Rigid-Flex PCB is a marketing term for the combination of rigid and flexible printed circuit boards. This circuit board usually comprises of many layers of flexible substrate substance and one or more than one board of rigid PCB.
This technology is currently being manufactured by the combination of rigid and flexible printed circuit boards. This technique is usually employed to creates electronic devices such as LCD or OLED screens, solid-state lasers, various catadioptrics devices(DNA chips, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), etc.), and other electronic components.
There are numerous manufacturers are supplying the Rigid-flex PCB with different prices and features. But best and high-quality PCB supplier is PCBWAY that is offering high-quality different types of PCB board as well rigid-flex PCB. They are equipped with high level machines with engineers to operate these machines. They offered fast delivery to their users and with reasonable prices. Rigid flex PCB offered by the PCBWAY has different features that are listed here. Will help you to buy these services according to your requirements and needs.

Feature | Capability |
Material | Polyimide Flex+FR4 |
Min. Track/Spacing | 4mil |
Min. Hole Size | 0.15mm |
Rigid-Flex Thickness | 0.4-3.2mm |
FPC Thickness | 0.08-0.4mm |
Solder Mask Color(Rigid Part) | Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Black, Purple, Matte Black, Matte green |
Covrelay (Flex Part) | Yellow Coverlay, WhiteCoverlay,Black Coverlay |
Silkscreen | White, Black |
Finish Cooper(Flex Part) | 0.5-2oz |
Finish Cooper(Rigid Part) | 1-4oz |
Via Process | Tenting Vias,Plugged Vias,Vias not covered |
Additional Options | Half-Cut,Impedance Control |
Build time | 10-20 days |
Lead time | 2-3 days |
Construction of Rigid-Flex PCB
Rigid-Flex PCBs are manufactured by a combination of rigid and flexible printed circuit boards. This technology is normally used to manufacture electronic products such as LCD/LED screens, solid-state lasers, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), etc., and other electronic components.
It is still early-stage development that has its own unique benefits:
- 1) Manufacturing cost reduction due to less material usage : The area covered by a rigid-flex PCB can be covered with a single layer of material only if the number of layers is less than that in the case of traditional printed circuit boards. Less material usage reduces cost that you have to pay in terms of labor cost for a manufacturing process, thus making it cheaper for you to produce more units for your customers at one time.
- 2) Manufacturing flexibility: As compared to the traditional PCB fabrication method, complex three-dimensional shapes can be created on rigid-flex PCB without having any need for additional special tools or equipment to fabricate it because there is no need for complex machine tooling or automated molding process which requires extremely high precision machining skills required from machine operators
Flexible Printed Circuit Boards (FPCB)
- Flexible Printed Circuit Boards (FPCB) are considered as the best choice for assembling complex circuits. These flexible circuit boards are designed to be laminated and then used in high temperature environments. Flexible circuit boards can be used in any environment with the right precautions taken. These high temperature flexible circuit boards are manufactured using adhesive tapes, which ensures that the board is not deformed once it is placed on a heat resistant material.
- You can get these flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) from various sources through online stores or distributors. As long as you can find a reliable vendor, you will be able to get these flex circuit boards at a reasonable price. It is always recommended to go for online purchases when purchasing FPCB from any online vendor because the products are more likely to arrive with all configurations intact and without damage.
- The main advantage of using flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) over rigid printed circuit boards (RPCB) is that FPCB have much better flexibility compared to RPCBs in terms of being able to bend and flex with ease under high temperatures. Flexible printed circuit board has also been found to have excellent electrical conductivity which makes it extremely reliable when used in applications with high power requirements, such as electric machinery, power distribution systems, and electric motors.
Advantages Of Flexible PCB Over Rigid PCB
- Flexible PCB is manufactured by the combination of rigid and flexible printed circuit boards. This circuit board usually comprises of many layers of flexible substrate substance and one or more than one board of rigid PCB. The rigid PCB, is fabricated on an acrylonitrile copolymer (AOI) base resin, which is manufactured by the combination of AOI material and vinyl chloride copolymer (VC).
Types of Flex PCB
- Flexible printed circuit board is one of the main components of electronic systems and its primary function is to support electrical connection between two or more devices or components.
- It comes in many shapes, sizes, and materials, which vary according to the purpose of the product. The different types of flexible PCBs are:
- 1. Rigid-Flex PCBs – Rigid circuit board that comprises of rigid layers and a flexible layer.
- 2. Flex PCB – Flex circuit board that comprises of rigid layers and a flexible layer.
- 3. Flexible PCB – Flex circuit board that comprises of rigid layers and a flexible layer
- 4. Flexible PCB Layouts –flex circuit boards which are manufactured by combining rigid PCB with flex material.
- 5. Rigid-Flex Board Layouts –flexible circuit boards which are manufactured by combining rigid PCB with flex material.
Disadvantages of Fabricating Rigid-Flex PCBs
- Fabricating rigid-flex PCBs is an expensive project that requires extensive mechanical knowledge and extensive skill to assemble the circuit board, which greatly limits its versatility.
- Many of the drawbacks associated with rigid-flex PCBs are largely due to the material’s poor mechanical properties and poor construction principles.
Obstacles include:
- – Poor mechanical stability, short circuit, leakage current, or overheating.
- – Overheating from localized overheating can lead to a short circuit in several components, especially in power distribution boards (PDB). Since there is no wiring between PDB and external devices, overheated wire can cause a short circuit on the printed circuit board’s power supply lines.
- – Some components in rigid-flex PCBs cannot be mounted on other rigid-flex PCBs due to strict adherence of component placement rules and requirements.
- – There are insufficient component substrates available for rigid-flex PCB manufacturing. Also, many components cannot be mounted on other rigid-flex PCBs due to strict adherence of component placement rules and requirements.
- – Some components in rigid-flex PCBs cannot be mounted on other rigid-flex PCBs due to strict adherence of component placement rules and requirements.
- Rigid flex boards are usually manufactured from wood or fiberglass based materials with some chemical bonding techniques (e.g., adhesives) applied for better mechanical strength but at the cost of low flexibility and electrical conductivity along with poor electrical insulation properties combined with high price tag that keeps them out of most mass production facilities worldwide as they are difficult to produce at significant economical cost that makes it more expensive than nonrigid flex boards which have been widely used since previous decades as they were easy to produce at mass production facilities worldwide due low cost as compared with nonrigid flex boards which have been widely used since previous decades as they were easy to produce at mass production facilities worldwide due low cost as compared with nonrigid flex boards which have been widely used since previous decades as they were easy to produce at mass production facilities worldwide due low cost as compared with nonrigid flex boards which have been widely used since previous decades as they were easy to produce at mass production facilities worldwide due low cost as compared with nonrigid flex boards which have been widely used since previous decades as they were easy to produce at mass production facilities worldwide due low cost as compared with nonrigid flex boards which have been widely used since previous decades as they were easy to produce at mass production facilities worldwide
Different Methods to Fabricate Rigid-Flex PCBs
- There are many techniques to fabricate rigid-flex pcb. The most common techniques include:
- 1. Direct injection fabrication (DIF)
- 2. Flexible-Polyethylene board manufacturing
- 3. Flexible-Polypropylene board manufacturing
- 4. Polymer board manufacturing
- 5. Rigid-flex pcb manufacturing
In the following article, we will focus on the latter four methods of fabrication of rigid-flex pcb, which has a high mechanical strength and is more flexible than other types of pcb. It can be used in many different industries such as electronic equipment, sensors and actuators, military equipment, aerospace and automotive industrie