W
Wim Lewis
Flexible PCBs are neat. It seems like it shouldn't be that hard to make
them with the usual hobbyist techniques. Has anyone tried this?
The main problem I foresee is that the flexible material is not as
heat-resistant as the normal PCB materials (fr4, phenolic, or whatever).
This shouldn't be a problem for toner-transfer or photoresist etching,
but it would be a problem for attaching components and for rework.
Maybe a carefully-controlled hotplate reflow setup would work.
The data sheets for Dupont Pyralux (polyimide) have a specification
that mentions 10 sec. at 288 C for soldering, and a few hours at ~190 C for
lamination, but no mention of what the maximum temperature for the
material is. Rogers rates its R/flex 1000 to an operating temperature
of 150 C.
The other problem is finding the flexible copper-clad material in hobbyist
quantities ... and at hobbyist prices
Farnell sells it, as
does www.goodfellow.com, but it's not cheap. Then again, I don't
intend to make very large assemblies out of it, so I should get several
projects out of one sheet.
them with the usual hobbyist techniques. Has anyone tried this?
The main problem I foresee is that the flexible material is not as
heat-resistant as the normal PCB materials (fr4, phenolic, or whatever).
This shouldn't be a problem for toner-transfer or photoresist etching,
but it would be a problem for attaching components and for rework.
Maybe a carefully-controlled hotplate reflow setup would work.
The data sheets for Dupont Pyralux (polyimide) have a specification
that mentions 10 sec. at 288 C for soldering, and a few hours at ~190 C for
lamination, but no mention of what the maximum temperature for the
material is. Rogers rates its R/flex 1000 to an operating temperature
of 150 C.
The other problem is finding the flexible copper-clad material in hobbyist
quantities ... and at hobbyist prices
Farnell sells it, asdoes www.goodfellow.com, but it's not cheap. Then again, I don't
intend to make very large assemblies out of it, so I should get several
projects out of one sheet.
