Flex Cable Design Best Practices – Part 1

Flex cable design best practices will help you achieve higher reliability, lower BOM and assembly costs, and enhanced product life. Successful products are the result of effectively managing trade-offs in the design and planning stages. Our industry-leading approach supports your engineering and manufacturing efforts for the best products and manufacturability. From medical device manufacturing and the aerospace industry to telecommunications, industrial engineering equipment, semiconductor testing and manufacturing equipment, our turnkey solutions are designed to save you time and money.

One of the biggest advantages of using flex cables is eliminating wiring errors while integrating more functions on a smaller and lighter package. By following industry best practices, you can avoid common design problems and optimize the benefits of using flex cables.

For instance, many mechanical failures are caused by incorrect bend radius which often goes undetected until the board is already in use. By adhering to recommended guidelines, you can eliminate costly de-lamination, dielectric and conductor fractures.

Abiding by industry guidelines also results in superior resistance to heat, shock, vibrations, corrosion and moisture. This will deliver better product performance and a longer service life that your customers will appreciate.

Learn how our customers improve their market share and their reputation for producing quality products:

• Medical Devices: Our clients have developed highly sophisticated handheld and portable devices with a significant reduction in electronic package size and weight, stronger resistance to a chemically aggressive environment, and longer-lasting implantable devices.
• Industrial controls: In addition to reliability and extended lifespan, applications involving repetitive motion can achieve unmatched performance.
• Consumer electronics and wearables: Weight reduction is a key performance indicator for hand-held devices, personal devices, and wearables. Manufacturers are able to achieve stability of materials for high volume manufacturing with support from our PCB design and assembly team. We proudly partnered with Halo Neuroscience in the development of the Halo headset used by the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball teams.
• Aerospace and defense: Replacement of wire harnesses and weight reduction allows greater flexibility of applications with increased product reliability and durability in hostile environments. PDS has played a key role in the development of many innovative products, including the groundbreaking NASA Nanosatellite.

We are happy to provide a manufacturing feasibility assessment of your flex cable design to help you reduce production time and cost.

We have invested in the latest PCB assembly equipment to double the volume and reduce prototype development time by 50%. Depend on our turnkey solutions from layout review to material procurement, assembly, testing, warehousing and shipping—we manage it all in-house for timely and cost-efficient delivery. Our quality control processes adhere to ISO-9000 and ITAR certification requirements. Every circuit board undergoes rigorous testing before delivery.

Our 13,000-sq. ft. ESD-controlled facility is conveniently located near San Jose Mineta International Airport.  Whether you are a local or international customer, you can always expect timely service. We offer quotes in 4 hours with a 24-hour turnaround for time-sensitive projects.  Pickup and delivery in Silicon Valley is also available.

From PCB prototypes to quick turn assemblies and volume runs, our services make your operations more efficient, profitable and competitive. Count on our expert support to put your ideas in motion.

Request a quote and begin your project today or call us at (408) 526-1700 to speak with a representative about reducing the production time and costs of your upcoming project.