These days, technology is a vital part of business, even for the least tech savvy individual. Whether you work from home or you have offices spread across the country, your tech set up needs to be optimized for your business, all the way from the hardware. One way to upgrade your hardware is to utilize rigid flex PCBs, printed circuit boards, in your computer system.
High Density Packaging
Rigid PCBs are probably the ones that you’re most familiar with seeing. Once they’re manufactured, they can’t be reshaped or folded into any other shape without damaging the board. These are cheap and more easily manufactured, but they because they aren’t as malleable as flex circuit boards, they can’t be packed in as tightly in your system. Flex PCBs are, as their name implies, far more flexible that rigid PCBs, which means they can be folded, rolled, or twisted inside the casing of the computer without any trouble.
Rigid flex PCBs combine these two pieces of hardware, with flex PCB pieces connecting rigid PCBs. This allows tighter packaging, giving you more processing power and components without needing more space to operate. They also reduce the need for wires and cords.
EMI and RFI Shielding
While your computer seems hardy and well protected, seemingly small problems can cause big issues. EMI (Electromagnetic interference) and RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) from other devices can disturb your computer systems regular processes. You could lose data and important client information if your system goes down even for a few seconds because of interference.
Certain types of rigid flex PCBs have shielding to protect your system. PCB shielding is usually made from copper or silver. Copper is more common because it’s a more conductive material and it’s more bendable that the more brittle silver. The metal can also be applied in a pattern that improves the flexibility for circuit boards without losing the shielding.
Versatility
Because rigid flex circuit boards can be combined into a nearly endless number of possible layouts, they can be made to fit your business’s exact needs. With the ability to fold and connect boards into the most efficient configurations, the necessary pieces can fit into whatever space you have available. They can also be made out of whatever materials would work best for your specific conditions and requirements. With this versatility, you can customize your system to fit your business.
Your business will always need to rely on a solid computer system to back it. Depending on your needs, look into rigid flex circuit boards to keep your system running as safely and efficiently as possible. As your business grows, you’ll be better able to handle the demand if you have a system you can trust.