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Selecting a Flexible Circuit Supplier
October 14, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
The selection of a flexible circuit supplier is a multidimensional decision. An Internet search produces a long list of suppliers capable of building a wide range of products. If you can believe what you read on the Internet, there are very few suppliers unable to support any technology (single-sided to 30+ layer rigid-flex) and volume (prototype to serial production). And if you believe everything you read on the Internet, call me directly, as my uncle in Nigeria has some money that he needs help transferring to a U.S. bank account.
Since all flex circuits are custom designed and manufactured, a more thorough review of a supplier’s capabilities and specialties is critical for the specifics of an individual design. Everyone is not good at everything. Significant characteristics that help distinguish from among the myriad of flex circuit suppliers include the following.
Volume Capabilities
Most suppliers claim a wide range of volume capabilities, but what does “high volume” mean in this manufacturing world? Flex circuit suppliers build product using either a panel process or a continuous reel process. Reel-to-reel processing is used extensively to manufacture high volumes of cell phone, camera, and automotive applications. Most of these suppliers are located in Asia, but Multek Flexible Circuits remains a U.S.-based, high-volume supplier capable of competing with the cost pressures of these markets. Extensive reel-to-reel processing provides parts with little direct labor cost and the ability to produce in quantities exceeding millions of parts. Other flex circuit suppliers provide high-volume parts by acting as brokers (i.e., working with an overseas fabricator and acting as the middleman in the supply chain). As independent agents, these companies often take responsibility for product logistics, transit, quality, and provide domestic applications engineering support.Read the full article here.Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of The PCB Magazine.