While a flex assembly is an offshoot of the electronics industry, it finds applications within various segments of electronics. Advancements in electronics have increased its applications and their boundaries, while decreasing the size and form factor. The ever-shrinking sizes of devices and the demand for flexible shapes has surged the demand for custom flex assemblies. Flexible electronics has found its footing in smart IoT devices, wearable devices, and more. We, at Automated Assembly, have developed SMT-Flex® that enables us to assemble Wire-Write® flexible electronics on various substrates such as polyester, polyimide, paper, vinyl, and more.
Why Choose Our Custom Flex Assembly in Electronics?
We work closely with our customers to develop flexible circuit assemblies according to their specifications. We have successfully utilized various SMT components for custom flex assemblies based on the designs provided or approved by our customers in the electronics sector. Here are some beneficial features of our flexible electronics.
- Flexibility: Standard flexible circuit assembly is done on polyimide, polyester and PEN based films, and the next level substrates include paper, cloth, and vinyl. Our flexible Wire-Write® circuit assembly is customizable and can conform to the shapes and contours, be it for wearables or other electronics. We can create complex Wire-Write® circuit designs on extremely thin, bendable substrates.
- Weight: Flex circuits are lightweight, and hence do not add extreme amount of weight to the device. This is a prerequisite since the devices are already compact and have their own weight. This is especially useful in wearables.
- Power Consumption: Most electronic devices function on batteries, and the use of flex circuits helps reduce power consumption and ensure extended battery life. The device once fully charged, remains operational for a long time. Flex circuit-based devices functioning on electricity also consume relatively less power.
- Automation: We use a high level of automation in our manufacturing techniques. Our SMT Flex® technique enables high-speed automated placements. All our automation is optically guided and we write the code in-house.
- High-Density Interconnections: We ensure high-density interconnects in the circuit design using advanced manufacturing techniques. This prevents signal losses and improves electrical performance, which is crucial in electronic devices, especially health monitoring and network ones.
Application Areas of Flex Assembly in Electronics
The use of flex circuits encompasses major segments of electronics. Here are some application areas of our flex circuit assemblies.
- Consumer Electronics: Flexible circuit assemblies are used in various electronic gadgets such as smartphones, display screens, headphones, laptops, tablets, televisions, kitchen appliances, and more. They find applications in display interfaces, device control panels, buttons, cameras, and various other components present in these appliances.
- Wearables: Wearable devices are used in multiple sectors such as healthcare, defense, medical, and more. These include smartwatches, fitness tracking bands, and so on. Most of these devices are small sized and conform to the body shape. This is achieved by using custom flex assemblies.
- Telecommunication: Businesses adopt voice and data communications networks with high bandwidth, low latency, high-speed connectivity, security, and many other features. Many network devices such as routers, switches, media converters, cameras, computers, and more have flexible circuits. In this segment, flex assemblies are also found in miniature antennas and sensors as these assemblies conform to their shape.
- Robotics and Automation: Robots are used in industrial units for pick-n-place and similar tasks. These robots have flex assemblies for the required bendability, precision, and efficiency. Integrated automation systems also have several components with flex circuit assemblies. This helps save space and reduces excess wiring needs.
- IoT Devices: Flexible circuit assemblies are used in various network devices such as routers, smartphones, cable harnesses and so on. These devices are used to build networks required for IoT devices to function. Sensors have a very important role to play in sensing and sending data to a connected device. Flex circuits are used in sensors for their direct incorporation into a compact, flexible substrate.
If you require a custom flex assembly for your product in the electronics industry, as an experienced electronics manufacturing service provider, we can serve you better. Automated Assembly specializes in assembling ultra-lightweight and compact flexible circuits that are required in today’s microelectronics. Feel free to reach us on phone or email in case you have any further questions or would like to share your application requirements.
Get In touch With Automated Assembly Corporation™
Start your contract manufacturing journey with Automated Assembly® today. Simply fill out your details and we'll get in touch with you to discuss your manufacturing needs.