricationIndividual parts die cut from production panel using high precison male / female punch and die sets. Other methods include laser cutting, mechanical routing, steel rule dies and chemically milled dies depending upon specific design requirements.
