China LED melee escalation opportunities and challenges coexist

China's first national LED lighting standards were recently released, which will make the field of LED lighting, which was originally hot, become more "material". From the data and news given in the industry in the recent period, there will be great opportunities in the future LED lighting market in China, but companies that want to get involved in this market should also realize that there are still many challenges in the field of LED lighting. .
Opportunity is just a look at China's civil lighting, there is a market worth about 40 billion yuan. This is the tempting data that Philips Lighting (China) CEO Bi Baijun revealed in an interview with the media. Looking at the lighting companies represented by him, the future of China's lighting market will surely be a land of competition.
Their confidence stems from the attitude of the Chinese government and the strong advantages of LED lighting products themselves.
The energy-saving advantages of LED lighting products indicate its unpredictable future industry leading position: According to the industry, an 11-watt high-quality energy-saving lamp is used as an example to prove the absolute advantage of the product: such an energy-saving lamp in 6000 hours During the lifetime, it will consume 294 kWh less than the 60-watt incandescent lamp with the same effect, saving more than 160 yuan.
In recent years, the Chinese government is pursuing the elimination plan for incandescent lamps with an increasingly determined attitude. Energy-saving lamps including LED lighting are fortunate to receive strong government support. In addition, the construction of large-scale public facilities in China has been launched, increasing the number of LED lighting products.




Behind the opportunity, there is a huge challenge to the huge profit margin of the Chinese market, which has been quietly locked by domestic and foreign lighting giants. However, there will be high risks involved in this market. The current high cost of LED products has become the key to the R&D investment of enterprises in the advanced industry. Many industry insiders said that 2010 will be an important year to test the capital strength of LED lighting enterprises. Whoever first dominates the commanding heights will have the vast majority of the market.
The direction is wrong, and it is also awkward to go far. At present, many lighting companies in China have invested huge sums of money for the research and development of LED products, but how the road ahead is not clear. It is gratifying that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently announced the first batch of national standards for lighting products, which pointed out the direction for the company's product development. Insiders analyzed that in a brand new field, domestic and foreign lighting companies will start a fierce competition, who wins no one is still uncertain.

Flexible PCB - Flexible Circuit Board

RESUME

Flexible PCB also referred to Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) was designed for replacing the traditional wire harnesses. Flex PCB consists of a thin insulating polymer film having conductive circuit patterns affixed thereto and typically supplied with a thin polymer coating to protect the conductor circuits. Flexible Circuit Board is widely used for automotive, medical, telecom, industrial or commercial, etc.

WHAT IS FLEXIBLE PCB?

flexible PCB, also known as Flexible electronics, flexible circuit board, flex PCB, flex circuits, is a technology for assembling electronic circuits by mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic substrates, such as polyimide, PEEK or transparent conductive polyester film. Additionally, flex circuits can be screen printed silver circuits on polyester. Flexible electronic assemblies may be manufactured using identical components used for rigid Printed Circuit Boards, allowing the board to conform to a desired shape, or to flex during its use. An alternative approach to flexible electronics suggests various etching techniques to thin down the traditional silicon substrate to few tens of micrometers to gain reasonable flexibility, referred to as flexible silicon (~ 5 mm bending radius).

What are Advantages of Flexible PCB?

Flexible printed circuit boards offer a number of potential benefits including:

• Saving Space. Flex PCB design requires only about 10 percent of the space and weight of an ordinary circuit board assembly, offering greater installation and packaging freedom. The inherent flexibility also permits tighter bend capabilities.

• Maximum Reliability. A Flexible Printed Circuit Board requires fewer interconnects, which in turn requires fewer contact crimps, connectors and solder joints. Simply put, a flexible PCB Board does not contain as many potential sources for failure, which enhances their reliability.

• Enhanced Capabilities. The flexible printed circuits boards are compatible with virtually any type of connector or component and works well with options such as ZIP connectors. They also perform extremely well in extreme temperatures and offer superior resistance to radiation and chemicals.

• Cost Savings. Cost-saving advantages of Flexible PCBs include reduced material and packaging demands, lower parts replacement costs and assembly errors that could result in the need for repairs.

• Reduced wiring errors

• Elimination of mechanical connectors

• Unparalleled design flexibility

• Higher circuit density

• More robust operating temperature range

• Stronger signal quality

• Improved reliability and impedance control

Thsse benefits make flex PCBs ideally fit for a wide range of applications in industries such as Military, Transportation, Medical, Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Aerospace, Communications and Industrial.

Flex PCB disadvantages also exist:

• Higher material cost than rigid or Rigid Flex PCB
• Low temperature ability in flex circuits
• More difficult & complex assembly
• Easily damaged through improper handling (easy to bend and dent)
• Sensitive to scratching
• Difficult or impossible to repair once damaged
• Requires proper storage conditions (sulfur free plastic)

Flexible PCB Applications

• Flex circuits are often used as connectors in various applications where flexibility, space savings, or production constraints limit the serviceability of rigid circuit boards or hand wiring. A common application of flex circuits is in computer keyboards; most keyboards use flex circuits for the switch matrix.

• In LCD fabrication, glass is used as a substrate. If thin flexible plastic or metal foil is used as the substrate instead, the entire system can be flexible, as the film deposited on top of the substrate is usually very thin, on the order of a few micrometres.

• Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are normally used instead of a back-light for flexible displays, making a flexible organic light-emitting diode display.

• Most Flexible Circuits are passive wiring structures that are used to interconnect electronic components such as integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors and the like; however, some are used only for making interconnections between other electronic assemblies either directly or by means of connectors.

• In the automotive field, flexible circuits are used in instrument panels, under-hood controls, circuits to be concealed within the headliner of the cabin, and in ABS systems. In computer peripherals flexible circuits are used on the moving print head of printers, and to connect signals to the moving arm carrying the read/write heads of disk drives. Consumer electronics devices make use of flexible circuits in cameras, personal entertainment devices, calculators, or exercise monitors.

• Flexible circuits are found in industrial and medical devices where many interconnections are required in a compact package. Cellular telephones are another widespread example of flexible circuits.

• Flexible solar cells have been developed for powering satellites. These cells are lightweight, can be rolled up for launch, and are easily deployable, making them a good match for the application. They can also be sewn into backpacks or outerwear.

Types of Flexible PCB

There are a few basic constructions of flexible circuits but there is significant variation between the different types in terms of their construction. Following is a review of the most common types of flexible circuit constructions

• Single sided Flexible PCB

Single-sided flexible circuits have a single conductor layer made of either a metal or conductive (metal filled) polymer on a flexible dielectric film. Component termination features are accessible only from one side. Holes may be formed in the base film to allow component leads to pass through for interconnection, normally by soldering. Single sided flex circuits can be fabricated with or without such protective coatings as cover layers or cover coats, however the use of a protective coating over circuits is the most common practice. The development of surface mounted devices on sputtered conductive films has enabled the production of transparent LED Films, which is used in LED Glass but also in flexible automotive lighting composites.

• Double access or back bared Flexible PCB

Double access flex, also known as back bared flex, are flexible circuits having a single conductor layer but which is processed so as to allow access to selected features of the conductor pattern from both sides. While this type of circuit has certain benefits, the specialized processing requirements for accessing the features limits its use.

• Sculptured Flexible PCB

Sculptured flex circuits are a novel subset of normal flexible circuit structures. The manufacturing process involves a special flex circuit multi-step etching method which yields a flexible circuit having finished copper conductors wherein the thickness of the conductor differs at various places along their length. (i.e., the conductors are thin in flexible areas and thick at interconnection points.).

• Double sided Flexible PCB

Double-sided flex circuits are flex circuits having two conductor layers. These flex circuits can be fabricated with or without plated through holes, though the plated through hole variation is much more common. When constructed without plated through holes and connection features are accessed from one side only, the circuit is defined as a "Type V (5)" according to military specifications. It is not a common practice but it is an option. Because of the plated through hole, terminations for electronic components are provided for on both sides of the circuit, thus allowing components to be placed on either side. Depending on design requirements, double-sided flex circuits can be fabricated with protective coverlayers on one, both or neither side of the completed circuit but are most commonly produced with the protective layer on both sides. One major advantage of this type of substrate is that it allows crossover connections to be made very easy. Many single sided circuits are built on a double sided substrate just because they have one of two crossover connections. An example of this use is the circuit connecting a mousepad to the motherboard of a laptop. All connections on that circuit are located on only one side of the substrate, except a very small crossover connection which uses the second side of the substrate.

• Multilayer Flexible PCB

Flex circuits having three or more layers of conductors are known as multilayer flex circuits. Commonly the layers are interconnected by means of plated through holes, though this is not a requirement of the definition for it is possible to provide openings to access lower circuit level features. The layers of the multilayer flex circuit may or may not be continuously laminated together throughout the construction with the obvious exception of the areas occupied by plated through-holes. The practice of discontinuous lamination is common in cases where maximum flexibility is required. This is accomplished by leaving unbonded the areas where flexing or bending is to occur.

• Rigid flex PCB

Rigid flex PCB circuits are a hybrid construction flex circuit consisting of rigid and flexible substrates which are laminated together into a single structure. Rigid-flex circuits should not be confused with rigidized flex constructions, which are simply flex circuits to which a stiffener is attached to support the weight of the electronic components locally. A rigidized or stiffened flex circuit can have one or more conductor layers. Thus while the two terms may sound similar, they represent products that are quite different.

The layers of a rigid flex are also normally electrically interconnected by means of plated through holes. Over the years, rigid-flex circuits have enjoyed tremendous popularity among military product designer, however the technology has found increased use in commercial products. While often considered a specialty product for low volume applications because of the challenges, an impressive effort to use the technology was made by Compaq computer in the production of boards for a laptop computer in the 1990s. While the computer's main rigid-flex PCBA did not flex during use, subsequent designs by Compaq utilized rigid-flex circuits for the hinged display cable, passing 10s of 1000s of flexures during testing. By 2013, the use of rigid-flex circuits in consumer laptop computers is now common.

Rigid flex PCB board are normally multilayer structures; however, two metal layer constructions are sometimes used.

• Polymer thick film flexible PCB

Polymer thick film (PTF) flex circuits are true printed circuits in that the conductors are actually printed onto a polymer base film. They are typically single conductor layer structures, however two or more metal layers can be printed sequentially with insulating layers printed between printed conductor layers, or on both sides. While lower in conductor conductivity and thus not suitable for all applications, PTF circuits have successfully served in a wide range of low-power applications at slightly higher voltages. Keyboards are a common application, however, there are a wide range of potential applications for this cost-effective approach to flex circuit manufacture.

Flexible PCB materials

Each element of the flex circuit construction must be able to consistently meet the demands placed upon it for the life of the product. In addition, the material must work reliably in concert with the other elements of the flexible circuit construction to assure ease of manufacture and reliability. Following are brief descriptions of the basic elements of flex circuit construction and their functions.

• Base material

The base material is the flexible polymer film which provides the foundation for the laminate. Under normal circumstances, the flex circuit base material provides most primary physical and electrical properties of the flexible circuit. In the case of adhesiveless circuit constructions, the base material provides all of the characteristic properties. While a wide range of thickness is possible, most flexible films are provided in a narrow range of relatively thin dimension from 12 µm to 125 µm (1/2 mil to 5 mils) but thinner and thicker material are possible. Thinner materials are of course more flexible and for most material, stiffness increase is proportional to the cube of thickness. Thus for example, means that if the thickness is doubled, the material becomes eight times stiffer and will only deflect 1/8 as much under the same load. There are a number of different materials used as base films including: polyester (PET), polyimide (PI), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyetherimide (PEI), along with various fluropolymers (FEP) and copolymers. Polyimide films are most prevalent owing to their blend of advantageous electrical, mechanical, chemical and thermal properties.

• Bonding adhesive

Adhesives are used as the bonding medium for creating a laminate. When it comes to temperature resistance, the adhesive is typically the performance limiting element of a laminate especially when polyimide is the base material. Because of the earlier difficulties associated with polyimide adhesives, many polyimide flex circuits presently employ adhesive systems of different polymer families. However some newer thermoplastic polyimide adhesives are making important in-roads. As with the base films, adhesives come in different thickness. Thickness selection is typically a function of the application. For example, different adhesive thickness is commonly used in the creation of cover layers in order to meet the fill demands of different copper foil thickness which may be encountered.

• Metal foil

A metal foil is most commonly used as the conductive element of a flexible laminate. The metal foil is the material from which the circuit paths are normally etched. A wide variety of metal foils of varying thickness are available from which to choose and create a flex circuit, however copper foils, serve the vast majority of all flexible circuit applications. Copper's excellent balance of cost and physical and electrical performance attributes make it an excellent choice. There are actually many different types of copper foil. The IPC identifies eight different types of copper foil for printed circuits divided into two much broader categories, electrodeposited and wrought, each having four sub-types.) As a result, there are a number of different types of copper foil available for flex circuit applications to serve the varied purposes of different end products. With most copper foil, a thin surface treatment is commonly applied to one side of the foil to improve its adhesion to the base film. Copper foils are of two basic types: wrought (rolled) and electrodeposited and their properties are quite different. Rolled and annealed foils are the most common choice, however thinner films which are electroplated are becoming increasingly popular.

In certain non standard cases, the circuit manufacturer may be called upon to create a specialty laminate by using a specified alternative metal foil, such as a special copper alloy or other metal foil in the construction. This is accomplished by laminating the foil to a base film with or without an adhesive depending on the nature and properties of the base film.

Tips of flexible PCB design

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so a circuit trace is a circuit trace on a flexcircuit will look like a circuit trace on a Rigid Circuit Board , right? Actually there can be considerable differences between designing a Rigid PCB and a flexible PCB.   Because of the flexibility feature, there are unique issues affecting robustness. For example, since flex can bend, one needs to be sure that bending does not crack or break solders joints near a bend location. For this reason, design features like radiused corners and filleted pads are common on flexible circuits. Another issue is the substrate used for flex is not as dimensionally stable vs. the hardboard cousin. Allowances for dimensional changes may be required for flexible PCB design.   Most PCB design software is tailored to rigid printed circuit materials and features. Tradeoffs occur when this same software is used to design flexible PCB's. 

tools

Both PCBs and flexible PCBs use similar tooling such as CAD files, photo tools and electrical test fixtures. Perhaps the biggest difference is around the cutline definition. Flexible circuits provide unlimited configuration opportunities that often results in very odd shapes and sizes. Circuit boards often are rectangular or may have some notches or curved outlines routered. Because of this nuance, steel rule dies and hard tool dies are probably used more often for flexible PCBs than for boards, at least for ultra high volume applications. Laser definition of the circuit outline is also a common flexcircuit process. Other differences in tooling involve fixturing that may be required to handle flexible substrates.

JHYPCB: A Leading Flexible PCB Manufacturer from China

At JHYPCB, we specialize in the fabrication and assembly of flexible PCB products for use in the manufacturing of medical devices and various types of telecommunication and industrial equipment. Our custom PCB Manufacturing capabilities allow us to develop and produce a top-performing flex PCB that meets your unique requirements. We can also work with you to produce a custom flex PCB Prototype that will significantly improve your prospects of a successful project outcome. For detailed capabilities, please refer to the following form.

Items	Manufacturing Capability
PCB Layers	1 - 8layers
Laminate	DuPont PI, Shengyi PI
Maximum PCB Size(Length x Width)	Single Sided PCB	480*4000mm
	Double Sided PCB	480*1800mm
	Multilayers	236*600mm
Minimum Board Thickness	Single Sided PCB	0.05mm+/-0.02mm
	Double Sided PCB	0.08mm+/-0.02mm
	Multilayers	As per Gerber
Finished Board Thickness	1-6L	0.05mm-0.6mm
	8L	1.6mm
Min Tracing/Spacing	Copper Thickness 1/3 oz:	0.076mm/0.076mm   (1-6L)
		0.05mm/0.05mm       (8L)
	Copper Thickness 1/2 oz:	0.076mm/0.076mm   (1-6L)
		0.06mm/0.06mm       (8L)
	Copper Thickness 1oz:	0.1mm/0.1mm           (1-6L)
		0.065mm/0.065mm       (8L)
Min. Annular Ring	4mil
Minimum Hole Size	1-6L	0.2mm(8mil)  (CNC)
	8L	0.15mm(CNC)
Solder Mask Color	Green, White, Blue, Black, Red, Yellow
Solder-stop coating---Coverlay	PI and PET film
Silkscreen Color	White, Black, Yellow
Surface Finish	OSP
	e HASL
	ENIG(Electroless NickLead-Free Gold)	Ni thickness:2-6um
		Au thickness:0.025-0.05um
	Flash Gold	Ni thickness:2-8um
		Au thickness:0.025-0.15um
	Immersion Tin	Tin thickness:0.5-1um
	PlatingTin	Tin thickness:1-10um
	Laser cuPunching
Special technologies	Peelable solder mask
	Gold fingers
	Stiffener (only for PI/FR4 substrate)
	Impedance Control+/-10%
	Rigid Flex PCB

YOU MAY ASK:

• How are flexible circuits made?

Single-sided flexible circuits have a single conductor layer made of either a metal or conductive (metal filled) polymer on a flexible dielectric film. ... Holes may be formed in the base film to allow component leads to pass through for interconnection, normally by soldering.

• What is a rigid flex PCB?

Rigid flex printed circuit boards are boards using a combination of flexible and rigid board technologies in an application. Most rigid flex boards consist of multiple layers of flexible circuit substrates attached to one or more rigid boards externally and/or internally, depending upon the design of the application.

• Who invented flexible electronics?

Paul Eisler
Some historical information about flexible circuitry. Paul Eisler is generally credited as being the inventor of the Printed Circuit Board. Paul Eisler was an Austrian inventor, born in Vienna in 1907. In 1936 Paul Eisler invented the process of using conductive epoxy to create circuit patterns.

• What is a thin film circuit board?

A thin film circuit board as a set forth in claim 4, wherein the insulator layer comprises a polyimide obtained from biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and phenylenediamine.

• What is the meaning of flex board?

The flex banner are basically used to shout your messages or product endorsement from the rooftops or the roadsides. ... The flex banner is printed using solvent in and therefore these banners are really cost effective medium of promoting.

Helpful Resources

• Double Sided Flexible PCB
• Flexible PCB Manufacturing Capability
• Rigid Flex PCB Manufacturing Capability
• Flex-Rigid PCB Technology
• What is a Rigid Flex PCB?
• Flexible PCB and Flex Circuits
• Rigid PCB vs. Flexible PCB:How to choose?
• Rigid Flex PCB Design Guidelines
• 8 Layer Flexible PCB Circuit Board manufacturing
• Using aluminium in flexible Circuits Board
• Flexible and Flex-Rigid PCB Applications
• Analysis of Manufacturing Process of Rigid Flexible PCB
• Analysis of Rigid Flexible PCB Manufacturing Process

Flexible PCB

Flex PCB,Flexible Printed Circuit,Flexi Circuits,Flexible Circuits

JingHongYi PCB (HK) Co., Limited , http://www.pcbjhy.com