High-density integration and high reliability into key FPC indicators

According to the survey data of the US electronics industry information consulting agency Prismark, the global FPC (flexible circuit board) output value reached US$9.2 billion in 2011, accounting for 16.6% of the total PCB share; it is expected that by 2016, the global flexible circuit board output value will reach 132 Billion US dollar, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.5%, has become one of the fastest growing sub-sectors in the PCB industry, and its share in the total PCB market has further increased to 18.4%. The increase in demand for flexible circuit boards mainly comes from the strong drive of consumer electronics such as smart phones, tablet computers, and touch products. In addition, the use of FPC in high-end electronic products (automotive electronics, medical electronics, etc.) is also increasing. .

As a functional component of a flexible circuit board, the FPC connector is the main connection scheme for the use of a flexible circuit in a consumer electronic device to connect a circuit board in the context of rapid development of miniaturization of electronic devices represented by smart phones. One of the applications becomes more and more common. In the automotive market, FFC/FPC connectors are widely used in GPS devices, LCD displays, radios, and entertainment devices such as DVD players, etc. In the medical area, FFC/FPC connectors can help achieve the requirements for handheld devices. Miniaturization, including patient monitors, etc.; and in many military and aerospace applications where lightweight, compact designs are the primary requirement, FFC/FPC connectors are also being used.

In fact, the main advantage of the FPC connector is its ability to efficiently use the existing space, that is, the space on the PCB and the space inside the housing. In addition to cost savings, it also promotes a compact high mobility design and is therefore widely used. In many electronic device market segments. Another advantage of the FPC connector is that it can provide interconnections for moving and moving parts. For example, the digital camera's display screen can be pulled out or flexibly adjusted, while still maintaining electrical connection with the camera body; or flip, slide The connection between the display and the body of the cover type laptop or mobile phone, and the like.

From the perspective of market applications, FPC connectors are mainly based on 0.5mm pitch products, and 0.3mm pitch products have also been used in large quantities. Overall, height and pin spacing are the two most important directions for FPC connector development, especially the latter. For example, in the consumer product market, on the one hand, products tend to be miniaturized; on the other hand, a large number of various functional modules are continuously integrated into the system, and the number of signals to be transmitted is also increasing, which requires more pins. Requires FPC connectors to have more contact numbers, even smaller spacing, and a more compact form factor, ultimately achieving high-density integration goals.

In addition, stability and reliability are still the most important performance indicators of FPC connectors. It requires design, whether it is from plastic mold flow, terminal performance, positive force, or the cover of FPC connector, in the product. Before mass production, designers should use a variety of software for detailed and comprehensive analysis to determine their strength and structure to ensure connector quality and design reliability. Secondly, in the FPC connector manufacturing process, due to the use of semi-automatic or even fully automated assembly, inspection, and packaging processes, manual operations are reduced, thereby greatly reducing the quality or other problems that may arise.