Rigid-Flex Printed Circuit Manufacturing process. A Project of the Manufacturing Technology Program.

The activities performed to achieve the program objectives first involved identifying one of eight different suppliers in order to purchase the polyimide glass laminate. The laminate supplier selection was based upon material testing, cost, qualitytechnology level, and production capability. Material was procured and a process investigation was conducted which evaluated current production processes by fabricating and testing sample rigid-flex units. An optimized fabrication process was developed by varying individual process parameters and the deliverable rigid-flex units were fabricated according to the documented material, process, and product specifications generated during this program. To establish that the cables meet specification requirements, extensive testing was performed on each unit. A yieldcost analysis was performed to verify the achievement of program goals.