PCB is translated into printed circuit board in Chinese, and it is usually also called rigid circuit board. PCB is the carrier of electronic components and one of the most important electronic components in electronic equipment. PCB generally uses FR4 (glass fiber copper clad laminate) as the base material, also called hard board, which cannot be bent or flexed. PCB is generally used in some places that do not need to be bent and need to be supported by a certain hardness. Common PCBs such as computer motherboards, mobile phone motherboards and other products.
FPC is a flexible circuit board, which is actually a type of PCB, but compared with traditional printed circuit boards, it has a thinner appearance and can be bent arbitrarily. Therefore, it is also called a soft board, and its full name is a flexible circuit board (flexible circuit board). FPC generally uses PI as the base material, which is a flexible material that can be bent and flexed arbitrarily. FPC is generally used in the connection that requires repeated flexing and some small parts. For example, the laptop screen needs to be closed and opened frequently, so the feature of FPC is required.
FPC is not only a flexible circuit board, but also an important design method for connecting three-dimensional circuit structures. This structure can be combined with other electronic product designs to create a variety of different applications. With the continuous advancement of technology, The application of FPC is more and more extensive. For PCB, unless the circuit is made three-dimensional by filling glue
The form, otherwise the circuit board is generally flat. To make full use of the three-dimensional space, FPC is a good solution. As far as hard boards are concerned, the current common space extension solution is to use slots and add interface cards, but FPC can make a similar structure with a transfer design, and it is also more flexible in directional design.
The characteristics of FPC can connect two hard boards into a parallel line system, and can also be turned into any angle to adapt to different product shape designs.
FPC can also be connected by terminal connection. As the design space of some precision products becomes smaller and smaller, a new structure is produced: soft and hard board, that is, a PCB is combined with an FPC by a special process. Together, thus avoiding the connection structure design, which saves space and is more stable in use. This approach reduces the interference of connectors and terminals, which can improve signal quality and product stability.
