Flex PCB Fabrication | Flexible PCB Manufacturing Services

Name: Flexible PCB
Brand: OurPCB
SKU: flexible-pcb
Rating: 5 (50 reviews)

Adrian Leitch

It was easy to order online from OurPCB with instant price quoting. I had a recent bad experience with another international PCB fabricator that has changed owners and the quality had dropped, in this case the PCB boards I received were nearly flawless. I'm not sure if it's standard but I personally got my boards back in a week. Price competitive with other international fabricators. The detailed report provided along with the boards is also very useful. Recommended.

Andrew Durrant

These guys are great, good customer service.

Andrew Peeler

Prompt service, good price structure, high quality PCBs that are delivered on or before the specified date

Andrew Wood

Always excellent service and quick turn around. We are very happy with the service from OurPCB

Ben Thomas

These guys were a pleasure to work with, accurate lead times, fast delivery and an overall high quality product.

Darren Larosa

I've been working with them for some time now and always receive excellent service. Board quality is fantastic. Competitive pricing. I recommend when given the chance.

Debra Beukes

Fantastic company to deal with, excellent turn around, always very helpful.

Eastern Europe Archives

Had a run of PCBs created for our school. Used kicad Gerber files which matched perfectly with their online system . Couldn't believe how easy the process was. Fast turn around and the PCBs are of very high quality and price is very reasonable . Highly recommended and will return again.

frankyc

Been working with these guys for over 10 years now. The quality of their PCBs is first class with excellent delivery schedules. Any problems or 'extras' are handled promptly and efficiently. No hesitation in recommending them for any PCB manufacturing.

Fred Van

Smooth seamless quoting, excellent pricing, and top quality product delivered on time. Excellent service!

Greg MacDonald

simple, easy website; quick response

John Powell

I now use only OurPCB because of their simple instant online quotation and ordering system with PCB drag and drop files. The PCB quality is excellent, with excellent competitive prices to meet my PCB delivery urgency as required. Mark provides quick, excellent & friendly technical support. I recommend OurPCB to all Aussie manufacturers to support our last Aussie PCB company !

Jonathan Pippard

Excellent easy to use ordering service with fast turn around, and very helpful, free, friendly advice given. The supplied PCBs were excellent quality, I will definitely use again and would recommend. Thank you!

Jordan Thurgood

OurPCB were fantastic to work with. Very helpful and practical in guiding us through the process and ensuring we got an excellent outcome. Delivered on time and product was as expected.

Justin Regan

Outstanding quality service, top quality PCBs, very fast turn around, great pricing, and an all-round great company to deal with.

Mark A

Used Ourpcb Australia for about 2 years now and recently switched all my work to them, Price / Quality is on point. Never had an issue and the local support is great.

Mark Pagura

Very fast turn around with good quality. Fast response to questions and very reasonable price.

Maryanne Hassell

They are FANTASTIC in everyway, super fast, always helpful and happy to talk with you and the prices are amazing. I will not deal with anyone else unless forced to. Thank-you OurPCB, you are the BEST!!

Matthew O'Neill

Good customer service, Dealt with Mark he's right onto it. Quality of board is great also. Thanks OurPCB

mitch clark

OurPCB have supplied our company with PCB circuit boards for the last five years. Firstly the quality is exceptional - Mark makes ordering circuit-boards easy. Where as in the past we have done the run around with component supply many times - Mark makes the process decisive and simple. The service is top notch. Highly recommended.

Oli

Great service and quality as well as proofing process which I haven't got when ordering small PCB runs from other companies.

Peter Lambert

I push these guys on every front from superfine technology through to quick delivery - the quality and service is the best I've had anywhere. A truly great fab shop that is a pleasure to work with.

Sasha Marks

Excellent service, quick turn around and helpful staff. We've been using OurPCB for nearly 10 years now, for both bare PCB and fully assembled and tested PCBA's also.

Slavko Mali

Excellent service at competitive prices

SPI MX

We have used ourPCB as our PCB supplier for 10 years because the quality has been perfect. Delivery; reliable and dependable.

Steve Visser

Friendly and easy to deal with

Steven Munari

Very quick delivery, Great pricing. Excellent Australia based customer support.

Steven Vatev

Awesome job, fast and friendly service . So much extra effort especially on the manufacturers side. Highly recommended to anyone in pcb design. Very reasonable rates too. Thank you.

Tane Pendragon

Fast turnaround, great customer support, good prices. Definitely recommended.

Tasmiah Khan

Great quality PCBs at low cost and excellent service

Trevor Gardner

Quick quote - delivery as promised and quality board - gets my vote

Need flexible PCBs?
Need flexible PCBs? We at OurPCB are here to assist you. As a leading PCB board maker, we offer top-notch PCB Assembly services, including the design and production of flexible PCBs.
Our team of experienced professionals is dedicated to providing high-quality, reliable solutions to meet all your electronic needs. With many satisfied customers worldwide, especially in the USA, you can trust OurPCB to deliver exceptional quality and service.
Specialized In Multilayer And Rigid-Flex Technology.
Flexible Circuit Manufacturing & Assembly as well as multilayer flex and rigid-flex circuits and also provide SMT component assembly on these products.

Specification	Flexible PCB Capability
Layer Counts	1-4 Layers (Ultimate: 5-8 Layers)
Tolerance of Finger Width	±0.1 mm (Ultimate: ±0.05 mm)
Min Distance between Pads	4 mils (Ultimate:3 mil)
The thickness of Finished Product（Flex part，no stiffener)	0.05-0.5 mm (Ultimate:0.5-0.8 mm)
Type of Surface Treatment	OSP HASL, Lead-free HASL, Immersion gold, Hard gold, Immersion silver, OSP
Impedance Tolerance: Single-Ended	±5Ω(≤50Ω),±10%(＞50Ω)
Ultimate: Single-Ended	±3Ω(≤50Ω)，±8%(＞50Ω)

What is the Cost of Flexible PCBs?

On average, flexible PCBs can range from $0.50 to $5.00 per square inch for standard designs and materials. However, this cost is not fixed and can vary based on several factors. The factors that influence the price include necessary assembly labor, prevailing labor rates, and the time required for assembly. Additionally, overhead manufacturing expenses and the design complexity of the board play significant roles in determining the final cost. To get a more accurate cost estimate, please use our free quote form.

Flexible PCB cost Dependent factor.

Many criteria determine the cost of FPCBs, and we have highlighted the major ones below;

Physical Size; A large FPCB means a higher price, and its calculation is a cost per square inch (FPCB measurement).
Circuit Construction; It depends on the materials used and the number of layers and pads. An additional layer is costly, and quality materials plus more pads also increase manufacturing costs.
Volume; a greater volume results in a high cost.
Layers; Added circuit layers augment assembly costs; thus, if you’re comfortable with a single-sided FPCB, stick with it.
Finishing; Almost always, a good finishing guarantees a long shelf life for FPCB. Therefore, it’ll be pricey.
Number and size of holes; Since drilling small holes is tough, FPCB prices are higher. Not only that but more holes equal more cost.
Flex Board types depend on layers, ultimately determining the price.
Custom or unique specification; If you require added features on your FPCB, for instance, solder mask clearance, side plating, or contoured edges, you’ll pay extra.

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How to reduce Flexible PCB cost?

Every manufacturer should have a flex PCB cost estimator list that helps lower FPCB costs.

Keep flexible layers to a minimum; Usually, rigid laminates are more cost-effective than flexible laminates. You’ll lower the cost by reducing the number of layers in the flexible circuitry.
Keep overall layers to a minimum; If you reduce the number of layers, the number of plies of flow prepreg you’ll need will also be low. Thus, the cost decreases.
Limit controlled impedance requirements; incorporating all achievable impedance values might be tempting. However, if you consider the design’s cost-effectiveness, test and model the values your flex circuit board needs.
The copper thickness can be flexible and about 1/3 oz.
Finally, buy FPCBs in large quantities to lower the overall cost.

Flexible PCB Manufacturing Capability

Category	Project Item	Normal Capability	Ultimate Capability
	FPC Base Material（Adhesive）	ShengyiSF302：PI=0.5mil，1mil，2mil；Cu=0.5oz，1oz ShengyiSF305：PI=0.5mil，1mil，2mil；Cu=0.33oz，0.5oz，1oz	/
Material	FPC Base Material（Adhesiveless）	SongxiaRF-775/777：PI=1mil，2mil，3mil；Cu=0.5oz，1oz Xinyang：PI=1mil，2mil；Cu=0.33oz，0.5oz，1oz Taihong PI=1mil，2mil；Cu=0.33oz，0.5oz，1oz Subang AP：PI=1mil，2mil，3mil，4mil；Cu=0.5oz，1oz	PI=1mil，2mil，3mil；Cu=2oz PI=1mil，2mil，3mil，4mil；Cu=2oz
	Layer	1-4 Layers	5-8Layers
	The thickness of Finished Product （Flex part，no stiffener）	0.05-0.5mm	0.5-0.8mm
	Size of Finished Products（Min）	5mm10mm（Bridgeless）；10mm10mm（Bridge）	4mm8mm（Bridgeless）；8mm8mm（Bridge）
	Size of Finished Products（Max）	9inch*14inch	9inch*23inch（PI≥1mil）
Others	Impedance Tolerance	Single-Ended：±5Ω(≤50Ω),±10%(＞50Ω)	Single-Ended：±3Ω(≤50Ω)，±8%(＞50Ω)
	Impedance Tolerance	Differencial：±5Ω(≤50Ω),±10%(＞50Ω)	Differencial：±4Ω(≤50Ω)，±8%(＞50Ω)
	Tolerance of Finger Width	±0.1mm	±0.05mm
	Min Distance to the Edge of Finger	8mil	6mil
	Min Distance between Pads	4mil	3mil
	Minimum Laser Hole	0.1mm	/
Mechanical	Minimum PTH	0.3mm	/
	Min NPTH Tolerance	±2mil(Ultimate+0，-2mil or +2mil，-0)	/
	Solder Bridge Min Width(bottom copper＜2OZ)	4mil(Green)，8mil	/
Solder Mask	Solder Bridge Min Width(bottom copper2-4OZ)	6mil，8mil	/
	Overlay Colour	White、Yellow（printed character: White）	/
Surface Treatment	Type of Surface Treatment Selective Surface Treatment	OSP HASL, Lead-free HASL, Immersion gold, Hard gold, Immersion silver, OSP ENIG+OSP，ENIG+G/F	/

Flexible PCBs: The Ultimate Guide

As the name indicates, flexible PCBs are easy to bend and fold. PCB manufacturers use flexible dielectric base materials such as polyimide or polyester films to design these PCBs. Also known as flex circuits or flexible printed circuit boards, flexible PCBs facilitate heat dissipation properly due to the thin dielectric substrate used in their construction.

You can bend, shape, wrap, or fold these PCBs into any 2D or 3D shape. These features make flexible PCBs perfect for use in several applications with compact space availability such as in medical and surgical equipment, consumer electronics, automotive and space industry, and smart wearable devices.

Due to their space-saving, lightweight, and durable nature, Flex PCB are incredibly useful in places where standard rigid PCB fail to accommodate. If designed and fabricated properly and with the right materials, Flex PCBs offer robust interconnections to sustain dynamic conditions for a long time.

How are Flexible PCBs Manufactured?

Flexible PCBs’ manufacturing involves several steps to form thin and flexible boards which are easy to bend, fold and shape. Here are the steps that complete the PCB manufacturing process.

Step 1: Fabricate flexible laminates by bonding copper to PI film

Step 2: Laminate coverlay and copper foil

Step 3: Drill holes for vias and through holes

Step 4: Electroplate holes to form conductive vias

Step 5: Image and develop photoresist for circuit pattern

Step 6: Etch away unwanted copper

Step 7: Strip photoresist and apply solder mask over bare copper

Step 8: Expose and develop a solder mask

Step 9: Cure solder mask and apply surface finish

Step 10: Punch or route PCB to final shape

Step 11: Print silkscreen legends and conduct electrical tests

Step 12: Singulation and packaging

Key Steps in the Flexible PCB Manufacturing Process

Design of board structure and layout using design software

This crucial step requires you to create a board structure and PCB laminate design through different design software. The choice of software depends on the project and the features required. Programs such as Xpedition, Altium Designer, and Cadence PCB Editor can handle challenges that come with flexible materials.

Determination and procurement of necessary materials

Once the design is ready, it’s time to procure all the necessary materials for flexible PCB manufacturing. The materials include base materials such as polyimide or polyester films, copper traces, coating layers and adhesives.

Specific flexible PCB design based on the intended application and customer specifications

While designing flexible PCBs, it is essential that you always remain in touch with customers to meet their and intended applications’ needs precisely. You need to take care of several things like printed board types, plating requirements, number of layers, type of materials used, design process, component placement, or any additional placement of electrical components.

Design verification and error checking

Another critical step during flex PCB manufacturing is verifying design and checking errors. This is important to meet specific functions and requirements of flex PCB. You may use several methods to complete this process such as automated optical inspection, electrical testing, DFM checks, in-design inner layers checks or quality inspection. All these verifications are essential to reduce overall production costs, streamline manufacturing, and minimize manufacturing delays.

Creation of Gerber files containing information for PCB fabrication

Creating Gerber files through PCB design software helps you store location data and the shape of every element in the PCB. Each PCB layer has a separate Gerber file. These Gerber files also help you to create stencils, perform DFM and inspect your board.

Cutting flexible single- and double-sided layers

Cutting out single or double-sided flex layers using a hydraulic punch and die set which is capable of punching many flex circuits at one time.

Drilling

Drilling holes is a crucial step involving either mechanical or laser drilling. You can also drill multiple plated flex substrates. Based on the requirements, you can either drill plated through holes, blind/buried vias, or micro vias. Proper drilling ensures optimal functionality and reliable connections in flexible PCBs.

Through-hole plating: this process ensures electrical conductivity in the holes through copper electroplating. That’s why this is a very crucial step. Make sure that you do at least 1 mil copper plating in through hotels to add mechanical support.

Etching of final outer layer copper patterns

In the outer layer etching process, the etch resist is removed to expose copper. After that, unwanted copper is removed through chemicals. Finally, you also need to etch away the solder plate. After all these etching steps, you get the required copper pattern on the outer PCB layer.

Application of solder mask and silkscreen

Adding a solder mask is another important step in PCB manufacturing. This preventive layer stops the solder from adhering to unwanted areas. Also, the solder mask covers all non-conductive areas. As solder masks block solder flow, they enable uniform electrical connections during the soldering process. Along with the solder mask, silkscreen printing is another critical step. Through silk screen printing, you can add graphics, marks, and logos to indicate details, placements, and polarity of the flex PCB.

Surface finish plating

After completing the flex PCB, you’ll need to do surface finishing of the PCB layer. However, the type of surface finish used depends on the cost-effectiveness of the project, durability, and RoHS compliance. Different surface finish materials include Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG), Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP), HASL, and LF HASL.

What are the Advantages of Flexible PCB Manufacturers?

Flexible PCB manufacturers have many advantages in comparison to traditional rigid PCB manufacturers, all thanks to the unique properties of a flex PCB. Some of them are:

Standardized, large-scale automated production compared to rigid PCBs: automation of production is more pronounced and used in flex PCB manufacturing, all thanks to material properties and space efficiency. Owing to lower connectors and wiring harness requirements, flex PCB manufacturers realize the great benefits of standardization and economy of scale.
Ability to provide rapid prototyping services: Flex PCBs are made of polyimide or polyesters. These materials can be rapidly mounted in different shapes. The use of 3D printing is also prominent in flex PCB manufacturing. Therefore, manufacturers can churn rapid prototypes as per customer requirements.
Use of high-quality laminates like FR, Rogers, and Aluminum: Flex PCB manufacturers can customize the product by using high-quality laminates such as FR, Rogers, and aluminum, depending on requirements for electrical and thermal conductivity, durability, cost, and weight.
Capability to manufacture highly reliable rigid-flex and HDI PCBs: Flex PCB manufacturers can produce high-density interconnected PCBs having high reliability, as the flex PCBs have space efficiency. More and more components can be packed in a small space and layers, leading to more functions in a single board.
One-stop shop for PCB assembly needs: Manufacturers of flex PCB can cater to different requirements on a single production line, as the substrate is flexible and mouldable to customized shapes and sizes.
Fast production and delivery times: Thanks to rapid production techniques available for flex PCB production, the delivery time of such PCBs from the shop floor to consumers has reduced a lot over time.

What is Flexible Circuitry?

Flexible circuitry refers to conductive pathways on a flexible substrate, used in electronics where space-saving and flexibility are crucial. Also known as flex circuits or flexible PCBs, they can bend and twist, unlike traditional rigid PCBs.

Designing and fabricating flexible circuits is different from rigid PCBs, and the same design rules don’t apply.

In a rigid PCB, a dielectric layer is combined with a metallic conductor, usually copper, and protected with solder or gold to prevent oxidation. The dielectric layer is often made of polyester or polyimide.

To learn more about Flex PCBs, visit our guide on Flexible PCBs.

Why Choose OurPCB?

OurPCB is a renowned ISO:9001 certified manufacturer of flex and rigid-flex PCBs in China. We have a huge clientele (more than 2000) spread across the world, We are there for you in every step of PCB manufacturing and assembly. Having expertise in wiring harness and cable assemblies, our team always ensures to fulfill our customers’ needs at affordable prices.

Thanks to the flexibility, reliability, space efficiency, and low weight of flex PCBs, the demand for flex PCBs is growing in all industries. If you need any help related to your PCB requirements, contact us. Our team is there to guide you through the process.

Customer Reviews - Flexible PCB

Author: Percival Bramley
Item: Flexible PCB
Review: The flexible PCBs from OurPCB are of excellent quality. They are durable and can be bent and folded into various shapes without any issues. Highly recommended for compact electronic designs.
Author: Eleri Tamsin
Item: Flexible PCB
Review: Great product with fast delivery. The PCBs were exactly as described and worked perfectly in our project. Customer support was also very responsive.
Author: Thorne Ashby
Item: Flexible PCB
Review: These flexible PCBs are fantastic for tight spaces. The quality is top-notch, and they are very reliable. Will definitely purchase again.
Author: Liora Pemberton
Item: Flexible PCB
Review: Excellent service and product. The flexible PCBs met all our specifications and were delivered on time. Highly satisfied with OurPCB's service.

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